Cameras
Whatever your interest in photography the first and foremost requirement is a camera. It doesn’t matter what type of photography you want to do, from concerts to landscapes, weddings to selfies with friends, without a camera you aren’t taking any photos. Your choice of camera will be determined by both your use case and your budget.
The phone camera
Pretty much everyone now carries a camera in their pocket, you’d be hard pushed to find any phone that doesn’t now include a camera, or in some cases, cameras. While historically phone cameras were of low quality this is no longer the case, with some now offering 4K video recording and images larger than most professional DSLR cameras.
Pros: you always have your phone camera with you, they’re ideal for a quick selfie or if you want to quickly snap something to remember later.
Cons: while they will allow you to zoom into the image before taking a photo they use software compression to do so, so photos that have been zoomed in excessively will be of a much poorer quality with more blur and distortion. You also don’t get to control shutter speed, ISO, or Aperture, so expect a lot of motion blur in low light. You’ll also get much better images with more expensive phones. Some phones have dedicated night modes for astrophotography so check the specs on the phone before buying if that’s something you’re looking for.
Compact cameras
The compact camera is the next step up from the phone camera. The slim pocket camera that can start at less than £100 and go up to several hundred pounds. Some models will also have some basic zoom functionality by allowing the lens to extend from the camera body.
Pros: cheap, point and click, zoom, light weight.
Cons: as with the phone camera there’s limited options for controlling shutter speed, ISO, or Aperture so not ideal for low light or fast action photography.
Bridge cameras
Between the compact camera and a DSLR, these cameras have the look and feel of a DSLR, but with a single zoom lens. It’s this zoom lens that make bridge cameras stand out, with some cameras boasting 65x zoom lenses. This is like carrying a 21-1,365mm around with you which would cost you thousands of pounds compared to just a few hundred for a bridge camera. This isn’t even the longest zoom available with 83x and even 125x zooms available.
Pros: cheap, light when compared to a full DSLR camera and lens, insane zoom capabilities.
Cons: limited options for shutter and ISO control, slow autofocus, and poor low light performance.
Crop sensor DSLR
The starting point for anyone wanting to get serious about photography. This is where you learn how to adjust your settings to get the shot you want, combined with the lens for the subject of your photography. Camera bodies and lenses can start from below £100 each on the secondhand market. That said you can pickup a body and lens bundle for just a few hundred pounds brand new if you look for them. Due to the added control of shutter speed, ISO, and Aperture these cameras can be an entry point for almost any type of photography, upto and including action and concert photography.
Pros: Sold as budget DSLRs for consumers so both cameras and lenses are available at reasonable prices. Manual modes give great flexibility.
Cons: the cropped sensor can generate noise at relatively low ISOs, so you may have to use noise reduction in editing software which can result in a softer image. You’ll need separate lenses for different situations.
Full frame DSLR
The workhorse for any professional photographer. These come with a larger sensor than the crop sensor DSLRs and as a result generate less noise at higher ISOs. They also have the widest range of lenses available for them. In some cases you can even use lenses originally made for old film cameras. Important to know, if upgrading your camera from a crop sensor DSLR then you’ll probably want to upgrade your lenses as well. While some full frame cameras can use crop sensor lenses (by artificially disabling part of the sensor) it does negate the whole reason for upgrading. Camera bodies and lenses will be more expensive as well.
Pros: the greatest flexibility in lenses coupled with an ability to shoot better low light photos. Some cameras even have specialized features for astrophotography.
Cons: more expensive camera bodies and lenses than for a crop sensor camera. Can be very heavy compared to other cameras.
Mirrorless DSLR
Mirrorless cameras are the top end for photography today. Due to the way they’re built they are lightweight and lenses are smaller than their full frame counterparts. You can also get adaptors for them that will allow you to use your full frame lenses with them. Low light and action capabilities are second to none, with newer sensors they generate very little noise compared to other cameras with quick autofocusing and faster burst shutter speeds due to the lack of moving parts. Crop sensor and full frame camera burst speeds are constrained by the mirror having to physically move between shots. They’re expensive though and very few secondhand bodies are around. For the secondhand market the prices tend to be quite high as well due to their scarcity and you can find offers on new equipment that can even be cheaper than second hand.
Pros: very lightweight compared to crop sensor and full frame cameras. Lenses are lighter as well. Have the best low light performance when shooting at high ISO.
Cons: Expensive camera bodies and lenses. Limited choice in lenses, but new lenses are being released by third party lens manufacturers. If using a converter check compatibility as not all converters allow for autofocusing with all lenses.
Manufacturer
It’s easy to say that manufacturer doesn’t matter, but it really does depend on what you are buying and what it’s being used for. While more expensive will often mean better photos there will come a point where no matter how much more money you throw at your equipment you’ll not improve the quality of the photos being taken. For phones you’ll be looking at iPhone, Samsung, and Google Pixel. For cameras you’ll want to avoid cheap “no name” brands. Most photographers will recommend Nikon or Canon, but there’s no reason not to look at Sony, Fujifilm, or even premium brands like Leica and Hasselblad if budget allows. Choice of camera is really down to personal choice and familiarity with each brand’s camera OS. What you will find though is that once you get used to a particular brand you’ll want to stick with them, not just for lens compatibility but because each brand’s OS differs and you’ll be learning a whole new menu system to get the most out of your camera. If you’re just starting and not sure see if you can borrow one from a friend, or ask for a demo from a local shop.
