I've always been intrigued by it. A couple years ago I took a few photography classes in High School, and really enjoyed it. Never really thought anything of it until recently, but I have a sudden urge to get into it. I'm looking at getting a Canon Rebel XS.. it's only $335 and comes with a standard 18-55mm lens.. seems perfect for starting out. Only thing is, I'm kind of notorious for "picking up" a hobby and dropping it... I don't really wanna spend ~$400 to take 50 pictures, and never do it again. What do you guys think?
As a hobbyist photographer, I can't recommend shooting enough. It's a great hobby. You can do it by yourself or with friends. There are also so many photography styles that you can play with. You can shoot landscapes, macro, product, portrait, night, infrared, panoramas, street, architecture, rural, etc... Wherever you are, there is always an opportunity to catch a good shot. However, you should ask yourself a few questions first: - Do you have a passion for it? - Do you think you could have a passion for it? - What are your expectations? - Are you willing to dedicate the time needed to improve? - What draws you to photography? - Is there another hobby in which you could better use this money? - Is photography important enough to you to spend a decent amount of money on? If you have a point and shoot camera (even an awful one), I recommend taking it with you wherever you go. Shoot with it daily. It might help you figure out if you have the passion or not. Also, while photography has its glamorous appeals of shooting beautiful subjects and creating wonderful art, it has its downsides as well. Like any medium you'll find yourself in slumps. You won't have motivation to pick up your camera and shoot with it. You'll just stare at it and resent the fact that you have no inspiration. There will be periods of time where you hate every photograph you take and question whether or not this was the right path for yourself. However, most of these feelings will instantly be replaced the moment you capture "that photo." Instant gratification. So just do some serious contemplating. Spend some time shooting if you can and studying the photography greats. See if learning about their work or just seeing beautiful photographs fills you with inspiration. Good luck. I hope you come around and love shooting as much as I do.
You should write a book. Seriously... You're a great ambassador for photography. I'll give you that...
You'll never know unless you begin. I checked out the Canon Rebel XS and it seems like a good buy. Nothing fancy, but it works. And it's very cheap. So... I think it's good for you, given that you have the tendency to drop your hobbies.
Also, adding on to what the above posters have said, Lenses in particular retain their value very well. If you do decide you want to start photography, you can almost always sell your lense for close to the original price. You might lose some on the camera body though... but if like you said you think you might drop it soon, this won't be much of an issue. GOOD LUCK ! Hope you like it.
I've been looking into photography as well; I've always found it interesting but never had the money/time to do it. What's a good camera to start with? Would my phone camera (3.2 MP) be good for practice until I purchase a real camera? I want to start this for pure entertainment purposes, nothing for money or anything. I'm the type of guy that likes to look back at old pictures and bring back memories. I just regret that I didn't take more (especially during my high school years) I'm looking for a nice, professional camera, not a cheap $80 Kodak that teenage girls take mirror shots with for their profile picture
If you actually want to take photography seriously, never EVER use a phone camera. They're just way too shitty. I can't help much with camera's but Nikon has some nice camera's and my dad owns a few Pentax's, they take really nice photos. EDIT: Lenses are pretty important as well. What style of photography were you going for?
