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My advice for beginners

Macro guy

Well-Known Member
I have been a photographer for over 40 years. I have photographed professionally and my work had been shown in galleries in New York and Tokyo. So, I've had some relative success as a photographer and given my experience, the following is the advice I would give to those just starting out.

What type of camera should I buy as my first camera?

The cheapest USED camera that has interchangeable lenses and manual control. If this is going to be your first camera, you don't know if you're going to stick to photography, so there's no point in buying an expensive camera. It takes YEARS to master the technical aspects of photography to the point of it becoming second nature, so somewhere down the line, you may decide that this is not for you. This way, you won't lose any money, since you'll probably be able to sell your cheap used camera for close to the money you paid for it. Besides, you don't want to worry about taking your camera with you, dropping it, banging it or whatever. It's going to be a learning tool, so take it everywhere and don't sweat it.

Should I buy a full frame, APS-C or a Micro Four Thirds as my camera?

It doesn't matter. It will take you years to learn the technical aspects of photography and either format is well suited for learning. You will know EXACTLY what you need once you've outgrown your kit.


What lens should I buy as my first lens?

I would recommend a "normal" f2 lens for your camera format. That would be a 40-58mm for a full frame, a 30-40mm for an APS-C and a 25-30mm for MFT. I think that a fast normal lens is the best lens to learn on, as it removes the variables of a zoom lens such as the variable focal lengths and sometimes variable apertures. Additionally, a fast lens allows you to better understand the concept of the depth of field. Having said that an f1.8-f2 prime lens is fine. You don't have to go crazy getting a faster lens.


What accessories should I get for my camera?

You should get a flash in order to learn how to work with artificial light and not be afraid of it and you should get a tripod, so that you learn how to work with slow shutter speeds and in low light situations. Another thing you would need is a bag. It doesn't have to be fancy and expensive, but it should be able to hold your camera, a lens and a flash.

Which lens should I get next?

You shouldn't. If you don't know what lens to get, then you don't need another lens. You get your second lens when you start encountering situations where not having another lens means not being able to take a picture. If you're not encountering those situations on REGULAR basis, you don't need a lens. If you are encountering those situations, then you know EXACTLY which lens you need.


Is the Canon/Nikon/Sony better than the Sony/Nikon/Canon?

No, they're all the same. They all produce the same pictures and they all work the same way. Whatever differences there are among them won't affect you for years to come.


Is lens X better than lens Y? I saw on the Internet that lens X was sharper than lens Y

It doesn't matter. You won't see the difference between different lenses. If you do see a difference, that difference is immaterial. Content trumps everything. If you know what you're doing, you can make great images with any camera/lens. Some cameras/lenses make things easier, but none will prevent you from taking great photos.


What else should I know starting out?

ALWAYS buy used equipment. New equipment is overpriced and its value will depreciate very quickly. Buying used (in good condition) and buying cameras and/or lenses that are a few generations old provide the best bang for the buck. I am still photographing with 20 year old lenses and a 15 year old camera and I have no need to switch. They do the job and as long as they do the job, I will continue using them.

The most important advice I can offer is that cameras and lenses are tools. They're there to help you produce meaningful photographs. They're not the end all and they shouldn't be viewed as the purpose of photography. If a camera/lens was good enough for photographers 20, 30, 50 years ago, it's good enough for you. The most important aspect of any camera for a beginning photographer is manual setting. Nothing else really matters. Not the sensor size, not its age, not any other features. The ONLY way to learn is by using manual controls (or at least having access to them) and manual controls also give you the flexibility to select the best settings for a given situation and to override the meter when necessary.

Good luck.
 
Well, similar advice has been given before. Especially: Content trump's everything. True. So, how does a beginner find the content to get himself engaged on? And content, others might like.
 
Well, similar advice has been given before. Especially: Content trump's everything. True. So, how does a beginner find the content to get himself engaged on? And content, others might like.
The point is to worry about creating, not buying equipment. Equipment does not make one a better photographer, it makes it easier to execute one's vision.

