Interested in Digital Photography

Hello everyone. I want to learn photography, i am still a newbie in this field. I hope everyone will be patient on me. I am reading a lot about photography in the internet and i learn something each time i read. I just want your advice.

I still dont have a camera and im planning to get one. I dont have any preferred brand but i read a lot about Canon. For a newbie like me, what would you recommend? Im eying on SLR cameras so i prefer not too professional and not too expensive for me.

Thats all for now. Thank you.

Is Canon PowerShot S5 IS recommended?

The single most important fact to understand about photography is that all the camera is is a means of recording what we, the photographer sees and wants to share with others. Any camera 'will do'; what you get by spending more money (usually) is greater flexibility and more advanced features. It doesn't matter whether you spend $100 on a camera, or $10,000; it's not going to make you more skilled than you are.

"What camera should I buy?" is probably the most commonly asked question on these types of forums, and one which people really can't help you with. My suggestion is to decide on a budget, and then head down to your local camera store, tell the clerk how much you want to spend, and what you want to do, and then try the various cameras. Some you will like, some you won't. There are lots of people who will help you with specific questions on a particular model, but the big question is one only you can answer.

I have read a lot about digicam reviews. Would you recommend Canon PowerShot S5 IS or Sony DSC-H9?

Choosing a camera is really very dependent on the person's intended use, style and long-term plans with photography. This is a commonly asked question, but it's hard to make universal recommendations. This is in part why the following thread was created: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread61.htm

Take a quick look. It should at least get you going towards this decision.

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Originally Posted by nub4sh

Hello everyone. I want to learn photography, i am still a newbie in this field. I hope everyone will be patient on me. I am reading a lot about photography in the internet and i learn something each time i read. I just want your advice.

I still dont have a camera and im planning to get one. I dont have any preferred brand but i read a lot about Canon. For a newbie like me, what would you recommend? Im eying on SLR cameras so i prefer not too professional and not too expensive for me.

Thats all

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" A camera did not make a great picture anymore than a typewriter wrote great novel " - Petr Adams

There is a great perception that the better the camera, the better the photographs. While this isn’t wholly untrue, there is a lack of credit to the artist.

I think Peter Adams summed it up nicely. A camera is a medium to capture what the artist envisioned just as a typewriter is a tool to print the words in the author’s mind.
- Hemant

I have not used the S5 IS camera as I went to Panasonic with their FZ range of models but I think it would be a good camera to learn with. The problem with my judgement of cameras is that I have a fair idea of what it is all about and while I found my FZ cameras useful tools for everything I wanted to do I perhaps have an incling of how to go about making it work for me.
It will have its limitations due to the small sensor size which meant I limited myself to working at 100 ISO for better quality so action photos in poor light are out. The camera will take them good as gold but moving subjects will be blurred due to the longer shutter speed the camera will give in that situation. The camera also needs a firm support, no hand holding :)
Generally speaking you get more for your buck with a bridge camera, in features and versatility, than with the cheaper DSLR, though you sacrifice the ability to make large prints ... the DSLR wins out if you have a good budget :)

You mentioned: "Im eying on SLR cameras so i prefer not too professional and not too expensive for me."

We would need to know what your budget might be. What is nicely priced for one photographer is too expensive for another.

Additionally, if we knew if you had any specific type of photography in mind, it would also help in our recommendations.

For an all-around camera with video capability, A refurbished Canon T3i with an 18-55mm IS II kit lens might be what you need. It presently runs $559 (U.S. Dollars) at the Canon Online Store:
http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs...10051_-1_29252
I heartily recommend Canon refurbished cameas and have purchased three. They are all working years later.

If you need to go relatively bare-bones: look for a used Canon 30D. There is a plethora of these cameras on eBay at some very low prices. I would not purchase the 30D with the kit lens because this camera came with the original kit lens. The latter IS versions are better both in having IS and being optically better.

The 18-55mm IS lens can be had for well under a hundred dollars. I would expect that you may be able to snare a 30D body and an 18-55mm IS lens for well under $250 (USD) total.

At a slightly higher price (but still barebones) a used Canon 40D with 28-135mm IS lens can probably be had for around $350 (USD). The 28-135mm lens is a jack of all trades which does a lot of things quite well. It is capable of some very decent imagery.

http://backup.cambridgeincolour.com/...ed%20004-L.jpg

http://backup.cambridgeincolour.com/...ed%20002-L.jpg

You did notice that this thread is from 2008, right?

Whatever the date it is pertinent advice for somebody in that situation today or 2008 or in the future, if we still have digital cameras then :)