Gear for Beginners
If you’re someone looking to get your first camera, you’re probably asking yourself “What camera should I buy?” Most new photographers will struggle with this question, so if it’s on your mind, just know that you’re not alone. There’s so many options out there, it can easily become overwhelming when you’re looking to get your first camera body and lens. I dealt with this for almost two years before I committed to buying my first pieces of gear.
Before we actually tackle the task of answering the age-old question, there’s two other questions you should ask yourself before committing to your first camera purchase. The first one is, do you want to shoot film or digital? The second, and arguably more important question is, what’s your budget? Speaking only from experience, my suggestion is: don’t buy a camera until you can answer these two questions first.
Usually, figuring out your preference between film and digital is a pretty easy one to answer right off the bat. However, understanding the differences between the two is important. With film, you’ll need to take factors like different film stocks, knowing how to load film properly, unload it properly, and development. With digital, you’ll need to consider things like memory cards, digital storage and editing software. They’re two very different animals, despite them being in the same field.
Once you know which medium you want to commit to, you need to figure out what your budget for spending is. Cameras and lenses are almost always an investment. They’re not cheap, they’re not always easy to replace, and you may not see any financial return from what you purchase. You may be tempted to save up as much as possible to buy top of the line gear, but unless money is no object for you, that isn’t a wise decision.
A lot of beginners will fall into this trap of thinking the more you pay for your gear, the better results you’ll get right from the start. After all, you get what you pay for, right? Well, yes, that might be true, but unless you know how to use the tools you have, what advantage does it put you at? Spending $15,000 on a brand new Leica M11 and accompanying lens as someone who’s never picked up a camera won’t inherently put you ahead of someone who’s been shooting for years, while they’re using a $400 DSLR kit. Knowing how to use your gear is way more crucial to creating good, compelling work, not dropping a down payment on a house for something that’s deemed “high quality.” To prove a point for newbies, take a look at image one and image two here. Can you tell which photo was taken with $350 worth of gear, and which was taken with $2400 worth of gear?
So, to answer the big question of what camera you should spend your money on, simply put, is buy the gear you can afford to replace. Don’t worry too much about the differences between brands. Cameras these days are all capable of great image quality. Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji, they’re all perfectly good systems to use. I started with a Nikon D3400 DSLR Kit, and eventually upgraded to a mirrorless Nikon Z6 a few years later. Even by today’s standards, my current setup could be seen as “outdated” by some. Study photography as a whole with basic beginner gear. At very least, gain a basic understanding of things like composition, the exposure triangle, and how to use your camera. There’s no reason you can’t create magic with cheap gear. Spend your money wisely, put in the time and effort to know the logistics of creating good work, and you’ll be rewarded by your own progress.
