Beginner Beginners advice

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Londontown

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Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum. I am hoping to acquire some very beginning experience and product advice. I consider myself a complete newbie to photography.

I have a number of nice holidays coming up this year and have been thinking of buying a decent camera to take holiday pictures. At the moment, I take all of my photos with my iPhone, and although the quality is good, I tend to use only some basic settings and do little with the pictures, afterwards. Most of them just end up forever in a folder on my phone.

I am hoping to create some better memories - in a few weeks time I am traveling to Japan and I am considering buying a camera for this trip and getting to grips with some of the basics of photography. I have a bit of free time this month to research.

With regards to the camera, I am looking for something which obviously produces good quality pictures, has sufficient functionality, but that is not the heaviest to carry. Something that I can carry with me comfortable when I am out for a day. I am also thinking of a price range in the hundreds of pounds rather than the thousands - I am after all a beginner. If there are cameras with a particularly easy method to transfer photos from the camera to my laptop or phone, that would be handy. What I plan to do with the photos? Nothing too complex - I will probably post some on social media, share some with family and friends, and use some for photo books. I do not expect to spend hours on editing photos, but I might do some basic editing afterwards.

Once I have bought a camera, I plan of course to spend some time and effort on understanding all the features to ensure I start taking better photos.

Now my question is where do I start. Has anybody got any useful advice for me, good sources of information, product recommendations? What would be suitable for a newbie like me?

Thanks very much - Londontown
 
Welcome to TP. You sound like you have a good understanding of what you want. That's good. Don't over think it. It's easy to dig yourself deeper in.

Where to start? Well, I would probably look at something like the Lumix range from Panasonic. Something pocketable with good image quality.

Have fun.
 
It sounds like you are approaching this the right way, especially planning on getting to grips with the camera before your holiday.

Are you thinking along the lines of something pocketable? Or fits in a bag? https://camerasize.com/ is a good resource for comparing the size of cameras, but there's no substitute for getting to a camera shop and seeing/feeling them in real life.
 
Hi Londontown and welcome.

I think it's great that you are interested in improving your photography but there are some caveats that you should be aware of up front.

It is absolutely true that that a good camera is going to give you better image quality than your phone but you phone is a very clever little compact computer with some fancy built in algorithms that are going to edit your images as you take them, sometimes even taking multiple exposure, blending them together and spitting out an image that look great on the small screen and are perfect for social media. A camera is not going to do this to the same extent an often leaves new photographers puzzled as to why their newly acquired, expensive DSLR takes worse photos than their phone did. Even putting the camera on Auto jpg settings, your iphone image will more often than not look better initially because of the "behind the scenes" editing that has been applied.

What I'm saying is that you really mustn't expect to buy an expensive camera and expect markedly superior results to that of your iphone without putting in a bit of extra effort. You need to understand what the camera is seeing, how exposure works (the exposure triangle) and how you can help the camera capture the most data. Then you should know a bit about editing to pull back highlights, bring up shadows etc. You don't need to go into elaborate editing but you should know the basics of balancing the exposure.

You're not going to learn it in a month. Some of us photographers have been at it for years and are still learning but put in some time and you should pick up the basics fairly quickly and build on that.

For a beginner I always recommend Mike Brownes youtube channel. Have a look at some of his earlier stuff, he has loads of great tutorials made just for beginners.
 
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As above, if you don’t want to be carrying loads; look at something M4/3 like the Panasonic LUMIX range.

All I’d add next is to buy s/h to minimise losses if you want to upgrade or swap systems.

I’d buy a camera with a kit zoom, a ‘fast’ standard lens (25mm for those cameras) and maybe a small telezoom too if you can run to that.

A couple of spare 3rd party batteries and a v small bag and you’re good to go for travelling.

You’ll understand your needs better, but I like a small camera bag that’ll just take a water bottle when travelling, others prefer a small rucksack with space for clothing etc as well as camera gear.

Sounds like an amazing trip, please come back and share your images.
 
Thank you all for your advice - this is extremely helpful and all much appreciated. I'm going to continue researching a bit on this following your advice.
 
We came back from Tokyo a couple of weeks ago and was worried about the lack of a decently long zoom lens. I am sure I probably would have used it had I had one but certainly didn't really miss it. The advice above with small, light with good low light capability is key.
 
