What equipment should I learn on?

emma07102

emma07102

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I am trying to learn more about photography. Previously I have just used my phone and instagram. I also have a sony bridge camera. It takes nice photo's for the most part, and I'm happy with it. If I'm honest I don't really have any idea how to use it outside of automatic settings.

However my partner has better cameras. He has a canon 5d mk 3, lot's of expensive lenses and also other cameras (my favourite being the Fuji x100s). He is happy to let me use them.

So in my position am I better off using his cameras or using my own? I know it's an open question and it's a personal preference. But I'm going travelling with him in a couple of months so I'm trying to get up to scratch.

So my real question is, in my position what would you do?
 
If I were you I would borrow my partner's cameras. That might then inform a future purchasing decision.
 
I'd probably go with the Fuji. It takes a big headache out of the equation, being choosing a lens, you are stuck with the one focal length, so it concentrates your head on getting a good composition. It also has the ability to shoot with a shallow DOF so you can try out different apertures to get different effects, and also has the ability to shoot at very fast or very slow shutter speeds. It basicly does everything you need to learn the art in one very small and compact package. Another plus is its size means you can carry it all the time, which is probably one thing that puts so many people off a dslr. It's not much fun carrying a sack full of lenses around all day. The more you carry a camera, the more you'll use it and the quicker you will learn.
 
Have you thought about what you'd like to take photos of? If your boyfriend is happy to lend you a lens or two you could get a cheaper canon body (even second hand) and see how you get on with an SLR. I've never used mine in auto mode which means I've never learnt to rely on it which I hope has made me a better photographer. You need to be disciplined to never pop it into auto.
 
Klaynos said:
Have you thought about what you'd like to take photos of? If your boyfriend is happy to lend you a lens or two you could get a cheaper canon body (even second hand) and see how you get on with an SLR. I've never used mine in auto mode which means I've never learnt to rely on it which I hope has made me a better photographer. You need to be disciplined to never pop it into auto.
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I like taking photo's of most things. This morning we got up at 4am and drove and took photos of the landscapes when the sun was coming up. It was cool. But the camera and the tripod and the other stuff is just quite big and heavy. It did produce some really nice images though, the fog was drifting over:

20160546913_013f37a88d_b.jpg


And yes I could use his lenses and just buy a camera. But it seems silly to have a camera with no lenses. Especially as I wouldn't be able to afford to have something as good as I could borrow.
 
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TCR4x4 said:
I'd probably go with the Fuji. It takes a big headache out of the equation, being choosing a lens, you are stuck with the one focal length, so it concentrates your head on getting a good composition. It also has the ability to shoot with a shallow DOF so you can try out different apertures to get different effects, and also has the ability to shoot at very fast or very slow shutter speeds. It basicly does everything you need to learn the art in one very small and compact package. Another plus is its size means you can carry it all the time, which is probably one thing that puts so many people off a dslr. It's not much fun carrying a sack full of lenses around all day. The more you carry a camera, the more you'll use it and the quicker you will learn.
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Thank you for the advice, the Fuji is a good size to carry around all the time and has got all of the things i need to learn so that was a good suggestion!! My bridge does do the same however it is more designed as a point and shoot, plus it is bigger than the x100s! I'm starting to take a camera everywhere with me so as soon as i spot something i can play around with settings! trying all different times of the day as well!
 
emma07102 said:
So my real question is, in my position what would you do?
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I think I'd rather get my own kit as you never know what little problems might fester away between a very happy couple sharing kit :D But what kit??? I read a couple of blogs which stuck in my mind...

One said something like... We start off thinking about cameras then we change to thinking about lenses and then we decide that the kit doesn't matter and we think about composition and light. I may not agree with that 100% as I think that the kit does matter but maybe there's more than just a little truth in there somewhere.

The other blog described giving advice to someone getting into photography and asking what camera to buy, you might get a laugh out of it...

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2010/05/letter-to-george.html

In your position I'd try and bypass some of the journey me and many others have been on and perhaps rather follow the Letter To George advice and try and work out where you'll end in the future and try to get there a little quicker. Personally I don't think I'd be happy with a Fuji 100 as one of my things is flower shots when I'm out walking so I'd want either the ability to fit a more flower shot friendly lens than the one on the Fuji or some sort of adapter that'd make flower shots possible. Actually I think I'd go for what I have now, Micro Four Thirds and/or Sony A7 and just a small selection of lenses.

So, my advice is to get your own kit and either try and work out where you want to be... or just accept that it'll take time and money and set off on a little journey through several cameras and lenses :D
 
TCR4x4 said:
I'd probably go with the Fuji. It takes a big headache out of the equation, being choosing a lens, you are stuck with the one focal length, so it concentrates your head on getting a good composition. It also has the ability to shoot with a shallow DOF so you can try out different apertures to get different effects, and also has the ability to shoot at very fast or very slow shutter speeds. It basicly does everything you need to learn the art in one very small and compact package. Another plus is its size means you can carry it all the time, which is probably one thing that puts so many people off a dslr. It's not much fun carrying a sack full of lenses around all day. The more you carry a camera, the more you'll use it and the quicker you will learn.
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:agree:
 
Borrow his, learn, take better pictures and then claim all his stuff :D That's the price of love... so I am told ;)
 
woof woof said:
I think I'd rather get my own kit as you never know what little problems might fester away between a very happy couple sharing kit :D But what kit??? I read a couple of blogs which stuck in my mind...

