New to this!!

[mommaof2]

I am wanting to start taking pic at a professional level but i am not sure where i start, i own two cameras but neither is what i need to take incredible portraits.
I wanted to know if anyone can tell me what would the best camera to buy for a beginner but someone that wants that professional look!

 

[BTilson]

Well I bought my first dSLR, a Nikon D40, two weeks ago tomorrow, and I absolutely LOVE it. I mean seriously, I can't think of anything I dislike about the camera. I fully expect that I will want to upgrade someday, but for the time being (and likely years to come) this is all the camera I will ever need. 6 megapixels (more than enough for any reasonable sized prints), easy to control, exposure and flash power compensation, tons of white balance settings, etc... The list goes on. I am still a beginner myself, and this camera has really opened things up for me.

So there's my vote. The Nikon D40 is an EXCELLENT camera for a beginner, in my opinion. I couldn't be happier!

 

[mommaof2]

Thank you for the info, but let me ask you what is the best way to learn the terminology for photography and what they r for?

 

[ann]

getting that professional look has very little to do which camera you buy.

professional cameras are built better to take a lot of use and they tend to use expensive glass rather than kit lenses.

it is about lighting, exposure and how to use the tools to create your vision.

 

[mommaof2]

I have a deep love with photos and i want some help learning how to create those photos. I am a real beginner and have tried a few things but just can't seem to satisfy my eye! HELP!!LOL

 

[Village Idiot]

getting that professional look has very little to do which camera you buy.

professional cameras are built better to take a lot of use and they tend to use expensive glass rather than kit lenses.

it is about lighting, exposure and how to use the tools to create your vision.

YES!!!!

I have a deep love with photos and i want some help learning how to create those photos. I am a real beginner and have tried a few things but just can't seem to satisfy my eye! HELP!!LOL

Budget? Experience? Etc...?

You're going to have to learn about exposure, aperture, ISO, and all the basics if you don't know how they relate and create an axposure already.

I hear "Understanding Exposure" is a good read for most anyone that's an amateur.

If you're serious about this, I recommend skipping the entry level cameras like the D40, XTI, XSI, etc...

If you don't have the budget for a $1000 50D or D90, look at something like a used 20D, 30D, d70, d80, or whatever. These cameras general don't have a huge advantage as far as image quality is concerned, but the controls and option make them much easier to work with.

The D40 will only autofocus with lenses with built in AF motors. I think it (d40) and the rebel line only operate certain parameters like ISO in full stops where as the next line up in most manufacture's bodies will do that in 1/3 stop increments.

Plus the controls are a lot easier to use when you get used to them.

Also, lenses and light are what create quality. I have an original Canon Digital Rebel that I can use to take pics just as good as what comes out of my 30D if I'm using quality glass and lighting correctly (but the better bodies offer easier use). Glass can be expensive though. Generally a $200 lens will not produce as high quality a photo as a $1500 lens. There's exceptions though and lighting can have a bigger impact that lenses.

I've seen people tell "noobs" on here to completely shy away from the kit lenses that come with most cameras, but I have some very high quality photos that I used my kit lens with. It's just that cheaper lenses as generally a little softer than their more expensive counter parts, their apertures usually aren't as wide, and in uncontrolled environments they're more prone to chromatic abberations and other unwanted effects.

 

[bevin]

I'm a total noob too. Here's my plan...

- I've spent the past few weeks reading every post in every thread and taking in all the advice.

- I have "The Basic Book of Photography" by Tom and Michelle Grimm which covers all the basics you'll need to know and have questions about. There are plenty of other books but that happens to be the one I have.

- I've sat down for 2 hours with my P&S and gone through the manual cover to cover and practised with all the features and settings till I know what they all do and what situations I can use them in.

- I carry my camera everywhere. Any interesting thing I see I photograph. I don't use Auto anymore (unless I'm out drinking!) and I play around with the manual setting till I get the shot I want. Granted it's a P&S but I can still use it to learn all the important stuff like composition, angles, using light etc.

- I'm saving for a dSLR. I will not be buying one until I fully understand all the basics of photography, and how dSLRs work ie. how ISO, aperature, shutter speed etc etc will affect the photo I'm taking and how I can adjust to take a better photo.

- Google is my friend.

- The search button at the top of the page is my friend.

- Read, read, read, read. By the time you are ready to take pro photos you should have read enough information, books, opinions etc to have an idea of what you're looking for. A good camera won't make you take great photos, you need to have good foundations and knowledge first.

Good luck with your photography, from what I can see it's a long and interesting road

 

[mommaof2]

Thank you very much!!

 

[chrisburke]

yea, best to buy books and read on here if your wanting to learn more... if your really passionate about it theres often courses you can take...not just through schools, but sometimes photo stores offer them and a pretty cheap rate... if the d40 is the way you go (its a great camera, I have one as my back up) there is a great book that I found at chapters by david busch ([ame]http://www.amazon.ca/Nikon-D40x-Digital-Field-Guide/dp/0470171480[/ame]) that is specific to the D40 and teaching you the ins and outs of that camera...

 

[momofthing1and2]

Well I bought my first dSLR, a Nikon D40, two weeks ago tomorrow, and I absolutely LOVE it. I mean seriously, I can't think of anything I dislike about the camera. I fully expect that I will want to upgrade someday, but for the time being (and likely years to come) this is all the camera I will ever need. 6 megapixels (more than enough for any reasonable sized prints), easy to control, exposure and flash power compensation, tons of white balance settings, etc... The list goes on. I am still a beginner myself, and this camera has really opened things up for me.

So there's my vote. The Nikon D40 is an EXCELLENT camera for a beginner, in my opinion. I couldn't be happier!

I agree. the d4 is a great starter camera! I have had it for about a month and love it! great photos arent about the camera though. Practice, practice, practice!!! oh yea and have fun!

 

[mrodgers]

getting that professional look has very little to do which camera you buy.

professional cameras are built better to take a lot of use and they tend to use expensive glass rather than kit lenses.

it is about lighting, exposure and how to use the tools to create your vision.

Yup. My $200 P&S camera takes far better and far more professional looking photographs than my coworkers $1500 worth of Canon XTi and lenses. It would still take far better and far more professional looking photos than my coworker's if he was using $10,000 worth of camera equipment.

The difference is, I have now spent 3/4 of a year on this forum, other forums, and other sites around the net learning about photography while he has spent the same 3/4 of a year with his camera in auto mode with auto flash and no sense of composition or what makes exposure.

I printed a few of my "portraits" of my girls for the first time last week. My wife threw out the "professionally" taken portraits of them and hung mine up on the wall. She is no longer going to go somewhere to have their portraits done or order them from the school pictures.

 

[Amber_Cullen]

It really depends what your budget is, you can get a nice dslr and just keep practicing and learning about it and in the end it'll be so worth it. I have a Canon Rebel XT, I'm starting to really play around with all the different settings and I'm finding that it can take amazing pictures, so it all depends what you want really... and what everyone else said