I fancy taking up a hobby. Have been thinking and I really fancy photography. What would be a good starter camera?

[Beakind82]

I have realised recently I have zero hobbies. I work, do housework and do nothing for myself. I can't sew, knit etc...I can't really attend any sports clubs etc as me and dh work shifts around it each other so I can't go out of an evening as I'm either working or looking after the children while dh does. Anyway, I've been thinking and I do really enjoy taking photos, at the moment only phone my smart phone but have recently got a small amount of inference and would like to maybe treat myself to a 'decent camera' and make it a bit of a hobby. Can anyone recommend a decent but not too expensive camera? Also does anyone else take photos as a hobby? Would be interesting to hear. TIA xx

What's your budget? I have no idea but interested myself and feel sure this will be the first question from those in the know.

Not much help re cameras, I have a Nikon and love it, however I can REALLY recommend a free online 'course' called A Year With My Camera. It is absolutely superb. Google it. Really really helpful for both total beginners and those with a little knowledge.

Have a look at kenrockwell.com for camera reviews. There's about fifteen years of reviews of Nikon, Canon, Sony & Fuji, & they're all pretty comprehensive.

Go get your hands on some cameras, see how it fits and how it feels. Have a scroll through the menus and see if it makes sense. A friend of dh's lent me his DSLR which was a Nikon and I went with it as it felt right

First I had a Nikon D60 and when that died I got a D3200, it's entry level and does me fine and was a huge improvement on the D60 DH got a great deal on a similar older model on ebay and we share lenses.

I will say though that since I go my P20Pro phone I have hardly touched the big camera!

Excellent advise upthread to join an online thing, the only way to improve is to take photos every day ...I did the Year with my Camera (I think...there are sooo many!) and enjoyed it, but I really like Blipfoto, their thing is a photo a day, it's free, but you can upgrade to a paid subscription if you want. I really like the diary element most of all on there, looking back through entries is fab.

thanks helpful thread

I did a digital photography course at a local college and got so much from it. I started off with a bridge camera but swapped half way through with a Canon EOS Dslr.... think mine is a 300D but it's about 7/8 years old. I also bought a longer lens as well as the standard one and spent around £600 in total.

The only thing I will say is that it's quite heavy, although the camera itself is very simple to navigate around and the PC software is user friendly too. I'd wait to try some out in an independent camera shop, tbh, as I don't use mine as often as I should. I got a pocket camera to use on dog walks etc as the DSLR is just too bulky.

I love my canon 80D it's been great and I've enjoyed trying and buying new lenses.

@stillcrazyafterall

Not much help re cameras, I have a Nikon and love it, however I can REALLY recommend a free online 'course' called A Year With My Camera. It is absolutely superb. Google it. Really really helpful for both total beginners and those with a little knowledge.

I came on to say exactly this

@stillcrazyafterall

Not much help re cameras, I have a Nikon and love it, however I can REALLY recommend a free online 'course' called A Year With My Camera. It is absolutely superb. Google it. Really really helpful for both total beginners and those with a little knowledge.

This sounds great, will Google it!! X

@PsychoSyd

Have a look at kenrockwell.com for camera reviews. There's about fifteen years of reviews of Nikon, Canon, Sony & Fuji, & they're all pretty comprehensive.

Thank you, that's helpful!

@LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow

Go get your hands on some cameras, see how it fits and how it feels. Have a scroll through the menus and see if it makes sense. A friend of dh's lent me his DSLR which was a Nikon and I went with it as it felt right

First I had a Nikon D60 and when that died I got a D3200, it's entry level and does me fine and was a huge improvement on the D60 DH got a great deal on a similar older model on ebay and we share lenses.

I will say though that since I go my P20Pro phone I have hardly touched the big camera!

Excellent advise upthread to join an online thing, the only way to improve is to take photos every day ...I did the Year with my Camera (I think...there are sooo many!) and enjoyed it, but I really like Blipfoto, their thing is a photo a day, it's free, but you can upgrade to a paid subscription if you want. I really like the diary element most of all on there, looking back through entries is fab.

Great, this is really helpful. Thank you!

@Muddledupme

I love my canon 80D it's been great and I've enjoyed trying and buying new lenses.

Thank you!

@ConnieCaterpillar70

I did a digital photography course at a local college and got so much from it. I started off with a bridge camera but swapped half way through with a Canon EOS Dslr.... think mine is a 300D but it's about 7/8 years old. I also bought a longer lens as well as the standard one and spent around £600 in total.

