Camera for beginner?

[dbeckett]

Im 17 years old and im interested in starting photographer, ive had a very basic digital camera in the past, I got it quite a number of years ago and i feel the need to upgrade now

The amount i want to spend is around £200 althought i could spend more if recommended, i was thinking of buying an slr, although thinking about it i reckon that it may be more suitable buying something along the lines of the canon a710is, as a slr isnt the easiest thing to carry around and im not sure if the difference in quality would be great enough to compensate for that, however any thoughts would be welcome

what alternatives are there to the 710is and what would you recommend me to get?

 

[syke]

Im 17 years old and im interested in starting photographer, ive had a very basic digital camera in the past, I got it quite a number of years ago and i feel the need to upgrade now

The amount i want to spend is around £200 althought i could spend more if recommended, i was thinking of buying an slr, although thinking about it i reckon that it may be more suitable buying something along the lines of the canon a710is, as a slr isnt the easiest thing to carry around and im not sure if the difference in quality would be great enough to compensate for that, however any thoughts would be welcome

what alternatives are there to the 710is and what would you recommend me to get?

You could possibly get a D40 on the bay for around £200.

What about a Fuji FinePix S6500?

Or more compact, perhaps a Canon IXUS 850IS, they can be had for ~£200.

 

[aztechnology]

Im 17 years old and im interested in starting photographer, ive had a very basic digital camera in the past, I got it quite a number of years ago and i feel the need to upgrade now

as a slr isnt the easiest thing to carry around and im not sure if the difference in quality would be great enough to compensate for that, however any thoughts would be welcome

It's not just the difference in quality, usability is a big factor too. For the first time This year I took a digital compact as on holiday, and I wish I had the usability of my SLR's.

Film SLRs are cheap if you want to go old school

 

[NorthstaNder]

if i was a beginner i wouldn't go near a DSLR...how about a bridge camera instead like the fuji 5600, 5700, 6500 or 9600?

 

[dbeckett]

thanks for the advice, d40 is too expensive anyway, so that leaves the fuji 6500 or 9600, was looking at the 850is, decent camera although from what ive read (but i could be wrong) it has no manual features at all, so the a710 would be preferable to it

my brother has a a540 so i can guess what the a710 will be like as its similar, i was just wonderin, how big are the fuji 6500/9600, ive seen pictures of them but you cant really see how big its hard to imagine the size they are in real life, could they fit into a jacket pocket or would you need a carryin case if you wanted to carry them around?

 

[aztechnology]

if i was a beginner i wouldn't go near a DSLR...how about a bridge camera instead like the fuji 5600, 5700, 6500 or 9600?

If i was a beginner, I would get the cheapest SLR i could get my hands on (digital if you must), get a 50mm f1.8 (35mm f1.8 for a digital), read some books and find out what aperture priority, shutter priority and manual meant, and how to meter light. Then I'd experiment with depth of field, and light and shadows, and even black and white.

What i'd avoid is anything that doesn't give me total control over creative input, and i'd like a sensor size as large as possible (err thats in size, not pixel count) I still have to convince myself not to my a 6x4 film camera about once a month.

Bridge cameras, and even compacts, are capabe of poducing excellent pictures, but for me they are not in the same learning league as something that keeps it simple, yet keeps the quality high.

 

[NorthstaNder]

thanks for the advice, d40 is too expensive anyway, so that leaves the fuji 6500 or 9600, was looking at the 850is, decent camera although from what ive read (but i could be wrong) it has no manual features at all, so the a710 would be preferable to it

my brother has a a540 so i can guess what the a710 will be like as its similar, i was just wonderin, how big are the fuji 6500/9600, ive seen pictures of them but you cant really see how big its hard to imagine the size they are in real life, could they fit into a jacket pocket or would you need a carryin case if you wanted to carry them around?

I've got the 6500 and it's probably the size of a small DSLR (looks like one too). Cracking camera too, but I'm still trying to get my head around it all as I'm also new to photography.

The 9600 is a bit bigger. Check out www.fujifilm.co.uk (I can mention the manufacturers site can't I?) and it'll give you the full spec of each camera (which can both be had for around £100 off their RRP's at the moment).

Don't be put off by the 6500's apparent "small" pixel count of 6.3mp. The way fuji make their sensors means it can get similar quality to that of a 10mp camera. Both the 6500 and 9600 will do fully automatic, full manual and anything in between.

 

[dbeckett]

thanks for the advice, im not too fussed on the extra pixels as i doubt ill be printing the images out bigger than a4 therefore 9mp aint really needed, so s6500 would be the most suitable, was thinking i could maybe even get the 5600 and gettin a compact basic digital camera on top, as itll prob be fine for basic shots and when i want to develop my skills i could use the bridge camera,
just wonderin is the canon s3 any good?

