Beginner Newbie and Need advise on a Dslr ive seen ...

[Damo88]

Hi guys my name is Damen

Im very new to the photography world and have no experience with a dslr camera only my iphone camera and editing apps lol.

I can purchase a Nikon D3300/D5300 DSLR through my work and pay monthly.

The D3300 comes with a 18-55 mm f 3.5-5.6 zoom lens black. £245

The D5300 comes with the same but is £355

Please can i take your advise on if this would be a good purchase.

I love taking scenery shots, photos of my Bulldogs, cars, floural shots etc

I understand about these cameras being a Crop sensor which i now know they are not as wide as a full frame camera.

Would these cameras be good ebough for what id do?? I am very unknowledged on photography but i am willing to take advise and learn as i go along.

Thank you in advance

 

[steve_lyt]

The only thing with these cameras is that they can't used all Nikon compatible lens in auto focus . They require the lens
To have the motor in them. But they are both capable cameras

 

[dancook]

If you are happy with the iPhone field of view/focal length.

The 'wide end' 18mm on the the 18-55mm lens (on these cameras mentioned) will be similar to the field of view you get from your iPhone.

 

[Damo88]

Thanks guys, oh thats decent to know.

Steve would that mean, i would need to buy a lens with the motor in them? Meaning expensive?

Also forgive me, auto focus, how does that work conpared to manual focus? I know its a noob question im sorry.

 

[FishyFish]

Thanks guys, oh thats decent to know.

Steve would that mean, i would need to buy a lens with the motor in them? Meaning expensive?

Also forgive me, auto focus, how does that work conpared to manual focus? I know its a noob question im sorry.

Pretty much all modern lenses will have a focussing motor built in. It's only if you want to buy older lenses (or certain specialised lenses) where you'll need to rely on manual focus. The Nikon 18-55mm kit lens has a focussing motor.

Manual focus requires you to twist the focussing ring on the lens until the image becomes sharp in the viewfinder. Autofocus will do this automatically, focussing on one of the auto-focus points in the viewfinder (you can select which one the camera uses). Manual focussing on DSLRs is not as easy as it was on old film cameras as they don't tend to feature the special focussing screens that older cameas had. Sometimes you'll get an indicator, or some cameras have focus-peaking, which highlights the part of the shot that is in focus, but you don't tend to get the bright focussing screens. The only time I ever tend to use manual focus with my DSLR is when taking extreme close-up macro shots. Unless there is a very low-contrast scene, then auto-focus is usually very effective for normal photos.

Either of those cameras is very capable of producing excellent results. I have a D3200, which is the predecessor of the D3300, and it's a great entry level DSLR.

 

[Damo88]

Arrr that explains alot, so id presume both cameras will have both maunal and autofocus, im learning slowly but surely getting there, i just want to spend my money wisely, i think a full frame camera would be too expensive for me at the moment.

 

[FishyFish]

Arrr that explains alot, so id presume both cameras will have both maunal and autofocus, im learning slowly but surely getting there, i just want to spend my money wisely, i think a full frame camera would be too expensive for me at the moment.

Yes, that's correct. IMO There would probably be little benefit from you going for a full-frame camera unless money is no object (both for the camera AND the full-frame lenses that it will require, which are much more expensive, and larger / heavier than their crop-sensor equivalents). Unless you really know how to get the extra benefit of the larger sensor, you'll probably notice little difference with a crop-sensor. Full-frame cameras tend to be intended for the professional market and are built with the sort of features required by these users - they're generally much more rugged so they can take knocks and handle inclement weather. They also tend to have more functionality available as buttons on the camera body, rather than hidden in sub-menus via the screen as this is a requirement of pro users.

It might also be worth looking at mirrorless cameras, such as the ones made by Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, Fuji etc. These are still interchangeable lens cameras, but they are usually much more compact and lighter that their DSLR equivalents.

 

[Phil V]

Arrr that explains alot, so id presume both cameras will have both maunal and autofocus, im learning slowly but surely getting there, i just want to spend my money wisely, i think a full frame camera would be too expensive for me at the moment.

Don't worry about manual focus, modern cameras aren't really built for it.

