Lady Regina Loc: Corvallis, Oregon

Greetings!

I got interested in photography years ago after someone gave me an old camera. And I fell in love with memorializing the beauty around us. Now I am trying to get my husband involved. He doesn't have a camera and I am at a loss as to what to recommend for him. As a beginner, I would think a basic camera would do. (See, I don't even know what questions to ask! lol)

We would be doing landscapes, wildlife, etc.; no portraits.

What I know about camera types you could write on your nose with a crayon. So my "definitions" of what I like and want are going to be very basic.

1. long-range shots
2. wildlife
3. moving objects (lots of Ocean shots)
4. color
4. lightweight
5. one that can have additional functions added without a lot of extra expense

I am looking for a photography class at the local college, but at this point in time, haven't found one. I realize we should both take a class so I can use words that are actually technical definitions! I just like to point my camera and take the danged picture. That's all I know.

Any help/suggestions will be welcome. I know I'm way out of my league here!

Resqu2 Loc: SW Va

I think a trip to a local camera shop or a Best Buy would be a great start. Somewhere with lots of different cameras you can hold and operate. Get a feel for what you like. You can spend a ton of money on this hobby but you don’t have to. A budget would help these guys point you in the right direction to.

Lady Regina Loc: Corvallis, Oregon

That's the plan. Just hoping to be able to ask reasonably intelligent questions! lol

Thanks!

JR45 Loc: Montgomery County, TX

Some classes will have a minimum requirement for a camera. Almost any DSLR will qualify.

I would recommend a camera body with an internal focus motor, such as the Nikon D7200, or other
brand equivalent. This will allow you to use older AF lens that are not as heavy as the as the newer
lens with internal focus motors.

Wildlife usually requires a lens of 200-300 mm minimum. Zoom lens are not quite as sharp as
prime lens, but I prefer a single good lens of 18-300 mm then carting around a bunch of primes.

Get the best your budget will allow that is comfortable in your hand.

one more thing, if you're going to be around the ocean, check about the weatherproofing.

I hope this helps.

Lady Regina Loc: Corvallis, Oregon

Thank you!! That does help. I have a Canon Digital RebelXT. I also use my cellphone camera which takes pretty good pictures. I do photography for my own pleasure and frame them as I choose.

Thanks for the input!

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Lady Regina - (One of the best new user names I have seen on the UHH forum) For your husband, I would suggest the Fuji X-T100, a great new entry-level APS-C camera bundled with two lenses: a 15-45mm (23-70mm equivalent) and a 50-230mm (75-350mm equivalent). The X-T100 is retro-styled, meaning it looks like a real camera. It is compact and light in weight. It offers a great electronic viewfinder, a tilting touch screen, outstanding color rendering, Bluetooth and WiFi and an array of Fuji’s famous film simulation modes. You will not be sorry. — Ralph

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you for adding your current camera. Unless you both change brands, I wouldn't recommend changing brands. Building up an arsenal across both brands is just more expensive as well as complicated in trying to do the same things where C v N tends to do the same thing with opposite controls or turns, etc.

Another Rebel body would be fine. A step-up would be the XX-bodies like the 80D, the current version in the more advanced line above the Rebels. Handling the bodies at BestBuy or similar is a good idea. And of course, might lead to another brand being preferred based on feel / look ...

Long-range / wildlife is where staying to one brand comes into play as you're always going to want a longer lens. The 3rd party vendors like Tamron and Sigma have excellent lenses that cover 18-400 and 150-600 that are expensive, but much more affordable than the corresponding Canon / Nikon versions, where they compete at the same focal lengths. But, you won't find these types of lenses at BestBuy, rather at specialty camera shops or online.

RolandDieter

I would start with a good bridge camera. By good I mean a 1" sensor, not the ultra-tiny 12.3. From a price standpoint the Panasonic FZ1000 is a good bet, or for a faster lens but sacrificing some zoom look at Sony RX10 Mk2. The Sony is the more moisture resistant, maybe even waterproof in terms of spray. It may be your best bet since you are after lots of ocean shots. Consider used from a reputable store and you won't lose money when and if you trade up.

frankie c Loc: Lake Havasu CIty, AZ

Hi, welcome to the HOG.... I have a question for you. Does your husband want to get involved in photography? It yes, I would say visit your local camera store or even one the mart stores. He can pick out one that he likes. This isn't a very technical or looking to the future in your photography journey. I just think people like to use things they like or feels right to them and tend not to use those things they aren't all that crazy about.
As for learning, there are a lot of fundamental courses/informational video's on You Tube. There free and easy. Just a place to start.
Enjoy your journey. Have a good day :)

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

Give him your old one and go buy the replacement camera you really want. 😀

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

I'd take a look at the Nikon P900 bridge camera, it has a LONG 2000MM lens. Great for wildlife. I've seen many great shots posted on the Hog.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Camera equipment are equal to tools that you might use to build a house or fix a car. There are some good tools and some not so good tools. There are cheap tools and expensive tools. There are Good and Cheap but heavy tools, and there are Lite, Cheap, and not so Good tools. You have to decide what tools you can use to get the desired outcome. With photography, you can buy a light inexpensive camera with a zoom lens that will take wildlife pictures and scenic photos as well - all in one tiny little camera. But you'll have to do some checking and see if the quality you get from such a camera is up to "your" standards for what you consider to be good enough. If you find that a $500 point and shoot camera does everything you need, then you are all set. But if you find it lacking in certain regards, then perhaps you need to check out a DSLR. But even if you start looking at DSLR's, you have many choices to make. Not all DSLR's are equal. Not all lenses are equal. That is why they sell zoom lenses from 18-300 for $500 and they make 300mm prime lenses that cost $8000. There is a big difference, but maybe not to you. So you can look at a lot of pictures here on UHH of wildlife and then figure out how to see the EXIF or metadata of each image so that you can see what kind of camera and lens was used to take that picture. You might want to look at the EXIF of the not so good images too so that you see what not to buy. Of course, this is all subjective as to how you see the images. Many people look at a picture and say, wow! that is a wonderful image and I look at it and see a picture that I took on the first day I owned a camera.

anotherview Loc: California

Study composition and exposure along with the importance of subject. You can learn these matters for yourself online.

Beware the college course in photography. It may cover useless material like the history and the philosophy of photography.

As bad if not worse, the instructor may insist on the dogma that a student must first learn to do film photography before moving on to digital photography.

You appear to want and need practical instruction. So consider a workshop in basic camera operation and another one in basic photo-editing.

Good luck.

Lady Regina Loc: Corvallis, Oregon

Hi, Ralph!

Thanks so much for the information! Now all I have to do is convince my husband that HE wants to learn photography as much as "I" want him to! lol lol

Your input is very helpful!

(Thanks, also, for the nod to my name. If you read my bio, you'll see where it comes from.)

Lady Regina Loc: Corvallis, Oregon

Thanks so much! All of this information is going to be very helpful to me. I'm so appreciative of the advice everyone is offering!