Photography..where to begin?

[Christor]

Well, long story short I have a real interest in wildlife and photos of such, however I lack a camera or even know how to get started

so here is a few simple questions for anyone willing to help

1. What websites are best to research general camera jargon? I dont know most of the meanings of different specs of camera's, so thought best to start of with that

2. Any recommendations for a camera? Budget wise no more than 300, Im only starting, but I want a camera to last, realistically(at this stage) I want a decent quality picture, not the P&S cameras, already have an average one and know the quality of it, so looking DSLR, my main focus for photos will be outdoors, so if that makes a big difference Im not quite sure

Any little would be much appreciated! or even pointing me in the right direction 😀

 

[Mr P]

hi christor,have a look at some of the photo mag web sites,flickr is worth having alook at,also see if there is a camera club near you,its a great hobby and i find it very satisfying.,all the best ,skankypup 😀

 

[Christor]

Thanks skankypup! spent the whole evening researching, basically I just want to make sure I know the technical side, photography I know myself what I want whether or not it will be good, up to me in the end 😀

what puzzles me a little is, Im aware the camera body only has an effect so far, and of course the better body, it will help your photo

but when it comes to lens, just what all different lens will fit on one camera? I see the likes of sigma and tamron, but also camera bodies like sony, are they all compatible? sony cameras seem a lot cheaper but no point getting one if no lens will fit 😀

is a sony a200m any good for what im after?

 

[rolexbene]

Lens are specific to the camera brand, you can buy adapter rings but these will only work to give you manual focus unless you have a very high level camera with focusing motor built in to body. For instance, I have Nikon D3100. This is an entry level Nikon DSLR camera but takes outstanding photos and video, and I highly recommend it. When buying a lens for my Nikon I cannot just buy any Nikon lens, it has to be one with a motor built in to the lens for focusing, this tends to be the case with all the "non professional" DSLR's and due to the motor being built in to the lens, the lens cost a bit more(Think this is he case with other brands like canon). Although physically any nikon lens will fit on my camera, to use auto focus I have to buy AF-S lens not AF. Other brands will also fit my Camera as long as they have been designed to fit nikon and have a inbuilt motor (Sigma HSM).
In my opinion you would be best sticking to the prestigious camera DSLR camera brands like Nikon and Canon for quality, Think sony tends to feel a bit cheap but they do still make a good budget DSLR. Personally I think Nikon just has the edge when it comes to Photos and Canon just has the edge when it comes to Video, but this is quite marginal.
On another note I am selling my DSLR soon as I am going to upgrade, think I want around £300 for the body, so pm me if your interested. Cheers

 

[Christor]

Thanks rolexbene, didnt know that about the lens motor, though Im finding out more and more as I read on, its an interest I have always had and when my girlfriend got a DSLR (quite a nice one as family friend is a photographer) then it got me really interested! however I would prefer my own as we have different ideas of photography

I have been looking at the D3100 and it seems most suited at the moment really, so seems it will be my choice, Ill see what comes up but give me a shout when you look to sell, lens seem to be the big costs

 

[rolexbene]

Well think I am going to sell now as I want to upgrade to a Canon 5Dmk2 for film reasons. I will be selling all my kit off including lens's but was going to sell separately as everyone has there own preference when it comes to what lens they want. With the D3100 new, you normally get the kit lens which is a 18-55mm VR lens, VR stands for Vibration reduction and is quite self explanatory, this is a new feature that has been brought in by nikon recently, this uses lots of battery and is unnecessary on a lens with this minimal zoom, also it further pushes up the price of the lens.
You could by the same kit lens without VR for £50 from ebay.
Still to confirm but as a rough guide to what I am selling:
Nikon D3100 body boxed as new with all accessories £300
Nikon 18-110mm lens £100
Sigma 55-200 lens £50
Also might be selling a good quality wide angle and macro adapter for the nikon lens £30