New to photography

[matrim]

Hello everyone, I've recently become really interested in photography, like nature and out doors kinds of things mostly. While looking over classes for this semester of college, I saw that they had alot of photography classes and I signed up for Photography 111. Anyway my first class is Thursday at 1:30pm and I have no idea as to whether or not I should already have a camera, film, and photo paper with me, but I was wondering if you guys could give me any recommendations for a good beginners camera. Any help would be greatly appriciated! Oh and the price range I'm looking for is around $350 cause I'm kinda strapped for cash at the moment lol...

[filipdabrowski]

Since you're new to photography, you should start of with a fully manual camera (which you can buy used on eBay or a second hand camera shop). Since your budget is pretty tight, I would go for one of the older all manual Pentax cameras such as the Spotmatic, K1000, ME or ME Super. When you buy them the usually come with a standard 50mm lens and all you'll need to do is get yourself a wide angle lens (24 or 28mm) and something longer as well (135mm would be good). The faster the better, but that will also increase the price (even with used equipment). Have a look around your local photo shop to see what they have.

As for the first day...show up and they will probably tell you what you need to have with you for your first day...don't buy something you won't use later on in your class. Good luck!

[jamesbogue]

"When you buy them the usually come with a standard 50mm lens and all you'll need to do is get yourself a wide angle lens (24 or 28mm) and something longer as well (135mm would be good). The faster the better, but that will also increase the price"

Just to clarify on what filipdabrowski said about lens being faster the better, make sure you look at the lowest f-stop of the lens. The smaller the number such as 2.8, 1.4, 1.0 the faster the lens. This makes sense when you are trying to hand hold the camera in dim light, the lower the f-stop the more you can gain in shutterspeed so you don't have to use a tripod, for instance. I agree with his recommedation on the Pentax K1000, ME, and ME super. I had all three when I first started. One other suggestion is to purchase a light meter, to really begin to understand how to measure the light around you.

Lastly, Digital makes for immediate gratification, such as through point and shoot consumer digital cameras. And this may allow you to explore ideas more freely without the thought of cost associated with each click. However a manual camera really makes you think about every aspect of making a picture and with the right lens ultimately allows for you to understand the creative discipline of photography. Best of luck..

[filipdabrowski]

Lastly, Digital makes for immediate gratification, such as through point and shoot consumer digital cameras. And this may allow you to explore ideas more freely without the thought of cost associated with each click. However a manual camera really makes you think about every aspect of making a picture and with the right lens ultimately allows for you to understand the creative discipline of photography. Best of luck..

Yes, digital may be cheaper and the instant gratification is a bonus, but I also agree with what you wrote in the second part of your paragraph: starting from simple manual focus cameras to learn what photography is really about is a very smart idea. This is how I started...and to be honest even today I like to go back to some of my older all manual cameras to shoot a bit of film...the feeling is way different. Go for a simple manual film camera first...and grow into digital in the future once you get the hang of it.

[matrim]

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it! Now I'm really looking forward to the first class because all of what you've told me is really intriguing ^_^

[matrim]

Hi again I was just looking through ebay and I saw this auction for one of the cameras you reccomended for Pentax K1000. It looks like a very good deal, with all thats included so I wanted your personal opinion. The link to the auction is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... Track=true

Thanks again for all of your help!

[filipdabrowski]

The camera and the lens are a good deal for the money. The two zoom lenses are a bit cheap in terms of quality...but for that price you can't expect much. The flash system is an OK one for a beginner...so it will be useful for you, but in the future you might want to invest in something better. Overall, for the price, this kit is pretty good, go for it.

Also...as I mentioned earlier, you can drop the two zoom lenses when you get the kit and just use the 50mm to begin with. Than maybe find a wide angle 24mm lens and a 135mm lens on eBay...primes (not zooms) are a good beginners tool. You can always zoom with your feet if possible.

[kodan_txips]

If you haven't bought a Pentax yet, also consider Minolta. I have always felt that they are better than Pentaxes (since I worked in a camera shop in 1967)

I bought my Minolta X300, with f1.7 lens, for about 50 dollars, on ebay about 2 months ago.

Last month I bought a Minolta X300s with a Vivitar 24-70, a Minolta 100-200, a flashgun, and a bag. All for only 110 dollars.

Pentaxes were very very popular, in their day, and that may make them a slightly higher price on ebay, as people remember lusting after one in their past.