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Anonymous
Hey, /p/.

I'm sure you've seen this thread a million times before, but what is a good way to start photography? I took a semester of it in high school, and I really enjoyed it. Going outside and just taking pictures for hours and hours was awesome, almost therapeutic and a great way to just burn some time.

Anyway, what's a good camera for an amateur photographer to invest in? Especially one of the starving college student variety? Do most beginners start out using digital, or is it common for people to stick with the SLR cameras?

ALSO

what do you guys do/where do you guys go to take pictures? Do you have a route, a favorite place, or do you just sort of travel everywhere with your camera and take pictures along the way?
>> Anonymous
>>159689
Megapixels don't matter that much, 6 megapixels is enough for at least 8x10" prints. If you want something in the sub-$500 range, buy used.
>> Anonymous
>>159694
Oh lawd, it's not about the megapixels.

If you look hard enough I'm sure you can find a nice old film SLR for hardly anything price wise.
>> Blackadder !!bSWRwu/NqzQ
Buy a decent condition second hand DSLR from KEH.com or buy an older model. It will still work fine.
>> Anonymous
>>159689
The Canon Digital Rebel XT sells for $440 on Amazon. It's good for learning, in my opinion.
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>159689
The Nikon D40 and Canon Rebel XT are in the $500 range. Maybe even the Rebel XTi at this point, but I'm too lazy to check. Used models, too--you can get a used Canon 20D for around $500, I think.

I don't really have a route or a favorite place--after a while, taking pictures in the same place gets really boring. I do wander around the city I work in a lot for pictures, though.
>> Anonymous
The DSLRs give much higher quality than any digital compact you will have seen, so don't compare them when it comes to megapixels=quality ideas. Also remember that unless you are doing some massive cropping or printing large prints a huge number of pixels will be wasted on you.

Are you ever going to print larger than 10x8?
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>159734
>higher the megapixels, the better the image quality, but that's not the case in this situation?
Past a certain point, the extra pixels don't really give you much. I.e., you can easily make poster-sized prints with a 6 megapixel camera and nobody would be able to tell the difference from the same size print from a 12 megapixel camera without a loupe.

What's more important is sensor size and lens quality.

Non-SLR cameras (with only a few exceptions) have shitty little tiny sensors. Smaller sensor at the same resolution means each photosite gets less light. Net effect: A good large percentage of those pixels are just noise, especially at higher ISO.

Additionally, the larger sensors in SLRs mean that you can have much narrower depth of field. Dunno if you know what that means, but it's (often) a good thing.
>> Anonymous
>>159755
As for now, I doubt I'm going to print anything. I'll probably just have a photography blog for awhile, and if I get good enough start selling to iStock or something like that. I never even really considered prints at this point, but I suppose that even if I do start making prints in the future that they probably won't get much bigger than 10x8.
>> Anonymous
>>159770

In that case get an old Canon 20D or Rebel or Nikon 70d. They will do well for your needs.
>> Anonymous
>>159777
70D seems a little out of my price range. Amazon had it at something around 1,000 dollars. =P

I did look at the 50D, though, which is around 400. Is the 50 still a good camera?

Also, what's your guy's stance on the LCD display? Do you use it or the viewfinder?
>> Anonymous
>>159791

uh, the nikon d80 can be had for $850 with kit lens

LOOK HARDER
>> Anonymous
>>159791

ROFL

Half the returns from the store I work at are people realizing the LCD can't be used as a viewfinder. They are sorely disappointed when their $1,000 little toy can't do it.
>> Anonymous
>>159820

MADNESS
>> Anonymous
OP might also want to check out the Sony a100/a200.
A100 on amazon right now is $400
>> Anonymous
>>159820

Those people are total fucking idiots.
>> Anonymous
>>159847

In their defense, they just assume it does it.

We don't keep lenses mounted because they can be taken out easily so you can't know until you bring it home. And we don't have working demo models.
>> Anonymous
I#m preparing for rape, but learning with a zoom hybrid is not always bad. Fuji FinePix S5600 or the like can give some semblance of the SLR experience on reduced budget, and give something to learn framing, etc with.