First Camera Buying Tips For Beginners

As a teacher and a "talkative" person about photography, the question most frequently asked me is: "I'm a beginner in photography. What camera recommendation is best for me? "Or another question that is also often asked:" I just want to try a photo hobby, nice where Canon or Nikon? ". Such questions are almost always asked every time I teach in the classroom or be a speaker in various workshops. Then how do I answer those questions? By turning to the following questions :) Well, I will turn back to ask the questions that I ask to be answered well. Because each answer will give a good picture to them, what camera is suitable for them. So here being emphasized for those who are beginners or first buy a camera is not looking for the best camera or the best, but to look for is the camera that best suits them, Here are tips on buying the first camera for beginners and intend to buy the first camera, please answer the questions below and find the camera that works best for you.


OK, prior to the first question I will give you one important fact that you need to understand at the beginning. That is that the hobby of photography is closely related to technology. And just as with anything else related to technology, the saying that "there is no money there" & "you get what you pay for" is very appropriate. Can not be denied, if you are looking for the best camera or photography equipment, then there is the budget you have to prepare. The more sophisticated the camera you want the bigger the budget you need. Therefore, if you are a beginner then the better you are looking for is the most suitable camera and not the best camera or sophisticated. The initial and most important capital for all photographers is not in the sophistication of the camera but in the trained eye, and you certainly already have eyes. All you need to do is train the eye with the help of the camera. Ok, let's get into the first question.


1. What is your purpose to buy a camera? 

What is your main reason for buying a camera? I think at this stage there are two main reasons to buy a camera (three if you're a student taking photography classes). First for documentation purposes (usually for family photos, events with friends, office events etc) and secondly because you are interested in undergoing a hobby of photography. If you are a photography course participant the third reason is to make it easier for you to go through the class (do the tasks, etc.). 

If your main reason is for documentation or college purposes, then my advice is to buy a camera kit. That camera is sold in a package consisting of the camera body and lens kitnya (usually 18-55mm lens). Then when the budget allows the next step is to buy a telephoto lens (because usually the kit does not include the camera kit tele lenses inside) such as 70-300mm. At this stage you already have 1 camera body with 18-55mm lens (for indoor and wide shooting) and 70-300mm lens (for outdoor shooting and distant photo objects). For the purposes of documentation then what you have now is enough. If you do not really like changing lenses, then you can sell the kit lens 18-55mm and use the money from the sale of the lens to add the budget to buy a lens with a focal length covering wide to tele (commonly called the lens "broom universe") such as lenses 18-200mm. Or another option, at the time of buying your camera just buy the camera body only, then membli lens 18-200mm apart. Here's a starter kit for documentation or photography class : 

• Body camera  
• Lens kit 18-55mm 
• Telephoto lens (example: 70-300mm) 

Example telephoto lens :

 
CANON EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM

 

NIKON AF 70-300mm f / 4-5.6G - Black

If you intend to try the hobby of photography, then the setup of the equipment is the same as for the purposes of the above documentation. Namely the camera body and lens that can cover from wide to tele. However, because most of the kit lens does not have a large aperture and so does the lens "broom universe". So I strongly recommend to have one lens with the greatest opening minimum f / 2. Lenses like this (we call fast lens) will make it easier for you to practice photos in low light conditions and play with a narrow Depth of Field. If your budget is limited, my recommendation is one wide lens (kit lens is enough) and one fast lens. I suggest if you are beginner do not buy too many lenses at the beginning. Master and practice with one lens until you really understand the characteristics of the lens before buying a new lens. Here's the kit starter :

• Body camera 
• Wide lens (example: 18-55mm kit lens) 
• Fast lens (example: 50mm f / 1.8 lens)
•  Optional: telephoto lens (example: 70-300mm lens)