Photography as a hobby

vorman

vorman

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Im looking to invest in a camera bundle to take up my photography hobby.
Any advice as to what cameras to look at? Budget +-R5000

also, what do 'body only' bundles mean? and differences in makes? nikon, canon etc.
 
I have a decent SLR, but I haven't really had time in the last 2 years to really get into photography.

As such, I won't recommend a specific camera for your budget. What I can say is that the "body-only" reference means that no lenses are included. As a beginner I would urge you to stay away from this until you know more. Rather buy a bundle that includes a lens or two which you can upgrade at a later stage. A lot of bundles will come with a 18-55mm lens and maybe a 55-200mm lens. Although not the best, these lenses will be good enough to get you started.

Remember, the quality of the lens is directly proportional to the quality of your photo's. A cheap lens will show! After mastering the art of photography, you will understand lenses and what to look for. You can then invest in good quality glass.

Regarding the brands, this might be a personal decision. It is a lot like the Toyota v Ford debate. You can't really go wrong going for a reputable brand with good after-sales support in South Africa. Either Nikon or Canon will be fine. I bought a Nikon camera and included in the bundle was a training certificate for a short introductory course hosted by Nikon. This just shows the basics of the cameras. Nikon also hosts regular short courses on a variety of different topics. I'm guessing that Canon does something similar.

I hope this helps.
 
vorman said:
Im looking to invest in a camera bundle to take up my photography hobby.
Any advice as to what cameras to look at? Budget +-R5000

also, what do 'body only' bundles mean? and differences in makes? nikon, canon etc.
Click to expand...

Body only camera has no lenses to attach, you have to buy lenses after.
Nikon is good but my preference is Canon. If you are starting out I would suggest starting with a bridge camera
first then after get a camera bundle. 18-55mm and 75-300mm, some good fittings are a uv filter, neutral density filter and for street photography a fixed 50mm

http://www.takealot.com/canon-1200d-18mp-dslr-twin-lens-photobook-bundle/PLID32844412
 
Body only means there is no lens included, meaning you will have to buy one separately. If you are just starting out, don't go this route.

There are pros and cons to all manufacturers. One to look out for is Sony, who includes image stabilization in the camera, so you don't have to pay more for the lenses to have IS. Nikon also uses Sony sensors, and they are great. Sony has fewer lenses though (last time I looked)

Canon seems to be cheaper in SA than in the US, while Nikon is more expensive than in the US. The 50mm f/1.8 lens is a great, affordable lens that every photographer should have. The standard price of the Canon lens is R2k, while it's R5k for the Nikon.

What do your friends have? If you have a friend with a couple of lenses, and he is a good enough friend to lend you some from time to time, it might be worth while going the same route.

All you can really do is look for sales, then read reviews.
www.dpreview.com
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
 
Just had a quick look at SLR prices. Wow things have become expensive.

I'd wait it out for a good special which includes 'kit' lenses. Both Canon and Nikon are good - I'd make the decision between the two brands based on price.

Based on your budget you're going to be limited to the following bodies:
Nikon D3300
Nikon D3200
Canon 100D
Canon 1300D
Canon 1200D

I'd try get a bundle with any of the following lenses:
55-250mm (general use)
18-55mm (portrait)
75-300mm (landscape, wildlife)

Another lens I'd recommend:
50mm fixed (aka the 'thrifty fifty' because they're good value for money)

EDIT:
Try get a bundle deal which includes a bag. Buying a bag separately can easily cost +-R1000. An 8 or 16GB Class 10 SD card is a bonus too.
 
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Thanks all of you guys, much informative. @Napalm2880: You mentioned some models, that also confused me a bit, for eg i was looking at the Canon 100D and Canon 1200D, what are the major differences between these models?
 
I'd really suggest starting with a Bridge camera before going the DSLR route. Cheaper, and it allows you the best of all words (from Macro to Telephoto). Use this to decide whether you want to go down the DSLR road, it's an expensive one and many people get caught up in gear, rather than actually taking photos.

Better yet, get a set of clip on lenses for your phone and start playing around, see if you're actually interested in photography, or just want to play around with some different tech.
 
If you decide to go for an SLR and you are strict about the R5000 budget, then the only thing will be a Canon EOS 1200D https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/canon-eos-1200d-with-ef-s-18-55mm-dc-lens-bag-card. This is actually a good camera.

Increasing your budget to R6000 will allow for a Canon 100D https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/canon-eos-100d-dslr-with-ef-s-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-dc-lens or a Canon 1300D https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/canon-eos-1300d-dslr-starter. All three cameras have near identical image quality. The 100D is a bit more compact, making it easier to carry. The 1300D has WiFi.
 
vorman said:
Im looking to invest in a camera bundle to take up my photography hobby.
Any advice as to what cameras to look at? Budget +-R5000

also, what do 'body only' bundles mean? and differences in makes? nikon, canon etc.
Click to expand...

Buy a kit on Gumtree. Check here before buying.
 
The cost is in the lenses and not the body. You need to decide if you want to go with Nikon or Cannon firstly (I'm a cannon fan). Once you decide on that u need to decide APS-C or Full frame sensor - these decisions will ultimately decide what lenses u can use. As a beginner I would go with an APS-C sensor camera.
 
Ice2Cool said:
The cost is in the lenses and not the body. You need to decide if you want to go with Nikon or Cannon firstly (I'm a cannon fan). Once you decide on that u need to decide APS-C or Full frame sensor - these decisions will ultimately decide what lenses u can use. As a beginner I would go with an APS-C sensor camera.
Click to expand...

Canon.
 
