help a student who really wants to become a photographer pick a camera....

Hey all,

I am a Senior in High School and i want to begin learning about the digital relm of photography(which i belive will become the prevailing format even though film will never really dissapear). I need a camera that can take high res pictures(2.1mp atlealst), is slr-like or atleast not funky to hold, i would prefer ttl viewfinder, flash, hot shoe, accessory shoe, flash sync, decent zoom, macro, good picture quality, etc etc. I am looking to get the camera itslef for around $600 keep in mind prices on the web fluctuate. I can get a Fuji Finepix 4900z (one of the top in my list) for $633 one place and $800 another. The Cannon G1 is also high up on my list. Any other suggestions? I need a camera that i can just point and shoot with(my dad is a klutzo with cameras sometimes) but when i want to do pretty much eveything i can with my ae-1.

cya
Emilio --in advance: Thanks for the help!!

ok i am pretty sure i am going with the 6900z any suggestions? reccomendations, warnings, advice, etc??

cya
Emilio

Emilio said:

Hey all,

I am a Senior in High School and i want to begin learning about the
digital relm of photography(which i belive will become the
prevailing format even though film will never really dissapear). I
need a camera that can take high res pictures(2.1mp atlealst), is
slr-like or atleast not funky to hold, i would prefer ttl
viewfinder, flash, hot shoe, accessory shoe, flash sync, decent
zoom, macro, good picture quality, etc etc. I am looking to get the
camera itslef for around $600 keep in mind prices on the web
fluctuate. I can get a Fuji Finepix 4900z (one of the top in my
list) for $633 one place and $800 another. The Cannon G1 is also
high up on my list. Any other suggestions? I need a camera that i
can just point and shoot with(my dad is a klutzo with cameras
sometimes) but when i want to do pretty much eveything i can with
my ae-1.

cya
Emilio
--
in advance: Thanks for the help!!

Click to expand...

Try going into the Fuji Forum and searching for the 6900z and go through the results to see what people post about quality and problems.

Also try posting you message in that forum. As they will know more about that specific company and products.

-JWynn

You know its better if you learn and get alot of experience in phtography first. For 600-800 dollars you can find a really good top of the line film based camera. My 2 cents is get experience first, then once you have enough income buy a Kodak DCS system, Nikon Digital SLR system, or Canon Digital SLR systems.
Well that was just my opinion, anyone else agree?

Jake. E said:

You know its better if you learn and get alot of experience in
phtography first. For 600-800 dollars you can find a really good
top of the line film based camera. My 2 cents is get experience
first, then once you have enough income buy a Kodak DCS system,
Nikon Digital SLR system, or Canon Digital SLR systems.
Well that was just my opinion, anyone else agree?

Click to expand...

I tend to disagree, simply because I think digital cameras are one of the finest learning tools there are. I have been a photographer for over 20 years and wish I had a digital when I was starting. I spent many hours shooting and processing to learn photography. With my digital I can do the same thing photographers have been doing with polaroid for years, just no expense.....Its the ultimate learning tool.

BrianD

i have 2 slrs one AE-1 and an eos rebel. They are good but i want a digicam so i can learn more about the digital part of photography. I mean yeah i love my slrs but with the amount i spend in developing costs for color negs and pictures(i do B&W at school) i prolly could have gotten a few digicams and learned alot more. One more reason i think the 6900z is good for me is that its a camera for the family not just myself so i can atleast revert it back to totally auto for my dad. Any other suggestions.

cya
Emilio

BrianD said:

Jake. E said:

You know its better if you learn and get alot of experience in
phtography first. For 600-800 dollars you can find a really good
top of the line film based camera. My 2 cents is get experience
first, then once you have enough income buy a Kodak DCS system,
Nikon Digital SLR system, or Canon Digital SLR systems.
Well that was just my opinion, anyone else agree?

Click to expand...

I tend to disagree, simply because I think digital cameras are one
of the finest learning tools there are. I have been a photographer
for over 20 years and wish I had a digital when I was starting. I
spent many hours shooting and processing to learn photography. With
my digital I can do the same thing photographers have been doing
with polaroid for years, just no expense.....Its the ultimate
learning tool.

BrianD

Click to expand...

I agree with Jake. Shooting digital is great but you should really invest more in your film systems first. The low end digital cameras are pretty limited. Fixed lenes, built-in flash only with no hot shoe, minimal manual settings. With $600, you can pick up a TON of used gear for the AE-1. Like a 35mm 2.8 or a 105mm 2.8 ($100 & $150). And a couple used Vivitar 283s flashes ($50 each?) with plenty of cash left over for cords, stands, film and hot chicks (er..models). BW film is pretty cheap if you bulk roll it and develop it yourself.

