I'm interested in photography.

I'm thinking with 'proper' cameras, not digital?

I'm not bothered about doing it professionally for weddings etc, more as a hobby.

Does anyone have any advice / tips on this?

Oh, and I'm looking for a decent camera, nowt too flash <HA!!> and expensive, just something to take good quality photos.

Thanks!!!!!

Yep, buy a 'proper' digital camera! They do everything a film ones does but you dont have to worry about wasting thousands of pounds on getting films developed. Also you get the results instantly and it makes it much easier to learn.
Get a canon 350d or 400d or one of the Nikkon ones if you prefer.

That sounds awful doesn't it!

Just read my OP - I have a digital camera & I love it, I wondered if the zoom / focus etc etc was better on a 'manual'(?) camera.

I might look at investing in a good quality digital camera with the bells & whistles ?

do you know much about photography then?

you can get digitals that do as well as film cameras

you can even get digital SLRs which is probs what you'd want if u were really gonna get into it - you can change their lenses just like "real" cameras

See if there's any night school courses ..alot still teach film, process and printing ..Norton college has an excellent photography department :) ..i know they used to do alot of part time night courses ..you will get chance to use all there equipment and studio facilities(sp?)

I switched to digital well over a year ago ..must say i wouldnt go back to film ..because i like to see the results while im working ..but i still do have my Film SLR's ..just incase ;) ..lol.

Don't think I'm bothered about SLRs, I don't currently know OWT about it all, just looking at some prices on Ebay TBH.

See if there's any night school courses ..alot still teach film, process and printing ..Norton college has an excellent photography department :) ..i know they used to do alot of part time night courses ..you will get chance to use all there equipment and studio facilities(sp?)

I switched to digital well over a year ago ..must say i wouldnt go back to film ..because i like to see the results while im working ..but i still do have my Film SLR's ..just incase ;) ..lol.



what she said...

If you want to do any more than just take pics you really need an SLR. Look at the Canon 300d, you might be able to get one of those quite cheaply now second hand. I had one and it was an excellent camera.

Any other camera recommendations?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-300D-18-55mm-lens-case-cards_W0QQitemZ290069942057QQihZ019QQcategoryZ3138 8QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Nikon-D50-Digital-SLR-Camera-Kit-18-55mm-Lens_W0QQitemZ120074599673QQihZ002QQcategoryZ31388 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CANON-EOS-350D-BLACK-22-55mm-USM-ZOOM-LENS_W0QQitemZ290071562731QQihZ019QQcategoryZ31388 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Personally I prefer Canon but I guess it's what your used to.

I prefer canon ..i have 2 20D's :D

digital ! digital ! schmidgital ! Don't totally dismiss film cameras, you'll have more idea about general photography if you buy a nice simple film camera, my favourite ever camera is the Canon EOS 100, cheap as chips on eBay, and film processing isn't that dear, have your negs scanned or buy a scanner and just have your films processed, not printed.

Not to turn this into a digital v film debate, but there's no particular reason why you can't learn just as much about photography with a digital camera as you could with a film one. Except that with film you'll spend hundreds of pounds getting shots developed that haven't turned out.

Personally I Have a Canon EOS 20D, and can turn out a reasonable photo or two every now and again. I learnt how to use it from visiting websites such as All things photography (http://www.all-things-photography.com/index.html) and dpchallenge.com (http://www.dpchallenge.com/). If you were to get such a camera, or even the 350D or 400D, you could inter-change most lenses (except digital only ones) with a film based EOS camera such as the EOS 3, 30V or whatnot, if you really wanted to.

The book Understanding Exposure is also worth a look.

Hi, Pertfoxylush, I do a lot of photography, black and white film developing and printing, and colour digital and I love it!!! I go to an arts centre photography workshop in Cardiff (probably not much good to you, I know!!!!!) but I wondered if there was a similar facility in Sheffield???

