Best Camera for Beginners – Part two
Which camera should I buy?
Hopefully you have read part one of this ‘best cameras for beginners’ three part series. If you haven’t, and are starting on your photography journey, it’s definitely worth heading over there first. In part one I explain the different camera options available in ’what type of camera is best?’.
In part two, I’m providing some recommendations on camera models.
What should I consider?
Budget Vs longer term Investment
If you are serious about getting into photography, as you progress through your journey then the ability to change lens will become more important and is probably why you’ll be choosing a DSLR or Mirrorless.
As you grow as a photographer, you WILL want new lenses and also expect the camera to do more. Therefore, it is worth considering investing for the longer term. Buying a cheaper model may mean that you grow out of the camera quickly and end up having to buy a new one in a year or so.
Investing in education…
I speak to lots of beginners who get their first ‘big’ camera, stick it on auto and expect the camera to take amazing pictures… Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work like that and most get fed up and leave the camera to gather dust on the shelf.
I can almost guarantee that you will NOT read the complicated manual and you’ll quickly get frustrated with your results if you don’t have a basic understanding of what all the buttons do!
Whether you are starting out or taking the next step in your photography journey, I’d highly recommend getting yourself booked onto some sort of beginner’s photography course or workshop. Next year I’m running some photography workshops and you can sign up here, but it absolutely doesn’t have to be with me!
DSLR
There are two big players in the DSLR market, Nikon and Canon. Both have their pros and cons but I’m a Nikon shooter so I’ll be suggesting Nikon options.
1. Nikon D3500
- Easy to use
- Includes a guide mode which takes you through all the key features.
- No touchscreen control
- Video 1080p
- Bluetooth but no Wi-Fi
- Superb battery life
- Excellent image quality with 24.2 Mega Pixel sensor
User level: Great entry level camera
2. Nikon D5600
- Excellent image quality with 24.2 Mega Pixel sensor
- Advanced autofocus system
- Larger fully articulating LCD touchscreen
- Slow Live View focusing
- Share images directly to the web
or use your mobile as a remote handy
for landscape/low light
HD video
User level: Great entry level camera but more room to grow in the future.
Mirrorless
1. Fujifilm X-T100
- Sensor size: APS-C
- Resolution: 24.2MP
- Electronic viewfinder
- Built-in viewfinder
- 3 inch 3-way tilting touchscreen
- 4K video
User level: Entry level Camera
Sony A6000
- 24.3 million pixel APS-C CMOS sensor.
- An incredible autofocus system
- The sensor also has 179 autofocus points, of which all 179 are used for phase detection, but 25 are also contrast detection points for the camera’s hybrid autofocusing system.