[quote name='"ewb"'] If you actually want to take photography seriously, never EVER use a phone camera. They're just way too shitty. I can't help much with camera's but Nikon has some nice camera's and my dad owns a few Pentax's, they take really nice photos. EDIT: Lenses are pretty important as well. What style of photography were you going for?[/quote] I have no idea. I just want to take professional style photos. I honestly don't know anything about it. I think my dad has a Rebel XTi, I've been interested since he bought it. He's had it a few years though
Entry level SLRS: Canon XTi Canon T1i Canon T2i Canon T3 Canon T3i Nikon D3000 Nikon D3100 Nikon D5100 Sony A55 Those are going to be some of the most popular lower-end SLRs, and if you're a beginner, you really won't go wrong with any of these models. They are all entry level, but vary in price/features just a bit. Notice that most of my suggestions were either Canon, Nikon, or Sony. Canon vs. Nikon? Don't even try to make comparisons, because at this point it will really not make a difference. Stay away from Fuji, Kodak, etc... Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, & Pentax are your new best friends. So ask yourself these questions first: - Am I trying photography to see if I like it? If you already know you like it, and it's something you want to get into, then find a camera in a slightly higher range than just the base Nikon D3000 model. Find something that you can GROW into! - Do I want to be able to view the picture on my LCD screen before I take it? This is also an issue new buyers run into. Each model is a little different and has it's own quirks. Chances are, the base models won't have the option to many things that you think may already be implied, based on the prices (live view LCD function, megapixels, the stock lens, etc...). Also, know that later on lens are going to become pretty important depending on what type of photography you are going to get into. Base models usually come equip with an 18-55mm VR (which only has a 3x equivalent zoom). So if you're into sports, you will probably want to purchase at least a 200 mm+. This is just based on my experience selling cameras to noobies. I hope I helped in some way.
This has nothing to do with cameras and everything to do with knowledge and experience. We can point you in the right direction, but your photos aren't going to start looking "professional" until 3 or 4 years from now when you actually start to intuitively feel photography. Basically, once you start thinking like a camera. But all i can say is, don't buy an $800 camera for your first camera. Buy something that is small, that you don't mind carrying around all of the time, and buy something that doesn't have too many functions/controls. Also, manual control is necessary if you want "professional looking" photos. But even some pros don't shoot on auto... Really, the only way you can get into photography is to buy some photography books (hopefully from earlier than the 90's) and a camera and just live it. Don't think that you will get good overnight. Your photos will still suck 6 months from now, but just realize that you are learning..
Honk on the Canon..what they do best is marketing...(and unfortuntely now, Nikon as well). . Their biggest weakness is that the image stabilization is in the lens vs the camera itself..so if you are going to get into this sport..you have to pay for this benefit EVERY time you buy a new lens and you will need different lens. Rule of thumb, if it is mass marketed, it is for the picture clicker... Oh, dust is a problen outside....guess what most camera are not warrantied for and do a lousy job protecting the camera from. Sorry about being harsh but two of my family arr into it...primarily MX and othe sports..we see a lot of unhappy folks. Some of the point and click digitals do as good of a job as the bottom end DSLRs.. If you haven.t bought yet, I can recommend an excellent forum.. Yzgrassy
shieet I'm still shooting on my trusty rebel xti and it gives me pretty good results. I'm just working with a really small usable iso range. Everyone has posted really good advise worth following. I would also add to look up different photographers, the old as well as the new. Find a particular style that inspires or moves you and emulate. Go to your local pawn shop or check ebay and I'm sure you could find a good beginner package to get you started in the right direction.
I still have the silver rebel xt from 2006 along with the 18-55 it came with. I've also picked up some extension tubes for macros, cool stuff. As someone already mentioned, you should be able to get most of the value back if you sell it. What kind of photography did you do in high school? Some people end up making a career out of it doing photos for high school senior, prom, weddings etc.... There's also nature photography, sports, glamour, ads etc... True, just take care of them and keep them like new. I started because I wanted to capture some memories when my kids were young, it's a blast. I still shoot with a silver rebel xt. I used an 85mm to shoot basketball indoors with great results.
Solid advice right here. Studying the classics as well the contemporary is a really great way to find an inspiration and learn a lot about composition and many of the other basics. I used to be big into landscape, so obviously Ansel Adams was a big source of inspiration classically while Marc Adamus was a huge inspiration in the here and now. I tried to pick up as much as I could from their style. Now I'm moving into street photography and really studying the greats like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Daido Moriyama, and Eric Kim (he's new, but he has such great work), etc... You can really learn from just studying other photographers work.
I think this is a crop, not the best lighting, taken with a 50mm and extension tubes. I will try to find the original, not sure where it is at the moment. Probably because I should be sleeping. This is in my photogallery here at the city, I have a few other pics there as well.