There's a darkroom set-up and also a computer suite as well as drawing/painting/pottery/theatre etc - there's a tutor there who will teach photography, but otherwise I can get on with whatever I want to!! We also arrange Photography Trips out to various places - we even went from Cardiff up to the Bradford Museum of Film Photography and Television - that's a fantastic place to go to!!! (It was just before Xmas and we passed the queue of traffic waiting on the M1 to go into Meadowhall....... This one guy couldn't believe it when I said they were queuing 1 mile on the motorway to go to a shopping centre, until he saw the double-storey carparking, FULL!!!! - but that's another story.....:hihi: :hihi: )

If you really want to learn about the exposure settings and other tools on a manual camera, I think it's best if you can find something like this place or at least a nightclass (I started out at a nightclass, then the tutor suggested we go along to the arts centre) There's loads of books as well, which give a lot of background and are really good.

I read something on this site a few weeks ago about a photography forum... Any idea if this has got any further?????

After reading your whole thread and your input. I think forget the Canon 350D. Forget about getting any more equipments. Seriously. Get a technial photography book instead, and start to browse photography magazines or even photo books to understand the concepts. There's lots and lots of photography book out there, which speaks a thousand words. Once you understand what it is that you are looking at, then start playing around with your digital camera. Your digi-camera has its own settings already. Get the digi-cam's manual out and play around with its functions. When you are tired of the function that your digital camera gives you, only until THEN get a SLR camera, and start to play with lenses, and depth of field, and all the rest of it.

You can actually get a manual SLR straight away and test theories out. It is just that it's kind of costly, and you need time and patient to record each function that you used. Lenses can be expensive. So, do play around with any cameras that you currently have. Whether it's a bog standard 35mm, or whether it's a digi-cam. Choose an object, and test your kit out.

One book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and I do recommend was one from Lonely Planet on Travel Photography.

There's the technical aspect of photography, your equipment, and the photography concept. Then there is the aesthetic aspect of photography. The subject, the framing of the picture, the lighting etc. The reason to your chosen subject.

After reading your whole thread and your input. I think forget the Canon 350D. Forget about getting any more equipments.

That's a good point actually. Sometimes it's easy to get carried away.

But yes, experiment with your own existing stuff. Then, when you get to the point where you feel that your own skill is being held back by what the camera can't do, invest in something else.

The more I learn about photography, the more I realise how big the subject is. If you want to experiment with zoom/focus, and different type of photography, then it is best to invest in a SLR camera. Close-up shots are very different to landscape shots. You need different type of lenses for each.

If I were you, I'd save money now, and play around with the existing equipments, and then save money for one of those specialist courses run by actual experts! It can be landscape photography, or fashion photography or artistist photography. It can get addictive once you get going. :D

Let me dig my book out. I cannot remember what the recommended kit was for a beginner. I've yet to play with a SLR too.

Here's some details from the book about recommended kit, for a travel photography camera. (Kind of an all rounder really, from people shots to landscape shots.)

Basic Kit: (Min SLR kit with min weight to carry)
- 35mm SLR camera body
- 35-80mm f4-5.6 or 28-105mm zoom lens f4-5.6
- polarising filter

Standard Kit: (Popular system with travellers. Min kit to cover most situations.)
- 35mm SLR camera body
- 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 zom lens
- 70-210mm f4-5.6 or 70-300mm f4-5.6 zoom lens (if wildlife is a priority subject)
- polarising filter for both lenses

Standard Plus Kit: (Fast lens and tripod for those low lighting shots. Better control over depth of field.)
- 35mm SLR camera body
- 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 zom lens
- 70-210mm f4-5.6 or 70-300mm f4-5.6 zoom lens (if wildlife is a priority subject)
- fast standard lens 50mm f1.4
- polarising filter for all lenses
- compact tripod

I wonder if this is what you were trying to get at. I used to have a 35mm Olympus Mju II which had a f2.8 lens and it gave me great photos. This served me well, until I got my first digi-camera, Canon G5, which allows me to see what results I get more quickly from the different settings.

