This is going to be an introduction on the different sorts of equipment you may use or encounter as photographer.
I'm going to keep it basic, but will go into detail on how some of these items are used in later lessons, such as lighting / studio / location photography.
I'll start with your camera body. These can range from in introductory, beginner style SLR, to professional level, high end, high spec pieces of equipment.
In the bigger picture of things, they all do the same job, just some give you better quality than others. Your choice of course, being what you are intending on using your camera for.
I'm a Nikon kind of girl, so I'm going to use a few of their equipment as examples. There are a few other top branded names that will all have their equivalent model to each other. Canon and Olympus are the two other popular, affordable, and easy accessible brands to choose from.
Ok, so, your camera body. They all have the same functions and programs, maybe the more professional level cameras will hold two memory cards and back up your work for you automatically, but realistically, they all operate the same way when taking a photograph.
I'll start with the entry level, Nikon D3100. It's a camera you would go for if you know you have an interest in photography and want to start learning more about it. You will also have the options there to expand your knowledge and try out a few different techniques or lenses.
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| The Nikon D3100 |
The D3100 is a nice simple camera with the minimum functions, arranged in a friendly way. There's not a ton of buttons to scare you, lots of flashing lights or screens blinking numbers at you.
These level cameras can be purchased anything from £250 - £400 (depending on your brand and condition.) Perfect for starting out. Perfect for learning how to use the tool of the trade, yet still of the quality to use it as a working camera to make you some money and get your name out their in the professional field.
Next up is the Nikon D90. A few steps up and more of an intermediate camera, it will have all the same functions as the entry level D3100, but shoot in higher quality, feature another screen, have more megapixels, give you more ISO options, continuous shooting modes to help you capture fast moving objects, maybe better image re-touch features built-in, faster auto-focus and no doubt a few more features too.
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| The Nikon D90 |
This sort of camera would set you back between £400-£750, again, depending on brand and condition. There certainly wouldn't be a thing wrong starting out with this level of camera. It still is simply designed and easy to use, but with the reassuring factor of not having to upgrade after a couple of years. This camera gives you the foundations to learn AND the space to get yourself some top quality images worthy of a pro!
Ideal for the individual with a bit more cash to splash when pursuing photography, or the photography student looking to upgrade to something worthwhile that will have the ability to see them through work for a few years in the professional field.
Now we are onto what most of us dream about (well, I know I do!) - The Nikon D3x. This camera body is of the high end, professional range of camera Nikon bring to us. Perfect for the established photographer, working jobs that require the highest of quality, 7 days a week!
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| The Nikon D3x |
This level of camera will offer twice the amount of megapixels you will get from an intermediate camera. It will have a high spec, high speed processor, incredibly quick shutter speeds, no doubt give you more scope on ISO's too. It will have a bigger battery to cope with it's functions AND keep youin business that bit longer. It will only take top quality memory cards, no micro SD's here. It will have the most up to date technology built in along with an extensive range of features available for pleasure, amusement and job!
A professional level camera like this one costs within the range of £2500-6000. If you think that is frightening, I dare you to google Hasselblad cameras, it will scare you even more! But, on that note, companies that produce digital SLR bodies always have a nice range to choose from depending on your level or how far you want to go with it.
All I can suggest is to do your research before buying a camera. Get online and read some reviews. Talk to photographers, see what they are using and why. Go to somewhere that stocks it and ask to take a look at it. Hold the camera and see how it feels to you.
Personally, I have used both Nikon and Canon in the past and have become a fan of Nikon as I like how the camera feels, how it is weighted and the general layout and designs of their functions. I find them easy to use and doubt I would convert any time soon!
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That's enough about camera bodies, I'll give you a brief introduction to lenses now......
Your camera body that you are considering purchasing is of no use without a lens! Most of these SLR's will have the option of a package deal with a standard lens you will get with it. Maybe even a strap or a bag too if you are lucky!
If you are buying your gear separately, the world of lenses may seem a bit daunting, but it is quite simple really.
Lenses can either be manual or auto-focus. You will find that most auto-focus lenses will give you a manual function also. When starting out, auto-focus lenses are always the best option. They work all round in every situation and don't leave you standing around like an idiot whilst to take forever to manually focus your subject....by the time you do that, the moment has gone. We all know how important capturing the moment and working fast can be.
So my advice is, go auto-focus. This will give you a lot more fun when using your new camera.
Again, I'm going to use some Nikon products as an example.
The standard lens that most companies choose to set you up with is a 18-55mm lens.
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| The Nikon 18-55mm lens - a great all rounder |
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| Example of an image taken with a 18-55mm |
This type of lens is perfect for introducing someone to photography. It is capable of zooming, but not to a great extent. It gives you enough room to work with most situations though. From landscapes to people and events. The lens is sturdy, compact and will be useful in a variety of situations.
A lens like this you can pick up now for around £60-80 if you shop online.
