Photography Revealed

Probably an entry level dslr. They can be a little overwhelming if you have little or no experience in photography, but the learning curve is steep so you’ll pick it up quick. With the full manual controls, you’ll be able to adjust the white balance, shutter speed, aperture, focus, etc. and see exactly how everything works in relation to each other. Also, you’ll eventually learn about using different kinds of lenses.

Although dslrs can be expensive (the lenses are the most expensive part), entry level dslrs are much cheaper than they use to be. Some to look at the Nikon D series (D40, D60), Canon Rebel (XTi), Olympus E series (E420, E510). Maybe look into Pentax or Sony as well. Look for a package that comes with a “kit” lens. Although the lens won’t be professional quality, it will be cheaper and you’ll be able to use it to learn with. After you learn a bit and figure out some stuff, you can start looking at better, more expensive lenses.

Stay away from compacts or point&shoots, they automate too much of the photography process. However, if that’s all you can get your hands on, you can still learn something from it. Use as many manual functions as you can, and take lots and lots of photos to practice things like framing a scene, light sources, etc. After all, a good photographer can take a good picture with a bad camera, but a bad photographer can’t do anything even with a good camera.