new! please help

[somekid92]

Hey,

I'm very new to photography. i've always loved looking at pictures since i was little. i need to get a camera now. i know i want a digital SLR.. but i don't know much else. can anyone tell me what a good camera to begin with is? or maybe what you started with?

thanks for any help!

 

[xfloggingkylex]

you need to decide on a price range first, and spend a lot of time at www.dpreview.com checking out the detailed reviews of the cameras. The two main entry level cameras you will be recommended will be the Nikon D50 and the Canon Digital Rebel XT, simply because they have the largest backing. I personally went with Pentax. Read up on what cameras have which features you want so you can start to narrow it down, after that go to your local camera store and hold each of them to see how they feel, may sure you like the menu setups and how to change all the settings. Theres no right or wrong choice for cameras.

 

[W.Smith]

Hey,

That's "Mister" to you!

I'm very new to photography.

It shows.

i've always loved looking at pictures since i was little.

Really? So you started with Winnie the Pooh too, eh?

i need to get a camera now. i know i want a digital SLR..

You 'know' you want a dSLR?
Tell us why you "want a dSLR" then, please. Why not a Point & Shoot, a medium format, a view cam, or a cellphone cam?

but i don't know much else.

You could've fooled me.

can anyone tell me what a good camera to begin with is? or maybe what you started with?

Sure we can. But it's useless, because it would be Chinese to you, since you don't know the first thing about photography.

You need to go to the nearest bookstore, and get a simple book with pictures on the basics of photography: light, composition, color, contrast, focus, etc. Read it, memorize it, then get a P&S camera and start collecting your very first experiences.

After that you'll have something sensible to ask this forum.
Maybe.

 

[Innocence]

haha stop teasing him.

i think you should go and buy an entry level one regardless of your budget. like canon 350D, 400D. and a kit lense if you're too lazy to research but supposedly they work and will let you get started. happy shooting.

 

[PNA]

W.Smith.....I love your response!

I've been tripping a shutter for many years and recently with digital. Point is, I will never know what others know about photography, but I learn something new every time I open this fourm. At least "somekid92" came to the right place to begin his/her learning process!

 

[W.Smith]

At least "somekid92" came to the right place to begin his/her learning process!

But – looking at the way (and tone!) he started with – do you really think he is prepared to learn?
I'm not holding my breath.
Like all too many 'somekids' he seems to think he's got it all figured out already. And like all too many 'somekids' he'll probably have to go flat on his face, hard!, a couple times, before the message registers.

Meantime, the big cam manufacturers make whopping profits off of those dimwits....

 

[W.Smith]

[snip]

 

[PNA]

You gave him a chance to respond, so let's see what happens. Im always prepared for surprises.

As to cam manufacturers, I can not agree with you more.

 

[Corry]

I'm very suprised at the tone of this thread! How very unwelcoming! The OP had a perfectly valid question.

I'm going to have to ask that, if you do not have a constructive comment that will help the OP, please do not respond.

somekid92, the advice that xfloggingkylex gave is pretty much the same that I"d say.

With something so broad as photography, with so many different choices, it's very hard to just make a blanket recommendation. There are so many different variable to weigh...price range, what type of photography you will primarily be using it for, camera options, ect.

The best way to do it is to educate yourself. I know exactly how you feel though...3 short years ago, when I was just starting to take photography seriously, it was all so overwhelming that I had NO idea where to start. I thought I'd never learn it...it took some time, but once I grasped the basics, the rest became easier.....I still have a long way to go, though.

 

[LaFoto]

Corry is so right: how can two grown men of 46 and older be so nasty to a 14-year old newcomer to this forum, including name-calling like "dimwits" ... how dare you?

Have you NEVER started out!?
Ever? I mean?

OK, starting out with a DSLR is quite something, but seems to be more and more common from what I hear and see ... there's 17-year-olds here on the forum who have better cameras than I will ever even hold in my hands, EVER, I mean ... so actually I should think that taking small steps with a smaller camera (or a used film camera off Ebay or so) might also do to get the feel for the new interest and how it might work, technically, and all in all.

But somehow you have to start, and I (who I am in your age group, at least Mister Smith's) can't read any "no-desire" to learn HOW to start in our somekid92's post here. Much to the contrary.