Full frame from an iPhone is like going from an invalid scooter to a 5 series BMW.

You don't even need a DSLR to move up significantly, or to stretch your creative muscles, you can't really go wrong with any modern DSLR or mirrorless system.

 

[Damo88]

Don't worry about manual focus, modern cameras aren't really built for it.

Full frame from an iPhone is like going from an invalid scooter to a 5 series BMW.

You don't even need a DSLR to move up significantly, or to stretch your creative muscles, you can't really go wrong with any modern DSLR or mirrorless system.

Thats great to know, so going for either of these cameras is going to be a nice step.

Would i also need to download photoshop to play with the photos? If so is there any good ones for beginners?

 

[Damo88]

Yes, that's correct. IMO There would probably be little benefit from you going for a full-frame camera unless money is no object (both for the camera AND the full-frame lenses that it will require, which are much more expensive, and larger / heavier than their crop-sensor equivalents). Unless you really know how to get the extra benefit of the larger sensor, you'll probably notice little difference with a crop-sensor. Full-frame cameras tend to be intended for the professional market and are built with the sort of features required by these users - they're generally much more rugged so they can take knocks and handle inclement weather. They also tend to have more functionality available as buttons on the camera body, rather than hidden in sub-menus via the screen as this is a requirement of pro users.

It might also be worth looking at mirrorless cameras, such as the ones made by Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, Fuji etc. These are still interchangeable lens cameras, but they are usually much more compact and lighter that their DSLR equivalents.

Thats good advise i really appreciate it

 

[lightshipman]

You can download Nikon own editing program, easy to use, and it's free. Ok it's not as advanced as photo shop, but it is good.
Any of the cameras you mentioned are good beginners cameras, I started with a D3100.

 

[Phil V]

Would i also need to download photoshop to play with the photos? If so is there any good ones for beginners?

You need to understand that Photoshop isn't a generic term, it's a specific piece of software.

But as above, you'll just need Nikon's own software as a start. The more you practice, the more you learn, the more you'll understand what you need.

It might sound like a cop out, but I'll be blunt, for every hundred 'first DSLR buyer', 80 will never get the bug, 10 will use just that first camera sporadically for a few years and the 10 that get really keen will buy loads of kit, and shoot thousands of images.

Make a start, find your feet, come back with specific problems and questions and you'll get all the help you need. Don't spend more than you need in the beginning.

 

[Damo88]

You can download Nikon own editing program, easy to use, and it's free. Ok it's not as advanced as photo shop, but it is good.
Any of the cameras you mentioned are good beginners cameras, I started with a D3100.

Thats great, what other editing programs are good? Im investing in a new laptop aswel as the camera

 

[Damo88]

You need to understand that Photoshop isn't a generic term, it's a specific piece of software.

But as above, you'll just need Nikon's own software as a start. The more you practice, the more you learn, the more you'll understand what you need.

It might sound like a cop out, but I'll be blunt, for every hundred 'first DSLR buyer', 80 will never get the bug, 10 will use just that first camera sporadically for a few years and the 10 that get really keen will buy loads of kit, and shoot thousands of images.

Make a start, find your feet, come back with specific problems and questions and you'll get all the help you need. Don't spend more than you need in the beginning.

Phil thanks for the advise, thats what i will do, ill deffo have a bug for it, but ill be the one whol keep the dame camera for a few years. Ill get practising when i get it.

 

[Nostromo]

My dslr was very cheap (£160 second hand about 2yrs ago). It came with a 18-55 kit lens which i used solely for about a year before i bought a second lens (tamron 70-300mm, £250 new) and just recently bought a 50mm 1.8 (again second hand £45). This combination seems to be the classic beginners set up. It covers most scenarios that you'll come across whilst out shooting. After a while you'll find what interests you and then you can buy gear that is more subject specific.

 

[Damo88]

My dslr was very cheap (£160 second hand about 2yrs ago). It came with a 18-55 kit lens which i used solely for about a year before i bought a second lens (tamron 70-300mm, £250 new) and just recently bought a 50mm 1.8 (again second hand £45). This combination seems to be the classic beginners set up. It covers most scenarios that you'll come across whilst out shooting. After a while you'll find what interests you and then you can buy gear that is more subject specific.

