Hi all~ Few questions to ask..

[Loominary]

Hi all~ i'm trying to pick up more about photography. got a few questions i'm wondering about...

Most/all newbie/beginner here starts with a Digital SLR at least? coz due to budget, i'm only using a samsung point & shoot camera.. very basic functions.

How you all started with photography? Did you jump straight into getting a SLR 1st then learning through trial & error? Coz the minimum cost of a SLR i see ranges from $600-700 & above.

Hope to hear from you guys. considering if i should learn then buy a SLR OR buy a SLR & learn on the way... lol. thanks all in advance ~

Loomi~

 

[Rashkae]

Many people here blindly jump into buying a DSLR, thinking it will make them "look pro" or make their pictures "look pro". This is then followed by a long round of posts where they ask questions that prove they don't know how to use a DSLR, nor know anything about the elements of photography.

As it is, do you understand the basics of photography? Do you understand Exposure, white balance, framing, composition?

In what way are you limited by your camera? How is it not delivering what you need?

If you decide to upgrade, an entry-level DSLR will cost as much as a prosumer camera. But are you ready for the investment that a DSLR really is? Do you have the money for the extra lenses, the flash, the dry cabinet, the filters, etc?

Only buy what you need. If your camera is good enough, don't upgrade.

 

[Loominary]

Hi Rashkae,

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. Gave me more thoughts to think about b4 jumping into buying/investing a SLR. My basics of photography is not very strong and im trying to learn more from the forums.

In terms of limitations, i'm not sure exactly how i am limited. i love taking nature shots eg; landscape/skies..but i guess i can't seem to capture the full view of the scene. would you say that i just need a PnS camera with a wide-angle lens would solve the problem?

The few photography courses for beginners i have seen seemed to require me to have at least a digital SLR. thus leading me to post this thread. Thank you very much for taking your time reading and posing the few but important questions.
Appreciate your help.

Loomi~

 

[Legoz]

Hi all~ i'm trying to pick up more about photography. got a few questions i'm wondering about...

Most/all newbie/beginner here starts with a Digital SLR at least? coz due to budget, i'm only using a samsung point & shoot camera.. very basic functions.

How you all started with photography? Did you jump straight into getting a SLR 1st then learning through trial & error? Coz the minimum cost of a SLR i see ranges from $600-700 & above.

Hope to hear from you guys. considering if i should learn then buy a SLR OR buy a SLR & learn on the way... lol. thanks all in advance ~

Loomi~

The better your camera... the better your pics.
Theres defnately some truth in that judging by the number of pro cameras around. =)

However, i seriously recommend that you ascertain what you really need before you jump into buying. For alot of us... PnS is enough to produce pics that we like.

 

[catchlights]

there are a few things in photography that a good camera can not help you.

seeing things creatively and composition.

you can start learning these........... with or without a good camera.

 

[ajgupta18]

Loominary, like you im also a newbie who just invested in a dslr...i have started writing a blog abt my experience. You can have a look if you'r interested.

http://arj-gupta.blogspot.com/

Please do leave a comment if you find it useful. Thnx

 

[parampita]

If your budget allows, get a dSLR by all means. If not then a PnS will do.

From there you can also learn the techniques of photography but at a lower financial cost of ownership. I agree with Rashkae, there are too many pro-lookers around who need to shoot with pro/semi-pro equipments. No need to look pro, important is have fun shooting without burning a hole in your pocket.

BTW, I started with a PnS; a Canon S1 IS.

 

[Octarine]

In terms of limitations, i'm not sure exactly how i am limited. i love taking nature shots eg; landscape/skies..but i guess i can't seem to capture the full view of the scene. would you say that i just need a PnS camera with a wide-angle lens would solve the problem?

Nope, the additional wide angle converter would create more issues in terms of image quality. Ever though of panorama images created from multiple images taken with tripod? The cheap tripods usually come with pan head. That helps to take pictures with some overlapping, perfect for stitching.

 

[Rashkae]

Hi Rashkae,
In terms of limitations, i'm not sure exactly how i am limited. i love taking nature shots eg; landscape/skies..but i guess i can't seem to capture the full view of the scene. would you say that i just need a PnS camera with a wide-angle lens would solve the problem?

The few photography courses for beginners i have seen seemed to require me to have at least a digital SLR. thus leading me to post this thread. Thank you very much for taking your time reading and posing the few but important questions.
Appreciate your help.

Loomi~

A decent wide-angle PnS, like the Panasonic LX3, will work wonders for you. A dedicated wide-angle lens for a DSLR can cost as much as the camera body itself!

Well, those photography courses tend to be sponsored bya specific brand. I seriously would not trust any "beginner course" that requires a DSLR. Things like framing, composition, "seeing" the image are the same regardless of which camera you use. As a beginner, that's what you should focus on, not the whizz-bang knobs and buttons on a DSLR.

 

[crimsonseas]

How you all started with photography? Did you jump straight into getting a SLR 1st then learning through trial & error?

A lot of bros have already given their good advice, so I'll just quickly relate my journey with photography. Old men like to tell stories of the past...

