New to photography and need some direction/camera advice...

[TXForester]

If you go film, then a smaller all manual SLR would be best if you walk and bike most of the time. I don't have experience with some of the cameras already mentioned, but you might try an Olympus OM-1 with a 50mm, f1.8 lens. They are small and fairly light for a 35mm. The viewfinder is easy on the eyes.

I like what others have already mentioned, going with a camera with manual controls for shutter speed and aperture. Learning to manually set the controls for your desired exposure teaches you a lot.

A used digital SLR that allows manual control is another option. The advantage of the digital is the instant feedback from viewing the photo on the camera's LCD screen and later on your computer. You can do a lot of experimenting and learning what works in different lighting conditions without having to wait for your film to be processed. And with film, you'll have to take notes on camera settings and light conditions to review with your prints later.

I'd go with a inexpensive digital SLR now for learning purposes and if you like it, then think about film later. This will save film once you know the technical aspects and have developed a bit of an eye for composition.

Good luck.

 

[aizan]

sounds like your stylus epic is a dud. i would either get another one with working autofocus and figure out how it's metering behaves to take care of the exposure problems, or i would get a manual camera.

 

[farlymac]

I've got an Epic, and the original Stylus, and I find the original to be a much better shooter. Olympus made some other small cameras with the same lens as the Stylus, and they are all nice. Their Stylus zooms though are a bit iffy when you get past the 105 (lousy AF).

My favorite all-around user in the 35mm compacts (and I've tried about fifty of them) is the Canon Z135. It used to be their Classic 120, but too many electronic faults with those (I went through four before I gave up on them).

Check around at the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, you can always pick up a nice user for a few dollars or less. And you never know what might be sitting in the display cabinets.

Estate sales are also a good place to find cameras. You may luck into a complete set for a decent price, so you don't have to go hunting for lenses, and accessories like hoods and filters.

But whatever you do, don't go overboard, and spend big bucks on something you may not care for after a short while. Think about what kind of shooting you do, and what in a film camera will give you those same kind of results. You may only need two or three prime lenses, or a couple of zooms to cover all the focal lengths that you might need. Or even one zoom (like a 28-300mm), though those tend to not be good performers.

As you use the phone a lot, portability seems to be the most pressing concern, so a small compact is a good starter. Lots of small rangefinders out there, like the Canon QL17 GIII, Minolta Hi-Matic series, and Yashica GX or CC. If you want to go really old school, but not break the bank, I can suggest a Zorki 1D with Industar 22 collapsible 50/3.5 from Fedka.com store As much fun as a Leica, without all the cost.

Lots of choices out there. The fun is trying them all.

PF

 

[mdarnton]

Where do you live?
And show us some photos, the good ones, preferably, so we can see what you're doing that you don't like. Otherwise, we can't really help.

 

[lynnb]

For a $200 budget a film SLR will probably give you best value, and many options for future lenses. To learn to take better pictures I'd strongly advise you to keep it simple at first - as others recommended, a film body and one 50mm (or maybe 35mm) lens to start with. I'd stick to cameras with the minimum of electronics (maybe just a built in light meter) for reliability and simplicity.

Keep in mind that in the future most of the money tied up in equipment will be on lenses, not bodies. Lenses can last a lifetime (and some film bodies as well, if you buy quality).

My main priorities in selecting a camera have been:
1. a large, bright viewfinder to make composition easier (my first serious camera was an Olympus OM1.. magnificent viewfinder).
2. a lens selection that fits my current and future needs, starting out with a 50mm lens offering f2 or faster, for learning the basics.
3. A camera that has good ergonomics for me (with small hands), and which offers full manual control.

 

[lynnb]

Marek's suggestion of a TLR is also a very good way to learn the basics in composing and manual camera operation. They are great learning tools. The focusing screen forces you to concentrate on composition. Suggest you look at Yashica Mat 124G and also Yashica Mat 635, they are robust and easy to use.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I'll let you in on a secret, too. Everybody suggests a K1000, because...everybody suggests a K1000. They gained this position simply by being frequently used, or regularly recommended to their students, by many US educational organisations. For an entry level SLR of variable build quality over the years, with no self timer, or even a depth of field preview, it's an overpriced and even more overrated model. There are better Pentax SLR models with more features available, more cheaply, let alone bodies from other makers.

Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and Minolta (plus a few more) all made good quality SLRs that are available now very affordably. If you want maximum reliability for your dollar, generally, stick to fully mechanical types in good condition, if they're working when you find them at this point in their life cycle, the chances of them working in a few more years are usually good. You could also do a great deal worse than a metal shutter Praktica, or even an older Zenit for that matter, though I'd suggest the former due to having a few more features, notably slow speeds. Depending on where you are, you may well be able to find one of these, ready to use, for a whopping $10 or so, and the M42 mount gives more lens options than just about anything else ever made.

I'd suggest sticking with film. Yes, you'll continue to pay for your mistakes. Therein lies the incentive to improve the quality of your output, quickly. Yes, you get instant feedback with digital. But I usually tell people that whilst you learn quicker with digital, you frequently learn better, with film.
Cheers,
Brett

 

[David Hughes]

Yes, exactly, the K 1000 is a pleasant camera if you are in a class and someone is explaining it and suggesting things to do which will slowly explain things to you by looking and doing. You are not in a class. And some of us think the Olympus µ-II (aka ∞ Stylus Epic) is a good camera to learn with, once you understand things.

