I'm starting a photography course soon, what camera would be best?

Question

I'm starting a photography course in September and am currently saving loads of money as I will need a SLR camera within the first few months of me starting. I have been told that my tutor will advise me about what I will need but I just wanted some advice on what sort of camera I would be looking at. I am studying mainly traditional methods etc. and would eventually like to photograph pets. Can anyone give some idea of the best sorts of camera? 35mm or digital? and do you have any suggestions on a good quality camera?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Nikon D80 digital slr. Great all round camera whatever your level. Roughly £600 plus.

Answer 2

Well when I started this year as a photography student I had to buy an SLR either film or digitial, so I went and purchased a Sony Alpha 290a. I primarily bought it cos it seemed like a good camera to me, and it still is. I absolutely adore it although I don't pay it half as much attention as I should. I also ended up buying a telephoto zoom lens that was made by Sony, it was about £200 so overall my whole kit costs £600. I produced some brilliant photos with the camera and lens and came top in my class. Hope this helped :)

Answer 3

there are many advantages to both kinds of cameras.

with digital, you have the advantage of having the picture "RIGHT NOW". you can see what you've taken and the built-in zoom feature can take some really impressive photos up to about 200 feet. they are also small and lightweight.

with an SLR, you are truly "in control". i recommend getting an olympus or yashica. cannon also makes a very good camera. whichever kind you get, i suggest getting one which uses a "bayonet" type of lens. with this type of lens, you can change rapidly from your standard lens to wither a telephoto or wide angle as you need, depending on what you're taking pictures of.

with a digital camera, the more megapixels, the better. with a SLR, you use different speed film based on what you're trying for. there is very high speed B&W film for extremely low light or very fast action. there are high speed color films now which will work quite well for most applications. with low speed film, you can get right up on top of the action.

digital, you can photoshop and edit your pictures to get the effect you want. SLR, there are many tricks you can do in the darkroom to get great pics. so far as i know, no digital camera can take infrared pictures, but i can't say that is 100% accurate.

bottom line, if you like the hands on approach, go SLR. if you're more tekkie, go digital. check the course syllabus, it may specify what kind of camera you are required to have. if you save enough money, do both. find out which is better for which kind of photography you're doing.

but, no matter what, i highly recommend getting a tripod. and get one with a remote shutter release for those pics when you can't or don't want to be next to the camera

Answer 4

This will really depend upon what the tutor expects you to have, or how much automation you are permitted for focus, exposure and other camera operations.

There are various levels of automation of the basic camera functions. Most makers were introducing auto-exposure around the mid to late 1970s with either shutter or aperture priority systems, then program modes and finally cameras with program, aperture priority, shutter speed priorty and manual. You might see these cameras referred to as having PASM exposure metering.

The next level of automation was auto-focus around the mid-1980s on, which has improved markedly over the years in responsiveness and flexibility. Most auto-focus cameras or lenses allow manual focus as well.

Finally, not really automation as such, is image stabilization, either in the lens or body.

The last issue is whether you are using film. You say in your question that you are studying traditional techniques, so I will assume you will need a film camera.

Your tutor may require you to have a camera which can be used in a completely manual mode. This gives you a wide variety of modern bodies and lenses to choose from. More demanding is if you are required to have a manual only body/lens combination. There are very few new cameras that meet that requirement. Pentax K1000 and Nikon FM10 are the two that come to mind, but there might be others.

There are plenty of older cameras around that would suit, but it depends a bit on whether this camera will be the basis of a broader system. For example, Canon stopped making manual focus bodies and lenses in the early 1980s, and their manual focus lenses from that generation are not compatible with later bodies. They had introduced exposure setting automation by the mid-1970s.

Pentax with the K mount and Nikon with the F mount have fewer compatibility issues between their manual focus lenses and later bodies.

I own the manual focus Canon (FTQL, FTbN, A1, AE1P, T90) as well as Nikon covering both generations (FM2n, FA, FG, F4, FM10, F60, F70, F80) and two manual focus Ricoh (KR5 Super, XR-20SP). I bought my first camera, an FTb that I no longer have in 1970. It was a brilliant camera to learn on, but is clearly now pretty long in the tooth. The FM10 is very similar, and if you have to go manual only, you would not go wrong with it. If your tutor permits an automated camera with manual options, then the F80 would be my pick. I don't know enough about the modern range of Pentax cameras, but there are clearly options there as well.

Answer 5

Wait until you start college, as they may have a preferred system (and lenses / accessories you can borrow to expand your range)

DSLRs are great for seeing how settings affect the image straight away, film is ultimately better for big enlargements.

Make sure any camera you buy has a 'PC' or flash synch socket, this is essential for studio flash photography.

Answer 6

Its likely that you'll be using an old fashioned manual film camera. HOORAY! You'll learn all about the relationship of ISO to aperture to shutter speed with different lighting conditions. You'll learn to focus.

I agree the Pentax K1000 is a fine beginners manual film camera. So is the Minolta SRT-202. Okay, I'm biased towards Minolta since I've been using them since 1971.

Answer 7

I would suggest an older all-manual 35mm SLR.

There are loads of good ones out there, and none of them very expensive.

The classic student camera is the Pentax K1000.

I happen to like the Canon FTb.

Add to either of these a 50mm lens-typically either with a maximum aperture of 1.7 or 1.8.

The camera and lens, used, should cost less than $100, perhaps as little as $50.

Answer 8

Have a look at the Pentax K110d, it canbe used as a manual or automatic camera and is a digital camera, a 1gbt card gives you approx 345 pics at 6megapixels.
If you had any "k" mount Pentax lens then it fits this camera as well.
Have fun, and use the 1/3rd 2/3rd rule of picture composition.

Ken

Answer 9

Wait and ask the tutor, enjoy the summer and keep looking for scenes, people, pets, situations that you would like to photograph.
You may find that you only need a compact.
I have 3 digital cameras, compact , advanced compact and dSLR, but 90%of my photos are taken on the compact which is always in my pocket. Is a Nikon 7MP with a viewfinder and I get very good A3 prints from it. You cannot ask for more.
If you need any more help please email me. Good Luck

Answer 10

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