Getting into photography

madlyn

If this question is not in the right place, please feel free to move it.
I'd like to get into photography, how much would I need to spend to get myself a camera and get started?

Emmia

madlyn said:

If this question is not in the right place, please feel free to move it.
I'd like to get into photography, how much would I need to spend to get myself a camera and get started?

You can do quite a lot with a smartphone - do you take lots of pictures now? Are you familiar with composition of images etc. that's where I'd start before launching into pricey cameras and pricier lenses.

Keep_pedalling

That is a how long is a piece of string type question. If you already have a smartphone with a decent camera on it will cost you nothing to start. What sort of photography interests you? 

DullGreyGuy

madlyn said:

If this question is not in the right place, please feel free to move it.
I'd like to get into photography, how much would I need to spend to get myself a camera and get started?

You dont have to spend anything if you already own some form of camera even if it's just a smart phone. 

Ultimately you will want something where you can control the settings but there are smart phone apps that allow that too

If you wanted to go out and buy a DSLR or the mirrorless equivalent then it would depend on what type of photography you want to be doing

Farway

As others have said, a very open question

Don't fall into the trap of buying an expensive camera to start, look at used ones to see if you really like it, or just a passing phase?

There are literally hundreds of used, older, cameras around, that were once top of the range and are now under £100

They will all take great pictures in the right hands, as will a decent mobile phone

oldernonethewiser

As already said if you have a phone with a camera then start with that. 

I have had a few cameras over the years and enjoy using them but I didn't start out with anything fancy. I'm just about to treat myself to a lens as I have some vouchers to use.  It is about £400.

There are loads of really helpful people who post courses and videos on Youtube, well worth checking out.

rancid-a

What made you want to get into photography @madlyn ? Have you been using your mobile and decided a camera might be a good investment?
I'm using an old Nikon D5300 DSLR, it's big, bulky but I prefer it over my Pixel 8 phone (not that I'm trashing the phone, I sometimes use it as a back up).
If you want to go the DSLR route, I would be tempted to scour those shops like CEX for a second hand one with a guarantee.

Newcad

If you realy want to learn photography then go back to 35mm film.

You can pick up what used to be very expensive old 35mm cameras and lenses for next to nothing, and 35mm film processing/printing is still available if you don't want to get into doing your own. (Also cheap SH kit available).

The main thing about using 35mm film is that you usually only have 36 shots on a roll of film - so you are careful to get things composed right before you press that button.

Clicking multiple times on digital and then picking just one image does not teach you the same discipline about composition.

Then you can move on to digital SLR cameras having learned how to take good images rather than lots if images with only one or two good ones.

Just my opinion.

400ixl

You could achieve that with just using a small memory card in a digital camera without the expense of processing film.

I agree with the sentiment though of taking time, but being able to experiment with exposures, apertures etc on a digital camera at zero cost is also a good way to learn.

A far better place to get used camera equipment than the like of CEX is https://www.wexphotovideo.com/

You can start with your phone camera as people have mentioned, but you don't need to spend a fortune of dedicated equipment either. Often investing in a good lens is a far better investment than a newer camera body.

Vitor

I'd suggest a 2nd-hand Nikon D3500 with the 18-55mm 'kit' lens. You can pick one up in the £300 to £400 range from vendors sush as CeX and won't lose much if anything if you decide to sell on privately. It was designed with the new photographer in mind and features a Guide Mode that will essentially teach you how to shoot in various situations. With a 24MPixel sensor it's more than good enough for images for social media and prints. If you decide to take the hobby further, you can add other lenses as needed.



- If you realy want to learn photography then go back to 35mm film. - 

I can understand the sentiment but realistically the high £ cost for processing film and the dissapointment of waiting and getting back 36 prints all out of focus or under/over exposed would put off any newbie. IMHO.

DullGreyGuy

Newcad said:

If you realy want to learn photography then go back to 35mm film.

You can pick up what used to be very expensive old 35mm cameras and lenses for next to nothing, and 35mm film processing/printing is still available if you don't want to get into doing your own. (Also cheap SH kit available).

The main thing about using 35mm film is that you usually only have 36 shots on a roll of film - so you are careful to get things composed right before you press that button.

Clicking multiple times on digital and then picking just one image does not teach you the same discipline about composition.

Then you can move on to digital SLR cameras having learned how to take good images rather than lots if images with only one or two good ones.

Just my opinion.

Film cameras are certainly cheap, lenses for them depend. A Canon EOS Film or Digital camera uses the same lenses (other than they have to be the EF versions, EF-S lenses will break the mirror) so they're the same price but you can't use the cheaper EF-S models. 

I do have a 35mm EOS for the opposite reason of being able to reuse the lenses invested in for the digital camera. Were it not the case I would have gone with a medium format camera like a Mamiya M645J and you're down to 15 photos on a standard 120 film. Medium format digital cameras are crazy prices and it gives you something different so sits along side the digital camera you later buy. 

400ixl said:

You could achieve that with just using a small memory card in a digital camera without the expense of processing film.

It doesn't work the same way. Minimum capacity these days is 4gb for most brands so thats a few hundred photos. At that volume you can happily take dozens of every shot, sure you may need to be deleting most each time but its nothing like 36, 24 or 12 shots before the role is finished.