The instant feedback from a digital camera may seem like a natural way to learn photography but investing in anything less than a D1/D30 will quickly frustrate you will limited features and options. I suppose it's hard to visualize the old AE-1 (or the Rebel) being way more versatile than a new dit-cam but you will appreciate the difference the first time you try to light something with flashes. Either way, good luck and have fun with it.

Matt

Emilio said:

cya
Emilio

BrianD said:

Jake. E said:

You know its better if you learn and get alot of experience in
phtography first. For 600-800 dollars you can find a really good
top of the line film based camera. My 2 cents is get experience
first, then once you have enough income buy a Kodak DCS system,
Nikon Digital SLR system, or Canon Digital SLR systems.
Well that was just my opinion, anyone else agree?

Click to expand...

I tend to disagree, simply because I think digital cameras are one
of the finest learning tools there are. I have been a photographer
for over 20 years and wish I had a digital when I was starting. I
spent many hours shooting and processing to learn photography. With
my digital I can do the same thing photographers have been doing
with polaroid for years, just no expense.....Its the ultimate
learning tool.

BrianD

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Hi All

Yeah I'd agree with what Matt said, especially that below.

I made a decision when I was about 25 (I'm now 35)that while I was very keen to learn photography, not to buy film cameras since digital was coming... I recognised the costs involved in learning at least partly by trial and error in film photography.

The D30 gives such tremendous feedback with its exif information that learning is a much more exacting study. The converse for me is that I've owned a number of lower quality digital cameras, which were still expensive at the time, and they just plain suck, in most if not every respect.

Go shoot a hundred test shots to explore the DOF characteristics of a new lens...and what does it cost? Next to nothing.

In Summary; There ain't any half measures when it comes to digital....you have to get a D30 or equivalent or you'll be real pissed with yourself for the lack of anything like the features you currently have on your film cameras.

other anecdote...

take the price of a consumer / prosumer digital camera and knock the right hand digit off; go and buy a compact 35mm film camera at that amended price and you can probably get as much pleasure out of the film camera as the digital consumer one

All the best

Jonathan Stewart

PS Have you considered all the other stuff you need for digital...I have more money invested in computer hardware than my camera system!

Matt said:

Matt

Emilio said:

cya
Emilio

BrianD said:

Jake. E said:

You know its better if you learn and get alot of experience in
phtography first. For 600-800 dollars you can find a really good
top of the line film based camera. My 2 cents is get experience
first, then once you have enough income buy a Kodak DCS system,
Nikon Digital SLR system, or Canon Digital SLR systems.
Well that was just my opinion, anyone else agree?

Click to expand...

I tend to disagree, simply because I think digital cameras are one
of the finest learning tools there are. I have been a photographer
for over 20 years and wish I had a digital when I was starting. I
spent many hours shooting and processing to learn photography. With
my digital I can do the same thing photographers have been doing
with polaroid for years, just no expense.....Its the ultimate
learning tool.

BrianD

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I also think you should stick with film until you can afford a D30 or equivilent. For that $600 you could probablly upgrade from your rebel to an EOS3. Then work on getting some good lenses that will always work with watever system you get in the future.

I don't think that the medium that you shoot on really matters at the level that your probablly at. Also if your not going to go to school for photography after High School find someone to mentor you in the kind of photography that your interested in.

And if it's really what you want to do hang in there because there will be all kinds of people who will tell you that you can't make a living as a photographer or your not good enough or something to discourage you.Don't listen to them,you can do it if you want just go learn to make great photos.

Dear Emilio,

I started photography five months ago with digital cameras (Olympus 3030 and E-10). Today I use all manual mechanical camera with two prime lenses, occasionally with my Olympus point and shoot with 35mm F2.8 lens to shoot. I read a lot of books on photography and expose at least a roll of film every day.

Digital camera did help me in the begininning as it is a great learning tool. They are however expensive tool this way. If you are picking up first, you will soon need a better camera (your old AE-1) after you have maybe 5'000 shots on your $600 digital camera.

For a beginner, I would choose Nikon 995 or 990 (used for lower price) or a Canon Pro90IS (used or new) for its great zoom with IS (I prefer it to a G1). An equivalent Canon SLR Zoom with IS costs more or less of an Canon Pro90IS. However they are all cost more than $600. However $600 can buy you a decent Canon or Nikon SLR if you solely want to learn photography. You can use it for years intensively and comfortably without outgrowing it thru your collegue education.

