aellman Loc: Boston MA

Or Bridge.

usnret Loc: Woodhull Il

In the long run he would be money ahead if he started out with a basic low cost camera and whatever kit lens it comes with. The knowledge that comes from learning how to use it will likely save him big $$$ down the road. The term "general photography" is rather a vague concept. You would need to spend a lot of money to cover everything from low light, to macro, to fast action sports, to landscape to portraits to etc, etc. If your grandson is just starting college, is photography one of the classes available?

usnret Loc: Woodhull Il

Not so fast! I learned quite a bit about photography long before I bought my first camera and glad I did. I didn't need a camera to learn what effects aperture, shutter speed, ISO, wide angle lenses, zoom lenses, primes, composition etc, would have on a given picture. That was step one,, step two was putting those newly learned skills to the test by buying a cheap camera and comparing what I learned to how well I took lessons. glad I chose that route. That was way back in the day when it was cheaper to get it done right the first time.

JacksonHD Loc: NorCal

He can take excellent photos with a bridge camera, from wide-angle to long zoom (as other members here have demonstrated) without a large cash outlay or lugging around a bag full of glass. If he reaches a level of expertise such that the limits of a bridge camera become an obstacal, it will be obvious to both him and yourself what his next equipment should be.

I recommend checking out KEH, Roberts and some of the other reputable used camera dealers discussed here on UHH.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Last time I checked, Best Buy had some nice Nikon D3400 kits with 2 lenses for about $400. A great "beginner" camera with both auto and manual exposure. Where I teach, we use it for our first year photography students.

Let me know if you have questions.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Generally, this isn't done anymore, sadly. In fact, many colleges are trending toward using the cameras on phones, since most (media) programs and real-world practices are based on the phone photo by reporters, and very few media companies have full-time staff photographers now with most either hiring freelancers or as stated, giving the reporter an iPhone and a few hours of training and setting them lose... Sad, but true.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I’m not saying it can’t be done. I just disagree that it’s the best way to do it. Most people learn better if they actually see how things work in action and retain it better if they’re actually doing it.

jdub82 Loc: Northern California

I would assume that using the cell phone camera is what has sparked an interest in photography. He is likely ready to take the next step.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Right, I would agree with this as well. Plus a camera in a phone generally won't teach you many things that a DSLR or SLR will. You are also limited by the optics in a phone as well, most of which simply crop the image and then resize it to "full size" and the resulting image is pretty terrible. I really see nothing wrong with a total beginner picking up a DSLR or SLR (I would recommend the DSLR just on cost savings alone) and going out and learning photography. Keep the camera on manual exposure and you will not only learn about exposure and lighting, but be able to see the approximate results instantly. When I bought my first SLR at 12 years old (from my newspaper route) it was an all manual Ricoh with some crappy, off brand lenses. In 4 years, when I was 16, I was shooting full time for the daily in my city. Having a fully manual camera gave me a big lesson, and a DSLR, the results are immediate and while you are still there. The other thing that I did, even for years after that camera, was take notes. I made sketches of where the light was, where I was in reference to the light and subject, exposure, ISO, lens and every other detail I could record. So, when I came across a similar situation and wasn't sure how to handle it, I could look at my notes, which were always with me when shooting, and could see what worked and what didn't. This debate about the lighting is really pretty elementary because you can do BOTH with backlighting, and neither one is wrong, but simply depends on the situation and what specifically the goals for the shot are. And if detail is required for both, there's always fill flash...

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Fortunately, our paper has 5-6 photographers, each with a specialty (weddings, sports, food, etc...) and they don’t use cellphones - Canon 5D3s & 4s and the sports photographer uses a 1DX2.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

WOW! Your newspaper has 5 full time photographers and one specializes in Weddings??? That's amazing! Just curious, what newspaper is this? Even papers like the Chicago Tribune are using the cell phones with reporters. They literally fired their entire photo staff and many other papers in America has as well. Good for your paper and I hope you support them.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

The Raleigh, NC News and Observer. I know them all because they gave a yearly seminar open to the public with each giving an hour lecture/demonstration on their specialty including images, techniques and actual shooting on stage. Only the wedding photographer said she occasionally used a cellphone. Several things that I thought interesting is that when asked about their kit, every single one had a 70-200 f2.8(L) as one of the 2-3 lenses they carried. The other was the suggestion to learn to accurately focus and shoot wide open (to isolate the subject). What I don’t know is if any of them supplemented their income with other photography and what will happen with McClatchy’s recent bankruptcy and purchase.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

I am in a group on FB with a few people from that paper and I will ask. They may have picked weddings as a subject they felt would have some interest to the general public, but no newspaper anywhere has a dedicated wedding photographer. And generally, this is a trend in newspaper work. Most all of the photographers I know and worked with are all out of work. To have people specialize like this would be completely unique and very expensive for the newspaper itself.

BTW, I love the Museum of Natural History in Raleigh. Wonderful.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

If you like, I will send you or post a list of their names and contact information and you can ask them directly. Would you like me to do that?

And please reread my posts again. I did not say they were full time and specifically said that they may have other employment. The point of my post was that pros are typically using DSLRs (and usually FF), not cellphones.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

No need, but thank you. I think the ones on there are their photographers (a Photojournalism group). Be interesting to see.

Take care!