How I chose my first camera
As a beginner it can be overwhelming to make the decision of which camera to buy or even if you should buy one. In this article I intend to walk you through my experience and my decisions on choosing the best camera for me and the when/why Idid it.
I have been a photography amateur / enthusiast for a while now but until a little time ago I was only using my smartphone and to be honest if you only want to save that special moment, the smartphone is all you need. Except that, this one day I decided it would be cool to do more than point and shoot so I started attending an online course on photography. It was going great until I wasn’t able to do some of the activities asked. With a smartphone I cant’t control aperture or take a decent night shot. So I started looking for cameras.
In my first searches I was struck with all the possibilities, range prices, lenses, accessories and I got discouraged. I wasn’t so sure I needed a camera anymore. But the more I advanced on the course the more I wanted to work with the lenses and the aperture and I really wanted to see the difference of getting a bigger sensor. So, I kept looking.
Types: DSLR, Mirrorless, Compact…
Brands: Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm, Sony, Olympus…
Sensors: Full frame, APS-C, Micro four-thirds…
Resolution: 12MP, 15MP, 18MP, 20MP…
I got really confused, didn’t know what to do.
I searched for price ranges and specs and stuff like that and I finally manage to understand that all the brands have beginner, semi-pro and pro cameras (yes, it took me a while to understand this). So my list got a lot smaller, I am no pro of course so I didn’t need a super expensive camera. I needed a camera that allowed me to grow, was easy to use and had some of the accessories the others have.
Later, I started searching for beginner camera lists, opinions, specs and the more I did it the more I was setting my mind on a Canon /Nikon DSLR and even this decision was being hard, so I set a budget. I didn’t want to spend more than 600 euros in something I could be really bad at. Actually, this budget was not of great help because the majority of beginner DSLRs are cheaper than my budget.
I talked with other people, read opinions…
“Canon is best for beginners it’s more intuitive”
“Nikon is best for beginners it has guided shooting”
“More Auto focus points”
“4K video, Full HD Video”
“NFC, Bluetooth”
After all this I had my mind set. I was getting a Nikon D5600.
This one day I was in a tech store and they had this table full of cameras so you can touch and I did. I grabbed one of them. The camera was really big and heavy for my hands. Right besides them were a few smaller cameras, lighter. I went home and searched a little more. In a bit I changed my mind. After all what I wanted was a mirrorless. In this world the choice for cheaper cameras is smaller and my search led me to the older Sony Alpha 6000. As soon as a sale happened I bought it. I got the camera, two kit lenses, a bag and a memory card with my budget.
So my advice is:
1. Know what kind of photography you want to do
2. Do some research on what’s on the market
3. Set a budget
4. Try to feel the camera on your hands
5. Understand what you want to do with your photography (NFC or bluetooth may be handy)
6. Have fun!
