Chronic lurker here stepping out of lurkdom for some advice. I'm looking for a new camera. I want something that has more options than just point and shoot. I want some basic manual options like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus settings, but still want to be able to switch to auto mode too. Any suggestions for a beginner??
Thanks! I searched all the way back to August and only found a camera bag thread. If this has been discussed already could someone link it up?
You rock ladies, carry on.
Re: Rep your camera
Price range I would like to stay under $600 (and hope to find a good sale).
I'm a nikon girl so I would suggest the D3200
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1027229-REG/nikon_13313_d3200_dslr_camera_with.html
I want to invest in some accessories such as a tripod, remote, and some basic lighting.
I'm a photographer and I have used her camera a few times just playing around at her house and it does really well in manual as well.
My first camera was the D5000 back in 2010. I think the the 3200 is a great buy and does just as well as that had done for me.
Engaged: 7/19/09 Married: 9/19/10
BFP: 10/14/13 EDD: 6/16/14 DD Arrived: 6/21/14
June '14 Siggy Challenge: Warm Places
I didn't when I bought my camera. It wasn't until after I got it that I got into to. I've since upgraded my camera body and lenses. Lenses are really what's important when it comes down to it.
The link I sent above is where I buy all of my equipment but the only store location is NY. You can check stuff out in a local shop, I've done that to look at things and then I buy them above. There is also borrowlenses.com where you can rent cameras and lenses and they ship right to you.
For kids the general rule of thumb is to keep your shutter speed as high as you can since they don't stay still. At least 1/250, but it also depends on your focal length (the length of your lenses- for example if you're using a zoom lens and have it at 100mm you will need your shutter to be above 1/100 to avoid camera shake).
For fuzzy background (bokeh) you want to shoot in a wide aperture. Most kit zoom lenses have a variable aperture so it changes as you zoom but they don't usually go lower than maybe f/3.5 if i remember correctly. I use prime lenses so mine go as low as f/1.4 which is how you get the fuzzier backgrounds. With aperture, the lower your number, the wider the aperture and fuzzier the background. This is good for kids too because it lets a lot of light in so you can bump your shutter speed up. But it's a very small focal plane - so if you have two people and they aren't exactly next to each other, one will be out of focus.
I'm sorry I got completely carried away answering your question. Lol. If you don't want to shoot manual and choose your own settings, I would pick a sport type setting since that will give you a faster shutter speed.
Lol yeah after I posted I was like "I think I went overboard". Lol. I keep trying to force my sister to learn to shoot manual and she is like "leave me alone!"
I have issues. Ignore me lol
+1 to aperture priority- that would be good for you to get the fuzzy background
+1 to the book Rec though! I read a LOT of books when I was learning.
Also blogs! Lots of pro's blog and will cover different tips and tricks for beginners in each post! Click it up a notch is a good one off the top of my head.
Engaged: 7/19/09 Married: 9/19/10
BFP: 10/14/13 EDD: 6/16/14 DD Arrived: 6/21/14
June '14 Siggy Challenge: Warm Places