Canon 400d - Any Good for beginner?

[millie1911]

Hi, Im forever snapping away with my simple digital camera and am looking to progress, I was just wondering if the Canon 400d would be a good starter camera for me?? Thanks

[inkista]

A dSLR is not really an "upgrade" to a P&S digicam.

The 400D might be exactly what you need. It could also be overkill.

Most point-and-shoot-only shooters assume that because the dSLRs have a better reputation and are so much more expensive, that simply moving to one will vastly improve their photography. It won't. It will vastly improve the control and options you have over your photography, but there's a pretty steep learning curve, pretty expensive equipment, and even if you get through all that, you may still not be any better at composing a picture than you were before.

What is it about your photography that you're not happy with? It may not be the P&S camera that's holding you back so much as your mental outlook, your ability to see or create an image, or your post-processing skills. What you'll find about the really great photographers is that yes, they use better gear, but what sets them apart is their determination to get the shot. Lying down in the dirt, looking like a fool, going into warzones, climbing a mountain, spending days in a hide, spending hours thinking up lighting setups are just some of the things that a really good photographers won't hesitate about doing to get their shot. How determined are you? How much time do you want to spend on an image?

My basic advice is go to the public library. Find a copy of Bryan Peterson's Learning to See Creatively. Read it. Then figure out if you need a dSLR or not.