Starting Out

[displaced]

Hi everyone,

I've just been browsing through Ars Technica's review of the latest release of Aperture. Apart from thinking 'ooo, shiny', I also got to wondering about my own (crappy) photography.

I'm still on my first digital camera. It's a consumer-grade Sony from about 3 years ago. There's not a lot else to be said about it, apart from one thing. Digital photography got me to experiment. The theory behind it was all well and good, but the instant feedback of digital let me experiment and play with every setting I could find. I could figure out for myself what produced certain effects in a given environment and with a particular subject. I could re-shoot with different exposures, flash settings and shutter speeds.

I'm by no means a 'photographer', but at least I've escaped the mindset of "it's dark, so I need the flash on".

What I'm considering now is moving on to a better camera, with more than just the basic abilities. Now, I'm still no where near understanding exactly what this mythical 'new camera' should feature... I just want something I can explore a little bit more with.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what I should consider?

Thanks!

 

[aaron.lee2006]

Basic: Canon Powershot A75
Advanced: You can get a Nikon D50 for about $750 CAN on ebay.

 

[ChrisA]

I'll second that

Basic: Canon Powershot A75
Advanced: You can get a Nikon D50 for about $750 CAN on ebay.

Ditto the above but skip eBay. Buy from a reputable dealer. I actually own and use both of the above cameras.

A good middle ground is the Olympus sp250. It has good optics, manual controls and a hot shoe for an external strobe. The strobe is impotant. The biggest thing one can do to improve past the "snapshot" level is to learn to control the light.

BTW if you want a Canon G3 I now where you can get one cheap. This was once the top of the line Canon P&S. Stil is a nice camera and at a lower price than anything above.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I would say that it depends on the level that you want to go to. It may be better to get a used 35mm camera kit and go for what I think is called the "Guild" training.

Otherwise I think that a true DSLR may give you better tools to explore photography with.

 

[virividox]

if you really want to get into photography, get a slr - or a dslr. but if your just out to document parties, vacations, and snapshots along the way

get a point and shoot