True Noob who wants to get into photography
12-29-2007, 04:10 PM
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True Noob who wants to get into photography
Hey guys,
I'm interested in taking photography as another hobby of mine. I've been following certain photography forums and cruising around photo.net to help me start up. However, I don't think that I'm learning enough, or in a systematic form. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what books, forums, or articles that I should begin reading? I'd like to understand the photography jargon but would it be helpful to buy a camera first?
I'm thinking about purchasing a rebel xti or a 20D/30D depending on what kind of deals I can get.
Thanks a lot guys,
I'm interested in taking photography as another hobby of mine. I've been following certain photography forums and cruising around photo.net to help me start up. However, I don't think that I'm learning enough, or in a systematic form. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what books, forums, or articles that I should begin reading? I'd like to understand the photography jargon but would it be helpful to buy a camera first?
I'm thinking about purchasing a rebel xti or a 20D/30D depending on what kind of deals I can get.
Thanks a lot guys,
12-31-2007, 09:07 AM
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what kinds of things do you want to take pictures of? Is there a specific reason you are buying a DSLR?
The only way to take better pictures is to take pictures, so I'd suggest a camera, but I'd think about what you want to take pictures of, and how, before just buying a DSLR.
Canon advertises a lot, and while there is nothing wrong with their bodies or lenses, there are other choices. Pentax or Nikon give you much wider choices of lenses, supporting plenty of manual focus lenses as well as autofocus. And one thing that autofocus lenses tradtionally suck at is manual focus, which is important if you want to get beyond pointing and shooting.
You can save a ton of money buying a film body, and that money can pay for film, procesing, and scanning while you determine if you enjoy using an SLR. And depending on what system you buy into, your film lenses will work with a DSLR if you decide you want to go that route down the road.
All you really need is a body, a lens, and a meter. It's not necesary for the meter to be built into the camera - it's easy enough to read a meter, set the shutter/aperture, and take pictures.
Most schools that teach photography require a body with manual settings for a reason - you don't learn by letting the camera do the thinking. And the easiest way to get into the habit of thinking for yourself is to use a film body without autofocus or auto-exposure. You can get a Nikon FM-10 for ~$200, or a Pentax K1000 used for half that. Both let you use older lenses as well as newer, and both let you buy a lens now that will work on a DSLR if you wish. All the body does is hold the lens in front of the film, so it's not like you are giving anything up imagewise. You just aren't paying for autofocus and auto-exposure. And you don't need either to take good pictures.
The only way to take better pictures is to take pictures, so I'd suggest a camera, but I'd think about what you want to take pictures of, and how, before just buying a DSLR.
Canon advertises a lot, and while there is nothing wrong with their bodies or lenses, there are other choices. Pentax or Nikon give you much wider choices of lenses, supporting plenty of manual focus lenses as well as autofocus. And one thing that autofocus lenses tradtionally suck at is manual focus, which is important if you want to get beyond pointing and shooting.
You can save a ton of money buying a film body, and that money can pay for film, procesing, and scanning while you determine if you enjoy using an SLR. And depending on what system you buy into, your film lenses will work with a DSLR if you decide you want to go that route down the road.
All you really need is a body, a lens, and a meter. It's not necesary for the meter to be built into the camera - it's easy enough to read a meter, set the shutter/aperture, and take pictures.
Most schools that teach photography require a body with manual settings for a reason - you don't learn by letting the camera do the thinking. And the easiest way to get into the habit of thinking for yourself is to use a film body without autofocus or auto-exposure. You can get a Nikon FM-10 for ~$200, or a Pentax K1000 used for half that. Both let you use older lenses as well as newer, and both let you buy a lens now that will work on a DSLR if you wish. All the body does is hold the lens in front of the film, so it's not like you are giving anything up imagewise. You just aren't paying for autofocus and auto-exposure. And you don't need either to take good pictures.