Comments on: What Kind of Camera and Gear Should I Buy?

By: Adam Parker

Adam Parker — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:29:38 +0000

I won’t suggest specific gear since many above have left great suggestions, however, I would like to add my comment on picking up gear or selling gear on craigslist. I had a great experience getting rid of a lot of good gear quickly on craigslist and I know there are also constant offers available for others to pick up quality pre-owned gear from local resources.

I put more details on using craigslist for photography here:
http://blogs.adamparkerphotography.com/blog/Selling-old-camera-gear-on-craigslist.com/8/

Hope you were able to pick up everything you needed/wanted for a good price.

By: rmolby

rmolby — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:33:17 +0000

Simple answer: The best lens you can afford. And make sure it it attached to a camera you can also afford. If that comes to be a point and shoot, then so be it. If you can move to a DSLR with a decent kit lens, also not a bad place to start (remember, once you go down this road, you will probably be committed to a certain brand – choose wisely, ask anyone who used to shoot Minolta).

The best thing you can do is go to a decent camera store and try out some gear you think you can afford (in the store, of course). Then, when you find what works for you – go, shoot, experiment and be happy.

By: Mario (Peru)

Mario (Peru) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:59:44 +0000

As i became older, I love to travel light, I always have a TZ5 in my coat pocket and I love my Fuji S9100, a little bulky but with manual options, and a nice manual zoom (28-300). SLR with different lens no more

By: Steve Berley

Steve Berley — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:56:14 +0000

Whatever feels good in your hand and on your shoulder.

Any camera can take great photos just as any camera can take crappy ones. It’s all about what you do with it. So, the goal is to have one that you’ll enjoy using and won’t feel burdened carrying with you.

By: Dee

Dee — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:43:36 +0000

OK, all I can do is give you advice based on my own experience. I am fortunatein that, because I use a power wheelchair (it’s a long story but work related), my vocational rehab counselor essentially gave me an open check regarding equipment. I had already bought a Canon S3IS myself, and can tell you that you can get amazing pictures with that camera…..pictures that it’s difficult to believe were done wth ANY point-and-shoot! When my VR case was approved,I again chose Canon, the Canon Rebel XTi with an assortment of lenses. I do a wide variety of shots, from marching band contests to wildlife and landscape, but find myself using my 70-300mm lens more than any of the others. Now, I have been told rather rudely by one band pgotographer that the Rebel is a mere toy that will never shoot low light fast action but managed to get crystal clear shots of a woman using a flaming hula hoop during a circus performance in a completely dark circus tent, and get far more excellent marching band shots in really poor light conditions than ones I discard on a regular basis. It will take an eight gig CF card which is all I need for everything except the really BIG band contests, the regional and state contests.

One thing I will say, and this is from a year of personal experience with their so-called customer service with this $2500 laptop and a very expensive camcorder is, “Whatever you do, DON’T buy ANYTHING made by Sony!!!”

I think you will most likely learn to love whatever you buy, and if the camera you start with isn’t a good match, think of it as a trial run to determine what you DO want and need. If you’re just beginning to photograph, maybe one of the high end point-and-shoots is a good choice for you, at least as a starting point. While they make some peoples’ lips curl, there is a place for them in serious photography.

Remember that in photography as in many other things, our choices are very, very individualized and what is a good match for one person may well not be for another. Renting equipment as a trial is a great idea except that I don’t think you can really “road test” a camera properly in just a few days. You might want to think about renting it for several weeks and then making your choice.

Whatever you decide to do, have fun with it. Don’t be discouraged by “bad” shots. What may seem bad to you may be a treasure to someone else, and on top of that, there isn’t a photographer alive or dead who hasn’t made some really bad shots now and then!

By: Nate D.

Nate D. — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:25:38 +0000

Lot’s of info; here is mine. Get something you can afford and take alot of pics. I would go DSLR, you will learn faster because of instant results. Play with it at its extreams, ie. Apature, Shutter speed. Spend money on a tripod if you want good outdoor photo’s and again take alot of pics. BTW did I say take alot of pics? This is how you will learn don’t be afraid of taking a bad pic.

BTW Costco has a great price on a Nikon D90 Kit, it would suffice for years to come.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:21:52 +0000

I have a Nikon D40 and I love the recovery speed for shooting wildlife. Dollar for dollar I don’t think it can be beat. When you can afford a zoom for it you can pull animals up so close. I took pics of buffalo in SD that are looking them right in the eye. Whatever you buy, have fun with it!

By: Jay Ryan

Jay Ryan — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:34:53 +0000

Personally, having recently been a student while discovering photography, I discovered the better value of a full-size compact such as the Canon Powershot (Mine is an S3-IS) is inexpensive, yet offers decent close-ups (Don’t use digital zoom though). The S5 IS has a higher resolution than the S3, however, I don’t think that you’ll get great enlargements over 8×10 simply because of the size of the Powershot’s S series sensor. Another great compact on the cheap would be the Olympus UZ models. I hope this helps.

By: PWindsor

PWindsor — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:09:49 +0000

I started out being very conservative I had a Nikon D50 with a 18-55mm lens and a Nikon bag. Soon after I purchased a 55-200mm lens as I like taking dog protection sports pics and needed it to get closer shots. Later purchased a SB 600 flash. The accessories get kinda addictive once you start to really ge4t into it.
I now have a Kata bag and a D80 along with my D70 and many, many other toys.
You have to do your homework and decide what you want to accomplish with your photos

By: J.B. Churchill

J.B. Churchill — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:45:15 +0000

I can only tell you what I did, and whether I’m happy with the results or not. That’s a mix but I’m mostly pretty happy. I think that the adage “you get what you pay for” is pretty true but I didn’t want to break the bank. My first purchase was the Canon XTi (400D) and a rather inexpensive 300mm lens. This was very affordable and the ONLY reason I got that lens was in an attempt to keep me from rushing out and buying the lens I really wanted. That strategy didn’t work very well as about 5 months later I couldn’t wait any longer. I rushed out and got the 100-400mm f5.6 IS L-series canon lens and I love it. If I had more to invest I would have picked up the 40D instead of the body I have because it is faster and has a few other useful features but I feel that the XTi (or the newer XSi) is a decent body to learn with. I shoot birds with this and I think it works pretty well. Maybe someday I’ll decide to drive an old beater and finance a big lens instead !