If keeping the bulk and weight down is high on your list I'd recommend taking a look at some of the viewfinder in the corner cameras rather than those with a viewfinder hump.

I have a couple of Micro Four Thirds cameras that could be worth a look but you'd have to buy used as I don't think they're still in production, Panasonic GX80 and GX9. You could also look at the Sony A6000 APS-C range range which are also very compact.

Lens wise I like "standard" primes like 35mm f1.8 but there's a lot of choice here. If you've been using a phone and are reasonably happy with the field of view they give perhaps something similar for a camera would be a good start, or perhaps a standard range zoom might be an idea and as Phil mentions above maybe a standard range zoom and a wide aperture prime (something like f1.8) would make a good pairing.

I wouldn't worry about complexity as just about every camera has some sort of automated mode. I also wouldn't worry about connectivity as just about every camera will plug into a pc and easily allow you to transfer the files across. This also brings us on to processing software and if you haven't got any you'll need to think about that. Some is free, some you buy and some you pay a subscription for.

I suppose one thing to try and do is to think about composition and when to press the shutter button. I think it's important to really see what you are taking a picture of and perhaps think about how it may be improved perhaps by changing position even slightly. For example is a lamp post sticking out of someone's head and if so can it not be... or maybe the lamp post sticking out of someone's head is the point? :D

Good luck with it all.
 
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Phil V said:
As above, if you don’t want to be carrying loads; look at something M4/3 like the Panasonic LUMIX range.

All I’d add next is to buy s/h to minimise losses if you want to upgrade or swap systems.

I’d buy a camera with a kit zoom, a ‘fast’ standard lens (25mm for those cameras) and maybe a small telezoom too if you can run to that.

A couple of spare 3rd party batteries and a v small bag and you’re good to go for travelling.

You’ll understand your needs better, but I like a small camera bag that’ll just take a water bottle when travelling, others prefer a small rucksack with space for clothing etc as well as camera gear.

Sounds like an amazing trip, please come back and share your images.
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That all makes sense, and if you need good low light (compared to a compact) M43 is maybe the best way to go.

I missed where you are going, as it does have relevance to your choice.

If it is going to be mainly sunny, you need something with a viewfinder, and if the light is going to be mainly good a compact will be the best.

If you are going to some one of the more "interesting" parts of the world, something less touristy is less likely to get liberated.

Either way, I agree with the Panasonic Lumix line, for a small sensor compact, a TZ60 gives a lot for its money, gives good pictures, has a good zoom range, good stabilisation and is small and light. (it is what I use to take to the Philippines, great pictures and excellent videos)

Going up a bit, a Panasonic G3, or next big step up a G5, then an even bigger step up a G9 (big step up in money too), combine either of those (G3 0r G5) with a 14-42 lens and a 45-150 lens and you will have a lot of capability for not much money, in a convenient size and light package.
 
It was a trip to Japan that started me off in micro four thirds (OM - used to be Olympus). This was a few years ago and for the trip I bought an Olympus EM5 mark ii and a 12-40 f/2.8 lens - which was used for most shots. I also bought a very cheap and pocketable 40-150mm lens (cost me £100 new at the time) - this was barely used, but did come in handy for some pictures of the macaque monkeys. I was already familiar with using a larger camera.

When in Japan I bought a 9-18mm lens - much cheaper than here - there are loads of camera shops in Tokyo. I also bought a spare battery - I've always found the battery life of my M4/3 cameras to be really good. There is a limit on how much you can bring back into the UK. (I took copies of my receipts with me in case I had any issues when heading home).

If you are new to using a camera, I would echo @ecoleman - there could be a few pitfalls in trying to learn enough in a short time. A phone for instance will likely give you more of your picture in focus.

I'm about to upgrade my phone purely for the camera on it and an upcoming trip. There are times when it's easier and less intrusive to just get a quick shot with the phone. Having said that I would not go without my camera and it is a great hobby where there is always more to learn.
 
Thanks everyone. I did some reading and had my interest set on a Panasonic fz1000 ii, then went to a store in London yesterday and found it to be slightly too heavy for my trip (maybe suitable for a later trip though). I’m worried I’d resort too much to my phone camera still given its more compact size.

