Photography Question? - 1

Can someone recommend me a Nikon DSLR camera that is for beginners and is wishing a $800-$1300 price range? I have the Sony DSC- HX400V but I've tried t out so many different ways and the only time I get decent photos on it is when I take pictures during midday outside, but other than that, it takes pretty bad pictures. The only good thing about it is it's zoom. Also, please don't tell me that it is a good camera and I'm just not using it right, because I have used other cameras before and the pictures turned out way better on them.

I'm a daytime photographer, my Canon T2i handles bright light better than my Nikon D7100, or my Sony A57. It's my go to cam at high noon.

Buy a nikon D40 (old cheap body) and then buy a really good lens. The lens can be kept for use with a much better Nikon body when you feel like upgrading. Most nikon's accept Old lenses as well as new. The D40 is one of the first to NOT have an OLD screw motor, so it relies(like most nikons do now) on having a lens with a built in motor. So spend more money on the lens and then practice. Ken rockwell recommends a d5000 for a newer replacement for the D40 see link. A nice low F number 18-105 or 18-135 zoom would be a good starting choice. Keeping the standard 18-55 VR lens is also a good starting choice, cheap lens but good photos.

Look into the D7100 or D7200 with any of Nikon's kit lenses. The D7500 is newer but Nikon got rid of the built in focus motor for driving older and very affordable Nikkor AF lenses.

What do you mean by bad pictures? "Bad" is a result of a bad user and/or bad equipment. If the user doesn't know the fundamentals of photography, new equipment will not help. Any of the D30xx, D50xx, and D70xx series bodies work well. Why not Canon, Pentax, or Sony?

I'm not a big fan of Nikon's D3xxx series of cameras. Really for just one reason which is that these models (e.g. D3100, D3200, D3400, ect…) don't have internal auto-focusing motors. This means that you'll be limited to buying specific lenses that have AF motors built in. Nikon has about 5 different F mounts, some with and some without internal AF motors. This reduces the types of lenses you can use and it really makes buying lenses (especially used ones) very confusing. Many people have purchased used lenses on eBay just to find out that it doesn't auto focus on their D3xxx Nikon. So if you absolutely have to get a Nikon for whatever reason, go with a D5xxx or D7xxx series. There's nothing wrong with buying a used camera. In fact, as a beginner who doesn't know much about photography, it's actually a smart way of getting into photography. As you learn more about photography, you'll eventually upgrade. In the mean time, it doesn't make much sense to spend a lot on a new camera when you could get a fully capable used model and spend the money you save on better glass. Bodies come and go, but good glass will always be good glass.

The major weakness with Nikon is their horrible video capabilities. Nikon never built camcorders like Canon, Sony and Panasonic did back in the 80s and 90s. As a result, they don't have the know-how to build a DSLR with decent video capabilities. On the other hand, because of their 30-40 years of experience in video, Sony and Panasonic have the absolute best video performance of any digital camera. Canon is tops among DSLRs, but Sony and Panasonic are superior when it comes to video.

Nikon Strengths: Very popular and a result, there's a ton of used gear at really cheap prices.

Canon: Take a look at any of their DSLRs within your price range. Canon is by far the most popular DSLR especially among beginners. Canon puts the AF motor in their lenses so any APS-C format body will accept any auto-focusing lens for or by Canon. Entry-level models like the T5, T6 and T7 are only sold with a kit lens. While this is a fine lens for the beginner, if you want to get better glass, you'll need to go with a higher-end model like an 80D which is sold body only, or, with a better kit lens.

Pentax: Take a look at the Pentax K-70 which is probably the best APS-C model in its price range. Pentax doesn't have the sales that Nikon or Canon have, therefore as a result, Pentax has to put more into their DSLRs to attract buyers. This is to your advantage as Pentax is the only DSLR to offer in-body image stabilization (IBIS). IBIS means that the sensor moves to stabilize the image, and as a result, any lens you use will be stabilized up to about 4-5 stops. With Canon and Nikon DSLRs, you have to spend more on stabilized lenses. Down side is that not all lenses are stabilized.

Pentax is also weather and dust proof. You don't get that kind of seals with Canon or Nikon until start spending more than about $1,500 on the body only.

Pentax uses pixel shift technology - the common problem with sensor that use the Bayer pattern is that there aren't an equal number of red, blue and green pixels. This results in lower sharpness and color quality. Pentax solves this problem by taking multiple shots and then blending them together resulting in a significant boost in sharpness and color quality that can't be achieved with any Canon or Nikon with a comparable lens.

For the beginner and advanced user who does landscapes and/or low-light hand-held photography, Pentax offers features that really provide an advantage over the competition.

Sony has done a fantastic job with their mirrorless cameras. Prior to the Alpha 6500, most mirrorless cameras were not capable of focusing on moving subjects as DSLRs. Now that's all changed with the A6500, A7 and A9 series of cameras. Go on line and do a search for the advantages of mirrorless vs a DSLR as there are many. Mainly due to the electronic viewfinder (EVF) used in mirrorless cameras. With an EVF you see the exposure in the viewfinder allowing you to instantly know if the image is going to be over or under exposed. With DSLRs, you're looking through an optical viewfinder (OVF) which can't show you a preview of the exposure. There are many other advantages and I encourage you to do some more homework.

In terms of learning photography, there's nothing about a mirrorless that will hinder your studies. They just as capable as a DSLR with just as good image quality.

I'd say it's better to save your money for a good lens. At the end a good used camera will serve as well as a new one, but at a lower cost.

First off, there's no dSLR for beginners. Either you learn photography and consistently get at least decent photos with your camera or just like before, try to get lucky even with a more expensive dSLR.

Second, which is truth of the matter kind of fact of thing, is that picture quality depends mostly on the skill of the photographer. The camera is just a tool. So YES! If you can't get a decent photo all the time with your Sony, you have no chance to do that either with a more expensive dSLR, even with the $42,000 kind!

There's hope though. Lots of it! You already found out where and when you get nice shots. You just haven't discovered yet why. So what is consistent with outdoors during daytime? The sun! Photography is the act of capturing light. The better the light, the better your pictures. Always mind the light.

Now that you know the first step to take good pictures, try it out with your old camera. Shoot outside with your subject facing the sun. You ll notice that too much sun is harsh and make your subjects look bad too. That s the reason I mentioned light quality not quantity. The best time to shoot outdoors is right after sunrise and a few minutes before sunset. Make sure your subject is facing the sun.

You can apply the same technique indoors if light is good enough. Normal house lighting isn't so always use a flash. When flash is too strong, step back and try again. If too weak, step forward and shoot again.

When you re ready to get a dSLR (you will be after you get great shots all the time with your Sony), have peace of mind that any dSLR will do and whatever you get, the picture will be the same. Remember, it's all up to you. The camera is only a tool.

You should learn how to take photoes.

Photography is all about the quality of the light. If you want to shoot at dawn and dusk then you need a camera with as high a dynamic range as possible. The best of these are in cameras with 35mm sensors. Nikon is good for dynamic range, but if you're only going to get an APS-C sized sensor camera (Nikon 3*** and 5*** series) then you aren't going automatically or reliably get that 'wow!' difference in image quality over what you already have. Everything depends upon the metering mode you select, and this is why 'scene' modes have been built into the 'entry-level' DSLRs.

So my advice is for you to get one of those other cameras you say you have used and liked, and get their users to share techniques with you. Canon, Nikon, Pentax… There are no bad DSLRs with optical viewfinders. Visit a store and pick the one you feels handles better.

This camera and lens combo will probably suit you fine for 2 or 3 years as a beginner.

A poor craftsman blames his tools.