HELP ME impress my wife with my camera knowledge!

My first disclaimer is I am a complete rookie, noob, or whatever lingo works when it comes to cameras and photography. With this fact in mind, I submit myself to the gurus of TacomaWorld...

I'm looking to buy a nice digital camera for my wife as a xmas present. Ideally she would like something that takes high quality photos mainly outside during our overlanding/camping trips, but also have the capability to be used inside for family events and possibly even some video recording. This will be the nicest camera either of us has owned, and we most likely will buy nicer lenses and such as we learn and improve our skills. I'm looking for a great foundation and something we won't outgrow quickly.

With my limited knowledge, I believe some sort of SLR is what I'm looking for, but here is where I hope someone can help guide me in my search.

Thanks in advance!

 

Here's one I'm looking at:

EOS 7D Mark II EF-S 18-135mm IS STM Lens Kit

 

Canon Rebel is a good place to start and will allow you to grow without spending thousands of $$.

 

The 7D is a very nice camera .. but you could spend a few hundred more on black Friday / cyber Monday and get the 5D MK 3 (should be $1800 shipped for the body). There are a lot of aspects to photography such as composure, lighting, what lens you are using just to name a few but the more you use the camera the more knowledge you should get.

Another cheap alternative is the Nikon D3000 / D3200 with a lens combo. I started on one and took some great shots with it and it's only a few hundred bucks (should be $250ish on cyber Monday).

 

Only thing in that kit that is worth the crap is the camera. You are better off getting a rebel and a couple of nice lenses. The 7D has an automatic setting, but takes not so great pictures. Unless you are really good at setting the camera up manually, go with a rebel. The 7D is also about twice as heavy and the 5D is even more advanced and heavier. WARNING: this will become an expensive hobby really quick.
Really for a really good first "advanced" camera, go with something like the Nikon P610. you won't have to screw with lenses, it has manual settings, and will take great pictures for general use.

 

There's a lot that goes into answering this question which should be prefaced by answering this question: How experienced in photography is she?

 

Oh yea, watch for buying cameras online. Many that look like really good deals are from overseas, so unless you know Japanese, good luck with that. also, many may be refurbished. and the big kicker, Many online sellers are not "authorized sellers", so you have no warranty.

 

In general, there are Canon people and Nikon people. It's tough to argue either one is actually better overall, but people will come up with a preference over different things.

I am a Canon guy, primarily due to the menu structure. I just don't like the way Nikon sets theirs up.

You are generally better off spending money on lenses than spending more on the DSLR itself.

 

Lots of good information here, thanks guys! Like I said we both are 100% rookies at photography. Is the Canon Rebel modular enough where there's a good number of lenses and things that as we progressed in our skills, we'd be able to upgrade and learn further?

 

I gotta add. I have several cameras(from fancy Nikon point-and-shoot, older rebel, to my 7D) and took some photography classes in college. I've probably got $20,000 in camera gear. unless I'm really zooming in on something with a high dollar lens or messing with exposure and lighting, my Iphone takes just as good of pictures.

 

Yes. they have a couple different mounting bases for the canon lenses, the rebel can take both, but the more expensive ones cannot. So it is easier to upgrade to better lenses as you get better with the camera. where on e really benefits from anything more expensive(I wouldn't really say better) than something along the rebel line, is if you are doing a lot of editing on a computer and doing fancy stuff. Most of what you will not be doing for vacation/ outdoor scenery pics.

 

I've been out of the loop for a few years, so someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe virtually any Canon SLR lens from within the past 25 or so years will fit any Canon DSLR camera.

So, you could easily put a $5000 lens on a $300 Canon Rebel. You could even put a lens from an older 35mm Canon (as long as it's not old enough to be a different lens type) on a brand new Canon DSLR.

 

I personally would recommend this camera. I have the 1st version and its the best investment I made. Mark II is even better. It's a semi professional camera, meaning its not a full frame camera. Your picture will will be slightly cropped from what you saw in the view finder. If that's an issue go with Canon 5D. Its a full frame, but you are compensating for a weaker processor until Mark IV comes out for the 5D. I would not buy that kit. Most of the items in there you would not need. Most of it is garbage. You get what you pay for. Compile your own kit. Buy a camera and lens kit. Then slowly update. I bought one of those kit and my bag ripped within a month, flash was garbage and most of the items in there actually can damage the camera versus help it. Camera is a solid build. Check this video out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCT-YMgjm9k main reason why I bough it. I would then later recommend you to go get a vanguard bag, canon speedlite flash and a canon battery grip. Later you can upgrade to a metal lens versus a plastic one, go with the USM (ultra-sonic motor).

