newbie help :)

[avviexxx]

looking for some advice please
i love taking photos but onyl have a standard digital camera,
ive seen some amazing photos people have taken with more expensive photography cameras (sorry dont know the proper terms)
can anyone give me advice on a camera for a beginner, something below £400 please
thanks

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

looking for some advice please
i love taking photos but onyl have a standard digital camera,
ive seen some amazing photos people have taken with more expensive photography cameras (sorry dont know the proper terms)
can anyone give me advice on a camera for a beginner, something below £400 please
thanks

Let's start at the beginning. You say you have a standard digital camera. Is that a Point & Shoot? If you could give us the manufacturer and model number that would help. Next, you want some advice on a camera for a beginner. Are you looking for a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera?
The important thing to remember is that it isn't always the equipment that makes the picture. There has been conjecture that 90% of a good image is the photographer. Since you are a beginner, I would recommend learning more about photography and what it takes to produce a good image. Photography is really all about capturing light using the aperture of the camera (size of the opening), shutter speed (slower the shutter speed the more light reaches the sensor) and ISO (the sensitivity of the sensor to light). I would recommend going to the library or purchase some books on photography. One of the recommended books is Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. The expense of moving to a DSLR is much greater than just buying a camera. I would recommend reading Mark's thread on this forum that covers pretty much all that goes into switching to a DSLR. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2549532
Good luck on your research and please don't be afraid to ask questions.

 

[Pineapple Whip]

Agreed. I think you can get a very nice P&S Canon which will produce incredible images, with some practice. If it has the selector dial on top, you'll be able to practice some advanced manual settings.

Frankly, you're better off taking 10,000 shots with a good point and shoot, and studying why certain photos don't come out the way you want them. Or you can do the same by diving into a DSLR, but you'll feel like you spent $2000 just to go through the learning curve. The benefit of going cheap first is that you can decide on the features you really want in a DSLR and what shooting styles you prefer, then go buy your fancy camera of choice once you know what you're talking about.

In the $200-$600 range, you should be able to pick up a Powershot IS of some sort with a nice zoom and other features. An SX1, SX10, SX120, SX130 should be nice, but they'll be bulkier than say an SD3000 which you could pocket easily.