Is it necessary to start learning photography with a DSLR?

[2evans]

DSLR gives you more control over what you capture. But starting with a PNS can really help you learn about composition and it's composition that makes a photograph. :sweat:

 

[MrKami]

Dont worry if your a P&S cam or a dslr who knows? Maybe a compact may win a dslr in photography ^^!

 

[LBL2009]

DSLR gives you more control over what you capture. But starting with a PNS can really help you learn about composition and it's composition that makes a photograph. :sweat:

:nono: You learn composition with any camera.

 

[zaren]

no need to start with a DSLR. a point and shoot is fine, and you can carry it everywhere!

 

[KCYong]

like me
if u really love photography
phone camera is also a camera
my fren also say some of the photos not bad

can see me always snap here snap there with h.p haha
i dont wish to lose some valuable scenes
so it's jus "photography" at that time
my hobby that i love


so jus point-and-shoot 1st ^^ (as u r in sudden interested)
u will know the answer ^^

 

[redstone]

A better car won't make an accident prone driver less accident prone.

 

[leews2001]

1) No need DSLR
2) In fact, no need camera. use your fingers to frame the scenes that you suppose to capture. practice until you know what and why is a good capture.

you can spend those saved dollars on movies with cinematography that you like. observe the pictures repetitively.

or you can spend those saved dollars on photograph collection (not photography) books to study.

The tool/camera can wait until there is a intense desire to capture an image that you know exactly.

quoting Kafka, "we photograph things in order to drive them out of our minds..."

 

[night86mare]

Haha.. but u have to learn to drive b4 racing.. no one learns driving using F1 cars right?

you can, actually.

no one said you had to go at maximum speed or apply the same touch on the accelerators like the drivers do when racing.

i think the question is not WHAT you need to learn photography, it's HOW MUCH you want to learn photography.

 

[nysheng]

use a prosumer to learn the basics of photography before moving on...allows u more chances to shoot as it's more portable and smaller than dslr..
not easy to bring ur dslr everywhere with u..can get bulky..

 

[gimumancer]

the best way to learn is GRADUAL..
just like primary school-secondary-college..
for photography:
point and shoot (just point and shoot, dont mind settings) - entry level DSLR (mind a few settings, set most to auto) - semi pro DSLR (mind most settings, set few things auto) - PRO DSLR (mind EVERY settings, full total control)..but of course there are people who knows their own learning curves and go straight to advance categories confident they can take it but then there are some who needs to learn gradually but has the mentality of "more expensive means better" ended up buying PRO cams as their first dslr and get frustrated because they didn't know the pros and cons between full frames and cropped sensors

 

[photoart]

an entry level DSLR is not expensive nowadays.

it's a chicken and egg thing...

if you don't have the right equipment then you can't get the right results

if you can't get the right results, you would want to continue

 

[ianhyk]

the most important thing is to put your heart and soul into your photography, cos if you do that, then your photos will be :thumbsup: no matter the equipment.

In fact, if you have a decent camera phone with auto-focus, why not start with that? and pick up a couple of books to get inspired.

 

[Nikonnew]

Well, I'm trying to pick up photography.
Because it might be a sudden interest, so I dun not want to just invest few hundred dollars to get a DSLR and then end up wasting the money.
So.. yeah.
Is it necessary to start photography with a decent camera?
Can I do it just with a normal digital camera?
And maybe do some kind of editing through photoshop?

Leave me some comments, thanks!

Contradicting to what most people think, I feel a newbie cam should be a MArk II, a D3X or a E3, the reason is very simple, it has all the technology, the speed and the sensor to match it. that is to say, as a newbie, you will get all the help you need.

But we all have limited resources, most of the time money. So you just go down the list and stop at the one that you could afford.

And in another words , point and shoot should be the last thing you get if you want to learn about photography.

Yes, i could almost see a lot of people grinning and think how uninformed and stupid I sound. I could also hear people saying, "in the hands of a professional, he can yield better rresults with a PnS then A Mark II in the hands if a newbie." Correct, i agree, but in the hands of a "professional", that's the point.

So if you are really serious, try to get all the help you could from technology, if you are still not sure , then get a second hand DSLR, and unlike what most people will tell you, you could actually,...legally, technically and morally, use a DSLR as a point ad shoot if your interest do dwindle in the end.



cheers

 

[two200]

Before getting that DSLR to learn photography, ask yourself, what is it that a DSLR can do and a high end PNS (with manual mode) cannot do?

Of course the ability of the high-end PNS is slight inferior compared to DSLR but in the right conditions there is basically none that the DSLR can do and the high-end PNS cannot do.

However, no matter whether DSLR or PNS, the composition is all important. You may have a brilliant idea of how the photo should turned out but then the end result may be very different, hence my signature: Idea got, execution not! You just need to develop that photographic eye.

So to me the answer is NO!

 

[incubus]

u dont need a camera at all, wat u need is the passion and drive.
having the said camera just helps u put to practice what uve learned in theory.

before i even had enuff money to get my first dslr, i downloaded the pdf manual, learned abt the camera, the lingo.
and then, i went out to the library for photography books, same concept, learn the lingo, study abt composition and the likes.

learning photography is just that learning. Although having a dslr or any photographic device is good to have while learning (especially digital). its not really essential if u have the passion and drive.

 

[Burnings]

I would agree you dun need a camera to learn photography but... when U do want to start taking pictures, go for the max that your budget allows. It just make things easier.

 

[kiwitan]

Well, I'm trying to pick up photography.
Because it might be a sudden interest, so I dun not want to just invest few hundred dollars to get a DSLR and then end up wasting the money.
So.. yeah.
Is it necessary to start photography with a decent camera?
Can I do it just with a normal digital camera?
And maybe do some kind of editing through photoshop?

Leave me some comments, thanks!

unless u r borned with a silver spade in your mouth, u do not need to spend a lot of money to buy a DSLR. Even a digicam can use to teach you the basic of photograph

 

[kfchrispy]

Just get a compact with manual controls like the panasonic LZ8.
Last heard it was going for like 200 bucks.
In the event you give up shooting after a while, won't heart pain compared to if you've gotten a D3x

 

[Freewolf]

What I would say would be that you should practice shooting on a compact camera first, anyone will do so long it is a pretty decent compact camera.

When you finally realise the limitations of your compact camera(by this time, you should have hone your photography skills pretty well), then you should switch to using a DSLR.

 

[horizon_grazer]

Good to have but not necessary