I am still looking at a more compact model - the Sony A6000 or a smaller Panasonic Lumix?

If I look at a higher price range I often come across the Fujifilm X100V. How would in your view a second hand Fujifilm X100V compare for beginners to the compact models I mentioned above? Will it give a significant edge over the Sony A6000 or smaller Panasonic Lumix models? I.e. is this model worth the extra money for a beginner, or is it partially expensive because of its looks?
 
Londontown said:
Thanks everyone. I did some reading and had my interest set on a Panasonic fz1000 ii, then went to a store in London yesterday and found it to be slightly too heavy for my trip (maybe suitable for a later trip though). I’m worried I’d resort too much to my phone camera still given its more compact size.

I am still looking at a more compact model - the Sony A6000 or a smaller Panasonic Lumix?

If I look at a higher price range I often come across the Fujifilm X100V. How would in your view a second hand Fujifilm X100V compare for beginners to the compact models I mentioned above? Will it give a significant edge over the Sony A6000 or smaller Panasonic Lumix models? I.e. is this model worth the extra money for a beginner, or is it partially expensive because of its looks?
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The Fuji is a gorgeous little camera with a fixed lens ie not a zoom.

It’s a great camera (for what it does) but I don’t think it’d suit a novice who’s used to having a zoom lens on a camera that takes no carrying.

your problem here is that your phone takes OK pictures and it’s brilliantly convenient. Nothing is gonna come close to that convenience (size weight).

everyone above assumed you were looking for an interchangeable lens camera. But even what we’d call the tiny ones are much bigger than you’re happy with.

Even a ‘good’ modern compact with a zoom is gonna be big (a similar size to the Panasonic you’ve tried).

That’s the inevitable ‘price’ of better image quality. Simple physics, better IQ demands more light gathered, equals bigger cameras / lenses. Have a look at the Sony RX100 models, not sure you'll get one in budget
 
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For context:
My ‘small’ camera bag is over 3.5kg and I’ll happily carry that round any city in the world. My basic camera and lens being over 1.5kg.

There’s a whole thread here in the equipment section discussing ‘high end bridge cameras’, which despite your initial thought is probably the smallest thing you’ll find that’s an improvement on your phone.
 
Maybe a decent compact would be an answer? Having a few, the one I carry most often (because it slips into a shirt pocket and has a decent zoom range as well as offering the best [IMO] image quality is a Sony RX-100vi.

My other advice would be to use whatever you get as much as possible between now and your trip, so you have a good idea as to its strengths and weaknesses.
 
I have just bought a panasonic G9 camera and kit lens £1199 new, (not the G9ii version) "they still have the camera without the kit" and so far I think it would be worth looking at although not many new now on the market, I grabbed the last kit version from WEX a couple of days ago. It is half the weight of my Nikon D810 and so far highly delighted with it. does video as well by the way. a couple of rreasons why I went for it because it has 2x SD card slots and a flip screen

You mention about not being complicated, well there is always programming mode which works out everything for you and that goes for all makes of camera.
this may give you some Idea of size against wall tile size

Don't forget about getting a spare battery and memory cards. All adds to the cost

photo taken with a Nikon Coolpix L26 compact camera
DSCN0001aaa.jpg
Nikon D810 full frame DSLR camera --------- Panasonic G9( four thirds camera)------- Panasonic DC-TZ95 compact camera (with tilt up screen)

note the peak design quick release strap buttons saves struggling with a camera strap that keeps getting in the way. The strap just clips on/out easily but totally safe
 
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Londontown said:
I am still looking at a more compact model - the Sony A6000 or a smaller Panasonic Lumix?
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One thing which puts me off the Sony A6xxx range is that most models lack two top if camera controls for adjusting for example shutter speed and aperture although you can adjust these things by other but in my opinion clumsier ways. That may or may not bother you and indeed you may not even know what I'm talking about (and that isn't an insult) but how a camera handles and what controls it has or lacks could be an important factor for you at some point.

The Fuji 100 range is popular, I've had two, but I don't think I'd have another.
 
