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The biggest difference between a DSLR and a mirrorless is the wayfinder: on mirrorless you get digital vs analog on dslr (via the mirror system). In terms of co

by pbalau 8y ago

The biggest difference between a DSLR and a mirrorless is the wayfinder: on mirrorless you get digital vs analog on dslr (via the mirror system). In terms of controls, both have more or less the same, with some naming differences. I would go for second hand set, either canon or nikon, whatever model!, with the stock zoom lens (18-55) and get a fixie (not zoom lens, 50mm works great for lots of conditions and most of them are fast). This should cover you for a while, maybe even years. When you literally run the thing down and think you can't progress anymore, you will most likely have a clear idea what you want from a camera. Don't get bogged down by all the awesome new things cameras can do, to learn you need aperture priority and shutter priority. You will find that all decent cameras have that. Probably, pretty quickly you will need manual iso and white balance settings, but again, most cameras have that too. So, go on, buy the cheapest set you can find, that' still a dslr with changeable lenses, get the two lenses I recommended and start shooting. After you figure out what you like to shoot, because you will never be able to shoot everything at the same level, focus on that.

bigredhdl 8y ago
I agree with a lot of this. I took a photography class in college and learned more on a borrowed old 35mm taking and developing black and whites than anything I have used since. People (myself included) tend to focus way too much on the gear, but when you are starting out go way cheap so you can get a feel for what you like to shoot and where your gear might be limiting you. Then after you go through that process make a more informed decision about what system you want to invest in. Definitely get you a zoom and a prime lens though as stated above. I highly recommend taking a class in person. It really is the best bang for your buck. After that I think the best way to learn is just getting out there and taking shots. Get away from the gear reviews and spend that time practicing . Find out what you like and what you don't. Really its about you enjoying your own shots not trying to meet someone else's arbitrary standard of what makes a shot good enough. Personally, I now shoot mirrorless. My first DSLR was an Olympus E-520 which served me very well. I reached a point where I was going to have to invest in more lenses, but Olympus had switched to micro 4/3 mirrorless and I was hesitant to invest in a system without a clear upgrade path. I then upgraded to a Pentax k-70 which was a decent camera, but I had so many focus issues with it I quickly sold it and now I've made the plunge into the Sony mirrorless system and plan on staying there and investing in it. Its a joy to shoot. Finally, remember most of the greatest photographers in history had less capable cameras than the one you will have in your hand.
jsjohnst 8y ago
> on mirrorless you get digital vs analog on dslr There’s plenty of dSLRs with digital viewfinders at all price points in virtually all brands.
- pbalau 8y ago
  why they need the mirrors then? (genuinely asking)
  - Someone1234 8y ago
    Yeah. I think the person above is confusing a digital overlay with a digital viewfinder. Apples and oranges. As useful as digital overlays are (and they are, particularly the graphs) they cannot do what an LCD viewfinder can do which is to say completely "demo" what the final picture will look like (i.e. show the results of shutter speed and ISO settings). Mirrored lens cameras still have their usages. I'd definitely take one for high speed sports shooting in particular (even the best LCDs introduce some latency). But for day to day, particularly learning photography, digital viewfinders are a huge improvement that make mirrorless worth it all by themselves. I'd never go back to a DSLR, the loss of information in the viewfinder is a massive deficit (not to mention the weight/size/unreliability).
    - jsjohnst 8y ago
      > they cannot do what an LCD viewfinder can do which is to say completely "demo" what the final picture will look like (i.e. show the results of shutter speed and ISO settings). I’m definitely not talking about an overlay. I’m talking live full demo view on the LCD screen. The mirror is “locked up” when the LCD screen is on and you get a preview of what the end result photo would be just like you describe isn’t possible. From Wikipedia[0], here’s a list of the first model supporting live view of each respective series: Canon: 20Da, 40D, 450D, 1000D, 1D Mark III, 5D Mark II, 6D Mark II, 7D Fujifilm: FinePix S3 Pro, FinePix IS Pro Leica: Digilux 3 Nikon: D90, D300, D700, D3 Olympus: E-10, E-330, E-30, E-3 Panasonic: DMC-L1 Pentax: K20D, K-7, K-x Samsung: GX-20 Sony: A300, A350, A500, A55, and A77 As most of those cameras were released ~10 years ago and as the Wikipedia article indicates “there is no product line in which live preview has been abandoned after being introduced”, there are now probably almost a hundred models of dSLRs with live preview functionality, if not more. In fact, that article goes on to state: > and almost all new DSLRs have had the feature since mid-2008 [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_preview https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_preview

