A work colleague recently asked me for some advice on buying a digital camera. Being rather obsessed with photography as I am, he got a rather lengthy answer. Whilst there is loads of information online about this stuff, I thought there’s no harm in making some more available. Hopefully it might be of use to others interested in getting into professional photography.

His question:

Im looking to get a camera, a decent one and I know nill poi about them. What am I looking for to tell if its decent or not and/or what can I use to measure the quality against the cost etc. And since youve spent a small house deposit on the gear what would you, if you can, recommend. A decent lens would be nice too but again how do you tell what a good lens is. Id put a budget at between 250-400 to get off the ground. Dont want to go to overboard.

My Answer:

First you want to establish if you want/need a digital SLR as opposed to a pocket digital. The key difference is SLRs allow you to change the lens, they also have bigger/better sensors (which pick up the light). Don’t focus too much on megapixels: a 10MP SLR will produce a better image than a 12MP compact, because of the better sensor.

Assuming you want an SLR, then I’d recommend either Nikon or Canon, both are well respected brands and have the largest selection of lenses. Based on your budget, you’ll be able to get a Canon 450D or a Nikon D40 with a basic lens (Alan knows more about the Nikon cameras; apparently the Nikon D60, while higher spec’d, isn’t as good as D40). Some places may have a deal on the equipment where you get the normal basic lens plus a cheap telephoto lens (70-200mm range); the Nikons tend to be cheaper.

When it comes to lenses, there’s a wealth of them out there by both Canon and Nikon and 3rd party suppliers like Sigma and Tamron, all with varying focal lengths (the mm value) and apertures (the f/x.x value) and there’s a healthy 2nd hand market too.

I don’t think you’ll be able to get an additional lens within your budget, but the first thing you should look to get is a Nikon/Canon (depending on camera of course) 50mm f/1.8 lens. They’re priced around £70 which is very cheap for a fast lens like a f/1.8 and it’s a great all-round lens, for beginners or pros alike.

I should clarify what I mean by fast: the f-stop (or f/x.x or aperture) refers to the amount of light the lens can let in, the smaller the number the more light it lets in, i.e. the faster it is. The higher the f-stop, the slower the lens (or the less light it lets in). A wide aperture means a small f-stop. Your camera will allow you to change the aperture; the number listed and the one I am referring to is the widest possible aperture of the lens, i.e. its fastest setting.

When it comes to picking a lens’ focal length, you have two main options: a fixed focal length lens (also know as a prime lens) like the 50mm one I’ve recommended above, and a variable length lens such as a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, the basic one you’ll get with your camera. A variable length lens allows you to zoom in or out of a subject. I should say, you can also zoom in or out with a prime lens, it just involves you walking closer to or further from the subject

Choosing what focal length you want is really down to subject matter you’re intending to photograph or how you want to photograph it; the basic lens you get with a camera is generally OK for beginners wanting to experiment and it’ll give you a taste for what you want to do. The 50mm f/1.8 lens will allow you to experiment with the depth of field of images: because it allows you to set a very wide aperture (f/1.8) you can get a very shallow depth of field. What I mean by this, is where the subject is in focus and the background/foreground is very blurred. It’s a nice effect that causes the viewer to concentrate on the subject.

The faster lenses will cost you more money, in some cases a LOT more money and image stabalisation will add to the cost too, but it’s worth it if you’ve got the money. To set your expectations properly, prices of decent lens run from the hundreds to thousands of pounds. For instance, I bought a Canon 28mm (fixed focal length or prime) f/1.8 lens which cost £300. I’d love to get the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L lens but it costs somewhere in the region of £1500. However, for the time-being I’ve settled for a Sigma 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 2nd hand lens which cost £100. It’s really the aperture (f-stop or f/x.x value) that adds the cost because it’s more complicated to manufacture faster lens, particularly as the focal length increases.

As I said to my colleague, there’s lots more information out there but this should be enough to explain what most of those numbers attached to the lens mean.

Have I missed anything? Your comments are welcomed!

I’ve uploaded some pictures of my trip to Thailand to my online Photoshop site. Check them out at http://jonnycarroll.photoshop.com.

It cost me £300 at time of purchase which is relatively inexpensive. It’s definitely an excellent lens and a must for any would-be photographer. I took the below picture of Christina last week whilst out trying the new lens… beautiful!

I’ve always been very interested in photography but at a beginners level. This is my first step into amateur photography and I’m really excited about the new opportunities it will open up for me as part of my web design activities.