One has to look at photography works, paintings and sculpture to become "artistically literate" and as a source of inspiration.
 
What lens should I buy as my first lens?

I would recommend a "normal" f2 lens for your camera format.
Since that's what I did (1979, Canon AE-1, 50/1.8), and absolutely hated it, I respectfully disagree. The very first thing I did was start saving for a telephoto zoom. After that I bought a wide angle (28/2.8). I was far happier after that.
 
Maybe we should consider every prime lens a special lens for special purposes. The 28 is also special, needing a composition that works. We just got used to its look by the omnipresent smartphones.

Zooms are now good enough for everyday use. And that message fits better to this posting for beginners.
 
Since that's what I did (1979, Canon AE-1, 50/1.8), and absolutely hated it, I respectfully disagree. The very first thing I did was start saving for a telephoto zoom. After that I bought a wide angle (28/2.8). I was far happier after that.
The normal lens is a good learning tool regardless of whether or not you hate it. It minimizes perspective distortion and has an angle of view close to the human eye, thereby allowing the beginner to learn to pre-visualize the scene
 
The normal lens is a good learning tool regardless of whether or not you hate it. It minimizes perspective distortion and has an angle of view close to the human eye, thereby allowing the beginner to learn to pre-visualize the scene
I refer to those claims, collectively, as "the 50mm myth".

If you think a 50mm has a field of view close to the human eye, you should be able to hold up a camera with a 50mm lens to your eye and have it not block any of your vision. If that's the case, you have a vision problem called "tunnel vision". Your eye is a circular fisheye, not a 50mm equivalent.

There's a reason modern kit lenses are 28-90 equivalent or thereabouts.
 
That argument is irrelevant. The 40-50mm lenses provide the angle of view and perspective that's very close to the way we see. I'm sure you can find a study that claims otherwise and perhaps on a purely academic level they may be correct, but that's not relevant to photography. When you're dealing with telephoto or wide angle lenses, you're dealing with perspective distortion among other things. The approx. 50mm lens allows you to photograph most things without having to deal with perspective distortion and that's just one less variable for the beginner to deal with.

I'm sure it's possible to nit pick and split hairs, but personally, I wouldn't recommend either a telephoto, a wide angle and certainly not a zoom for someone just starting out in order to minimize the number of variables and to help them learn to see with a single lens, a single focal length, and to understand its properties and its shortcomings. As the new photographer learns and improves, there will come a point at which they will find the 50mm limiting, but that would be the next step in their development as a photographer, not their first.
 
That argument is irrelevant. The 40-50mm lenses provide the angle of view and perspective that's very close to the way we see.
That claim is false as well. It's based around the way we view prints. Some people claim it's "natural" for people to view prints from a distance about equal to the image diagonal. If so, then the print will subtend the same angle of view to your eyes as did the scene to the camera.
I'm sure you can find a study that claims otherwise and perhaps on a purely academic level they may be correct, but that's not relevant to photography. When you're dealing with telephoto or wide angle lenses, you're dealing with perspective distortion among other things.
Perspective distortion isn't an actual thing. What people call perspective distortion is NOT being in the condition I described above. But, as it says, that condition is also dependent on the viewing condition. On my phone, that's about 100mm. On my desktop it's about 24mm (I have a 40 inch monitor not too far from my face). In an IMAX dome it's 8mm circular fisheye.
The approx. 50mm lens allows you to photograph most things without having to deal with perspective distortion and that's just one less variable for the beginner to deal with.

I'm sure it's possible to nit pick and split hairs, but personally, I wouldn't recommend either a telephoto, a wide angle and certainly not a zoom for someone just starting out in order to minimize the number of variables and to help them learn to see with a single lens, a single focal length, and to understand its properties and its shortcomings.
Its shortcoming is that it's inflexible and thus can only be used in a narrow range of situations.
As the new photographer learns and improves, there will come a point at which they will find the 50mm limiting, but that would be the next step in their development as a photographer, not their first.
I found it limiting after about 5 minutes.
 
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