Evening all. I'm on the lookout for a decent camera. I'm a complete novice but want something that will take decent shots, mainly of wildlife and landscapes when I'm out and about. I was viewing pods of porpoises yesterday from a clifftop but it was a waste of time with my phone trying to get photos. I'd like something easy to use and compact if possible. Any advice/recommendations from anyone with knowledge of what to do I'd welcome. Thanks.
Can point you in the direction of a few decent cameras but if you're not looking beyond P&S (Point & Shoot) then don't go spending much at all. There are also several decent phones on the market that take good P&S as well as some good manual options if you know what you're doing.
Couple of things to consider, don't let those selling to you try and impress you with the size of their megapixels. What you want to look for (especially in a DSLR or similar) is the size of the image sensor. Keep in mind that an image sensor bases itself on the old sizing of 35mm film. So the closer in size to 35mm your digital sensor is, the better. Even if your camera was only 12mp.
Eg.
60mp DSLR with 18mm sensor
v
20mp DSLR with 24mm sensor.
Choose the 20mp DSLR. Especially if everything else spec wise is pretty similar.
The same is similar with regard to phones except sensors do tend to be smaller (it's a space issue), often this is boosted with some impressive digital zooms and AI tech as well as some HDR stuff too. Results vary from phone to phone with even the top end being sketchy. Most people are likely to be disappointed unless they know how to set their phone camera up manually.
Back to modern cameras, don't worry about purchasing any other lenses yet, other than the kit lens (the one that comes with the camera, usually) as you can get some fantastic results. Master your kit first and then move on to other lens. Nearly all of my photography has been done using a kit lens and my trusty go to older Sony that is only 10mp. In fact, I seem to come back to it every time. But then I do try to push it to it's extremities, part of the challenge for myself, especially when travelling and limited on kit to take.
Another suggestion is for DSLRs buy second hand, most photographers have one or two knocking around that they just no longer use. If I could let go of my one mentioned above, you could buy it off me.
Often there is nothing wrong with a SH camera, but one thing to ask or check is shutter count. There are some ways to do this, you can ask the seller, who if they know their stuff, should be able to tell you with no problem. You can ask them to send you a couple of sample images they've taken and then check yourself or you can tell them how to check (and this will give you a little heads up too, possibly even gain some trust from the seller too).
So how do I check, you're wondering? Simply you can check via the web. Basically, once you have an image taken by them (that isn't edited, can be JPG or RAW) you can pop it through an image checking site and it will give you the digital record of the image, including the shot number. Of course, the lower the better but if it is really low (like below 500) and the camera is say 5years old, it may have gone over the "shot limit" and back to zero. Treat it as you would the mileage on a car. If it seems too low for it's age, then step back. If its a couple of years old and it has 8 to 10k shutter count then it will be worth looking at further. There will be plenty of years of shutter time left but it also shows that the person has used it fairly regularly.
Sometimes you get lucky. I bought a SH one several years ago for about £100 and when I checked the shutter count it was at about 3k. The camera was about 3yrs old. I can only figure that someone brought it around christmas time, the novelty wore off and then stopped using it, handy for me as it came with a load of extras like lens papers etc. I was only looking for a cheap 2nd camera but all the bits and bobs would've cost me around £100 so yeah, keep em peeled!
Plus, buying SH also gives you an idea if you want to go a bit further than novice or enjoy it much more but if you don't, you haven't wasted over a grand on camera that will gather dust and not bother with.
When it comes to wildlife etc. Again, for starters you can get buy on plenty of decent shots with the kit lens. For stuff like porpoises, birds and anything from distance then a telephoto is going to be your friend in the long run. Especially for more moving objects at distance. But again, you don't want the added cost of buying an additional lens and telephoto ones aren't the cheapest. Plus, you really want to get familiar with your camera and kit first. On top of that, if using a telephoto you will have an additional cost, a tripod. Now I'd suggest a tripod for nearly all shots but a using a telephoto is definitely a must for those types of shots. The reason being and I'm sure you will have done this, think of how "shaky" looking at objects through a telescope or binoculars is when just using your hands as support. This concept is the same with a telephoto.
To be honest Arriba, I would suggest for yourself, an entry level or bridge camera would be the most sensible investment. It has all the benefits of a compact (to some degree) but has the added capability of having a variance of wide and narrow shots available. They usually are pretty easy to navigate too. Do also go for one with less bells and whistles. You don't want to start of with a menu wheel that has more options than Lionel Messi. The 5 or 6 basic functions on a DSLR are absolutely fine and the aim is, to only need to use one or two of them anyway (M or A/P) so sometimes the less function available will make you concentrate on being a better photographer in the long run.
Having said that one decent camera that I think would suit yourself would be the Pentax K20D. It's about 10yrs old now but perfect for dipping your feet and you should be able to pick one up from around £200 - £250. Don't be put off by the name and it not being, Sony, Canon, Nikon or Leica et al. Some of Pentax DSLRs were the most solid builds around and their Pentaprism retains the quality of shooting in film. I think it has a 24mm sensor which is great. It's only downside (suffered by a lot of cameras) will be noise in low light but the largish sensor for an older camera should balance out. Don't let the cool kids or camera snobs think you're buying anything poor though; Pentax are great cameras. I'd buy a K20D tomorrow if I had the spare cash.
In true Bamboo fashion, this is quite verbose but it should give you some idea of the type of camera you should get and any tips to look at regarding specs. If you do need to discuss any further then feel free to DM.
Cheers