Do i need new equipment????????

[liam80]

Hi all as i'm fairly new to taking photography seriously please be gentle with me???

i've had a canon 350d for some time now but only really used it as a point and shoot and got lucky captures on a few occasions,i feel as if the camera (and it's owner) have a long way to go to unlock it's potential so my question really is....

Many people/mags etc say upgrade the body to say a 450d but surely this won't make me a better photographer? Also could the £400 be better spent on say a macro lens as i'm itching to get upclose and personal next spring!!

So really for peace of mind is it better i stick with the 350d learn the basics,get to know the theory and camera inside out and practice hard or is an upgrade really on the cards???

any advice gratefully recieved............

[Forseti]

[quote=liam80;4927]Hi all as i'm fairly new to taking photography seriously please be gentle with me???


Many people/mags etc say upgrade the body to say a 450d but surely this won't make me a better photographer? No it won't

So really for peace of mind is it better i stick with the 350d learn the basics,get to know the theory and camera inside out and practice hard... Yes
[quote]

I believe you've answered your own question really. Now then, was that gentle enough?

[liam80]

lol! on reflection i did,it just seems every mag/book/and other photographers are full advice tips etc it can sometimes feel like info overload and that's without learning photoshop (greatly helped my tutorial videos i may add) there really is no quick fix i just have to put the hours in which my bank balance will thank me for.

[Forseti]

Originally Posted by liam80

... i just have to put the hours in which my bank balance will thank me for.

Not to mention your bank manager of course. Seriously though, I guess one could say that I'm in the fortunate position of being able to afford anything I like, within reason of course. However, I shall stick with my 40D for quite some time to come yet because despite the pressures of advertising (either by camera manufacturers or magazines etc) I know that I still have an awful lot to learn about getting the best out of this camera.

My advice would be to discover first what is your style/personal interest in photography, practise, practise, practise until you know the limitation of both yourself and your present equipment. Don't be afraid to experiment, after all digital doesn't cost anywhere near what film photography used to cost. Only when you reach the limits of what your equipment is capable of, and understanding why this is, should you consider upgrading - and only then to what you need and not what any advertisers say you need. I can't tell you how many sets of golf clubs my father has got through and still that hole-in-one eludes him.

[wavemachine]

The 350D is a very good camera and there is plenty that can be learnt from it, if you are using it as point and shoot then it is time to start using modes such as Aperture Priority and Shutter priority, get familiar with them and experiment. Also play around with manual that way you will start to understand what the camera is doing and what you can achieve. So basically learn to take control of the camera and play.

The 350D has all the key features and if you upgrade your camera you will end up with new features to learn. It is also worth asking yourself what have the new cameras got over the 350D and whether you will really use them, for me live view as an example has only proved slightly useful on a couple of occasions and I could have managed without it

I owned a 350D and got to the point where I naturally out grew it and had a clear understanding of where I wanted to go, in my case it was a 40D which I am happy with, I would love a 5D mark II but know I cannot afford it not with all the lenses I would need to replace to get the best out of it. The 40D does the job just fine and in most cases so would a 350D.

[chris-p]

I'm a bit late for this thread as it's been answered but basically listen to Forseti - she is wise in the ways of the camera.

[ianpinion]

Originally Posted by liam80

Hi all as i'm fairly new to taking photography seriously please be gentle with me???

i've had a canon 350d for some time now but only really used it as a point and shoot and got lucky captures on a few occasions,i feel as if the camera (and it's owner) have a long way to go to unlock it's potential so my question really is....

Many people/mags etc say upgrade the body to say a 450d but surely this won't make me a better photographer? Also could the £400 be better spent on say a macro lens as i'm itching to get upclose and personal next spring!!

So really for peace of mind is it better i stick with the 350d learn the basics,get to know the theory and camera inside out and practice hard or is an upgrade really on the cards???

any advice gratefully recieved............

Personally, if I was in your position, I would keep your 350D and learn how to use it to it's full potential. Join your local camera club or spend a few days on a course run by a professional photographer to help you improve your skills with the camera. If you have money, save it up until you can afford a lens with real quality as this will show as a far greater benefit to the quality of your photos in the long run than upgrading the body of the camera will ever do.

[minky_monkey]

The only time to upgrade kit for me is when what you already have limits you in some way.

I.E. the 350D has a fairly slow frame per second rate, so can struggle with some fast moving subjects. And in terms of pixels, it won`t allow such close cropping whilst maintaining detail as higher resolution cameras.

I`ve owned a 350D for about four years, I`ve only recently stopped using it as a backup/second body since I`ve now got a 7D thus relegating my 40D to a second body.

It really does depend on what you`re trying to achieve, but a 350D is still a very capable camera.

[liam80]

thanks for all the advice, i looked into joining a photography course at my local college but they wanted £227 up front and wouldn't tell me any content of the course a stock response was "you'll be told all about it on your first week".

Now i except that i'm a begginer but i really don't want to spend my first lesson being told how to hold a camera or being shown a shutter button?

As an alternative i'm working through a book called 'digital photography masterclass by tom ang' which i've found very helpfull as at the end of each chapter an assignment is set,the first being lowlight/nightshots giving me a greater understanding of shutter speeds and apertures.

[minky_monkey]

That`s kinda exactly how I felt when I took a beginners course. The only thing new that I got out of it was to play around in the darkroom, and play with some lighting.

Surely they should have been able to give you a clue about the sylibus? That`s a lot of cash without knowing what you`re signing up to!