New to photography and what camera should I start with?

Hi

I want to gets started in creative digital photography and have £250 - £300 (max) to spend on a camera. Has anyone got any suggestions of a good camera to start off on? I am currently using a olympus stylus 760, as it was kicking around the house, and I am starting to find it a little limiting now especially on micro and landscape stuff. I have (may be now 'had') a chance to buy a Fuji Finepix100fs, but am not sure if this would be too much too soon, too advanced for a beginner, or whether there are better options out there for a newbie.

Any advice, suggestions etc would be appreciated.

Thanks

TGM

IMO you can start with the Fuji. Put it on Auto, get a good book on Exposure (there are several) or Composition, and go from there.

I am a canon user so I will suggest a canon camera. Not to say one company is better than another, just telling you what I know.

The canon XSI if you can afford it is a great camera to start with. Pro features so you wont out grow it and it is easy to use in a nice comfortable body. $630.

There is the XS for about $100 dollars less. It has a few less features but is still a good camera. Good luck.
--
Quickly shooter, draw your lens or prepared to get shot.

You might also consider a NIkon d40.

Thank you for your feedback. I am a complete novice but am keen to develop my skills in many areas, so your comments and advice are very much welcome.

Any other suggestions as to a good beginners camera?

TGM

TGMondos said:

Any other suggestions as to a good beginners camera?

TGM

Click to expand...

There a many to choose from based on your budget, personality, what size you want, what brand you prefer, where you are, where is the sales and service, friends who also have this model. These are all personal choices.

From max importance to less importance for me (because I don't know about you)

1. Get a camera that can do P A S M.

2. Get a camera with a viewfinder in addition to the LCD screen

3. Get a camera with a hot shoe so that you can connect external and/or off camera flash.

4. Get a camera that can do 24mm to 120mm focal lengths, with more than 2 apertuer settings.

5. Get a camera that has a filter thread so that you can mount effects filters.

Oops. dinnder calls. Will write later....
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Ananda
http://anandasim.blogspot.com/

Point 2 and 4 are not possible both at the same time. You can find some point-and-shoot cameras that go down to 24 mm wide, but not with optical viewfinder (that is becoming rare in that price class). I can suggest the sony wx1:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dscwx1.asp
I think sony is very easy to use.

But the fuji f100: its shortest wide is 35 mm, that is not very wide. Then I would recommend the f200 that goes down to 28 mm. Wide is very important to have.
IS (image stabilization) might be an important option to go for, and the wide.

The fuji might be good for you, but it is not at all an advanced camera. No worry !

Maybe you want an optical viewfinder. Then use the search facility in the Buying guide to get a collection with it.

You could also buy on ebay a used digital camera. Per example the sony V3 or canon G6. It has 7 (6) mpixels, and a 4x zoom. Fewer pixels (5-7 mpixels) are better than the 10-14 Mpixels that compact cameras are made with nowadays. Belive me !

Hi,

Buy a P&S and read the manual whilst the battery is charging.

Go out and take a few pictures and buy a book or two on photography that's written for beginners. There are hundreds about.

The most important thing is to have a good eye for a picture and a camera that will take it and for a complete beginner a P&S will do the trick 4 times out of 5 but only if you've read and understood the manual .

Most P&S's have some sort of simple controls and learning to use them will pay off and you'll get 9 out of 10 shots right first time.

Then start thinking about a second more serious camera and remember that the old one will still work and isn't half as heavy and cumbersome. By this point you ought to know what you like and what you don't like and won't have wasted a lot of money and been disappointed.

Remember there are lots of people in this world who think you teach people to swim by pushing them off the high diving board. Or they could be stupid and think it or they just like seeing people drown...

If you want a recommendation or two, then try the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550, Canon Powershot A2100 IS or Casio Exilim EX-S12 which were recommended recently by an independent tester.

Regards, David

PS They all have good and bad points but are within your budget and leave you cash for media cards, spare batteries and - think of the Casio - a reasonably good printer.

John Knuhtsen said:

Point 2 and 4 are not possible both at the same time.

Click to expand...

My old Kodak P880 has an EVF and an LCD. It has a lens 24mm to 120mm. It has a hotshoe. It has PASM. There are second hand ones as well as a new one occasionally.



But let's not talk about that. An older model but new DSLR can have some of that. And you can fit a range of lenses on a DSLR.

But the OP may not want a DSLR. And the OP may not want wide angle some people are happy with 28mm.

We were talking small sensor. The OP may want shallow DOF - and you can't get head and shoulders portrait shallow DOF with a small sensor came.

As I said, the OP has to think more, verbalise more on what might be priorities - like what size camera etc... Otherwise, it's difficult to narrow the field.
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Ananda
http://anandasim.blogspot.com/

I just used the Buying Guide and searched with 'optical viewfinder' and 24 mm wide: no hits

Then he should buy a used P880. Kodak is not a brand I look for, but I see that it might be even more capable than the sony v3 and canon G6, that I mentioned. Sorry about that !