After reading your whole thread and your input. I think forget the Canon 350D. Forget about getting any more equipments. Seriously. Get a technial photography book instead, and start to browse photography magazines or even photo books to understand the concepts. There's lots and lots of photography book out there, which speaks a thousand words. Once you understand what it is that you are looking at, then start playing around with your digital camera. Your digi-camera has its own settings already. Get the digi-cam's manual out and play around with its functions. When you are tired of the function that your digital camera gives you, only until THEN get a SLR camera, and start to play with lenses, and depth of field, and all the rest of it.



some great advice there from ah bago

:suspect:
No definition correction.
No patronism.
No pedanticism.

OMG, this is not Pingpang at all! You're a fake. :hihi:

:suspect:
No definition correction.
No patronism.
No pedanticism.

OMG, this is not Pingpang at all! You're a fake. :hihi:

sorry to let the side down

ok, u could learn to spell technical and realise that the plural of technical photography book is technical photography books

oh, be quiet, you big eyed cat, you did quite well for you

u got something right for a change, lets celebrate with a slice of dry toast - the concepts are the most important thing to take on board here, especially before any serious money is invested

way hey

That's a compliment! I'd take it. :D
I think sometimes my hand type faster than I think you know, which is quite scary! :hihi:

Ok, better be back on topic before I get a slap on the wrist too.
This is a website which you can leave comments on people's work.
http://www.pbase.com/

I'm interested in photography.

I'm thinking with 'proper' cameras, not digital?

I'm not bothered about doing it professionally for weddings etc, more as a hobby.

Does anyone have any advice / tips on this?

Oh, and I'm looking for a decent camera, nowt too flash <HA!!> and expensive, just something to take good quality photos.

Thanks!!!!!


Forget film cameras, I spent 2 years at college doing Photography. (although was 16 years ago), and all the practical is wasted by modern stuff, Bago makes sense with all his/her posts.

Whatever you decide, enjoy, as Photography is absolutely fantastic. :)

black and white photography is cheap as chips, don't be misled into thinking it is expensive. Film is cheap, chemicals are cheap, and you can process your own films at home for pennies.

I think it is worth serving your time on a manual fixed focal length camera, because you start to notice the light a great deal more. The fact that there is a small financial penalty incurred when you depress the shutter might also make you think more carefully about doing so, something that leads to better composition and discrimination (important skills for photographers).

A film camera places upon you all sorts of constraints that do not exist when photographing in digital (although to be accurate I don't think digital imaging is actually photgraphy).

Constraints can be incredibly creative, like a sonnet.

Did anyone notice that the OP explicity said that they were not interested in a digital SLR? So all the recommendations of 300D and 350D...?

But anyway. If you want to learn photography you need a camera that will allow you to do as little or as much as you want. And you don't need a bag full of fancy kit - I learned with a Pentax MZ-6 SLR, a 28-90mm lens and a red filter. I managed to take some pretty decent shots on this camera before moving on to medium format, and now on to a digital SLR (EOS 5D).

However, I was determined to learn the craft properly before moving on to digital. If I'd have bought a camera that did everything for me, I'd never have learned a damn thing! The Pentax had full manual control as well as automatic, the Bronica (med format) was aperture priority and the EOS has more functions than I have time to learn, so for the minute I'm still shooting Av.

Buy a decent film SLR, some books on photography (yes, books - PM me for some recommendations) and just try anything and everything. Half the fun is the learning, and with photography that's something that never stops!

I think we did notice but they said they want to learn. I think many people still see digital camera's as point and click pocket units and don't realise that a digital SLR can do all a film one can.

Canon site below has some tutorials and stuff which are interesting.

http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/index.html

I think we did notice but they said they want to learn.


Indeed.

If you want to "learn photography" then, really, it doesn't matter what sort of camera you have, or even if you have a camera at all.

However, of the cameras that are out there, an SLR will allow the greatest degree of creative control, and my own preference and therefore recommendation would be for a digital version. Others in the thread have different views on that, but that's up to them.

There is, of course, the argument that an SLR is a lot of kit (and somewhat expensive) to just start out with, which is why it might be worth experiementing more with whatever the OP has already, first.

Don't think I'm bothered about SLRs, I don't currently know OWT about it all, just looking at some prices on Ebay TBH.

I don't have one of these, but I'm seriously considering it. It's a lomo - something of a cult camera from russia.

http://shop.lomography.com/lca+/