beginner to photography

[ZAust]

well, over the last few months, ive become very interested in photography. unfortunately, i have no idea how to actually get started in taking my own pictures. im assuming a digital camera would be the way to go, as i dont have a darkroom lying around and quite frankly, i dont trust those schmucks at the photo place. what are some good, entry level digital cameras? how much would these puppies run me? i have photoshop 5, so i believe i am covered on the software front. are there any solid photography for beginners books out there? basically, i would appreciate any help you guys could give me.

thanks.

[SpdElemts]

The Cannon G5 is one bad *** camera. Just my opinion though. SHould look into that camera.

[fire1811]

how much you looking to spend on a camera?

what type of photos you planning on taking?
if you have the money get a SLR camera
they have changable lens for long zooming and every feature you will ever need

I have a Canon Digital Rebel EOS which runs about $1000 with a lens. it is the same camera as canon's 10d basically, few less features

very nice camera but not sure if you have the money.
also i use a 1gb memory card in it so i can put TONS of pics on it, they now have a 2gb card availible too.

and i use adobe photoshop 7.0 which can be made availible email me for details

if your not looking on spending that much i like the
sony cybershot cameras also

a good rule of thumb IMO is to stay with a camera brand that made cameras prior to digital(except sony) they use there own lens and parts

any other questions post em
later
curt

[Hamster Huey]

If you're just trying to mess around with taking snap shots and basic composition, any P&S digital camera will be fine. If your goal is to get better at manipulating exposure times, apertures, depth of field, etc. I would recommend getting an SLR. Granted, there are non-SLR digital cameras out there that can do some of these things, but if you plan to grow in your hobby, an SLR will get you the greatest degree of flexibility.

I wouldn't necessarily rule out a film SLR, either. While digital can be nice for learning, in that you can see your results without paying each time, the cost of digital can be prohibitive. Do what you want.

As for books, I recommend "The Basic Book of Photography", but I'm on the geeky side of things. It's more of a text book than anything, but it's very comprehensive.

Websites can be hugely vaulable, too. www.dpreview.com is awesome, and there's a great community on photo.net. Good luck!

[Fred]

forget digital. learn the basics on a completely manual SLR.

any schmuck can pick up a digi-cam and start photochopping their pics. whereas someone who knows how to meter light, set correct aperture and shutter speeds, play with depth of feild, and properly bracket the pic the first time can get the pic to look right in a lot less time.

I'm not that person, but I'm learning... my mom is an amature photographer and I'm taking classes for it at school... i do have the luxery of a darkroom in the basement, and a few cameras to choose from, but a basic SLR will do wonders for you as far as teaching you the mechanics.

my personal fav is the Olympus OM-1... which is over 20 years old... shoots awesome pics, totally manual, and has all the settings you really need.

---Fred

[Lopy]

if your going dig, make sure you get one with an optical zoom, the digital zooms suck. optical zooms actualy use a lense to zoom in, dig zooms just blow up the picutur and crop into where your pointing it, it can leave you with crappy pixilated pics.

And I agree totaly with Fred, if you realy wanna gete into photography, you need to get a real camera, dig cams are less fun to work with, and you will find it much more interesting to work with a real camera.

[fire1811]

actually most Digital SLR's can do both mine you can shoot with it in full auto or you can set eveything like you do.

its all about what you want to spend and what you like
try both and then make your own decision.

[Kai]

Originally posted by Fred
forget digital. learn the basics on a completely manual SLR.

any schmuck can pick up a digi-cam and start photochopping their pics. whereas someone who knows how to meter light, set correct aperture and shutter speeds, play with depth of feild, and properly bracket the pic the first time can get the pic to look right in a lot less time.
---Fred

Agreed, but if you absolutely cannot find access to a photo lab, I suppose digital will have to work...

If AT ALL possible, though, I recommend learning on 35mm...It's alot more fun, and alot more gratifying.

Minolta makes several great, cheap, beginner-level cameras.