FWIW, many start with something like the K1000 and once they've learnt (the hard way perhaps) buy a P&S because of their simplicity but you have to understand them just the same. That is why I asked all those questions earlier.

Spending your camera budget on film once a few things have been sorted out would be a better idea.

Regards, David

 

[ozreth]

Whoa! Lots of responses here since I went away. Most of my photos are still on the discs they were scanned onto so I'm going to go through them and throw some up on smug mug. Im pretty sure the camera is in great condition as it looked like it was brand new without a single blemish to be found anywhere (also came with the original carrying case in mint condition). I'll try and respond to some of the major points here as well when I return. You've all got me torn!

 

[ozreth]

I've uploaded the photos I like. These were taken over the course of about four months and 15 or so rolls. Later I'll upload all of my mess-ups for some advice. I slightly altered the contrast on a handful of the B&W images, but nothing more. The color one is as is. As somebody above noted, I'm starting to realize that the pictures I like are actually of interesting enough scenery. It seems obvious but I took a lot of pictures of mundane/straight on things thinking they would come out looking nice and was completely underwhelmed.
http://www.jpburke.smugmug.com

 

[wjvander]

There are better Pentax SLR models with more features available, more cheaply, let alone bodies from other makers.

I would strongly recommend the Pentax Spotmatic series or even the pre-spotmatic Asahi Pentax cameras. These have great lenses (Super Takumar 55/1.8 is what I use on my Spotmatic) and are more affordable than the overpriced K1000. Another bonus of buying anything Pentax is that Eric Hendrickson (http://pentaxs.com/) is around to service them at affordable prices.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

You're worried about the performance of the camera? Perhaps I've missed something but they look fine to me and within spec. as we say...

Regards, David

 

[ozreth]

Hi,

You're worried about the performance of the camera? Perhaps I've missed something but they look fine to me and within spec. as we say...

Regards, David

Perhaps I'm just too concerned with the ratio of how many I keep? I know that he camera works as it should, I guess maybe I just worry that since more than 3/4 of what I shoot aren't keepers that the camera may not be suited for a lot of the things I'm shooting, and I'm continuing to spend money doing so. Maybe that's just the name of the game though. At least in the beginning.

 

[Jerevan]

I think from the photos you uploaded that the camera is fine. 1-2 keepers out of 36 is good by me. Sometimes I hit a few more and end up with 4-5 worth looking closer at and perhaps print.

The iPhone is more wide angle compared to the Stylus - so if you think you get more good ones out of that one, maybe you just need to go wider with the film cameras?

 

[Bill Clark]

First may I suggest to find someone who would be willing to be your coach and mentor and help you with your photography journey.

This is most important.

Equipment is second but only after you find the first.

 

[ozreth]

I think from the photos you uploaded that the camera is fine. 1-2 keepers out of 36 is good by me. Sometimes I hit a few more and end up with 4-5 worth looking closer at and perhaps print.

The iPhone is more wide angle compared to the Stylus - so if you think you get more good ones out of that one, maybe you just need to go wider with the film cameras?

That's a good point that I hadn't considered as I didn't know it was wide angle compared to what I'm using, but it makes sense now. Most of the shots I like on my iPhone are much wider and usually taken portrait. So would I accomplish that via whatever lens I use?

 

[Jerevan]

Yes, you can get that sort of perspective with a wider lens, 28 or 25 or even 21 mm on an SLR for example.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Those phones let you blaze away and take a lot of photographs, so you're bound to get more keepers.

Anyway, you got a lot of B&W keepers, based on what I looked at. The next thing will be to look at your duds and then get some comments. It could be something very simple but we'll need to see them as there's blur and blur with various causes.

Whatever you do, don't abandon the little Olympus camera. Even if you buy some super camera you'll want something to carry around ready to use when the need arises and that model ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of us here.

Regards, David

 

[segedi]

I'm going to buck the trend - and my own camera bag - and recommend you absolutely get a digital SLR instead of an old film one. Save the film version for after you've shot thousands of frames and know what the heck you're doing. You'll like the instant feedback you get from digital - learning on the spot without the wait.

You should be able to find a Canon 30D, 40D, or 50D and a 50mm f/1.8 lens for around $200 - which is insane as those cameras are very capable. You'll likely want something wider (since that 50mm will give you a 80mm filed of view with the APS-C sized sensor). But that can wait until you've gained confidence and technique.

And, Canons are great for shooting adapted lenses - you can pick up a manual focus 28mm or 35mm lens from Pentax or Nikon, throw an adapter on it and be set for little expense.

Next step, learn the trinity of light controllers, Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO. Blurry photos? Try setting the shutter speed higher, for example. Know how each affects the output.

Find images you like and determine the settings (this is super easy if a photographer on Flickr has retained the EXIF info - it will show all three, plus what focal length is being used.)

Shoot the DSLR in Manual mode so you can see what changes to the 3 options have on the effect of the photo. Then, progress to Aperture Priority mode to selectively control depth of field. Then try Shutter Priority mode to control moving subjects or camera shake from low speeds.

And I can't stress this enough, learn from your mistakes. Being disappointed or overly critical won't help - fail and fail lots, but learn.

 

[Vics]

I bought my Sony a200 DSLR and 18-55mm kit lens for under $200 at KEH. I still love it and shoot it every day. I have had a Pentax K1000 since 1979 and it's still a great shooter with amazing lenses.