One said something like... We start off thinking about cameras then we change to thinking about lenses and then we decide that the kit doesn't matter and we think about composition and light. I may not agree with that 100% as I think that the kit does matter but maybe there's more than just a little truth in there somewhere.

The other blog described giving advice to someone getting into photography and asking what camera to buy, you might get a laugh out of it...

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2010/05/letter-to-george.html

In your position I'd try and bypass some of the journey me and many others have been on and perhaps rather follow the Letter To George advice and try and work out where you'll end in the future and try to get there a little quicker. Personally I don't think I'd be happy with a Fuji 100 as one of my things is flower shots when I'm out walking so I'd want either the ability to fit a more flower shot friendly lens than the one on the Fuji or some sort of adapter that'd make flower shots possible. Actually I think I'd go for what I have now, Micro Four Thirds and/or Sony A7 and just a small selection of lenses.

So, my advice is to get your own kit and either try and work out where you want to be... or just accept that it'll take time and money and set off on a little journey through several cameras and lenses :D
Click to expand...

What do you mean by flower shots? The x100 has a pretty good close focus to get almost macro shots. Sure they won't be 1:1, but as a small compromise is far easier and cheaper than carrying a dslr with a macro lens and a wide angle lens, and a telephoto lens. I personally think the x100 lens is almost ideal for most things except long range telephoto obviously.
 
TCR4x4 said:
What do you mean by flower shots? The x100 has a pretty good close focus to get almost macro shots. Sure they won't be 1:1, but as a small compromise is far easier and cheaper than carrying a dslr with a macro lens and a wide angle lens, and a telephoto lens. I personally think the x100 lens is almost ideal for most things except long range telephoto obviously.
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Does it? But even so the wide focal length and perspective may not be what I'd like as I prefer something longer than 35mm-ish for flower shots and the like. I'd agree that 35mm FoV is ok for other stuff though and indeed I have 35mm or equivalent lenses on my A7 and GX7 at this very moment :D but I wouldn't use either for walk about flower shots, I'd prefer at least 50mm or equiv. I wouldn't go for a DSLR+macro lens though as my time with that kit is behind me now. I much prefer mirrorless.
 
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Thanks for all the input and advice. I don't have the money to really go out and spend a lot right now. Even £250 is a lot to me at the moment. My choices are really sticking with what I have gotten or using my partners. He is pretty chilled out about it all, and I don't see there being any arguments because of it. I pretty much use the fuji exclusively at the moment anyway - I just leave it in automatic mode for everything.

So I think I will use his stuff. I can still take pictures with me own, and apart from the buttons being in different places a camera is still a camera. In the future if I have more money I will look into getting my own stuff, but for now it's not an option available to me. Thanks again!
 
I had a 40D for ages, you can get a body now for £100.00! Learn the basics like the photographic triangle, get an understanding for shutter and aperture, if you get those sorted and free yourself from full auto you will be on the right path, the 40D with your mans L glass will give great results, it always did me and I used to print to A2+ with amazing quality.
 
I don't know the Fuji x100s, but the reviews are good and you have access to it, so I suggest using it.

Learning about aperture, shutter speed and ISO; how they relate to each other and the effect each has on the final image is essential to getting the best out of the camera. There are tutorials on this forum and here - http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/ too, but there are others elsewhere online.

Auto is fine to start with and often it will give you great shots, but there will be times when the image you get is not what you want, and having more control over the camera (eg Aperture priority or shutter priority) will help.

Just take loads of photos and analyse if they are what you wanted. If something goes wrong and you don't know the solution, post the shots up here and someone will advise.

Dave
 
woof woof said:
I think I'd rather get my own kit as you never know what little problems might fester away between a very happy couple sharing kit :D But what kit??? I read a couple of blogs which stuck in my mind...

One said something like... We start off thinking about cameras then we change to thinking about lenses and then we decide that the kit doesn't matter and we think about composition and light. I may not agree with that 100% as I think that the kit does matter but maybe there's more than just a little truth in there somewhere.

The other blog described giving advice to someone getting into photography and asking what camera to buy, you might get a laugh out of it...

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2010/05/letter-to-george.html

In your position I'd try and bypass some of the journey me and many others have been on and perhaps rather follow the Letter To George advice and try and work out where you'll end in the future and try to get there a little quicker. Personally I don't think I'd be happy with a Fuji 100 as one of my things is flower shots when I'm out walking so I'd want either the ability to fit a more flower shot friendly lens than the one on the Fuji or some sort of adapter that'd make flower shots possible. Actually I think I'd go for what I have now, Micro Four Thirds and/or Sony A7 and just a small selection of lenses.

So, my advice is to get your own kit and either try and work out where you want to be... or just accept that it'll take time and money and set off on a little journey through several cameras and lenses :D
Click to expand...

