Beginner The difference between cameras...

Lauraloo83

Lauraloo83

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Laura
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Hi so I joined a couple of weeks back and have only just discovered photography properly, I have started after a bit of research on a Nikon D3300 I really enjoy using it and there is a wealth of knowledge to learn. One thing I am intrigued about (not that I am even considering buying another camera) is how the more expensive ones can take a better quality image? In my ignorance I thought a lot of the variables would be the lens or the MP of the camera, so I was intrigued and started looking at what else was on the market to which I discovered Nikons most expensive was 16 MP......am I loosing the plot here?
 
I'm sure that the expensive 16mp Nikon takes lovely pictures but things you are also paying for may include rugged build quality, fast bust rate, big buffer, all singing all dancing focus system blah blah blah... stuff that will possibly appeal to a small specialist market willing to pay the eye watering price when compared to more standard entry level stuff.

I think it's true to say that some of the more expensive cameras in a makers line up may not always offer tangibly better image quality, sometimes it aint necessarily so and instead what you're paying for is more/different/enhanced features and abilities.
 
woof woof said:
I'm sure that the expensive 16mp Nikon takes lovely pictures but things you are also paying for may include rugged build quality, fast bust rate, big buffer, all singing all dancing focus system blah blah blah... stuff that will possibly appeal to a small specialist market willing to pay the eye watering price when compared to more standard entry level stuff.

I think it's true to say that some of the more expensive cameras in a makers line up may not always offer tangibly better image quality, sometimes it aint necessarily so and instead what you're paying for is more/different/enhanced features and abilities.
Click to expand...
Thank you :)

Thank you everyone who replied too :)
 
The more expensive the camera the more features it will have is the quick answer. It all depends on what you want to take photos of as a main interest. For sport one that has a fast shutter speed say up to 1/8000 sec or if you want to use it like a machine gun then frames per second (FPS) would be the priority. I made a mistake in getting a Nikon D70s which was only a 6 mega pixel camera but suited my needs at the time. Since then it went to Nikon D200 (battery heavy) D300 (still got and will keep) now the Nikon D800 and there camera chasing for me stops

You may want to go to a full frame camera later instead of a crop frame camera. Best thing is to use the camera you already have, get to learn about it and photography generally. You will eventually find you have outgrown the capabilities the camera and then is the time to upgrade not before.

At this stage I suggest getting the best you can afford or even one just out of budget range. Yes the features will confuse a bit but also a lot will be carried over from your camera as well.

The other thing to remember is a bad lens will produce a bad picture, not many have a really bad issue but I tend to stay with Nikon lenses anyway. his is a completely different subject and need to be looked at as well as just a camera

Remember it is not the camera that takes good photos it is the nose behind it that does.

Good luck
 
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Thank you that definitely satisfies my curiosity. My next purchase is definitely a better lens and I'm giving myself a 2 year time scale with my D3300 minimum so I don't get excited and blow a bomb. Hopefully by two years I will know more and know my own style. Thank you so much for all the info [emoji106]
 
Woof Woof:
...fast bust and a big buffer...

Is this reply in the correct section? :)
 
Lauraloo83 said:
Thank you that definitely satisfies my curiosity. My next purchase is definitely a better lens and I'm giving myself a 2 year time scale with my D3300 minimum so I don't get excited and blow a bomb. Hopefully by two years I will know more and know my own style. Thank you so much for all the info [emoji106]
Click to expand...

Is the right attitude.

Too many people get caught up in the minutia of camera specs, it's the person behind the camera that makes a difference and most people substitute this ability by buying expensive kit in the hope it will make up for lack of skill. It doesn't.

Pretty much most people on this forum, me included, have kit that is really better than we need but that's part of the fun of the hobby - it also allows you to take shortcuts. As has been said, more expensive kit doesn't get you better image quality, it just increases your chance of getting the shot in difficult circumstances and that is why people pay money for it.
 
Thing is, camera marketing departments need something to use to make their models stand out from the competition.
For a long time, this was megapixels and this created a megapixel war with different manufactures making cameras with increasingly more stupid megapixel numbers, which in some cases actually made the camera worse not better. This wasn't just dslrs, but all cameras, so it because a common misconception that more megapixels meant a better camera, which is completely incorrect.

It seems to have simmered down now and the trend appears to be going the other way with less megapixels in newer models, but much more enhanced high ISO performance or better quality video.
 
More megapixels only makes sense when combined with a superb sensor, lens and everything else that makes a camera. You wont find a low megapixel Hasselblad or Mamiya, because megapixels do matter, but only once everything else has been perfected.

The main reason for having more megapixels on a high end camera is so that the images can be printed at billboard sizes, without loss of quality. For your average photographer, this will never be an issue.

OP would do well to stick with the 3300 for a while. If you master it, then the camera world is your oyster.
 
Here's my advice get a short list of cameras and try them out it might be Nikon Canon or Sony. Make sure they suit you buttons in the right place, menu system right for you. Do not settle for I will get used to it
 
Thank you everyone, the megapixels for bill board size makes things totally clear as does the fact the megapixels need to be part of a camera that is quality spec in other areas. I've got to say I love my Nikon camera, my brother let me play on a canon one a year back (I've no idea what it was) but it just scared me into not doing photography. So hopefully by the time I'm ready to buy another I will be able to upgrade to another Nikon :)
 
Of course more expensive cameras will be able to take better quality photos however you can get amazing photos with what you have. It's not only a combination of the camera but also the lens and the ability to use them. Learn the camera, surpass its capabilities the think about buying new gear.

Take it from me to do this because I've been through this torment and although I love photography it's not worth it.
 
I've been using a D3200 for the last year with a kit lens and some of the photos i've had out of that have been pretty good although 1000s have been crap but i'm in the learning stage, In all honesty i'd love a D750 or D810 but at the moment i think i'd be back at square 1 again if i bought either of them. Also i bought a 35mm 1.8G DX a couple of days ago so will hopefully now be expanding my whole photography experience with that. Even with the amount of learning i've done in the last year i'm still nowhere near needing a big expensive camera with very expensive glass. I'm aiming to get a nice big FX by about year 3 -5 but only if i feel the step up is justified.

Learn with what you have at the moment and when you have pretty much mastered it then think about something a lot better. Learning all the basic and intermediate stuff on a D3300 will set you up hopefully for something more expensive in the future. If you bought a D810 right now for example then chances are your photos still wont be as great as they could be.
 
It's the 'learning to use' that is important.

Cameras are just boxes. The person behind it is more important.
 
^^^^ what @kendo1 said.

Nikon, Canon , iPhone etc doesn't really matter to be honest. Someone on here posted some images of Lego figures taken with an iPhone which I love!
 
The whole point of photography is to capture the moment. If the photographer is happy with what they took (not talking about professional) all well and good. A bonus is if other people like the photos as well. You will always get critics as they may see things differently and worth taking note of, but not to the extent of upsetting your own style
 
I would get if you haven't already either the Nikon 35mm 1.8G or the Nikon 50mm 1.8g.
they will allow you to get some really nice images from the extremely good sensor in the D3300
 
The main thing with it all is enjoy it, Look forward to getting out the camera and using it. enjoy that feeling of capturing that moment, enjoy when you put your first print on the wall.

think of your equipment as a tool, the pan you use to cook your food, doesn't make it taste good. It may make it easier, but its the cook's skill everyone thinks of when eating it.
 
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