Starting to take photography seriously????

Question

Hi there!

Well, I've decided that I would like to take up photography as a hobby and not just use my 5MP Canon SD400 for family, girlfriend, and holiday pictures. I really wonder why photographers carry those nice big cameras around, i thought i might give a try.

I want to create photos that will create memories that last forever.

I've looked round the net, but there is so much to consider, I really don't know where to start or even how to start. I just want to be able to take really nice pictures of people, landscapes and objects,; and have the option of being a bit creative.

What I am looking for is a SLR camera which has a good range of manual settings, takes great photos and is relatively easy for a complete beginner to use. Could anyone please recommend a good camera which can take RAW photos, including lenses? Because from what I have seen, there is so much available and I really don't have a clue as to what lenses are good or not, or what they do. I've seen a Nikon D40, but not really to sure what I'd want, or if these are suitable. What about lens? I heard there are swappable lens.

Also, if you take high quality photos, what options do you have for printing? Do you photoshop them? Do you take them to a print shop?

I hope this was detailed enough;

Thanks for any help!!!!

Answer 1

Whoa you have just opened a huge can of worms!!  I would suggest you look up the Nikon D70s or D80 bc they have manual controls but still some auto controls as well.  Something like the D200 or D300 is a pro camera, with nothing but manual controls so you would have to have some experience already.  I think the D80 is a very good beginner camera, although you might still feel daunted.  If you dont know what ISO is or white balance, then be prepared to take a class or read several books on digital photography.  Also the D80 has the RAW option.

As for lenses, I would suggest you visit amazon or digicombos.com, they offer packages at really good prices with camera bodies and lenses included.  I would suggest you try to find something in the 28-150mm range, that would cover your wide angle shots and portraiture, but for now stay away from 70-300mm unless you plan to do a lot of shooting from great distances.  I would also suggest you stay away from third party lenses, stick with nikon lenses if you get a nikon, cannon lenses with canon, etc.  Third party lenses that say they work on nikons or whatever dont always fit as well as a nikkor lens.

As for priting, that is a whole 'nother issue.  You have tons of options for printing, some people use professional labs, others use places like costco, bc they do a dencent job and are cheap.  If you plan on printing yourself, be prepared to learn about color calibration software, color profiles, dye ink vs pigment ink, etc.  There are tons of options out there, look into the epsons and cannons, they are excelent printers.  I would also suggest that if you are doing any sort of shooting, obtaining a copy of adobe cs3 is absolutely necessary.  

I hope this helps a little, and if you dont feel overwhelemed yet, then welcome to the world of digital photography.  

P.S. check out my sources, they are VITAL!