Equivalent to Canon 7D is a Nikon D7000. Different sensor, some people say better for night shots.

 

I have a rebel T5i. Compared to 7D is like night and day.

 

^^^This is great and true information here.

My HTC phones (m7,m8,m9) take just as good pictures as the nikon d5200 we have in our possesion. We don't always carry the nikon so cellphone pics are just as good given the setup time. I do use the nikon d5200 for video recording with xlr mics but that will be changing soon to my gopro with xlr mics. Eventually our nikon will become solely pictures and unless we are using it to make money we won't be using it as much as our cellphones and my gopro. OP, I would definitely outline your current and future goals for this endeavor both for financial and practical justification.

 

First and foremost, about 80% of what makes a "great" photo is the composition of the image. It is my believe that any camera can take a "great" image.

As such, a high quality camera will only:

• improve your ability to control the exposure of your image
  • This mostly this defines how "creative" you can get with your images and how versatile your camera will be for varied shooting situations ex: low light, high contrast, etc.
• increase the amount of information in a digital image (by higher megapixel counts and/or larger sensor size)
  • This will mostly govern how much you can crop an image while still retaining image quality and/or how large you can print out an image without noticeable quality loss.
• provide more advanced shooting features that are often only beneficial in a professional shooting environment.
  • If you don't know why you would need a different autofocus point for landscape orientation vs portrait orientation, then you probably don't need that and many other features of higher priced, feature-rich cameras.
• give you the ability to shoot HD video
  • some may not have video, some may only do 720, some may do full 1080. Some are now even doing 4k!

Just some food for thought. As with many things, price/features do not guarantee quality images.

SmartPhones:
With that said, today there are many options for taking high quality photos which you might not realize. For one, the Samsung Galaxy phones take fantastic photos! iPhones do as well however the Galaxy are a little better. And it's multi-purpose and will be always with you. And these days the phone software will even allow you to utilize a manual exposure mode where you control the settings just as you would on an SLR with manual mode.

Point and Shoot:
Then there are some really nice point and shoots which can also take some amazing photos. Canon makes some really nice ones that are compact and have quite a decent zoom length. Some slightly more advanced point and shoots also will have a manual mode.

DSLRs:
DSLRs are definitely an option however they can be a daunting option for some people.

• Most beginner level DSLR kits will come with a lens. This lens will be a great starting point but will at some point leave you wanting more be-it focal length, aperture or overall image quality.
• Lenses are a big part of what makes an image look the way it does. People put too much emphasis on the body and not enough on the lenses. While there are many extremely versatile lenses, there is no one lens that will be perfect for every single situation. So keep in mind you WILL more than likely need to own a couple lenses unless you always only shoot very specific situations. Quality lens prices can range from $500 -$3,000+. Just depends on what you're looking for.
• Which means you will be changing lenses often. For some people, this can become annoying. Hell, it's even preventing me from taking a few shots just because I didn't want to change lenses just for 1 shot.
• Which means your camera sensor will be exposed to potential damage every time you change lenses. This isn't to scare you... and let me preface this statement by stating that I've changed my lenses THOUSANDS of times, and have never ONCE had anything happen to my sensor...I've even changed my lenses in a dust storm at King of the Hammers and no issues. This will be the case for most people. However if you're not mindful of this fact, it increases your likelihood of causing damage. There are proper ways to do a lens change that will minimize any potential threat. What I'm trying to say is that with great power comes great responsibility.
• Your lenses also will require the same level of attention to their care/handling.
• Between brands, as a beginner you won't really notice that much of a difference. I'm a Canon guy mostly because that's what I started investing in with regard to equipment and I can't afford to change platforms (nor do I see a need to). As I mentioned before, ANY camera can take a "great" photo.

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting to add here, but this is my verbal diarrhea...take it for what its' worth.

A great resource for photography knowledge is the free reddit Photoclass. They've been doing them every year since 2010 and I think it is hands down the best place for a beginner to start. The sub is split up into lesson plans, starting with the basics of the camera components through how to understand the shutter/aperture/ISO relationship and how to implement it for different types of looks all the way up to the concepts of composition. Start with Lesson 1 and you won't be sorry. https://www.reddit.com/r/photoclass Also don't be afraid to participate in the online critiquing of each lessons assignment. The community is usually very helpful in supplementing the knowledge provided within the lessons.

 

Canon Rebel 6Ti with this 24-105mm lens and you'll be golden. You can probably get the 6Ti with a cheap lens for less than just the camera itself, then don't use the crappy lens that came with it. You'll need to get some filters and a lens hood
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/...4PQvKXVo5zgM5JXHJ/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/