Thats brill, may i ask, what does the 1.8 mean? I understand that "18mm is the widest" and the higher you go the closer it gets.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Thats great, what other editing programs are good? Im investing in a new laptop aswel as the camera

There's a few different systems around that are good, but it helps if you can crawl a bit before you try to walk.

To give you a bit of background, editing software *usually* falls into 2 categories: image development and pixel-level adjustment. Software for image development is like a digital darkroom, where many of the same kinds of adjustments are made as we used to use to give an image that is colour-balanced and with the range of tones (light to dark) in a sensible place, plus often offering cataloging functions so you can find your image again later. Pixel level editing will let you do stuff like mash 2 or more images together or add various effects to alter the images basic appearance (and a whole lot more besides).

The Nikon editing program that has been suggested is an image development package. Other examples are Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, DXO Optics Pro, On-One Photo RAW, RAW Therapee and Darktable (this list is not exhaustive). Each have their quirks and advantages, and all except the last 2 cost money. Generally it's best to just pick one & learn it, rather than spend money on several.

Thats brill, may i ask, what does the 1.8 mean? I understand that "18mm is the widest" and the higher you go the closer it gets.

The 1.8 is the maximum aperture of the lens - the biggest hole to let light through onto the sensor, and is usually referred to as f1.8. When talking lenses, the f number is the size of the aperture for admitting light.

 

[Nostromo]

Sorry i should have said f/1.8 (this is the aperture).
If you need to understand aperture, you are best off searching on Google or on here.

 

[Damo88]

There's a few different systems around that are good, but it helps if you can crawl a bit before you try to walk.

To give you a bit of background, editing software *usually* falls into 2 categories: image development and pixel-level adjustment. Software for image development is like a digital darkroom, where many of the same kinds of adjustments are made as we used to use to give an image that is colour-balanced and with the range of tones (light to dark) in a sensible place, plus often offering cataloging functions so you can find your image again later. Pixel level editing will let you do stuff like mash 2 or more images together or add various effects to alter the images basic appearance (and a whole lot more besides).

The Nikon editing program that has been suggested is an image development package. Other examples are Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, DXO Optics Pro, On-One Photo RAW, RAW Therapee and Darktable (this list is not exhaustive). Each have their quirks and advantages, and all except the last 2 cost money. Generally it's best to just pick one & learn it, rather than spend money on several.



The 1.8 is the maximum aperture of the lens - the biggest hole to let light through onto the sensor, and is usually referred to as f1.8. When talking lenses, the f number is the size of the aperture for admitting light.

Thank you so much for explaining and taking your time to advise me, im glad i came across this forum, alot of helpful people whk are patient with New begginers

 

[Damo88]

Sorry i should have said f/1.8 (this is the aperture).
If you need to understand aperture, you are best off searching on Google or on here.

Thanks so much, i will do that for sure

 

[Esther]

I've got the D5300 and have been very happy with it, I chose it because of the flip screen (which I rarely use but is good for high up or low down shots) and the wifi, it's a gimmick but I like to be able to put a photo straight onto my phone when I'm out so I can share it or have it as a screensaver. It's been useful to send photos to my parents while we're on holiday instead of having to wait until we get home and I can upload them onto the laptop.

Quality wise I'm very happy with the images it produces, I did toy recently with the idea of upgrading to full frame but was persuaded by the good folk on here to save my money and stick with what I've got.

 

[Damo88]

I've got the D5300 and have been very happy with it, I chose it because of the flip screen (which I rarely use but is good for high up or low down shots) and the wifi, it's a gimmick but I like to be able to put a photo straight onto my phone when I'm out so I can share it or have it as a screensaver. It's been useful to send photos to my parents while we're on holiday instead of having to wait until we get home and I can upload them onto the laptop.

Quality wise I'm very happy with the images it produces, I did toy recently with the idea of upgrading to full frame but was persuaded by the good folk on here to save my money and stick with what I've got.

Im so glad you could give a review on the d5300, thats one thing the d3300 doesnt have is he screen and on reviews say it is hard to gauge what shot your taking if you are taking a high or low shot, i think its that and the wifi thats making me go for the D5300