Things To Know Before Choosing Your First Camera (For Beginners)

If you are a beginner and know absolutely nothing about camera and photography, here are a few basic/important facts that will help you to choose and decide your first suitable DSLR or mirrorless camera.

1. Camera body is like our body, and the lens is like our eyes. Camera lens, oftenly overlooked, plays a more important role than the camera body in photography. A good camera lens generally stays longer than the camera body, and the camera body gets outdated after a new better model is being released. You can shoot a good photo with a good lens and an optimum-performance camera body, but if you have a good camera body with a crappy lens, you can hardly produce any decent photo. Think and invest properly.
2. Lens - There are many type of lens out there. Depends on what you wanna shoot, you have to find a suitable lens for it.
   Portrait - If you are into portraits, get a lens in the range of e.g. 24-70 mm. 35mm and 50mm f/1.8 fixed lens is good for beginner, or you can use your kit lens that comes with your camera although they are not as good as the previous one. Smaller ‘f’ value also plays an important part to produce bokeh effect. f/1.8 or smaller is good for bokeh.
   Landscape - If you are into landscape and scenery, you need to get a wide angle lens e.g. 14-24mm to provide you wide angle, and generally wide angle lens is not cheap. Otherwise, you can use your kit lens in 18mm although it is not a recommended lens for landscape. You are also advisable to get f/2.8 lens if you wanna shoot Milky Way.
   Telephoto - If you wanna shoot something from a distance like sports and wildlife, you need to get telephoto zoom lens e.g.70-200mm or above. Lens with f/2.8 can produce blur background effect although it’s not a must.
   Other lenses - Other than the abovementioned three main lenses, there is macro lens for shooting something small like details of insects and flowers. There is fisheye lens that produces a special fisheye effect as well.
   Travel - Carrying multiple lenses during travel can be uncomfortable if you’re not a hardcore photographer like me. Imagining you are carrying 10kg camera gears on the first day, on the second day you are feeling shoulder pain, and on the third day you are already leaving all your camera gears in your hotel room, giving up on your camera gears and resorting to using iphone 6. In fact I heard of this problem very often from my photographer friends. Heavy. What’s the solution for this? The first solution is using a luggage specifically designed for carrying camera gears. A lot of professional photographers actually use this luggage for travel work, but dragging this around during travelling might not be enjoyable as well. The second solution is using a super 18-200mm lens which practically enable you to shoot everything with one lens! The downside of using this lens is it does not have a low ‘f’ value. But pairing this lens with a light weight sony mirrorless camera, you are a happy traveller for sure!
   Take note that the smaller the ‘f’ value the lens is, the better and more expensive it is. They are generally better shooting in low light or at night, and also responsible for producing bokeh effect or blur background effect which is very useful for portrait. f/1.4, f/1.8 and f/2.8 etc are good lenses.
3. Body - For DSLR camera body, there are fullframe camera and APS-C camera. Recently, there is also a new breed of camera called mirrorless camera (MILC) and they are smaller and lighter than DSLR camera. For beginners, APS-C camera and entry level mirrorless camera will be more suitable for you. DSLR fullframe is more expensive and generally for professional use. Take note that mirrorless camera have fullframe version as well, and the price is on par with DSLR fullframe camera. If you like to travel light, I would recommend mirrorless camera such as Sony. For Sony user, you can also get adaptor to fit in Canon and Nikon lens as well as other third party lens as well. This flexibility is a very awesome feature!
   Point-and-shoot - Point-and-shoot camera is designed for daily usage comes with auto system in everything. It is not a DSLR camera and you cannot change the lens. It is not intended for professional usage but suitable for public of all age who just wanna take simple photo with an easy click. Check out Sony Cyber-shot.
   Underwater - There are waterproof camera made for underwater photography. Currently, it is less developed with average specs lower than standard DSLR camera but definitely usable. Alternatively, you can use iphone with a lifeproof case. Good for diver.
   Drone - Aeriel photography has been a wave recently. Some drone is built in with 2.7k or 4k camera, and some enable you to carry GoPro and DSLR camera up to the sky. The best one would be the one carrying DSLR camera but the price is not exactly cheap. Good for landscape and videography.
   Medium format - Also knowned as film camera. With the advancement of technology, they are not longer popular due to their cranky size. However, some camera company have been producing excellent medium format SLR camera and they can capture picture better than the top DSLR/mirrorless camera on the market. Good for landscape, portrait, product, commercial and studio usage. They can be very pricy hence it is not suitable for beginners. Check out Mamiya Leaf, Hasselblad, Pentax, Contax, Leica etc
   Handphone - Iphone 6 and recent models have been knowned for shooting great photos as a phone. It is light and convenient. However, it is not exactly cheap and you can get yourself a DSLR/mirrorless camera with specs much higher with the same price. Good for general usage.
   GoPro - This mini action camera is suitable for action/extreme sport video and not exactly the best for photography. However, it is tiny, portable and convenient for general images. Good for extreme sports and action video.
   Casio - Casio TR series lifestyle camera with brightening/make-up mode is popular among girls. Good for selfie and portrait. However, it is not suitable for anything else other than that. It is still a convenient selfie camera for the girls but not meant for professional use or serious photography. Good for selfie.
4. Budget - You must know what you wanna shoot, what gear do you need and plan your budget. There are many accesories like tripod, filters, flash, lighting equipments and other add-ons that can cost you a lot later on. First, you need to get a camera with optimum performance at a price that you can afford. You can either buy an entry level APS-C camera, entry level mirrorless camera or second hand camera from other photographers/camera shops. If you can afford it, it is better to buy a new camera with latest technology when the price of the new camera and second hand camera isn’t that much of a difference. New camera has newer technology and performs better. Please do a research on the camera specs and also its release year before you decide whether to go for second hand camera or new one.
5. Future Trend - The future trend of the camera is currently moving towards mirrorless camera. Although all of them have a common weakness of short battery life due to their small size, but they are undoubtedly high performance and the best for street photography and travel photography. It is up to your preference whether you choose a steady built APS-C camera or the new trendy mirrorless camera. Do some research and try some hand-on experiences.
   Another facts, most people with mirrorless camera take photo by looking at the display screen rather than seeing through the viewfinder. Some people also, not all, find the viewfinder a bit uncomfortable with its small size. Try it and experience it yourself. But still, I would recommend mirrorles camera over APS-C camera but that doesn’t mean that you should overlook APS-C camera because they are just as good with their own practical benefits. It is also advisable to consult experts on camera specs comparison if you do not understand much of them. It is very important to buy a camera that is suitable for you so that it functions to your purpose, and your passion in photography won’t falter away because you picked a wrong camera.
   You should by now grasp most of the important facts and information about camera. You should by now know what you are searching for, and can google up some camera models and grab yourself a few camera catalogues from the local camera retail shop. I hope by sharing this article, it helps you understand camera better and you don’t have to start from scratch like I did. As proverb says, sharing is caring