where to begin... help me buy.

[pos]

I love snapping pictures. now I want more. should I buy a true dslr or go with a new mirrorless camera? I love the portability of the mirror less camera and the features and diversity offered by the dslr. I would like to learn photography and buy lenses that will be useful if I upgrade cameras. I guess I just don't know what to do. I'm reading up on all these photography books but I just want to take pictures.

 

[catchquan]

Well welcome to the club then huh haha.

I was like you a few years back and I made the decision to buy a point and shoot camera that was as good as it gets in that genre of cameras (Canon S90). Eventually I yearned for something more and upgraded to a mirror-less micro 4/3 (Sony NEX-3) as I felt limited with out interchangeable lenses. That went well for a few months and, as you can guess, I still felt like I was limited some how. The lack of lenses, image quality, and versatility made me want to make the move into DSLRs. Ultimately I upgraded to a Canon 50D which is an intermediate DSLR and then again now to a Canon 5D Mark II.

All these names and what not probably don't mean much to you but the moral of the story is, if think you really have a passion for this then don't waste time and money on sub-par equipment IF you can. In my opinion if you're not on a tight tight budget then go for at least an entry level DSLR. You won't regret it! Like I said, the added functions, image quality, versatility.. they are all worth the money and once you make the move into basic DSLRs, you can do so much with those if you take your time and learn photography. The key is to learn the basics of photography really well, focus less on the camera, and a basic entry level DSLR will help you do that and much more.

As far as "what to do", figure out your budget first of all. If its in the $500-$600 range then you can fix yourself up a nice DSLR kit. Even smaller, portable mirror-less cameras are around that price range. Once you figure out your budget you start doing more research into which camera is right for you.

Good luck! I've been in your position before and would really like to help.

 

[Denon]

It depends on when you´re going to use the camera(most of the time)?

I own both a Mirrorless(GF3) and a DSLR(D200) and I feel that a DSLR are a way better camera for learning. It's easier to controll the aparture and shutterspeed, all you need is within reach at the back against the Mirrorless where you have to enter a menu and fiddle with... And if you buy Nikon or Canon there is a wide range of used lenses.

But the Mirrorless is great because of it's size, it's easy to carry around everywhere. In the end it's all about your personal preferences, if I was you I would go down to a local shop and try both a DSLR and a Mirrorless to get to know them a little better, how they feel, grip etc.

But if you really want to get into photography and learn everything a camera can do, my bet is a DSLR.

 

[thunderkyss]

I love snapping pictures. now I want more. should I buy a true dslr or go with a new mirrorless camera? I love the portability of the mirror less camera and the features and diversity offered by the dslr. I would like to learn photography and buy lenses that will be useful if I upgrade cameras. I guess I just don't know what to do. I'm reading up on all these photography books but I just want to take pictures.

I think it's very difficult to decide, when you don't know what you don't know.

My daughter wanted a "professional" camera just because she liked the way they looked. Don't get me wrong, she loves taking pictures, but she didn't know why the DSLRs were used by the professionals, only that she knew that they used them.

Being that she was so young (15) at the time & me not knowing how much I should invest in this "interest" I wanted to go cheap. I looked on ebay & found a D100 body for less than $200. Then I found a sigma telephoto for $50.

That was 4 years ago. Since then, she's been able to say what it is that she liked, what she didn't like & verbalize what she wants. She's still using that D100 (I bought her a D3000 but she preferred the D100) & she has about $3000 (not really a lot of money in comparison) of accessories, a really nice flash, a couple of primes, and a nicer telephoto.

So, that would be my advice to you. A D100 can be had for less than $100 on ebay now. A D200 can be had for between $200 & $400. They have their limitations compared to today's cameras, but they are still very capable of producing fantastic images.

You can buy a brand new Tamron 55-200mm telephoto from Amazon for $70.

None of this gear is going to blow anybody's socks off, but they are very capable & will allow you to figure out what you want & need.

 

[KmH]

Visit the first link in this Photography Beginner's Forum thread - http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...-forum/267492-info-those-new-photography.html

 

[pos]

I think I have decided to go with the sony mirrorless cameras. They are getting great reviews and they are portable. I am still on the fence about getting a canon dslr. So why not get both?