Question:
Best cheap entry level camera? Help please?
Kimberly
2016-07-07 21:04:12 UTC
hi i want to become a photographer. I want to photograph different kind of photograhy particularly streets,landscape and portrait what do you think is the best cheap entry level camera to take a better photographs and also what is the best lens that suits my styles. I want to take pictures like the famous instagrammer alex strohl, hannes becker, hirozzzz and samuel elkins they are my inspiration. Please dont laugh at me im too poor to buy expensive camera and considering that i am still new in this field.
Five answers:
?
2016-07-08 17:08:31 UTC
I would say either a Nikon or Pentax. Mainly because both use the same lens mount today as they did during the days of film. This allows you to spend considerably less on lenses. I'm inclined to say to stick with Nikon over Pentax since you have aspirations to go pro. Nikon and Canon are the only brands making professional DSLRs and lenses (yes, Sigma makes pro-level lenses too, but not DSLRs). So while the Pentax K-50 is a better camera than either entry-level body from Canon or Nikon, in the long run it'll be better for you to just stick with one brand.



Since your budget is low, I would suggest buying a used body and lens. Put more emphasis in the quality of the lenses than the body. Here's some good lens options for the various types of genres that you've mentioned:



STREET: Traditional street photographers either use a 35mm or 50mm, but since you're likely to be using an APS-C format camera, you need to divide those numbers by the crop factor of the camera which is 1.5 for Nikon and 1.6 Canon. You'll want a slightly wide lens for street work and you'll want a fast lens. To keep the price down, and to get a larger aperture, you'll want to stick with a prime lens as opposed to a zoom. The Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 is amazing lens, but at $900, it's not feasible at this time. So, stick with either manual focus lenses (very cheap) or just get a simple pancake lens like a 40mm.



Don't be too concerned with image quality. Your main goal now is to learn the technical and artistic sides of photography. The photos that you make now won't matter, so don't think that you need "good" gear to get good pictures, that's simply not true. Your decisions are responsible for making a great photo, not the camera/lens.



PORTRAIT - A decent portrait lens is 50mm or a telephoto zoom like a 55-200. There are definitely better lenses than others. Having a lens with a larger aperture like f/1.8 of the 50mm, will produce a much larger amount of background blur. This is, along with it being cheap, makes the 50mm f/1.8 a very popular portrait lens. Remember, you can lower the cost of lenses by getting used manual focusing lenses.



LANDSCAPES: You want to have wide-angle lens such as 10-20mm. In 35mm format, a 28mm is a good starting point for wide-angle. However, the 24mm, while it doesn't seem like a big change, is significantly better. Those few extra mm makes a big difference. Wider the better. So a 10-22 would be a good choice. Getting a used 24mm or a used 18-55mm kit lens would be good enough to get you started.



You have the option of buying primes for all of your needs, but you can lower the cost of your kit by getting a single zoom. The 18-55 kit lens will do you fine for street, landscapes, and portraits. While primes can be better (e.g. allowing in more light, better blurred backgrounds), a simple zoom will definitely allow you to get acceptable shots and allow you to learn about photography.



Any DSLR will be a good choice as there are no bad cameras. If you can't take a good photo with a DSLR, then it's your fault.
Mensa
2016-07-08 05:59:24 UTC
The Camera isn't that important at the moment...give your local library a visit and read through some of the Photography Guide Books that they'll have on their shelves...once you've got an idea of how the aperture, shutter speeds and iso affect your 'shooting options' then you'll be in a slightly better place...learning what the different features and specifications actually mean and do is really important...it's that knowledge that actually should influence your choice of camera much more than anything else.



It can be a lot of fun using less expensive 'kit' to learn the ropes...if a shot has been composed properly and the exposure is half decent then the average punter won't be too concerned with what the shot was taken with...they'll be more interested in who actually shot the image.



Well composed, correctly exposed interesting shots are much more important than the make or model of your camera...learn the basics and then buy the best 'kit' that your budget can afford...you'll have to work out the lenses and accessories that you want in your bag and prioritise how much of your budget they deserve.
joedlh
2016-07-08 09:11:14 UTC
Any camera from a mainline manufacturer will be more than adequate for a beginner like yourself. Even your smart phone. There are in fact some admired photographers who use only smart phones. The quality of a photograph and the degree of acclaim that it gets is 99% due to the skills and artistry of the photographer. So getting the same camera that Alex Strohl uses is not going to give you photographs like he takes.



Your best path forward is to take lots of pictures with whatever camera you have right now. Take on-line courses. Do a web search on "Learn Photography". Learn the concepts of photography, the lens, and the camera. If you devote yourself to getting better, there will come a point when you will want to take more precise control of your camera. Any camera above a smart phone will allow this -- some more easily than others. To learn more about them, go to http://dpreview.com.



I can't believe that people in this day and age are still spewing the same propaganda about how film makes you a more disciplined photographer than digital just because it costs more. I mean, seriously? There are no better learning tools than seeing your results immediately instead of waiting a week to get them back from the drug store, the histogram on the LCD of a digital camera, and the digital file's exif information, which records the camera settings for you instead of having to carry around a notebook for film.
keerok
2016-07-07 23:27:10 UTC
This one is priced like an entry-level dSLR but is actually mid-level in terms of features.



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/982528-REG/pentax_10939_k_50_digital_slr_camera.html
Elaine M
2016-07-07 21:05:01 UTC
Digital or film?



Studio quality or standard?


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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