New to photography, have some general questions

[gaewsky1]

What is a good beginner DSLR camera? Nikon D3300? Are there some good books out there to teach basics? Will the lens that comes with it be good enough or is there another lens that I should look at too?

 

Thanks in advance and I have enjoyed the photos being posted.

[99StockGT]

What are you planning to shoot? Budget?

[jeffro]

I have a d3300. Picked it up in october for like $310 shipped. Pretty decent beginner camera. Kit lens is okay but could be upgraded cheaply. I seem to be having a hard time learning the focus modes on it, but there are plenty of youtube videos on how to use it out there.

 

Overall, would recommend.

[gaewsky1]

What are you planning to shoot? Budget?

 

I'll probably shoot the kids and vacations. Budget is under $500 since I have no experience.

[Farkas]

Rebel Series Canon EOS is a good beginner camera. T3i, T5i.

[mrs.cos]

Just know a few things- canon and nikon are basiclly the same thing - The battle of it will be GM vs Ford, Subaru Vs Mitsu, ect.

 

Pick a brand and stick grow with it.

 

 

Snapsort lists the best cameras under 500 based on stats of the camera with comparisons.

 

http://snapsort.com/recommend#!brand=Canon,Nikon&general=price&price=500&type=DSLR

 

 

Do the kids play sports?

 

Bodies will be upgraded regularly, lenses you will own for YEARS. (think 7-10 years) They are way more of an investment than the body of the camera.

 

 

 

learning Photography

 

There are some really great youtube channels for learning from.

pick an idea and learn from it

 

Start with the basics

Apeture, ISO and Shutter speed.

 

Pick one and focus on it till you feel comfortable with it, then move to the next till youc an put all three together.

http://i.imgur.com/4LL0utq.jpg

[Tractor]

You might even enjoy an older pro DSLR, they won't have some of the newest features, but once you step up from a cell phone or other cheap point and shoot to a DSLR you find that the lenses make all the difference.

 

It would be better for you to pick up a used Canon 40D or Nikon equivalent and a nice lens and learn photography by reading and shooting. The camera bodies themselves are probably barely used unless its from an actual working photographer and even then 20,000 clicks is just getting broken in.

 

Also when you do get a DSLR remember its a "camera system" and as such needs to be learned to use it well. Many people hate the photos coming from their $2000 camera simply because they haven't learned to shoot on an image chip that big yet, the images from there cell phone sucked just as bad, but due to the chip being the size of the head of a pin the image was artificially sharpened and high contrast and vibrant.

[Berto]

The entry level nikon is a great option. 95% of the pictures on my website (linked in sig) were with a D3100.

 

I love my wide lens (going to spend $400-500 on a new lens, or can buy used).

I love my 35mm prime lens ($200 new? or way cheaper used).

 

The kit lenses are decent, specially for starting out. There are plenty of camera bodies with barely any use. Might almost be worth buying it cheaper and putting money into lenses.