Hi Woof woof,I took this one quickly the other week as i was walking to my brothers,could have been better with more care but the x100 i feel is capable of some nice flower shots

DSCF1937 by Chris B, on Flickr
 
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Doesn't your boyfriend want to help you learn? Why won't he show you how to use his gear then you can work out for yourself which you prefer using?
Strange relationship if he's not interested in you joining in his hobby.
 
Buy a 5d classic and a nifty fifty.
Then you'll have a great quality camera, a decent lens, and the option of using all your boyfriends gear to subsidise that. It's a fairly cheap entry into photography too.
 
Sorry if some of this has been said already but won't your partner help you and offer advice?

Whatever you decide to do camera wise I would strongly urge you to take the camera off any auto setting and learn about exposure, ie the relationship between aperture, shutter and ISO and how each of these effect the image (unfortunately using compacts and bridges you won't see much of an effect in aperture settings in relation to depth of field). By learning exposure, and a few hints on composition you will see your pics improve almost overnight. There's plenty of free tutorials online at places like Cambridge in Colour and photography life, plus the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson is a great book to get you started. Easy to read and follow, and teaches you pretty much all you need to know about exposure, and some tips on composition.
 
I would suggest a cheap DSLR, anything would do really, get a kit and 50mm together with a cheap body. You can get all these for less than £200 used and you will be set for quite a while
 
id sugest going with something like a mid range canon or a 5d, as a full camera, if u wanted small then x100, rx100 or ricoh gr. i find my sigma dp easy to use but they are niche.

the basics is to learn the exposure triangle, but honestly i mainly use A mode, because if the subject is basicaly static thats all you need , you just adjusting your depth of field :), and just keep a eye on iso/shutter so they arent on silly values :)
 
This will seem like a strange comment but I would suggest a cheap film camera , My reason for this is so you fully understand
Film Speed and types
Appertures
Shutter speeds
Exposure compensation
Use of light meter , under / over expose
Etc

This will make you think and learn about the basics of photography.
 
emma07102 said:
Thank you for the advice, the Fuji is a good size to carry around all the time and has got all of the things i need to learn so that was a good suggestion!! My bridge does do the same however it is more designed as a point and shoot, plus it is bigger than the x100s! I'm starting to take a camera everywhere with me so as soon as i spot something i can play around with settings! trying all different times of the day as well!
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The X100s is a good camera to learn with in my view.
  • Firstly it removes a lot of the decisions on equipment - what lens should I use? etc. Removing choices means you can give 100% of your attention to composition and settings.
  • Secondly, all the important settings are there at your fingertips; the same is true of many cameras nowadays, but it's no less true of the X100s. They are there, they are visible (so you are conscious of them, and they are easy to change).
  • Thirdly, JPGs out of the camera are great on the Fuji; you can realistically focus on getting it right in camera and ignore post processing for the time-being if you want to.
  • Finally, it's a good size. Not to small as to be fiddly, not to big as to be left at home.
You can use the Fuji as a point and shoot, but it's a camera you need to learn and tweak to get the best out of it. You won't be happy with it as a point and shoot so you will want to learn to get the results you want.
 
mickledore said:
Doesn't your boyfriend want to help you learn? Why won't he show you how to use his gear then you can work out for yourself which you prefer using?
Strange relationship if he's not interested in you joining in his hobby.
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He does, of course he does. Its just we both think im more likely to listen to others for advice rather than rely on him to set things up for me...
We frequently go out shooting together but as he knows what to do it often ends up him 'taking over' or me asking what to do rather then playing around... So thats why the question :) I want to be more of an independent photographer that can ask for advice rather than rely on him to set up everything for me!
 
snerkler said:
Sorry if some of this has been said already but won't your partner help you and offer advice?

Whatever you decide to do camera wise I would strongly urge you to take the camera off any auto setting and learn about exposure, ie the relationship between aperture, shutter and ISO and how each of these effect the image (unfortunately using compacts and bridges you won't see much of an effect in aperture settings in relation to depth of field). By learning exposure, and a few hints on composition you will see your pics improve almost overnight. There's plenty of free tutorials online at places like Cambridge in Colour and photography life, plus the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson is a great book to get you started. Easy to read and follow, and teaches you pretty much all you need to know about exposure, and some tips on composition.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! Cambridge in colour is a good website and ive found it really easy to navigate around!

Of course he will help but its more a matter of me wanting to learn without asking for too much guidance so when we go out shooting together i dont rely on him to set the camera up for me. He has shown me the basics and let me loose with his equipment, half the time i feel scared as i know how much camera equipment costs! I still have my bridge camera but its too tempting to put it into automatic mode!
 
emma07102 said:
Thanks for the advice! Cambridge in colour is a good website and ive found it really easy to navigate around!

Of course he will help but its more a matter of me wanting to learn without asking for too much guidance so when we go out shooting together i dont rely on him to set the camera up for me. He has shown me the basics and let me loose with his equipment, half the time i feel scared as i know how much camera equipment costs! I still have my bridge camera but its too tempting to put it into automatic mode!
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Good for you for wanting to learn for yourself. Once you get your head around exposure that's half the battle tbh and you'll never use auto again ;)
 
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