What You Need to Start Practicing Photography

Part 1- The Camera

Ok I originally wanted this to be a one post entry about the basic equipment you need to start photography, as I started typing I realized this will take me much longer to go through than one post, instead I will explain each piece of equipment per post in better detail than a simple one post list. 
The first and most important item you need is....

A Camera. Ok obvious, right? The real question is, what kind of camera? This depends what kind of photography, how willing you are to start and how much you want to spend.

                                     

I'll start with the cheapest:

1. Cellphone

Most of you already have a cellphone with a camera on it (do they even make them without it at this point?). A cellphone has only one lens, usually with a focal length somewhere around 33-38mm. There are pros and cons to this.

Pros: "the best camera is the one you have with you," that is the motto of a phone camera. Seeing as you almost always have your phone anyway, it is easily the most convenient camera you can own. Another pro is that these cameras are advancing very fast, taking a nice quality 8x10 photo on an iPhone is not impossible. Finally, a phone makes it easy to take candid photos because of how common they are, people won’t be as likely to notice you taking photos with a phone. Finally, you can carry a phone where you can’t carry every camera. There are many places, such as concerts or shows that will not allow you to bring a big DSLR, but have no problem with you carrying a phone.

Cons: We don't all have the nicest camera on our phone, the censors on these phones are so tiny most of them will struggle to take good photos even on a digital level. There is also no optical zoom, only a digital zoom. It would take a while to explain the differences in detail but a quick explanation is that an optical zoom allows you to actually take detailed photos of objects far away, a digital zoom allows you to simply zoom into the picture, zooming in too much will cause the picture to look pixelated, it’s really more like cropping at the end of the day. You also cannot take the lens off the phone meaning you are stuck with your focal length, that wide angle is great for landscapes, not ideal for portraits.


Point and Shoot

Like my logo! You usually buy a point and shoot if you don't want a camera phone, but you don't want to commit to an extra expensive camera.

Pros: There are many quality point and shoots and because they are dedicated to taking photos, you will often find a lot of pretty cool features that come with it. The point and shoot is also small enough that it is still easy to carry with you. Most of the pros are the same as a phone.

Cons: Lost identity, it’s not as pro as a DSLR, but it’s not as convenient as a phone. It comes with most of the same pros as a phone but also most of the same cons, just less convenient. Just like a phone you cannot change a lens and it usually is just a digital zoom.  It is because of this “lost identity” that many people believe that this kind of camera is going extinct.

Entry Level DSLR

If you want to have all the basic components a photographer would need in a camera, you buy a DSLR, specifically and entry level DSLR.

Pros: Entry level DSLR's are much cheaper than buying a mid-range or higher DSLR, it is also cheaper than buying most rangefinders. They have more than enough quality for almost any picture size. A DSLR allows you to change and buy new lenses, as a bonus most entry level DSLR's come in a kit, that comes with an optical zoom lens. DSLR's can be used for any kind of photography you can think of, candid's, portraits, landscapes, macros....it all just depends on what kind of lens's you buy for the camera. Also unlike most point and shoots or camera phones you can buy external flashes, an essential tool for many photographers.

Cons: you can find an entry DSLR for anywhere between 300-800 dollars. While this is much cheaper than the biggest and best cameras, I can understand why many will still find that a rather large price, if you are going to spend 500 dollars on something, you probably already know you are going to use it a lot. Most DSLR's are really big and bulky, there’s no getting around it people will see you and make judgments (good or bad) when they see you pull it out. Also while DSLR are very versatile, they are completely reliant on the kind of lens you stick on the body. If you own an 18-55mm kit lens, you are able to take portrait photos and even landscape photos, however good luck with sports photography, if you want that, you will need to buy a different lens. Lenses are not cheap, and if you want to get the most out of your DSLR you will need to buy more lenses.

Range Finders, Go Pros , and more

There are many other cameras you can buy, however this is a list of cameras I would recommend to someone just beginning as a photographer. These other cameras are often expensive and/or not versatile enough for a beginner. While I find nothing wrong with these cameras, and a few of them I'd like to buy myself.  They are not what I would consider a good first camera, because it locks you into one style and if you are just starting out, you will want to have many options.

My Recommendation

Personally I would recommend using whatever phone you have on hand, then when you want to really start taking photos just get a DSLR. It is very versatile and has great quality. It will give you a nice base to start at and learn from. The investment in a DSLR will quickly be worth it and it will last a long time as long as you take care of it, I’ve had my Canon Rebel T3i for about 5 years now and it still works like new.