so im interested in photography and want to get in to it but i dont know which camera to start with. People say dslr cameras may be hard for starters so im thinking on getting either a bridge camera or a point&shoot camera. i've had p&s cameras before but i only used them when socializing, you know, nothing too artsy, just simple pictures of my friends and I. But now i want to create stuff, like really get into photography so what camera should i get?
Best answer:
Answer by Aldo
call me bias but i like to point and shoot better
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
There's no reason for anybody to fear getting a DSLR. You can still do your pointing and shooting just like on a bridge or a compact but you will always have an option to advance and learn something. The canon 550D is the bees knees, That's my suggestion.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck.
a bridge would be a better idea. it will obviously be less complicated to learn than a SLR but it will also help you learn the different aspects of taking a picture (like shutter speed, iso etc.). this is prepare you better to ultimately go for an SLR, and you will also get to practise some of the artistic aspects of photography which would be physically impossible in a point & shoot
ReplyDeletePoint&Shoot camera would be my recommendation.
ReplyDeletedslr is the way to go if you are interested in photography. Buy a Rebel xs or such, and you now have a camera that can be both a point a shoot or set to advanced modes that allow you to control the exposure much, much better. If you are interested in photography, you will be getting one sometime anyways... why wait?
ReplyDeleteIf you are dead set about not getting a dslr, then I heavily advise a bridge. It will be your best learning tool for when you eventually make the leap to dslrs.
I disagree with the "buy high-end gear first, THEN learn why you wanted it" approach that many people are taking. I learned much of what I know about photography using an old Canon PowerShot A590 IS. It's a point & shoot, but to me it proves that it's the photographer, not the camera. Granted, it had manual controls, which I see as a huge requirement for photography. But I still did some work with it that I was very happy with:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/naturesmugshots/4346175957
http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturesmugshots/4310648168
http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturesmugshots/4262417693
So I recommend either a point & shoot that has manual controls (getting harder and harder to find these days, though the Canon PowerShot S95 is a great one), or a bridge camera like the Canon PowerShot G12, the Nikon CoolPix P7000, the Nikon CoolPix P100, etc. The big thing to me is learning how to use the manual controls before you invest in a DSLR.
In my experience, many people who buy a DSLR before they start experimenting with real photography (see: not just pointing the camera at something on auto mode and snapping the picture) try using the manual controls and discover that they didn't like photography after all—they just like taking pictures. Then their whole DSLR system is just a blown investment, as DSLRs don't hold their value very well. On the other hand, those who buy a point & shoot or bridge camera and discover they just like taking pictures now have a presumably pretty nice point & shoot with which to take pictures.
To me, it sounds like you are one who is seriously interested in photography, not just looking for another "cool" hobby to add to their Facebook list of interests. I recommend a bridge camera, as you will be able to do a lot of learning on it before you feel like you have "maxed out" your camera's capabilities. I only upgrade camera bodies now when I feel like there is something I want my camera to do that it can't. When I moved from a point & shoot to a DSLR, it was because I seriously needed the better lowlight performance, the ability to use external flash(es), the higher degree of control over depth-of-field, and the flexibility of different lens choices before I could progress much further in my photography knowledge and skill.
So. I would say check out the G12 or the P100 (my two choices for a bridge camera, depending on what type of photography you want to do). Head to the camera store and learn the differences between the two (or others if you want to look at them) so you can make an informed decision on which camera is best for you.
Good luck!