Photography

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napomp85
napomp85 Posts: 517 Member
in Chit-Chat
Does anyone do photography, either for hobby or professional? I am really wanting to get started as a hobby, it as always interested me. I am having a very difficult time choosing a camera and gear.

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  • wesleepuntilthesungoesdown
    wesleepuntilthesungoesdown Posts: 876 Member
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    Do it as a hobby when I get time. Depends what you want to take pictures of and what your budget is? Are you thinking DSLR?
  • squeepig
    squeepig Posts: 89 Member
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    Yep! :) Check out my photos here: http://wildmaven.org

    A good place to compare cameras is here: http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras

    You can select a couple of cameras and do a side by side comparison.

    Best to figure out what's important to you and how you'll be using it first. Will you be shooting in low light, will it mostly be fast action (ie sports), etc. Do you need one that's light and can easily be carried around on vacation, or are you willing to lug along large lenses?
  • napomp85
    napomp85 Posts: 517 Member
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    Going to be starting out as a complete amateur. I was thinking DSLR but I also know if I go anywhere with the kiddos it's not going to be easy to lug around a bunch of lenses. Any suggestions on just basics to start out with? I will be using it for various things I am guessing. I love taking pics of nature, I also have kids who are very photogenic, and of course they have their school activities I attend and want to take pictures of.
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
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    Maybe take a digital photography class (check your community college). That might give you an idea of what kind of time, money and commitment you want to make to the new hobby. I took such a class and loved it. The only requirement was having a digital camera that you could manually adjust for shutter speed, exposure, digital ISO speed and white balance. I got a Canon S3, which met those requirements but was a less expensive (compared to DSLR) way to 'dip my toes in the pool'.

    I'm still using that camera. I love having the control or putting it on auto-settings and just firing away, depending on the situation. I had hoped to move on to DSLR but life gets in the way sometimes.

    Anyway, by all means give photography a try. It's a great excuse to get out and explore your environment!
  • wesleepuntilthesungoesdown
    wesleepuntilthesungoesdown Posts: 876 Member
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    agree with what socalkay says, look for something that allows you to set things manually so you can learn what the effect of each setting is. I started with a Canon Powershot (pre S3) and have since moved up to a DSLR.
    If you can't do a course there are lots of good books - I started with this http://digital-photography-school.com/understanding-exposure-by-brian-peterson-a-reader-review/
    Might be worth looking out for a second hand camera, you can always sell it on/trade up without risking losing a large chunk of money.
  • napomp85
    napomp85 Posts: 517 Member
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    Joined the dps email list, I really enjoy going on that site, reading and learning and looking at the amazing pictures. It's been giving me some ideas for sure.

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