Damond

Emilio said:

Hey all,

I am a Senior in High School and i want to begin learning about the
digital relm of photography(which i belive will become the
prevailing format even though film will never really dissapear). I
need a camera that can take high res pictures(2.1mp atlealst), is
slr-like or atleast not funky to hold, i would prefer ttl
viewfinder, flash, hot shoe, accessory shoe, flash sync, decent
zoom, macro, good picture quality, etc etc. I am looking to get the
camera itslef for around $600 keep in mind prices on the web
fluctuate. I can get a Fuji Finepix 4900z (one of the top in my
list) for $633 one place and $800 another. The Cannon G1 is also
high up on my list. Any other suggestions? I need a camera that i
can just point and shoot with(my dad is a klutzo with cameras
sometimes) but when i want to do pretty much eveything i can with
my ae-1.

cya
Emilio
--
in advance: Thanks for the help!!

Click to expand...

Emilio, as I posted above and some have agreed with me if you really want to get into photography, invest your 600 dollars on equipment for your current cameras or buy a new film SLR.

If you want a digital camera that will teach dont go with these limited digitcams and wait until you get a job as a photographyer whatever field you go in (news, sports, weddings) then you will have enough income to invest in equipment for a Nikon D1, kodak DCS system, Canon System or any high end Digital SLR. You forget, along with the digital camera you will need, a good computer, printer, transfering devices, etc. etc.

PS. If you plan to shoot in college newspaper for example most of the time the film processing cost will be covered by the university/college. My 2cents use your money on your current film based systems until you get enough for a higher end Digital SLR, with 600 you can do alot for your film stuff.

I think you're getting too caught up in the wow factor of digital, and are losing sight of the big picture. If you want to learn about composition, a cheap digital will do the job. However, that's about all you can learn from a $600 digital. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but digitals have problems getting short DOF. Every shot you take will look like it was shot at about f/18. This tends to make even "serious" photos taken with an inexpensive digital look like snapshots.

I've owned LOTS of digitals over the years ranging form a crappy 640x480 camea to my now cherished Canon D30. There is a tremendious difference between shooting with a point and shoot digital, and a SLR like the D30. With the D30, I fell like I'm in control, and I can be creative. With the less expensive digitals, the camea is in control, and you are at it's mercy. I even felt this way about my Nikon 990. Although it had manual controls, I had a hard time taking that camera seriously.

I recently bought a Sony DSC-P1 just for a take-everywhere and candid camera. This is the type of camera you would be getting for that price. Yes, it is fun to shoot with, but I'm not sure how much a beginner would learn by using it.

I would strongly suggest using that money to invest in a nice fast used lens, or a better camera body. Once you get into college and get more money, try for a digital SLR. They'll be much better/less expensive then anyways.

I'm 20 years old, and a Junior in College. In my senior year of HS, I bought my first digital -- a 640x480 resolution camera. That was ok at the time. What did I learn from it? Not much at all. I sold it within 6 months. My next camera was a Sony DSC-D700 which had fully manual contols available. The resolution was limited (1.5 megapixels) but I learned a LOT by using it.

If you decide to go digital despite what you've read in this thread.... do yourself a favor and get a digital SLR with manual contorls. There are a few consumer models available -- some new, some old. There's something about looking through a TTL viewfinder that really helps. The pathetic little "picture tunnels" on most consumer cameras are jokes. Also, it's difficult trying to compose a shot when looking at a LCD.

Just don't get caught up in the wow factor of digital and blow a lot of money on a camera you'll sell in 6 months. Yes, digital is cool, but a $600 camera is hardly the tool you need if you want to learn alot about photograpy.

Take Care,
Ben Horne

http://www.benhorne.com

Emilio said:

Hey all,

I am a Senior in High School and i want to begin learning about the
digital relm of photography(which i belive will become the
prevailing format even though film will never really dissapear). I
need a camera that can take high res pictures(2.1mp atlealst), is
slr-like or atleast not funky to hold, i would prefer ttl
viewfinder, flash, hot shoe, accessory shoe, flash sync, decent
zoom, macro, good picture quality, etc etc. I am looking to get the
camera itslef for around $600 keep in mind prices on the web
fluctuate. I can get a Fuji Finepix 4900z (one of the top in my
list) for $633 one place and $800 another. The Cannon G1 is also
high up on my list. Any other suggestions? I need a camera that i
can just point and shoot with(my dad is a klutzo with cameras
sometimes) but when i want to do pretty much eveything i can with
my ae-1.

cya
Emilio
--
in advance: Thanks for the help!!

Click to expand...