Total beginner need some advice

Harryx2 · Aug 10, 2012

Hi,

Im wanting to upgrade from my little digital compact camera to a DSLR after hearing people rave about them

People keep talking about things like shutter speed etc but most of it goes over my head!

The main things I will be taking photos of are sports, like horse polo, show jumping and some scenery as well as the usual photos of the family! Ive been recommended the Nikon D3100 but non of the reviews I have read mention that its a good camera for sports.

My budget is around the £300 - £400.

I would really appreciate some help with this

Thanks in advanced J

Designer · Aug 10, 2012

I think you will be pleased with the pictures you can get with a D3100.

The "shutter speed" you mentioned is probably refering to the relative lack of "shutter lag" compared with most point-and-shoot cameras. Most of the time a DSLR will release the shutter with very little time lag between the time you press the button and when the shutter actuates.

The biggest difference however will be in the picture quality over that of the P&S.

Harryx2 · Aug 10, 2012

Hi, thank you for that. The Nikon D3100 is currently on offer at Jessops for £362.50 and it comes with a 18-55mm VR Lense (don't have a clue what that means)... Will this lense be ok for what I need to use it for?

Big Mike · Aug 10, 2012

Welcome to the forum.

Any of the entry level DSLR models will likely be a good step up from your point & shoot type camera. So I'd also suggest checking out the Canon Rebel series, or maybe something from Pentax or Sony.

One of the biggest benefits of a DSLR, is that it's part of a system. So when you want or need to upgrade, you can purchase a different lens. Or when it's time to upgrade the camera, you can keep your lenses and accessories and just upgrade the camera.

So with that in mind, in your budget, you will likely find good entry level DSLR cameras, but you will likely be limited to the 'kit' lens. That is the lens that they bundle with these cameras in most cases. They are OK lenses, and still a good step up from your P&S camera, but they are also made to be small, light and cheap. So many photography enthusiasts find that they eventually outgrow the kit lens. And if your goal is to shoot sports, then you may feel the need for a different or better lens, sooner rather than later.

And while most/all DSLR cameras can be used in 'point and shoot' automatic mode, you won't get the most out of it unless you learn how to really use it. That means learning about 'Exposure'...which means learning the meaning of 'Shutter speed', 'Aperture' and 'ISO'....and how they work together.

Designer · Aug 10, 2012

Actually, the price seems a little high, though I did not perform an exchange rate calculation. Besides the lens, do you get anything else with the kit?

The 18-55mm lens is a good all-round lens of mid-range focal length. That means you can take pictures nearly everywhere you go except perhaps in a darkened theater.

The VR note means "vibration reduction" which is a mechanical means within the lens that compensates for small movements to enable the camera to take a picture with more clarity. Naturally, it will not compensate for gross movements caused by the photographer falling over the dog, for instance, while taking a picture.

Getting close to the rail will help you frame good pictures of horses, and perhaps eventually you can obtain the 55-200mm VR or some other longer lens for sports photography.

Harryx2 · Aug 10, 2012

Big Mike said:
Welcome to the forum.

Any of the entry level DSLR models will likely be a good step up from your point & shoot type camera. So I'd also suggest checking out the Canon Rebel series, or maybe something from Pentax or Sony.

One of the biggest benefits of a DSLR, is that it's part of a system. So when you want or need to upgrade, you can purchase a different lens. Or when it's time to upgrade the camera, you can keep your lenses and accessories and just upgrade the camera.

So with that in mind, in your budget, you will likely find good entry level DSLR cameras, but you will likely be limited to the 'kit' lens. That is the lens that they bundle with these cameras in most cases. They are OK lenses, and still a good step up from your P&S camera, but they are also made to be small, light and cheap. So many photography enthusiasts find that they eventually outgrow the kit lens. And if your goal is to shoot sports, then you may feel the need for a different or better lens, sooner rather than later.

And while most/all DSLR cameras can be used in 'point and shoot' automatic mode, you won't get the most out of it unless you learn how to really use it. That means learning about 'Exposure'...which means learning the meaning of 'Shutter speed', 'Aperture' and 'ISO'....and how they work together.

Thanks for your help Mike.

People keep saying to me 'make sure you get a quick camera', do they mean the time it takes to take the photo from when I press the button? If so will the Nikon D3100 be ok for this? Can I keep on pressing taking photos with the D3100 or will I have to wait a few seconds before I can take the next photo?

Thanks again, Harry

Harryx2 · Aug 10, 2012

Designer said:
Actually, the price seems a little high, though I did not perform an exchange rate calculation. Besides the lens, do you get anything else with the kit?

The 18-55mm lens is a good all-round lens of mid-range focal length. That means you can take pictures nearly everywhere you go except perhaps in a darkened theater.

The VR note means "vibration reduction" which is a mechanical means within the lens that compensates for small movements to enable the camera to take a picture with more clarity. Naturally, it will not compensate for gross movements caused by the photographer falling over the dog, for instance, while taking a picture.

Getting close to the rail will help you frame good pictures of horses, and perhaps eventually you can obtain the 55-200mm VR or some other longer lens for sports photography.

Thanks for your help Designer.

No the only thing that comes with the camera is the Lense. Any advice on which memory cards to get...

