New to photography, good starter camera?

karen_s642 · Jun 17, 2009

Hello everyone,

I am new to the site and to photography in general, but I have always taken an interest in it and now that I'm about to do some traveling, I figure it's the best time to get started.

Basically I'm just wondering if anyone can give me some insight about a good camera to start with. I plan on taking a lot of landscape type pictures as well as pictures of animals and plants, etc. since I'll be doing a lot of traveling. I also really enjoy taking pictures at night time, and I don't plan on carrying a tripod around everywhere I go.

I am aware that photography is an expensive hobby, but I'm hoping someone can give me some suggestions about a good camera to start off with that won't completely put me in the poor house.. and that I can add to later with new lenses, etc.

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Karen

itznfb · Jun 17, 2009

how much are you willing to spend?

have you gone to any store and held any DSLRs?

Big Mike · Jun 17, 2009

Welcome to the forum Karen.

It will really help if you can give us a ballpark budget.

Since you mention traveling, is size & weight going to be an issue? The best quality will likely come from a bigger camera and certainly from bigger & heavier lenses.

farmerj · Jun 17, 2009

I would recommend a few books off the bat.

The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby
Understanding Exposure and Learning to see Creatively by Bryan Peterson
The Camera, The Negative and The Print by Ansel Adams. That's three books that make up his Photography series.

Travelling? Guess to me, that speaks of weather-proofing the camera. You're talking either the Pentax K20D, K200D or the Nikon D200 or D300 for some pretty decent sealing. You could get something in a Canon, but I don't follow that line as I use Nikon.

I went with the D90 knowing it would be a "teaching" camera and someday I would upgrade. Not sure if I will go full frame or cropped sensor.

If you are travelling, you will want to plan on keeping your kit as small as possible. Someone has to haul it around and that someone is You.

Be prepared to spend a LOT more than you think. The Body is only a part of the system. The Lenses are probably more important than the Body. Your body will become obsolete, the lenses not so likely.

If you think the Body is expensive, wait till you start to buy all the "little things" that go into the kit.

Flash, Cleaning supplies, memory cards, flash, filters and gels, camera bags, flashlights, tripods, tripod heads, carrying systems. This stuff all adds up. FAST.

Take your "budget" on a body. Now double it. It will give you an idea on where it will add up to with all that stuff.

My personal Recommendation, Nikon D200 or D300. Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8, Nikon SB-600 flash, Cokin P-filter holder and Graduated Neutral Density Filter and ND filter set. Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod, manfrotto 486rc2 Head, IR Remote trigger, R2 Red Filter for both lens, Polarizing Lens, Spare battery, Memory Cars X2 at least. Try to keep as many memory cards as your batteries can handle. Handle Grip.

Just to get started. That above is close to $3-4K depending on which body you get.

Little things like one time use lens wipes, Sensor cleaner, LED flash light. The little incidental items you need when you get out into the field two.

karen_s642 · Jun 17, 2009

Thanks for your help guys! I'll definitely check out those books.

As for a budget... I am aware of the cost of lenses and equipment and all that.. Basically I want to start off with a camera and a lens or 2 and then build on that slowly as my budget allows for it.

If I say I'd like to find something for between 300 and 500, is that completely unreasonable?

Thanks again,

Karen

farmerj · Jun 17, 2009

karen_s642 said:
If I say I'd like to find something for between 300 and 500, is that completely unreasonable?

It's not unreasonable at all. Severely restricting. But workable.

For that kind of budget, I would suggest starting to look at the Pentax K200D.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012310pentaxtk200d.asp

Mind you, that's $600 for a body only.

The Canon Xsi, Nikon D40 all are available with kit lenses for about the same price range.

bigtwinky · Jun 17, 2009

Night photos without a tripod and flash will be hard to accomplish. You'll need a camera that can go at high ISO and use a lens that has a f-stop lower than f/2.8.

Landscapes are typically done with wide angle lenses, usually around the 20-30mm range.

Animals in the wild require really long lenses, which are probably fives times more than you have budgeting for everything. Animals in a zoo can usually be done with a telephoto... 200-300mm

Plants are best taken with a true macro lens, so you can get really really up close and personal. The ones with a factor of 1:1. There are many lenses that say they are macro, but they just allow closeup pictures.

The three things you listed are three different types of photography with their own set of lenses, filters and what not.

What some people like when they travel is a zoom that covers a big focal range, like an 18-200mm. This gives them the wide part and a decent telephoto part, and they only need 1 lens, don't have to switch. However, these lenses almost never have the image quality of the more single purpose lenses... a jack of all trades, master of none thing.

If you goal is to do it all, not change lenses, not use a tripod, not have to have a specific camera bag for all your gear, have it light and transportable, maybe look at a super zoom camera such as a Canon SX 10 IS. It has all the manual functions of a dSLR, so it allows you to learn how to use a camera and provides the portability and such that one looks for when travelling.

If you have your heart set on a dSLR, there are many entry level cameras that are lighter, such as the Canon Rebel Line. As said, you'll learn that the lens is way more important than the body of the camera. However, these are usually not the best in terms of build quality (they are fine for the every day use, just not as sturdy as pro and pro-sumer cameras). They are also kinda sucky with higher ISO.

So if you really want to take this hobby to the next step, look into the 50D line of cameras, or a used 40D. Somewhat better built, better ISO performance.

karen_s642 · Jun 17, 2009

I have found a used canon 350D with battery grip, delkin LDP protector that comes with a 28-135m f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, as well as all the software and strap and batteries. Including shipping and everything, it would be around $400.. can anyone tell me whether this is a good idea or not?

tonydatiger1021 · Nov 11, 2012

Hey everyone, I am new just signed up tonight .... I am in the same boat as Karen_s642. The Different with her and I are... I attend A LOT of events I live in FL and they have events at Disney World like Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party OR Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party and since I have a 2 year old little girl I would to take Photography worthy photos. I am about to attend a Film school in Orlando FL. I would love to take I guess landscape, night time events etc: fairs, carnivals, Concerts, and sporting events. I would like to get into in more with real photography but that's a lot of stuff I do attend and more or less. So that's what I would be taking specially with the holiday season among us I would like to capture whats going on around my town, my city, my state. Soo I hope with Black Fri almost here I can get a good camera. Now I was recommended a Canon T3i... I want to take a picture like this
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...8598985219&type=1&theater&notif_t=photo_reply ... This is a picture on a web page on FB at Disney world during the month of Oct. at night soo you can get an idea of about what I sorta want to do... I might not be able to spend Big money right now but I just want to get a idea for what I need when I do get the money

Thanks A LOT for who ever can help me and understand what I said LOL
Anthony Casalino

ryanparker · Apr 30, 2013

Don't just read on them, go into a store and handle them, see which one fits you, see which one has controls that make the most sense to you....consider the lens line up..consider what type of photography you want to do....everyone has their opinions on the best camera(s)...but YOU will be the one using whatever it is you wind up with.

Camera Reviews

Digital Photography Review

Camera Buying Guide

KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures

http://www.snapsort.com

Equipment & Reviews | What Digital Camera

o hey tyler · Apr 30, 2013

ryanparker said:
Don't just read on them, go into a store and handle them, see which one fits you, see which one has controls that make the most sense to you....consider the lens line up..consider what type of photography you want to do....everyone has their opinions on the best camera(s)...but YOU will be the one using whatever it is you wind up with.

Camera Reviews

Digital Photography Review

Camera Buying Guide

KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures

http://www.snapsort.com

Equipment & Reviews | What Digital Camera