Randhir said:
Buy a kit on Gumtree. Check here before buying.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend this as an option as well. There are plenty of people who buy SLR's and then find they don't have the time to use them. Look for the models I mentioned earlier as well as some of the discontinued models like the Canon 550D, 600D, 650D and Nikon D3100. Again, make sure you get some kit lenses included. You don't want to spend all that money on an SLR body and not have a suitable lens for the type of photos you want to take.
 
garyc said:
If you decide to go for an SLR and you are strict about the R5000 budget, then the only thing will be a Canon EOS 1200D https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/canon-eos-1200d-with-ef-s-18-55mm-dc-lens-bag-card. This is actually a good camera.

Increasing your budget to R6000 will allow for a Canon 100D https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/canon-eos-100d-dslr-with-ef-s-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-dc-lens or a Canon 1300D https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/canon-eos-1300d-dslr-starter. All three cameras have near identical image quality. The 100D is a bit more compact, making it easier to carry. The 1300D has WiFi.
Click to expand...

Wifi is a surprisingly nifty feature. Not only can you access the photos on your camera with your phone, you can also use it for self portraits. Self portraits are a great way to learn about lighting, focus and DOF if you don't want to annoy someone else by taking 1000s of the same photo of them, but with different lighting conditions.
No, the timer doesn't work, since you need to focus on yourself.
 
DPreview.com has a website I found very useful for comparing cameras. Also each model will have a in depth review.
 
I would actually recommend against a bridge camera. I had one in back in 2007-ish which I loved, but soon realised that I just can't get the narrow depth of field that I would like.

The DSLRs were also a lot more responsive than the bridge cameras back then. I don't know how much it changed recently, but few things in photography are as satisfying as the mechanical click as a DSLR.

Unless you want to take photos of birds and wildlife as part of your hobby. Then your DSLR with a long lens (400mm+ ) will cost you a LOT to get the same range as you can get with a super zoom bridge camera.
 
Kerrits said:
I would actually recommend against a bridge camera. I had one in back in 2007-ish which I loved, but soon realised that I just can't get the narrow depth of field that I would like.

The DSLRs were also a lot more responsive than the bridge cameras back then. I don't know how much it changed recently, but few things in photography are as satisfying as the mechanical click as a DSLR.

Unless you want to take photos of birds and wildlife as part of your hobby. Then your DSLR with a long lens (400mm+ ) will cost you a LOT to get the same range as you can get with a super zoom bridge camera.
Click to expand...

Consider what sort of DSLR bundle a novice needs to get the flexibility of a Bridge:

Camera Body
"Marco" lens/Extension tubes
"Kit" lens
"Zoom" lens
"Wide Angle" lens

Now carry all of those lenses, constantly changing between them on something like a hike (where you'll probably want all of the above ability) and you'll see how versatile the Bridge is for beginners.

Yes, for more advanced elements like DoF or tough scenarios like low light shooting a DSLR wins hands down thanks to an extended range of lenses (and larger sensors, and more AF points, etc.), but that's the next level IMHO, beginners should focus more (see what I did there) on taking pictures before investigating advanced techniques.

I was on a gondola in Venice last year in the early evening, armed with my Canon 60D, my GoPro Hero 4 Silver and my Galaxy Note 5. Unfortunately the only DSLR lens I had with me at the time was a Sigma 10 - 20mm wide angle with minimum aperture of F4.5, which really struggled to capture the scene (lower shutter speed didn't work due to the movement of the gondola). So the R15,000 worth of camera and lens I had with me took a back seat to the mobile phone (thanks to it's F1.9 lens).

Also, this topic made me think of a What The Duck comic:

LvdIy.gif
 
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TehStranger said:
Consider what sort of DSLR bundle a novice needs to get the flexibility of a Bridge:

Camera Body
"Marco" lens/Extension tubes
"Kit" lens
"Zoom" lens
"Wide Angle" lens

Now carry all of those lenses, constantly changing between them on something like a hike (where you'll probably want all of the above ability) and you'll see how versatile the Bridge is for beginners.

Yes, for more advanced elements like DoF or tough scenarios like low light shooting a DSLR wins hands down thanks to an extended range of lenses (and larger sensors, and more AF points, etc.), but that's the next level IMHO, beginners should focus more (see what I did there) on taking pictures before investigating advanced techniques.

I was on a gondola in Venice last year in the early evening, armed with my Canon 60D, my GoPro Hero 4 Silver and my Galaxy Note 5. Unfortunately the only DSLR lens I had with me at the time was a Sigma 10 - 20mm wide angle with minimum aperture of F4.5, which really struggled to capture the scene (lower shutter speed didn't work due to the movement of the gondola). So the R15,000 worth of camera and lens I had with me took a back seat to the mobile phone (thanks to it's F1.9 lens).

Also, this topic made me think of a What The Duck comic:

View attachment 375403
Click to expand...

I agree up to a point. I loved my old Canon S2 IS. I replaced it with an S5 IS when it was stolen, and then a 450D about 6 months after that. The S2 had a 0cm focus distance, great for macros.

BUT the S2 was limited. I could take photos of every situation, but there were just things I couldn't do. It couldn't take an external flash, so I was stuck with no flash, or red-eye and front on flash.
No depth of field control meant that I had no way to isolate my subjects.

On your example, the difference between the phone and camera lens was about 2.3 stops. Is the noise on your camera not 2.3 stops better than that of your phone?
I was in a similar situation a while back. I still had my 450 which maxed out at iso 1600. I ended up using my phone at night and on the small screens the phone looked much better. Back home I found that on a decently sized screen the heavy noise reduction made the phone photos look like crap compared to that taken with the 450D. The relatively low max iso of the 450D meant there was just some shots I could not get with it though.
 
Something wrong with my eyes........ or my mind. I read Pornography as a hobby. Thought this would be a hectic thread.
 
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