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sugar.lady

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Hi there, i am thinking to enroll in a photography course, but unsure of which camera should i buy!!
can you please recommend me one (brand, specifications,.. etc)
my budget is around £200-£300
and do you recommend to buy second hand camera?

thanks
 
sugar.lady said:
Hi there, i am thinking to enroll in a photography course, but unsure of which camera should i buy!!
can you please recommend me one (brand, specifications,.. etc)
my budget is around £200-£300
and do you recommend to buy second hand camera?

thanks
Click to expand...

Welcome to TP :)

If you're thinking of a course, presumably you're fairly serious and want something with creative potential, ie a DSLR or one of the new MILCs (mirror-less interchangeable lens camera). As opposed to just taking good, record-type snaps, and nothing wrong with that, but a compact is a cheap and easy way of doing it.

The big difference is that DSLRs have bigger sensors which means you can control the depth of field (how much of the picture appears sharp) to differentiate and emphasise the subject, and on a more technical point, compacts are not much good for shooting action.

Buying used is a good idea. Many people upgrade for no other reason that there's a new model out, so you get a bit of a bargain. The for sale forum here is excellent, but unfortunatley you need 100 posts before you can access it.

My personal suggestion for £300 would be a Canon 450D with standard 18-55 IS kit lens as a good starter, but anything from Canon or Nikon that fits your budget should be fine. They're all very similar pound for pound.
 
To add a bit to the good advice above, if you want to do photography rather than take snap shots, you will need a camera that allows you to be in control, so something with manual capabilities. All photography stems from an understanding of the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, with some ISO control thrown in for good measure.

All entry level cameras from decent manufactures will do the trick. If you go for Canon or Nikon you will be able to use the vast range of accessories as and when, and these tend to hold their value better than some - can be important when you want to upgrade.

Used can be fine, but if you go this route I'd try to get something from a supplier who offers a warranty. Remember that you're going to need some memory (often way cheaper on line than high street), Photoshop or similar if you want to do more than basic manipulation, and a bag to carry everything around in.

Good luck!
 
what about canon 350D ?? is there a big difference between it and canon 450D ? thanks
 
sugar.lady said:
Hi there, i am thinking to enroll in a photography course, but unsure of which camera should i buy!!
can you please recommend me one (brand, specifications,.. etc)
my budget is around £200-£300
and do you recommend to buy second hand camera?

thanks
Click to expand...

what does the course tutor say?

FWIW a second hand Nikon D70 or D70s with a kit lens will go for about 150 - 200 on eBay and do all you need for the moment. In a year or two, when you are very good at photography, you will hit a limitation that you cant resolve, at which point get a better camera
 
Whatever brand you go for, just make sure it has some form of manual control. Look for Av, Tv and M settings on the dial. College courses (certainly the ones I've done) all talk about the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO. If you don't have the ability to control these on your camera you may get a bit lost.

I started with a 350D and it was a lovely little camera. The 450D came a long way in terms of improvement, so I would reccomend either (depending on price!).

All the advice here is good, and if it does boil down to a Nik vs Canon choice, most forum users recommend you get your hands on one of each if you can, and see which feels better or which menu system you prefer.

Good luck on your course!

Ian.
 
I recomend you any camera Like DSLR, like Canon 350D it will be enought and an good lens like 50mm f1.8, or some compact with manual controls for starting.
 
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