Gentlemen & Charlie As I've recently had a major lifestyle change which ended my budding squash & golf carears I'm exploring new avenues for filling my time. As any new pastime cannot be too energetic I'm swinging towards taking up photography. I do paint a little but I've been getting a little bored with it recently. So I'm thinking along the lines of getting out & shooting the local scenery & places of interest rather than sketching & painting it. There's been discussions on here before regarding photography & photographic equipment, so I'm guessing there's a few ITK photographers on here. The advice I ask is for guidance towards a decent camera & equipment for an absolute novice to start with, if looking at shooting local places of interest, landscapes & wildlife. Thanks in advance SCB.
Can't go wrong with a digital SLR. Canon and Nikon are both excellent. Decide your price between £250 and £6000. Ignore the advice about cutting your teeth with porn. It's not as easy to pull it off as you might imagine.
I have a good camera and I take photos of all sorts of things but as I'm not a gentleman I don't feel I can help you Ben. Good luck though.
Too energetic, I'm limited to an occasional date with Pamala Handerson whilst watching only. My days of taking part, in whatever capacity, are unfortunately over.
Joking apart, I have a Olympus E-500 digital SLR and it is pretty idiot proof, just set it to auto and start snapping.
What's your budget? What are you planning on doing with the images you capture? How involved do you want to be in the actual capture of an image? (By this I mean do you want idiot proof auto everything or do you want to understand exactly what it is you're doing and to control that?). Landscapes and wildlife is a little vague...and also poles apart depending on the sort of wildlife you mean. More info plzthx.
I feel quite hurt Ben, I've been posting for a year and still I am ignored like that woman off of the Fast Show. I have a Nikon DSLR. I shoot lots of stuff including runners. Never really let me down. It's done weddings and nature shots and been to quite a few countries with some more planned. But I am still upset. Sniff...
I'm flying tomorrow from Leeds i'd really like you to capture the look of terror on my face as we take off. The kids and mrs piss theirself at my face. The mrs reckons its the only time I have ever held her hand!! I'll be in the Premier lounge from 7am getting lubricated.
Sir Ben: consider a Fujifilm or Panasonic super bridge camera. No swapping lenses, but good zoom (30 x). I've not got one, but a mate of mine has. He's a birdwatcher and can capture close-ups and far distant shots.
Make one flight a day. Statistically, how long before you are involved in a fatal plane accident? Go on, have a guess.
Don't get carried away with mega pixies, unless you want to blow the image up to cover the side of your house. I've found 8 MP gives good enough resolution for A4 size prints. Don't skimp on the lens though!