John Knuhtsen said:

I just used the Buying Guide and searched with 'optical viewfinder' and 24 mm wide: no hits

Click to expand...

Optical viewfinder for small cams is limited to really small poor viewfinders in some of the Canons. Since this is the age of LCD and EVF technology and zooms, the more common choice is an EVF as used in the Panasonic FZ series.

24mm is hard. 28mm is easier for small cameras.

John Knuhtsen said:

Then he should buy a used P880. Kodak is not a brand I look for, but I see that it might be even more capable than the sony v3 and canon G6, that I mentioned. Sorry about that !

Click to expand...

No need to be. In that old P880 class there are also old Sony R1 series, the Olympus 8080, the Samsung 915 - those old cameras are still much appreciated by people who know. The Panasonic FZ series usually don't start at 28mm but they extend the tele to 200mm, 300mm and so on. Similar the ultrazoom class from other brands.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q109superzoomgroup/

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Ananda
http://anandasim.blogspot.com/

Thank you very much for your feedback and thoughts. It's Nice to find a forum which is active with people prepared to welcome a beginner.

Thanks once again.

TGM

Hi

Just to follow on from the choice of camera to start with. Anyone got an opinion on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 as a good starter camera. I have looked at the spec and it seems to give me more 'control' than the Olympus Sylus 760 that I am snapping away with. I suppose that the q is, would this be a progression fwd and a camera that would allow me to develop my limited skills further?

Ta

TGM

The FZ7 is a Feb 2006 camera, since that time there is FZ8, FZ18, FZ28 and the current FZ35, go with the more modern versions, at least the FZ28.

They are a pretty well deigned fun camera with a very broad focal range and manual settings (or full auto) and not a bad place to start, have a search around the panasonic forum for more specific posts and photos.

TGMondos said:

Hi

Just to follow on from the choice of camera to start with. Anyone got an opinion on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 as a good starter camera. I have looked at the spec and it seems to give me more 'control' than the Olympus Sylus 760 that I am snapping away with. I suppose that the q is, would this be a progression fwd and a camera that would allow me to develop my limited skills further?

Ta

TGM

Click to expand...

--
Gerry,
http://gerryd.smugmug.com/ discount code on homepage

'There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.' - Steven Wright

Thanks you.

The Fz7 is being offered as a camera by someone who is doing just that 'upgrading'. I saw this as an opportunity as it would be a reasonably priced purchase. If it is a good series and the controls are flexible then I thought it would be a good place to start. Does that seem reasonable?

Thank you for the suggestion and advice.

TGMondos said:

Thanks you.

The Fz7 is being offered as a camera by someone who is doing just that 'upgrading'. I saw this as an opportunity as it would be a reasonably priced purchase. If it is a good series and the controls are flexible then I thought it would be a good place to start. Does that seem reasonable?

Click to expand...

Reasonable if the price is right

I would not pay more than $100 to $150 (for mint) Australian dollars for one.

here is the review from this site to give you more details on it
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz7/

But it has been superceded by cameras with plenty of advancements. However for a good price it will give the opportunity to experiment with manual controls.

TGMondos said:

Thank you for the suggestion and advice.

Click to expand...

--
Gerry,
http://gerryd.smugmug.com/ discount code on homepage

'There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.' - Steven Wright

TGMondos said:

Hi

I want to gets started in creative digital photography and have £250 - £300 (max) to spend on a camera. Has anyone got any suggestions of a good camera to start off on? I am currently using a olympus stylus 760, as it was kicking around the house, and I am starting to find it a little limiting now especially on micro and landscape stuff. I have (may be now 'had') a chance to buy a Fuji Finepix100fs, but am not sure if this would be too much too soon, too advanced for a beginner, or whether there are better options out there for a newbie.

Any advice, suggestions etc would be appreciated.

Thanks

TGM

Click to expand...

If you can stretch to a DSLR so much the better - more versatile and easier to learn photography with than a compact - especially as you intend to be 'creative' with your photography. Given your budget I would lean towards one of the budget Nikons D40/40X/60 a Sony A200 or perhaps Canons entry level 10MP DSLR. Buying the D40 would also leave funds for a used canon G5/6 compact - these are superbly made cameras with large fast lenses and great image quality. Don't be swayed against them by a relatively low pixel count - they take excellent images. A used Fuji finepix 9500 might be a possibility - has a 28mm wide end (35mm equivalent) and a very long zoom - sensor smaller than a DSLR though. Finally if you could get a used Pentax k20D you would have a very versatile camera - that you could exploit as you progress - this model has an excellent AEB range - something you may wish you had a bit further down the road.

Good luck.