Ok I dont want to spend a fortune as im only just starting to take an interest into photography but I really dont know what specs to really look out for.
I dont want to get anything thats too automated as I want to learn some of the skill and techniques myself.
Anyone know a good package for a beginner photographer?
I'd say invest in an SLR even a bottom end one is a serious jump in control over a high end compact and nowadays they cost the same or less.
My ONLY caveat to that is if you anticipate ever not wanting to lug around an SLR, look at compacts with manual aperture and shutter speed, good low light sensitivity and progammability (ie Canon compacts that can run CHDK firmware).
I have a Canon A720IS that, with CHDK firmware, can do many SLR type tricks in a compact size body.
Yeah was looking to get a SLR and lens kit. But theres a lot of options out there.. I dont want to get a cheap set and regret it a month later. They seem to hold their value pretty well so I suppose I wont loose too much money if I do.
Ah ok. The other option is to get a high end compact with full manual controls. I was in a similar situation as you last year, and I decided to get a Canon Powershot G11. One upside is that you don't need to invest in different lenses and you get a chance to play with all the manual settings. Depends on what you want to spend I guess.
If you are just starting off most of the useful basic skills are in composition, framing, timing, etc. If you think you might like to adjust the aperture, shutter speed and other settings you can get compacts with a programmable setting that allows tweaking but you will seldom use it.
Get lots of practice: take lots of pictures. It doesn't cost any more to fill the card. Such an advance over film cameras.
It's easy to find a great camera angle, much harder to capture the light and colour the way the eye sees it.
If you want to learn to frame something, carry an empty picture frame around in your back pocket!
To capture on "film" what you see through that picture frame, you're going to need to learn how to manipulate your camera's settings (if it has those options).
Similarly, you can use your camera's different view of the world to capture something you don't/can't see with a naked eye ie playing with focus.
You'd be surprised what the eye-brain combination can adapt to. When shown a slide of an obviously off-colour apple, people said it was red even though a measurement of that region shows that the light was very non-red. You don't have to photograph everything like the eye perceives it. In fact the perception will even differ between viewers. You just have to make interesting, pleasing or even great photos, which may or may not be true in colour, that's all.
I actually wouldn't be surprised since colour falls into one of my many job descriptions (Quality Assurance in the Print Industry)
I agree absolutely that you don't need/want to photograph everything as the eye perceives it, hence my final sentence.
I suggest first using your existing point-and-shoot and mess around with exposure and iso settings. When you start noticing the lack of aperture adjustments, that's about the right time to get a basic dslr. Lifehacker has a pretty good guide for beginners. http://lifehacker.com/5815742/basics-of-photography-the-comp…
Yeah ive played around as much as I can with a point and shoot. I think im ready to move up to a SLR and play with some different photo effects.
Scenery.
Pancakes.
may have a nikon D70 for sale if you are interested ?
Are you looking to eventually invest in an SLR? What is your current experience with cameras?