 

[GeX]

If i was a beginner, I would get the cheapest SLR i could get my hands on (digital if you must), get a 50mm f1.8 (35mm f1.8 for a digital), read some books and find out what aperture priority, shutter priority and manual meant, and how to meter light. Then I'd experiment with depth of field, and light and shadows, and even black and white.

What i'd avoid is anything that doesn't give me total control over creative input, and i'd like a sensor size as large as possible (err thats in size, not pixel count) I still have to convince myself not to my a 6x4 film camera about once a month.

Bridge cameras, and even compacts, are capabe of poducing excellent pictures, but for me they are not in the same learning league as something that keeps it simple, yet keeps the quality high.

i agree. i've always had an interest in photography and recently got quite into taking photos on my uber ancient 1.2mp compact and k800i camera phone.. so i bought myself a swanky little F31, which made me want more.. so i looked around at bridge cameras and then i got a fuji 5600. got macro lenses, cpf, decent case for it - 6 weeks later its all for sale and i've got a nikon d50 (that i should've bought in the first place!)

 

[ElRazur]

the fuji 9600?

I cannot sing praise of this camera enough. It is one of the best in its class. Never skipped a beat in the intense of nigeria. It produce good results.

 

[dbeckett]

cheapest price im getting for the s6500 is £166 (inc postage, excl memory card) which is off a decent website (and its cheaper the bay) while s9600 is around £240 (on the bay)
if i do go down the bridge option, is it really worth payin an extra £70 for the s9600?

 

[GeX]

i'm just about to put this lot on ebay..

http://tackycheese.net/images/ebay/s5600/thumbs/s5600_all_kit.jpg

the s5600 is a very nice camera, and it makes me cringe to think of what i've spent on extras in the 6 weeks i've had it!!

 

[ElRazur]

if i do go down the bridge option, is it really worth payin an extra £70 for the s9600?

It is worth every penny. Google the reviews and see yourself.

 

[glitch]

what alternatives are there to the 710is and what would you recommend me to get?

I would recommend you to get yourself down to your local college and spend some of that £200 on a photography course. Learn the basics of camera (SLR) control, exposure, composition, etc, and then put your new skills into practice with a slightly more advanced camera than you currently have. If you really get the bug and feel confident, go for something with the potential to grow with you.

I really wouldn't bother with a film SLR as it's pointless for someone who doesn't know what they are doing. Half the fun with digital is being able to instantly see the results and critique your work in the comfort of your own home having taken the shot(s) a few minutes earlier.

 

[aztechnology]

I would recommend you to get yourself down to your local college and spend some of that £200 on a photography course. Learn the basics of camera (SLR) control, exposure, composition, etc, and then put your new skills into practice with a slightly more advanced camera than you currently have. If you really get the bug and feel confident, go for something with the potential to grow with you.

I really wouldn't bother with a film SLR as it's pointless for someone who doesn't know what they are doing. Half the fun with digital is being able to instantly see the results and critique your work in the comfort of your own home having taken the shot(s) a few minutes earlier.

If you do go down the college course route, you might find you do need a film SLR, I've just finished the local course and it was all B+W Film and Development based. You might be lucky to find a course letting you use digital, but I couldn't. The courses using digital images all concentrated on how to manipulate digital images, not how to take them.

 

[glitch]

If you do go down the college course route, you might find you do need a film SLR, I've just finished the local course and it was all B+W Film and Development based. You might be lucky to find a course letting you use digital, but I couldn't. The courses using digital images all concentrated on how to manipulate digital images, not how to take them.

If the OP takes a City & Guilds course such as the 6922 or 6923 (which I'd recommend) you can use digital on all the suitable modules. C&G have actually embraced the 21st Century!

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

im gonna disagree about not getting SLR if your a begginer, i just got mine and it has helped me a lot, i think having faster focusing and general faster reaction from the camera helps, not to mention the information screen that has a graphical picture of the aperture,shutter speed,ISO etc...big help imo but that is just my opinion

 

[aztechnology]

If the OP takes a City & Guilds course such as the 6922 or 6923 (which I'd recommend) you can use digital on all the suitable modules. C&G have actually embraced the 21st Century!

I think both those courses, whilst requiring some digital image input, still will require traditional dark room work. At least that's how the sylabus reads to me. There may be some interpretation of how the courses are taught at your local tech though I suppose.

 

[glitch]

The best collection of the various 6923 ought to go like this:

Module 1: (Mandatory) Principles of Photography (film/digital)

Module 2: (Core) Introduction to Black and White Photography (film)
Module 2: (Core) Digital Image Making (digital)

Module 3: (Mandatory) Exploring Colour Photography (film/digital for '07)

You do both Mandatory modules and one of the Core modules. Easy to pick which one would suit our OP.

You are 100% right though, aztechnology, in saying that it depends on how the college has structured it.