Thanks again, Harry

Big Mike · Aug 10, 2012

People keep saying to me 'make sure you get a quick camera', do they mean the time it takes to take the photo from when I press the button? If so will the Nikon D3100 be ok for this? Can I keep on pressing taking photos with the D3100 or will I have to wait a few seconds before I can take the next photo?

Hard to say for sure, but I'd guess that what they are talking about when they say 'quick' is the 'shutter lag'...which is the time between pressing the button and the camera actually snapping the photo.
Although they have been getting better over the years, most P&S cameras are fairly slow in that regard. But the good news is that practically every DSLR is much faster. So again, just about any entry level DSLR camera would be a good choice.

And yes, the D3100 (and just about every other DSLR) can snap photos in 'continuous' or 'burst' mode. Different cameras have different 'frame rates'. The D3100 shoots at 3 fps (frames per second). The D7000, for example, shoots at 6 fps.
Also, different cameras will have a limit to how many shots they can shoot, before they have to slow down to handle all the digital photo information. It depends on the file type you have the camera set to, but the specs say that the D3100 (shooting jpeg) can shoot continuously until the memory card is full.

Animaniac888 · Aug 10, 2012

I would recommend no less than 4 gigabytes for a card. If you are going on a long trip or shooting a lot of video you might want a 16 gigabyte card.

"Fast" could refer to shutter speed, shutter lag, or a "fast" lens. A fast lens is one with a wide aperture(the opening in the lens that allows light to pass through) which allows for a faster shutter speed. If you want a fast, cheap lens, you could buy a D3100 body and get a 35mm f/1.8G lens separately, though because it's a prime(fixed zoom) lens you will lose the ability to zoom. Primes generally have better image quality as well as wider apertures while zooms are more convenient. It's your decision.

Designer · Aug 10, 2012

Harryx2 said:
People keep saying to me 'make sure you get a quick camera', do they mean the time it takes to take the photo from when I press the button? If so will the Nikon D3100 be ok for this? Can I keep on pressing taking photos with the D3100 or will I have to wait a few seconds before I can take the next photo?

Due to your "noobness" you have asked a question that could be answered in any of several ways. BigMike's response addressed the shutter lag issue, and "burst mode", but then there is the possibility that the commenter was refering to the "speed" of the lens, which is the aperture. Or he might have been speaking of how fast the flash will recharge in order to take another flash picture.

Regardless, even an entry level DSLR will be faster in all regards.

You will be required to pay considerably more for a "fast" lens, and you're not in the market for that yet anyway. The built-in flash has its limitations, but recharging rate is not usually an issue. A flash attachment (speedlight) is more powerful, and will recharge pretty fast anyway.

As to the SD card, you should look for one that is "class 10" and of a reliable brand. The class rating has to do the the read/write speed of the card. While your camera probably won't overrun a class 4 card, for instance, you will not pay a lot more for a class 10. These are available at discount quite often, but you will need to get at least one to start with. The size should probably be at minimum 4 gigabytes, up to about 16G, or more if you are going on extended holiday.

I find that it is not terribly expensive to simply load up a card and just purchase another one without deleting any pics off the first card. The biggest reason for this is that you can always put the first card back into the camera to fiddle with the pictures using the camera editing functions. Also, you probably don't want to have only one high-capacity card in case something untoward happens to the card.

3Ddeath · Aug 10, 2012

What's good about SLRs is the speed that really counts IMO is more in the lens than the camera, The wider the aperture means that more light gets into your camera quicker, allowing you to take more photos with less flash and blur.

That's when you'll hear people say "Fast lens"...

Also SLR cameras can handle high ISO shooting with much less grain than smaller cameras would have.

Those are the things I consider good for sport or high motion photography, you'll love having an SLR!, just takes some getting used too lugging it around.

Designer · Aug 10, 2012

3Ddeath said:
... lugging it around.

Speaking of which; I use an ordinary knapsack rather than an expensive camera bag. You will want to start shopping for a good tripod as well. Also, particularly if you are going to be away from home for a while, you should consider a spare battery. Some people use a skylight filter to cut haze. Don't worry about any other filters except sometime in the future you might want a polarizing filter if photographing on water or snow.

carolinajack · Aug 10, 2012

I own that camera and think you would be fine with it. If you spend time learning about photography you will (VERY QUICKLY) outgrow that 18-55 lens. I use mine with family and friends because its pretty quick with autofocus and all of that but otherwise, I don't really like it anymore. It's not long enough for wildlife (for me, that is) and its not fast enough (meaning the aperture wont open up enough) for lowlight situations or portraits (IMO).

I haven't personally ever had issues with the frame rate of that particular camera and the shutter lag is basically nonexistent in comparison to a point and shoot.

domu221 · Aug 11, 2012

carolinajack said:
I own that camera and think you would be fine with it. If you spend time learning about photography you will (VERY QUICKLY) outgrow that 18-55 lens. I use mine with family and friends because its pretty quick with autofocus and all of that but otherwise, I don't really like it anymore.

I also own that camera and it's still with me even though I own another body. Although, I bought it more than a year ago and it came with a tripod, an sd card, and a bag for a little more than its price now. And it's true, you will outgrow the 18-55mm kit lens that comes with it. I used mine a lot then when I was trying to explore different modes, settings, scenes, and subjects.

Then I bought better lenses. that changed everything.