Photographers I Need Some Help In Chosing My First ''Real'' Camera...Please!

it depends what u need it for.. if u need a digital mini sized camera, go for sony cybershot. if u want pro go for canon

 

flippers.be, Thanks man you are really helping me out a lot on this one and I'm so grateful for all your help.
I was wondering about the lenses and was looking at them last night on the net on what all the numbers meant and to be honest it was quite hard to understand but you have cleared this up a lot.
I am comprising a little list of note on every thing that i have to remember, consider and things that i may need for me to take into my local shop and discuss it with them in a lot more detail.
I totally understand when you say that getting the camera is less that 50% of the work as the is loads to learn to be able to take great photos.
I'm planning on getting my new camera in the Xmas/new year sale to hopefully grab a bargain! And then im going to Center Parcs for a weeks holiday at the end of january which will be the perfect time to test it out an play with the setting.....I cant wait!

Thanks Again Guys

 

OK more details about the lenses (in case others need to know too)

I think I'll make a website about this and put some adsense ads on it

the mm are the zoom factor
so small mm are wide angle
large numbers (200 and up) are zoom lenses

then there's the f-number
a lens can be like 50mm F1.8
F1.8 means that is the largest aperture you can use it on with your camera

a zoom lens can have a fixed or variable number
like an 35-85mm F4 means it has F4 over the whole range.
35-85mm F4-F5.6 means it changes, at 35mm you can have F4 and at 85mm you can only use it at F5.6

So even if your camera can do F1.8-F22, it will not go below F5.6 if that's the minimum of the lens you have put on it..

Now why is this F-number important ?
It says how much light can go through the lens (how much light you lose).
A small number means the camera can open up more - make more use of the available light and thus have a small shutter speed (to make sharp pictures).
Lenses with small f-number are therefor called 'faster lenses' as you can have faster shutter times to achieve the same picture as with a slower lens.

The viewfinder of your camera will also be brighter with a faster lens on it.
(so at dark with an F5.6 lens even on a tripod you may have difficulty focussing because it's too dark to see anything - while with a fast lens you can see more details in the viewfinder and autofocus will work faster).

unfortunately, faster lenses cost a lot more.. so it depends on what you need and what you can to afford.. if you can choose, buy the lens with the smallest f-number you can.

People that photograph at concerts use ie F1.4 lenses. With an F4 lens you cannot make a steady picture handheld in a dark environment as it will require a shutter time of multiple seconds.

If you're going to very sunny destinations then you don't need a very fast lens.. but inside buildings, churches, .. without a tripod you do.

Lastly there's something like VR/IS which means image stabilisation.
A lens which has this built in can be used in darker environments..
ie an F4 lens with VR may have similar properties like an F2.8 lens without VR.


EDIT: I've started to blog about buying a first dslr camera, see here: http://buyfirstdslr.blogspot.com/

 

Good idea on setting up the blog! You should of done it 3 months ago when I was shopping for one.

The Dummy's Guide to DSLR Cameras (or idiots guide, I forget the name) is a good resource once you select a camera and you are looking to get the most out of it.

 

Nice work on setting up the blog flippers.be I've booked marked it!

And thanks or the piece on the lenses its all starting to make sense now

Cheers

 

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