Started with a spare Rollei that my dad had lying around. He blanjah me 5 rolls of film and taught me some basics. From there, I saved my pocket money to buy film and develop negatives. That was in the 70s. On some good days, I got to borrow my dad's Praktica. Dad wasn't rich, so no Leica to play with. Heheheheh...

In the 80s, photography gave me an excuse to avoid joining in sports days and other high aerobic, sweaty activities in school.

When I started work in the 90s, a DSLR was way above what I could afford. Had to repay study loan, paktor, save for wedding etc. Photography had to take a back seat. At that point, I returned the Rollei to my dad.

However, I did miss photography. After a few years of saving up, I got myself a Minolta DiMage7 in 2001. Happy like bird. Lucky for me it was a prosumer; not many accessories and add-ons to buy. Used it until it decided to die sometime in 2007. In the same period, I used an el cheapo Minolta DiMage F100 for overseas travel/work trips.

Christmas 2007, I finally cannot tahan and bought a Nikon D80 on the cheap. Then I joined Clubsnap. Then in mid 2008, my 7yo daughter decided that she wanted to try her hand in photography. Woot! Chance lai liao!

"Discussed" (psycho) with wife and we finally "agreed" that an SLR is better to start with as the basics of photography are easier to demonstrate on SLRs than on a P&S.

Now the cycle that my dad started with me when I was 7 repeats itself.

So I got a D300 to replace the D80. The journey was a bit long but fun. Somehow, I always feel like a newbie.

It's true what everybody says, the photographer needs skills to make a good photo. But to me, having a good camera is damn good fun!

 

[Loominary]

WOW~ thanks a lot of the input guys. It has been very helpful. Appreciate all the info and advice you all have given. I'll just focus on my basics first. Thanks a lot.



Loomi

 

[night86mare]

i started off with a canon a540, then i used a prosumer (sony h2), before going on to dslr.

you don't need a dslr to produce good pictures, it just gives you more leeway and freedom when it comes to options for the pictures you want. that said, i have seen so many good outputs from p&s. don't worry too much about it. if you want to experiment more, get a p&s with manual function. most of the canon powershot series are relatively affordable with such a function.

 

[ahbian]

I feel that it is not important to really know the technical basics before getting a DSLR. Part of the fun and excitement is to learn along the way.

What is important however, is not to expect that DSLR automatically gives you wonderful pictures from the start. You would need to figure that out and discover your style as you shoot more. Just as important is the willingness to research, read up and accept criticism on your work.

If your budget allows it, get the camera you want. It is the attitude that you approach the hobby with that will determine how successful it will be.

 

[two200]

The keyword is Budget and Interest.

If you have the budget, go for the dSLR
If you have the interest and very likely to go all out to learn or turn 'amateur' pro, go for dSLR

Its like getting a handphone. You can buy a highend smartphone or a simple handphone without all the bells if you can afford.
If you know you are not going to use at least three quarters of the features of the smartphone why bother to waste the money on something you are not going to use?

I started on highend PnS with a manual mode but migrated to dSLR due to limitations that I cannot live with. I 'upgraded' purely because the limitations is making even basic photography difficult eg no IS (cause I have shaky hands) and low IQ with low ISO.

Like the rest of CSers say, the main thing about photography is an eye for interesting composition and the composition itself.

 

[aero]

When I started work, few of my colleagues had DSLR. Then it was way above what I could afford. However i would occasionally join them for shoots with my PnS camera. Ask questions along the way and see the capability of DSLR which PnS cannot achieve like DOF effect and low light pic quality. Learn from them what is basic fundamental eg aperture ...etc.

4 years went by, after getting married and buying a house. Finally had the funds to buy a DSLR. Bought myself a D40 and put all the knowledge (very little) i knew and went out to just shoot and learn.

Learning before buying a DSLR cannot compare to having one and shooting it and learning.

My 2cents worth

 

[zhiw3i]

was thinking of picking up photography quite sometime ago, but no budget. no friends i known seem to hold onto a dslr as well so dont have the hands on experience.. so decided to see if i can get a cheap dslr, bought a canon 300d off CS BnS for about $350 and yea.. feeling the thing itself is easier to understand by just reading.

so i believe if u wanna start buy dslr @ low budget, a 2nd hand from BnS section would be a good starter. kit lens usually will last sometime until u find out whats the limiting factors on the lens that required u to buy new ones.

 

[aryanto]

I started with sony p&s then move to sony prosumer p&s, everything else is good except the speed, I cannot really machine gun with those, so after some time deliberating canon vs nikon I made up my mind and go for olympus LOL.

You can learn a lot from p&s such as framing, composition, angle etc.
Just dont expect too much from action (sports etc) & candid as well as night shots (and limited zoom).

 

[Snowcrash]

there are a few things in photography that a good camera can not help you.

seeing things creatively and composition.

you can start learning these........... with or without a good camera.

Good food for thought.

As for the technical aspect of photography, learn the relation between aperture, shutter speed and iso. Any camera that have some manual control on these 3 aspects is good enough to start learning. Eg Canon A series PnS.