Alan
what I have done with the G9 is put what I want the camera to do under a programmed setting called C1. adding extras under it as I found things in the menu.
This leaves me free to use say shutter or aperture priority etc as usual.
 
I am a fan of the Fuji X100V, it is a great camera if you can accept compromises with the fixed lens. It is great at that standard view, a bit more zoomed in than the wide angle lens on an iPhone. Having separate dials for ISO/shutter speed/aperture make it easier to experiment with the exposure triangle, but overall I would not say it is a great camera for beginners, as it is not very versatile.
 
All very helpful advice, thanks.

I visited some more stores over the weekend, looked at some more models and reconsidered how much I’d want to spend and what sort of camera would best suit me.

I was very charmed by the Fuji cameras - I like their build - they seem ‘fun’ to shoot with during holidays. They excited me a bit more than some more ‘traditional’ builds.

In the end I decided to stretch my budget and settled for a slightly more versatile camera but one that felt still quite compact and not too heavy. Reviews looked good and I enjoyed using it in the store. I am now the proud owner of a new Fujifilm X-S20 with an XF18-55mm lens :cool:

Next steps will be to use it as much as possible and to do a beginners photography course before the end of this month. I was hoping the Fujifilm store in Covent Garden would have camera workshops, but none are scheduled for this month so I’m looking for alternatives online.
 
Great stuff, that will be a good travel set up.
 
Congrats on your choice, I hope you get loads of use from it.

But I feel we have to point out!

Londontown said:
They excited me a bit more than some more ‘traditional’ builds.
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Fuji’s whole design ethos is ‘traditional’. Whilst most other cameras are modernising a 90’s design, Fuji are anchored in the 60s and 70s.
 
Phil V said:
Congrats on your choice, I hope you get loads of use from it.

But I feel we have to point out!



Fuji’s whole design ethos is ‘traditional’. Whilst most other cameras are modernising a 90’s design, Fuji are anchored in the 60s and 70s.
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Totally right - wrong use of the word traditional here ;-) I wasn't familiar with the stunning retro designs of Fuji cameras myself and used ‘traditional’ in the context of the cameras I have always been used to seeing around.
 
You've stumbled upon a really good setup there. A great camera and a lens that punches well above it's weight. From here on in, it's not the camera, it's you!

The Fabulous Fuji X thread in the Talk Equipment forum is a great place to go for advice should anything end up puzzling you.
 
Do you need a long zoom lens? If it’s just city stuff you’re snapping, the Panasonic LX100 is superb. I’ve taken mine to New York, Poland, Italy, Singapore and many other city breaks and it’s been faultless. It has the same functionality of a full size DSLR, but can fit in the pocket. You can buy screw on lens filters and it’ll sit on a travel tripod. There’s some second hand bargains to be had. Well worth considering
 
Panasonic LX100
 

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jpgreenwood said:
Do you need a long zoom lens? If it’s just city stuff you’re snapping, the Panasonic LX100 is superb. I’ve taken mine to New York, Poland, Italy, Singapore and many other city breaks and it’s been faultless. It has the same functionality of a full size DSLR, but can fit in the pocket. You can buy screw on lens filters and it’ll sit on a travel tripod. There’s some second hand bargains to be had. Well worth considering
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You might have missed the post where he’s now bought a camera.
 
Londontown said:
All very helpful advice, thanks.

I visited some more stores over the weekend, looked at some more models and reconsidered how much I’d want to spend and what sort of camera would best suit me.

I was very charmed by the Fuji cameras - I like their build - they seem ‘fun’ to shoot with during holidays. They excited me a bit more than some more ‘traditional’ builds.

In the end I decided to stretch my budget and settled for a slightly more versatile camera but one that felt still quite compact and not too heavy. Reviews looked good and I enjoyed using it in the store. I am now the proud owner of a new Fujifilm X-S20 with an XF18-55mm lens :cool:

Next steps will be to use it as much as possible and to do a beginners photography course before the end of this month. I was hoping the Fujifilm store in Covent Garden would have camera workshops, but none are scheduled for this month so I’m looking for alternatives online.
Click to expand...


Enjoy your new camera! The Fuji system has plenty of options as far as lens and body upgrades go and there are few (if any!) bad lenses among their offerings.
 
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