Part THREE: Working For Yourself

Camera? Wait... What Camera

OK, you've been shooting with your phone, but, now, you see some limitations... you want to do long exposure, or macro, or, zoom or super wide, or.... You need a newer, better camera. A real camera (let the shit talkin' begin!)

There are a half dozen or so brands out there. For DSLR's, Canon, Nikon are probably two of the most well known brands.
For MicroThirds, there's the Sony A series, and to some extent, there's Olympus and Pentax, and well, a few others...

BEFORE you fixate on which brand is better, the short answer is, BOTH and NEITHER
The camera is a tool. It's no different than a pencil to a writer, or a knife to a butcher.
The skill comes from the Photographer (or author, or butcher, as the case me be!)

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In both Canon and Nikon, there's a model at each price point: Entry, Mid level, and Professional.
Within each, there's a range of a few hundred, to a few thousand; A decent DSLR costs somewhere between $400 and $12,000. However, if you're trying to narrow down a choice, and you're following this series, I'm going to go WAAAYyyyyyy out on my Steemit-assed limb and guess, you're rather new, and NOT spending $12,000 for a DSLR without having owned a camera before.

...and... I'm going to make a radical suggestion and say, it doesn't matter which brand, as each has similar features. Meaning the entry level $400 camera of Nikon matches the features of Canon, and the mid level $1000 Canon matches the Nikon, etc.

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The first step is, do you want to start at Cropped Sensor (In Nikon Speak that means DX), or go Full Sensor (Nikon speak: FX), and the answer is, how much do you want spend? Cropped sensors are about 3/4 the size of full frame sensors. the main difference is the larger the image sensor, the finer the details your camera can capture.

As a Nikon guy, I can't speak to each model of Canon (though I've shot them), I can say, an mid entry level DX model (Crop sensor) like the Nikon d7500 is a perfect camera (it's Feb 2018). It's $1200, with a basic kit lens. There's cheaper Nikons, at say, $400, but, SPLURGE something nice. You're worth it. As to why I'm a Nikon guy: Friends nearby have Nikons and I can borrow from them, if I get in a bind. Pick a brand first on reliability, next on how it works for you. But part of that may include, what is around me for help, advice or bits and pieces of kit, I may need to play with?

Almost every decent camera body sold today can do more than the VAST Majority of photographers are going to ask it to do. And the real hidden truth is, it is NOT about the camera body

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GLASS
It's ALL about the lens.

Most any Canon lens will fit almost any Canon body, same with Nikon to Nikon, but the real question is, will the features of the lens ALL work on any body. Some camera lenses have motors inside and they won't work with all bodies. BUT, good news: Both Nikon and Canon have lists on their website of which lens works with which body. As do most third party lens manufacturers, too.

I personally use some Sigma lenses, (super tele) and some Tokina (wicked superwide) and I checked before buying to see compatibility with my camera body.

Any Full Frame FX lens will work on a crop sensor. But Crop Sensor DX lenses will have problems on FX. I know this means, when you move to full frame, you'll need to start replacing lenses, but, the reality is, that's a long ways away.

I love my Nikon d7xxx series camera. In wildlife, a crop sensor camera gets you a bit more reach. So, on the fancy expensive Full Frame, a 300 mm nets you essentially 300mm of zoom. With the crop sensor, you get about 1.5x the reach, meaning a 300mm is the same as a 450mm on a full frame. You'll get less image around the subject, etc, but it doesn't matter when you compose the bird or buffalo, etc, in your viewfinder.

Right now, Camera bodies have SO many more features and capabilities than say, the old camera's that were around 50 years ago. AND, it's never about the camera... it's about the shooter. (An even deeper hidden reality than being all about the lens!!!)

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Try this: A local camera shop, or Borrowlenses.com will let you rent for a week, and try it all out. For starters, try walking in somewhere, and playing with a few, to find out what feels right to you, in your hands. Can you reach all the buttons without pulling your camera from your eye? Is it too heavy? Does it feel sturdy?

The mid-level Nikon d7500's got the capability for most every project, and more.

Your main goal, once you buy the camera is to find out what you don't know.
Trust me, this is humbling, as it actually never stops. You think you know what you're doing and yet, you don't. You know enough, but there's always more to learn.

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For what my free advice is worth, get a kit lens. Some basic 18-55mm. Learn to see images. Learn to make them happen. For now, get the camera, and get used to it. Take the time to get familiar with the location of buttons, etc., for actions. get used to setting your mind at ease, and SEEING what you want to make an image of.

Don't get bogged down in the Geeky Camera Stuff (as I put on many of my posts).

Mostly, get a camera (again, I recommend the Nikon d7500) and start taking photos.
Start on all Auto, let the camera do the work. With you concentrating on focus, and composition.
Then, go manual on ONE thing... like Exposure Setting. Understand what it is, and how to use it... for different effects on your image. Then go manual on Aperture and the camera does all the other settings.
Then go ALL Manual.

Then retire on your photography income.

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Once you are confident with the camera, next, go with adding one more lens: maybe a Macro, or a 18-270mm lens, to give you a walk around lens and learn that. Then try superwide 11-17mm.

No matter WHAT LENS you buy, buy a UV filter for the lens. For on main reason: The UV filter is a few dollars, maybe $20 or so. AND the lens itself is somewhere between $100 and $1000 or more. The END of your lens will get scratched. Unless it's always on your tripod, in your house with the lens cap on, it will at some point be exposed and GET scratched.

Turns out... it's cheaper to replace a $20 UV filter than a $1000 scratched lens.

Up next:

You're just scratching the surface with a camera. (wait... you did buy that UV filter right?)
Filters, tripods, bags, flashes, etc, etc... Fuck... this is getting expensive

... not matter what you decide, before you spend any money, write a long Dear John letter to family and friends, as your new love awaits

Part 4 WORK for yourself: More Stuff? More Money!
Part 2 WORK For Yourself: Wait? You Charge HOW Much?
Part 1 WORK for Yourself: How Much Can I Make?