Photography is an amazing hobby, and a lot of people realize this. Deep down inside, everyone has a desire to really express their artistic abilities. Everyone has some fiber of artistic talent in them, it's human nature to at least appreciate art. A lot of people also realize how awesome still photographs can be. They can be artistic, they can tell a story, and they can do good, best of all it seems so easy to capture what you see as being beautiful and telling.
A lot of people will see prints in galleries, coffee shops, online, and think to themselves: "I could do that!" And let me tell you in plain honesty, hell yes you could. The photos are (usually) taken of real life situations and objects. These things exist in everyone's world, whereas painters and such have to muster their art from the delirium brewing in their often stricken minds. So of course, anybody could be in the exact same place and situation as the photographer behind the print that is being admired or scoffed at. But what's the difference? Well people immediately attribute it to the equipment.
"If I had a camera, I could do that too!" That is definitely not the case! I'm not discrediting your abilities before even meeting you, but just having a camera means nothing. Now if you came to this article hoping I will tell you exactly what camera would be best for your budget, artistic needs, and purse size, you might not get that. Instead I will help you understand how cameras are the least of your concerns in terms of getting the photos you want (snapshots, group family pictures, or abstract architectural marvels).
There's a lot of differences between a good photographer and a person who wants to be a photographer. But first, let's go through the similarities first: Good photographers and photographers both want a camera. Cool, *whew*, we're done with that list. Now let's get into the differences:
- Good photographers need to get themselves in good situations to take a picture
- People who want to be photographers want a really good camera so they can take a picture... somewhere.
- Good photographers take pictures all the time, and when lucky on a good day come up with one or two photos that they keep
- People who want to be photographers want better equipment so that all the pictures they want to take look way better, like good photographers.
- Good photographers go. They plan, the organize, and they go and take pictures regularly. They literally go places they don't in their every day lives to get the pictures they want.
- People who want to be photographers talk about needing a good camera to take good pictures. And when the pictures they take in their rooms, to the club, to the Monday Night football hangout at their friends house, they curse that they don't know how to use their camera to take good photos.
There's a trend here. To take good photos, it requires that you practice a lot and get yourself into good situations. Go out and get yourself in situations that provides for good photos. You cannot make a photo out of nothing. I absolutely discredit photos when they have zero story behind them. If you take a picture of your nondescript sofa, even with the best quality possible with the best camera, that sucks. Whereas if you take a disposable camera and take a picture of a cancer patient who has survived 10 years of cancer to see her daughter graduate and become an research doctor to help fight the disease, the tears, the happiness, the story, that is basically a good photograph regardless of if the exposure is perfect.
Making this short, don't worry about what camera you get. If you want a point and shoot, any point and shoot you can buy new today is probably 100 times better than most cameras you could possibly get 5 years ago. If you want a DSLR, and you want to know the perfect one for a beginner who wants to expand, then I have quite the recommendation for you.
You will never know what you want out of a camera until you actually realize want you need by practice. It's like telling a high schooler that he shouldn't keep holding onto the hope that his ex-girlfriend will eventually come back to him, and they'd get married. They don't know that, they will love that girl until they find the next girlfriend and realize first hand how ridiculously stupid they were. Lesson learned, now they know what they want (or so they think). Having a camera is similar (well, minus the benefits... sometimes). In a nutshell, no matter who you ask, you will have no freaking clue whether or not the extra megapixel, the extra high ISO capabilities, the dual compact flash slots, the live view, the extra focus points, the larger range of color spectrum, the brand name, the number badge, will do you any good.
Bottom line: Get the lowest end DSLR, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, what have you, and learn. Getting a good photo will never come easy, so suck it up and deal with it. It's a learning process. The lowest end cameras are so superior in quality and ability than any SLR you could get prior, and starting with a cheaper one will allow for you to upgrade with little guilt. You already planned on it.
What you need to concentrate on is what you're taking a picture of. So instead of toiling about what camera to get for weeks and months, get the cheapest SLR, get a nice cheap $100 50mm f/1.8 lens from Nikon or Canon, and spend your time researching places and going to those places to take the picture. What good is it if you finally decide to buy a so-so DSLR that's not the lowest end, but also not the best, to make you feel better if you end up with no pictures?
Get out there, prove your artistic abilities! You'll slowly learn what you want out of a camera that isn't already there, and believe me, there's plenty of power in the lowest ends of the DSLR families.
It's just like a startup company, it starts with the bare minimums. The successful companies you see today didn't start off with the artillery you see them flaunting today. Photography is the same.
For those who are sad that I didn't mention any specific recommendations, here's what you should start with (today, just order it and take pictures as soon as possible):
- Nikon DSLR (lowest possible, D5000 is good, D40, D50, etc)
- Nikkor (Nikon) 50mm F/1.8D lens
- One extra battery
- Two 4gb memory cards
Then find photo groups in your area who go out on outings to take pictures together. Learning from others and getting out is the best way to start. Join my group on Flickr if you're in the bay area:
http://flic.kr/groups/sfbas
Also, deciding either Nikon or Canon or Sony, see what your friends have. If a lot have Nikon, get Nikon. If a lot have Canon, go that route. They are all great brands, the differences you probably will never care about anyway. What you should care about is your friend giving you first hand tips and help about what to do with what you have. Reading manuals is a ridiculous way to learn, real life trial and error, referring back to the manual, and getting help from the community is key. Also you can try out your friend's lenses and gear ;)
At some point (soon if you shoot often), you will learn what you need out of a camera. You'll have a clear picture of what you need, and can budget your savings correctly to make a confident purchase. In startup companies you do the same, you learn from early releases, feedback from users, and yourself. You really will never be able to predict what twists and turns your ideas will take. Same with your photography, hobbyist, serious hobbyist, or pro. Never rely on what others tell you, try it out yourself.
