O/T Help with finding a decent camera? Any photographer mummies out there?

[Scampie]

A bit O/T, but it is to photograph my lovely ickle dudes!

Just looking for some advice on a good camera to buy. I have your average digital camera, but im looking for something a bit more professional. Nothing too technical to use, but still able to capture professional looking pics after some practise.

My budget will prob be around £200 for a second hand one. Could add more if its neccesary.

Just really looking for maybe some ideas of specific cameras or general specifications, and do i need different lenses n stuff? Really technical terms here i know, lol. Im a complete novice with photography, but would love to learn how to take beautiful pics of my littles without hours of photoshop, lol!

TIA x

 

[jojo_b]

You want an entry level DSLR. Try the Sony A200. You'll be fine with the standard lense that comes with the camera, and while you learn to use it, there's an "auto" option. Even on that, your pictures will look much better than on the average compact.

 

[jojo_b]

It's not too expensive for a new one either x

 

[MissBroody]

My parents bought me and my OH a camera for Christmas - I'm not a photographer but I love photography. It's a Sony DSLR A290L (14.2 megapixel) I think... anyway I love it lol! I think they're around £300 or £400 though. My dad, however, also has a DSLR camera and did a lot of looking and researching on E-bay for his and eventually bought a Sony DSLR (I dont know the name or megapixel but its not much less than mine and fantastic quality) for around £200. The seller had 100% positive feedback and they talked back and forth as its obviously a lot of money to be spending. In the end he was very pleased with his camera, it was in mint condition and came in the original box with all the lense caps, strap, leads etc. I think if you have a good look and don't rush into anything then you can get a really good camera for around £200 second-hand.
xx

 

[MrsMouse]

as a very keen photographer (specilising in studio work) I would suggest the things to look for:

styles of camera -
dslr (digital slr camera) this will have a lot more features than most compact camera it will probably be bigger and cost more, however you are less likely to get red-eyes in your picture when you use a flash, you will also be able to buy different accessories if your photography style improves / changes. Will have more manual features as well as automatic ones.

compact - often smaller with less manual features. Will often have a longer zoom lens inbuilt - look for optical zoom - this is how much zoom the lens has before its starts digitally zooming (magnifying pixels to make the image bigger).

megapixels - as high as you can get for the money (this is the number of "dots" that make your picture - the more you have the clearer the image) if you want to enlarge your pics up to A4 or thereabouts - dont go for anything less than 6 megapixels

lenses - you can get many different ones for DSLR's
short zoom lenses i.e. 18-50 mm will have a wider field of vison so if you had a group of 12 people in a row you wont need to move back to get them all in you just zoom to the 18mm end.

A 70-300mm zoom lens will mean you can zoom up to things - i.e. if your little one is playing in the garden and you want to take a picture without her knowing - you can zoom in rather than walk up to her.

obviously lenses can cost a lot or a little depending on what level you want to take your photography to. But most compacts will be adequate enough if you look at megapixels and optical zoom.

When you go hunting for a new camera - try them all - DLSRs will be heavier and bigger and compacts are just that - compact. go with what feels comfortable. Having got 2 different dslr's and now having jamie - i wish i had a quality little compact just to pop in our bag when we go out - dslrs usually mean another separate bag for the camera!

you can buy some really good little compacts for £150 now with 12 megapixels and a 5 times optical zoom which would cater for most peoples needs.

Have fun looking!

Nickie

 

[ouchwithNo.2]

thanks for this thread.
I had a fab 8mega pixel on my samsung phone - even my BIL commented how good the pics were and he is into his photography (albeit landscapes rather than people) but that phone died and my blackberry is AWFUL so I was saying to OH last night I want a decent camera but there are so many to choose from and I am not a technical person so this is very helpful!
x

 

[_laura]

Yeah was going to say that Sony's are reasonable SLR's another one to look at is the Canon G Series. They are compacts but work similarly to DSLR's (you cant change lenses though)

I'm with the above poster. I've got such a heavy DSLR cause I'm a fashoin/portrait photographer that I wish I had a compact to take out and about.

 

[ayh78]

Not what you asked I know, but we were bought this book as a pressie 'How to Photograph Your Baby' https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Photog...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296236000&sr=1-1.

It is aimed at the complete beginner and I found it quick and easy to read, and I think I've learnt quite a few tricks from it and got some great results. Might be worth a look!

 

[Waiting2bMommy]

I love the Nikon D3000, d5000 and d7000 also the d90 if your just starting I would go with the d3000 as its super easy to use and takes great pictures

 

[hippobaby]

I dabble in photography and swear by canon, I have a 350d and a 40d and would recommend a 350d or 450d second hand. Great pic quality with some auto and custom functions.

 

[08marchbean]

I love the Nikon D3000, d5000 and d7000 also the d90 if your just starting I would go with the d3000 as its super easy to use and takes great pictures

i agree, i have the d3000 and its fab. i much prefer nikon to cannon, but thts just my personal preference. (same with alot of photographers i know, find them easier to navigate) the d3000 has been replaced by the d3100 now tho so you cant find them new very often, so may get a good deal on a second hand one.

 

[JColeman]

try the Lumix G1

 

[mrsraggle]

I have a Nikon d60 - I found that cameras are much a muchness but to get fantastic photos it's best to invest in the lens. For my portraits I use a 50mm f/1.4.

 

[2016]

I love my Nikon D60. I then bought an 18-200 lens second hand and that is all I use. It works for wide angle shots and great close ups. I still take most of my photos in auto and they come out great (IMHO ) It also isn't too complicated to use and has lots of helpful features.

 

[2wantedpls]

Do you guys use any photography software? Or recommend anything? Pref free or reasonably priced.

I've just bought a Sony nex-5

 

[BunnyFace]

I have a nikon D40 which i bought for my photography course at college a few years ago and it's brilliant. Couldnt fault it. Its quite an old model i believe but it takes high quality images. Nikon is a brilliant make and i would reccommend them over any other

 

[BunnyFace]

Do you guys use any photography software? Or recommend anything? Pref free or reasonably priced.

I've just bought a Sony nex-5

You can download an editing program called Gimp which has pretty much the same features of photoshop https://www.gimp.org/

 

[stephmum2be]

My OH has a canon EOS 300D its a basic entry level dslr but it takes very good pics, ive also got a canon compact. He took a semi nude silhouette pic of me when i was pregnant and it looks like a professional one, lots of people have commented on it Id personally go for a canon.

 

[Bucket]

We had a Canon DSLR for a couple of years, but it's just too huge to be truly portable. So we just bought the Panasonic Lumix model that came out this week (around £600) and it's amazing! Takes a little practice to work out all the controls, but basically gives you very nearly SLR quality results on a compact camera. xx

 

[Torz]

Thanks for this thread.

I love taking pictures, our basic sony digital camera is old now & all the photos i've taken of LO have been on my sony ericcson C905 8mp which is amazing good for a camera phone, the xenon flash really does maake a difference compaaired with the crappy LED flashes on most camera phones.

My birthday is comming up & i've asked everyone for money so i can get a decent camera, i was thinking about a SLR so this thread has really helped thanks.