by pbalau 8y ago

bigredhdl 8y ago

I agree with a lot of this. I took a photography class in college and learned more on a borrowed old 35mm taking and developing black and whites than anything I have used since. People (myself included) tend to focus way too much on the gear, but when you are starting out go way cheap so you can get a feel for what you like to shoot and where your gear might be limiting you. Then after you go through that process make a more informed decision about what system you want to invest in. Definitely get you a zoom and a prime lens though as stated above. I highly recommend taking a class in person. It really is the best bang for your buck. After that I think the best way to learn is just getting out there and taking shots. Get away from the gear reviews and spend that time practicing . Find out what you like and what you don't. Really its about you enjoying your own shots not trying to meet someone else's arbitrary standard of what makes a shot good enough. Personally, I now shoot mirrorless. My first DSLR was an Olympus E-520 which served me very well. I reached a point where I was going to have to invest in more lenses, but Olympus had switched to micro 4/3 mirrorless and I was hesitant to invest in a system without a clear upgrade path. I then upgraded to a Pentax k-70 which was a decent camera, but I had so many focus issues with it I quickly sold it and now I've made the plunge into the Sony mirrorless system and plan on staying there and investing in it. Its a joy to shoot. Finally, remember most of the greatest photographers in history had less capable cameras than the one you will have in your hand.

jsjohnst 8y ago

> on mirrorless you get digital vs analog on dslr There’s plenty of dSLRs with digital viewfinders at all price points in virtually all brands.

pbalau 8y ago
why they need the mirrors then? (genuinely asking)
- Someone1234 8y ago
  Yeah. I think the person above is confusing a digital overlay with a digital viewfinder. Apples and oranges. As useful as digital overlays are (and they are, particularly the graphs) they cannot do what an LCD viewfinder can do which is to say completely "demo" what the final picture will look like (i.e. show the results of shutter speed and ISO settings). Mirrored lens cameras still have their usages. I'd definitely take one for high speed sports shooting in particular (even the best LCDs introduce some latency). But for day to day, particularly learning photography, digital viewfinders are a huge improvement that make mirrorless worth it all by themselves. I'd never go back to a DSLR, the loss of information in the viewfinder is a massive deficit (not to mention the weight/size/unreliability).
  - jsjohnst 8y ago
    > they cannot do what an LCD viewfinder can do which is to say completely "demo" what the final picture will look like (i.e. show the results of shutter speed and ISO settings). I’m definitely not talking about an overlay. I’m talking live full demo view on the LCD screen. The mirror is “locked up” when the LCD screen is on and you get a preview of what the end result photo would be just like you describe isn’t possible. From Wikipedia[0], here’s a list of the first model supporting live view of each respective series: Canon: 20Da, 40D, 450D, 1000D, 1D Mark III, 5D Mark II, 6D Mark II, 7D Fujifilm: FinePix S3 Pro, FinePix IS Pro Leica: Digilux 3 Nikon: D90, D300, D700, D3 Olympus: E-10, E-330, E-30, E-3 Panasonic: DMC-L1 Pentax: K20D, K-7, K-x Samsung: GX-20 Sony: A300, A350, A500, A55, and A77 As most of those cameras were released ~10 years ago and as the Wikipedia article indicates “there is no product line in which live preview has been abandoned after being introduced”, there are now probably almost a hundred models of dSLRs with live preview functionality, if not more. In fact, that article goes on to state: > and almost all new DSLRs have had the feature since mid-2008 [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_preview https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_preview