Starting Out

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Scott Smith

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As the title says I'm just starting out so i hope I've posted this in the right section. I do a lot of fishing and go to several car shows throughout the year and I'm looking for something to take better photos with instead of using my iPhone. I'm torn between getting a bridge camera and an SLR, but i don't know what the pros and cons are for each type of camera.

I'm basically just after some guidance as to what would be a good purchase and a good place to start, thanks :).
 
Scott, what's your budget and what are you going to do with the photos you take?

The current crop of high-end bridge cameras like the Sony RX10 and Panasonic FX1000 are extremely capable but lack the ultimate flexibility of a DSLR or mirrorless system camera because you can't change the lens. Conversely, they're more convenient because you can't change the lens. The interchangeable lens cameras will also win on ultimate picture quality because of their larger sensors but what you do with the results determines whether this is important to you.
 
Id say between £250-£300. To be honest the fishing/scenery photos are just for my own use, I'd just like them to be of a high quality. The photos from car shows I'll be sharing on social media so as i progress I'd like those to look quite professional and be of a high quality.

Thanks for your reply.
 
I've got a Canon 450d available as a cheap starter? :-)

Snapshot has asked a really good question, what sort of photos are you going to take, and in what situation? Also consider portability, there's no point having an all singing, all dancing SLR with a brilliant set of lenses, if it's too big for you to ever take anywhere.

As a starter I'd try one of the really good compacts, which have manual features, say the Sony RX100 or Panasonic LUMIX LX100. They might be a bit overkill if you are a complete beginner, but they have excellent image quality, are great if you stick them on auto, have some manual features to allow you to learn, and are very portable.
 
The fishing and scenery photos are likely to just be still shots and ill be sat in one, and then the car shows i go to throughout the year some of them will be still and others of cars on track and ill be moving around all day. So its all a bit varied really.
 
There are plenty of compacts that will do most of what you want but most may not have a long enough lens for the track days. I would certainly look at the Sony RX100M1 and M2, especially if you can get a used one. The LX100 Paul also suggested is possibly better in image quality but loses out on long focal length and is also over budget. It's one of those things where you probably need to buy something to get you started then refine your needs once you get an idea of what a better camera can do for you. A good quality used camera isn't going to lose much value in the short term so you should be able to change a couple of times. Whether the results look professional or not is largely down to you, of course, regardless of the camera.
 
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