A handy piece of advice for those of you out there looking to get into photography which might save you thousands.
I know people see some of my shots (or even other photographers shots) at times and say "Wow man I need to get a good camera so I can take some good shots too!" but people never understand, even if you have great gear it doesn't mean your photos are going to come out well. A great camera cannot take care of composition and proper thought of lighting (even if it can help
somewhat fix poor lighting).
So suffice it to say, with little to no photography experience they go out, drop several thousand on a 40D, 5D, 1D, etc (Can you tell I shoot Canon?
) and yet their picture quality is no better than what could be found from a point and shoot - and it's all due to a lack of knowledge in composing the shots.
Take the time to start off simple, spend a couple hundred or so on a nice and simple point and shoot, it's what MANY of us currently using SLR's began with. I know I personally started shooting with a 4 megapixel Sony camera. Even I can remember times thinking "If only I had a nicer camera..." But I'm glad I waited and held out on getting my SLR, because even though the quality of those pictures was horrible, it still taught me a ton about proper composition, metering, ISO levels, etc.
So what does this thread sum up? Begin with a nice cheap camera first, get the SLR later. Over time you will outgrow that point and shoot and be ready for the nicer one. Think of it when you began driving, you didn't go out and buy an F430, you most likely got a piece of shit to learn on.