I know from personal experience this was my first lens, and even though I have built up a collection of different glass (a term used for lenses by photographers) - I still find myself going back to this one for certain situations. It's the perfect all rounder and will keep you busy with your camera no matter what the topic or event is, this lens will cover most.
Another nice lens to consider if you are doing a range of jobs with your photography is a portrait lens. These give you lovely depth of field so your subject is in nice sharp focus and your background is blurred or soft.
I use a Nikon 50mm for these. It's a tiny lens in the medium price range, but gives you really nice, crystal clear results.
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| The Nikon 50mm - great for portraits and depth of field |
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| An example image taken with the 50mm lens |
Another option you may want to consider, depending on your interests, could be a zoom lens. If you like wildlife, sports, boats, planes, bands - anything that can be at a distance, a zoom lens is a great item to add to your kit.
I use the Nikon 70-300mm. The only problem is, if something interesting happens up close, you will never catch the moment unless you can fit a quick lens change in. Once you are on zoom, the only thing it will be good at, is capturing what is happening so many yards away.
Again, these are a medium priced lens, between £200-400. A great investment though if you are thinking about working for your local press. Covering events and sport is what these lenses are good for!
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| The Nikon 70-300mm - auto-focus |
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| Taken with the 70-300mm lens from the back of the audience! |
Another lens you may consider if you are into travel or architecture is a wide angle lens. These will capture as much of the space you are in as possible, whilst not distorting any stright lines.
I would use one of these lenses a lot. They are great for most situations, even when doing bar work and having to fit a large group of people into your image.
Only downside is, these lenses are pricey. Anything over £600-1600 new, but thankfully if you shop around enough, you will find good lens companies such as Sigma or Tamaron selling similar lenses, with the same good build and image quality, just not with the brand name....but make your it fits the model of your camera first!
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| Nikon 12-24mm wide angle |
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| Taken with the 12-24mm when in London recently |
I'm only going to talk about two other lenses, as there are many more to choose from, I feel that these cover most situations you may find yourself in as a working photographer!
The next lens is a macro lens. Medium price range £300-500, but a bit more specific depending on your use.
Macro lenses are wonderful for capturing object up close. They eat up all the detail and are great in the studio or outdoors with objects that aren't on the move too quickly.
You will have encountered an image taken with a macro lens if you have seen those common pictures of insects and plants, taken really close, you could almost count the hairs on the creature!
They are good if you work with detailed subjects. Even textiles or jewelry, they work wonders for capturing all the fine details people want to know about.
I don't find myself needing a macro lens, but i would like to add one to the collection eventually when it is required. They are quite job specific and I think you would have to be big into nature photography or detailed studio work to get the most out of one of these lenses.
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| The Nikon 60mm Macro lens |
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| An example of macro photography |
Last but not least, lenses can add a bit of character to your images too. Take the fisheye as an example. Again, another medium priced lens at around £300-400, although you can pick adapters up to create this effect for around £40. Be warned, it wont give you nice crisp results but they are good fun on nights out or to take the odd quirky image. You can alternatively go mad and spend around £1000 on one of these lenses.
It acts in the similar way to the wide angle lens I talked about earlier, but this one will take in around 180 degrees whilst curving the edges of your image.
This is a lens I hope to add to my equipment next, depending again on your interests, I personally would love to create some nice sport images involving BMX or skateboarding. These lenses are very popular within this type of sports photography.
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| Nikon Fisheye 16mm |
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| Fisheye example, although the wall is curved, you can see how the image is too |
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Since this lesson is getting rather info heavy, I'm going to show you only one more item of basic equipment that can be of great use to any photographer.
The first one, is a flash unit. Although your SLR body will most likely have a flash built in, they are hard to control where the light falls and sometimes just are strong enough for the job in hand and can create horrible shadows depending on your subjects situation.
You have all seen them mounted on the top of cameras. They look pretty cool and are commonly seen in the movies when the role of press photographer makes an apperance!
These are great to spill lots of light out in dimly light situations. You can control the angle of your light, the way it faces and how strong / bright your flash is going to be.
Most of the expensive speedlights will have a lot of options to choose from and a lot of help built in to guide you on what settings to choose.
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| Controls and functions |
I am currently using a basic speedlight, but I find it does the job for what I do. Again, research and know what you are doing with your photography and where you intend on going with it and invest in the equipment that suits you.
Note that speedlights can also be used as portable flash units when out on location. I'll cover this on another lesson about lighting in more detail - but they are a piece of equipment that can be varied in their use and function, so are great investment when you are finding plenty of used for them in your work.
That's quite enough for today! There's plenty of gear for you to have a read about, you will find more than enough reviews and opinions online with any number of these. Hope it has helped guide you into the world of products and choices you have with photography. It is a world out there that can suits any ability and is accessible to anyone to take it as far or as little as they want.
Any questions just ask!
Have a great day guys!
