My son will take Digital photography class next semester. Do you have any recommendation of camera model for beginner? He has very simple $200 camera but he said that is not good enough for his class. His friend recommending very expensive camera like $1,000.
Is he getting an SLR? Cannon or NIkon are big names. We used a small camera shop for advice but big stores can help too. To start he can pay around $500 then add zoom lenses etc. over time.
Thank you very much for your reply.
Check out Ken Rockwell. He reviews a lot of photographic equipment and has links to deals at various online retailers.
Also check with the school. They likely have recommendations/minimums for cameras for the class. A lot of cameras are pretty much automatic (effectively point and shoot even if dSLRs). But a digital photography class may want the students to be able to manually set various setting on the camera (so they know what they are doing in terms of exposure, light balance, etc) rather than letting the camera handle it. That is easier to do with some cameras than others.
Are there loaners from the school? Is it a college or HS class, and is it a passion or a filler? Frankly I would investigate low cost (used/beg/borrow) options if it isn’t a serious class.
Check with the school. D20 is taking a photography class in which a friend’s son is also a student. Friend and I both own $500-ish DSLRs (she has a Nikon, I have a Canon). Friend’s son came home and said he needed one of those expensive cameras. D20 came home and said she planned to use her iPhone.
Thank you for your reply.
A Canon or Nikon dSLR. A used one would be fine if it’s in good shape and fairly recent. There other brands (Sony etc) but it will be easier with learning settings and getting help and such if he goes with one of the big two. Costco often has a kit with a lens or two and a camera bag at a good price. I’ve taken a couple of photography classes. The teacher should have a set of minimum requirements, usually it needs a fully manual mode at minimum. Something like the Canon Rebel T6 or T7 or even an older used model from that line (T3, etc).
Borrow before you buy is a great idea too. Lots of people have these sitting in a closet. I borrowed one for months before I bought one.
B&H has some refurbished digital SLRs and possibly discounts for students.
You can get ‘kits’ from both Canon and Nikon in the $6-800 range. They include a camera body and 2 zoom lenses, one standard length and one more telephoto. All of the new ones do 4K video too (and look much better than a phone) Another nice addition is fairly inexpensive - something like a fixed 50mm lens, plus some filters for UV and a polarized filter for outdoors (around $150). You will also need a case for all of the stuff.
You can also get a used versions of the above, which will be quite inexpensive.
Another option is to get a high end point + shoot camera. They have mostly the same range of manual adjustments. I’d still go the DSLR route.
Either Canon or Nikon is good, although Sony has been really cutting into the photography market with their mirrorless cameras. Camera bodies tend to devalue much quickly than lenses, meaning you can get pretty good camera body at really attractive price. If you want to purchase a used camera body, be sure to ask what it’s “actuation” is, i.e., how many shots the camera took. People in the photography community know what actuation means and they’ll be happy to provide that info. Of course, less the actuation number the better. Whether used or new, you want to make sure that it has full MANUAL functions because any photography class would get into that for sure.
If you have a good budget for a camera, my suggestion is to avoid purchasing a “kit,” i.e., camera body and lens combo, such as those that Costco sells. They usually sell good camera body with a cheap lens. They’re still capable, but remember that image quality (IQ) really depends on the lens, not so much the body. Another suggestion is to get a camera body that can shoot RAW, which basically is a digital “negatives” like the old days of film negatives. With these RAW images, you can then edit with a greater flexibility than JPEG images, which are basically camera processed images. I’d then get the latest Adobe Photoshop Elements software which nowadays goes for $79.99 at Costco.
Thank you for nice suggestion everyone. I really appreciate it your time to answer my questions.
The great thing about Canon and Nikon is that you can use older lenses. Sony took over Minolta, but I’m not sure if old Minolta lenses work on new Sony bodies. A question to ask at the camera store.
Many camera stores allow customers to trade in bodies for upgrades, so they may have some great used ones.
Trust but verify when it comes to lenses. Some off-brand lenses will work with newer Canon or Nikon but only in manual mode. Read B&H reviews before you buy a Sigma etc. lens.
A lot of lenses require modifier rings to make them fit between cameras. They make a wide range of sizes of rings to fit a lens from one camera onto another.
B&H is an excellent source of info.
D3 has a Canon, not sure of the model but I can check. She was photographing animals outdoors so she needed a good zoom. It has been excellent. I think it was about $400. My MIL has a Canon also, but with much less of a zoom. Hers has an even better lens and cost more like $700.
We had a good experience shopping around and trying things out at Best Buy with help from one of their sales people. She got an extra battery and charger because she’s out in the field a lot.
Be sure the student check on the course requirements. Making digital changes to downloaded photos may be the essence of the course. Taking one’s own photos under various conditions may be needed to have varied material to fiddle with.
Sorry … I meant to infer in my post about lenses that older Canon lenses can fit on newer Canon models, older Nikon lenses on newer Nikon bodies, and possibly older Minolta lenses on new Sony bodies (since Sony bought Minolta).
I would definitely talk to the teacher and get his/her recommendations based on the class syllabus and where he might want to take his photography later on if he chooses to be on the journalism staff or not. I definitely would NOT go by any recommendations from friends. I have found that friends tend to exaggerate things.
@tutumom2001 - yes, but not all of the features might work. IS and AF of some newer Canon lenses do not work with older Canon bodies.
One of the better photography websites is photographylife, they have an article exactly on this topic:
https://photographylife.com/camera-equipment-for-beginners
The Ken Rockwell website, mentioned above is a little idiosyncratic and has a very mixed reputation among experienced photographers.