The only thing I will say is that it's quite heavy, although the camera itself is very simple to navigate around and the PC software is user friendly too. I'd wait to try some out in an independent camera shop, tbh, as I don't use mine as often as I should. I got a pocket camera to use on dog walks etc as the DSLR is just too bulky.

This is great, thanks!

Try some and see what feel comfortable to hold and to wear round your neck. Then what tends to happen is you buy a brand and you end up with staying that brand. So the canon lenses will fit the canon cameras, Nikon lenses Nikon cameras etc. You don’t have to worry about lenses at the moment but if you get into photography, different lenses are the natural progression. So you have a macro lens which is for taking close up of day plants and flowers. There are lots of different lenses that all help capture different things, so before going into a shop research the costs of lenses for the different brands and see what you’re comfortable investing in as you get better.

I would also recommend looking into paying for cloud storage with someone. Taking up photography means a lot of photos. We have the bumped up Dropbox, which we use for other things too, but DH stores all his photos on there and can organise them however he wishes.

I have a canon which I love, if you're just wanting to start out and play around you could get a second hand DSLR very cheaply as well as some better than kit lenses. I have used both camera jungle and harrisons cameras, pretty much all my stuff is second hand and its great as its let me play around with lenses and learn what ones I like without worrying about spending hundreds on something I then don't use.
Also have a think about what you want to photograph as this will dictate the sort of lenses you need. If you want to photograph wildlife a zoom lense is good. Landscapes you'd want wide angle. Portraits you want something with a apature range etc.

I’ve got a Canon, which I love.

I should have said mine is a Canon 70d. I bought it second hand and have not regretted it.

I have a Canon 300D which is an SLR. I really like it. Gives really nice shots if you know the basics. I did a short course lovely which was really helpful in learning how to get the best out of the camera and how to frame a photo. There’s plenty of resources out there.

Thanks so much everyone. Reading each and everyone of your replies xx

I’ve a few of my opinions (and there are other peoples opinions) here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4141761-help-me-pick-a-camera?pg=1

There are so many choices:

Compact camera, or phone camera:
These are fine, and they can always be with you.
Most of the time I take photos with my iPhone
The benefit is how easy they are to use and they are with you most of the time
The disadvantages are how easy they are to use that they are pretty much ‘point and shoot’, you have very little control on the settings. They are small, and are mostly used held in front of you looking at the screen which isn’t the best hold for a steady photo, but the cameras internal software probably fixes wobble

Bridge camera:
This is a compact camera with a better lens

Mirrorless camera:
This is a ‘proper’ camera, it gives you full control, you can fit a range of lenses etc
Without the mirror mechanism of a DSLR they can be as small as a compact
The disadvantage to me is still that they aren’t the ‘right’ size
You can generally use the viewfinder or screen. Using the viewfinder gives a more steady hold

DSLR
These are my preferred camera. But I’ll only carry it when I’m intending to take proper photos
DSLRs are much bigger than compacts abs can get very big and heavy.
They are more ‘ergonomic’ with the controls you need at your finger tip. The more ‘professional’ the model is the more dials and buttons are available. You should be able to reprogramme certain dials for the settings you prefer to adjust

Get your hands on some cameras, the main brands are consistent across their ranges so you can upgrade as you go without having to relearn how to find each option

Newer cameras always have bigger numbers and shiney new features, but any DSLR of quite a few years old will give great pictures (and better pictures than a new compact or bridge)

You can take good pictures on a basic camera, but if shopping I’d recommend a DSLR, you should look at mirrorless as an option as it may be right for you.
It’s not worth buying a compact or bridge if you want a hobby as you will very quickly outgrow their capability

If you have a camera shop nearby then ask for advice and get hands on with a couple
You can buy second hand cameras online but stick to reputable sites such as MPB and read the condition information for each camera

BBC4 has been advertising Great British Photography Challenge....coming soon!

Watching with interest. My question is 'is there any point trying to learn photography if you don't have a 'proper' camera'?

My 'good' camera is a Canon G15

www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-powershot-g15

I'm not sure that I want to be lugging around endless lenses etc with the 'big' cameras but I would like to learn more than just point and shoot on automatic.

@BarbaraofSeville

Watching with interest. My question is 'is there any point trying to learn photography if you don't have a 'proper' camera'?

My 'good' camera is a Canon G15

www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-powershot-g15

I'm not sure that I want to be lugging around endless lenses etc with the 'big' cameras but I would like to learn more than just point and shoot on automatic.

You can definitely learn something with just any old basic camera.

The more ‘basic’ a camera is the more it will do by itself, and will try and guess what the subject is and where to focus.

With a more ‘advanced’ a camera you expect to take control of more elements of the picture and decide for yourself what settings, where to focus etc