So I'm looking to get into photography

A nikon D70s body and a 50mm 1.8 lens...

don't know how much it will cost but it's gonna be pretty cheap

That package that Mcshit mentioned will cost you around $1000. You can buy packages off ebay and get alot more for the same price. The D70 would be good or the Canon Rebel. They both shoot 3 fps and have around 6.2 MP so that will good to start off with.

or  the D80 kit, or Canon D XTi

So I checked Canons website, all I see is this EOS shit, the 5d, 30, Rebel XT and XTi, I cant seem to find most of the cameras listed, D70 doesnt seem to exist, did I miss something?

www.nikon.com

Don't buy a package off of ebay!!!  They include crappy lenses are usually aren't worth their price.

Nikon.com, good call, always check manufacturers site first. As for ebay, not an option for me, being 16, etc, so just dont go there.

Nikon D50
Nikkor 50mm 1.9
1GB SD card

I've been buying and selling on ebay for years and I'm 16 now. I'm in the same position as you except I've been taking pictures since I was 3. I got my first camera when I was 9 and my first digital camera when I was 11. I want a good camera because I know how to use it and I actually want/need the extra features of a good camera. My canon has served me well for 5 years now and is a very good camera but I want to sell it and get a better one. Its a great starting cam especially if you've never had a digital camera before. Incase you're intrested.

If you really want to learn and do so inexpensively, go buy a manual focus 35mm camera.

By using an old camera (1970s - 1980s) you don't have any of the automatic features that can take away from the actual learning process.

By buying a manual focus, manual exposure camera you're forced to know how to properly expose a scene, as well as how to focus properly. With a digital SLR camera, you can take a photo that may be underexposed, overexposed, whatever, and you can just open it in Photoshop and try to correct it. With shooting 35mm film every shot costs you money and, unless you've got a darkroom, it will be your final shot (though some photo labs may correct these problems for you, but ask them not to) so it teaches you to really think about the photo opportunity at hand and how to best capture it.

The best thing is, they're so inexpensive and there's still huge potential in them. I know people that shoot with an old manual focus camera and take pretty good photos. Take a look at any photos taken from the 1970s-1980s and even in the early 90s. If you look at old National Geographic magazines the majority of photos where taken with a 35mm SLR. It's not the same in fashion/advertising because they were shooting medium and large format film for that, but for things like travel photos, photojournalism, wildlife, etc. 35mm SLRs with no automatic controls were used.

The best part is, after you've shot for a while and understand everything and find that you want to upgrade, you then know what you need in a camera and can make a better purchase decision. It doesn't cost you much to get started, so while you're shooting you can save up money for when you do decide to upgrae to a better setup. A 35mm SLR body and lens may cost you $50 from a pawn shop, and cheap film to get you started it also cheap.

Of course, you can always drop the $1,000 up front and buy a DSLR, it's all up to you, but typically people who start from the basics learn the technique better and end up better photographers.



As for learning, go to the library and take out some books. Also, www.photo.net is a good site for learning.

shyit nig, this^ guy knows WHATUP!!!!

steve has it right, learn to use a camera the old fashion way, no "easy way" function, just manual controls. Then when you go to a digital slr, you know what you need, what you want, and best of all, how to use it. I shot with a early 70's 35mm SLR for 2 years then picked up a Rebel XT, which i would recommend.

hell yes,.. if your actually wanting to learn the techniques dont go for a DSLR because u cant just "cheat"
ofcorse you can just go for that and actually try to keep a correct exposure,. it wont cost so much for the film and processing in the long run... but it is open to alot of cheating and you probably wont end up learning anything,.. unless your really into that and wanna try super hard to gain some knowledge..
just remember,.. the quicker(shorter) the shutter speed, the smaller the apature,.. and viceversa
think of the aperature as your pupil,... and the film as your skin wen your tanning,... the more light being exposed,.. the shorter you need to be in the sun to get the same effect as being in the sun along time with little light being exposed to yourskin/
i dont know if i made much sence,...
theres things known as equivalent exposures..
1/30sec. @ F 8.0   is the same as
1/200sec. @ F2.7


the bigger the apature,.. the less light gets through,.. requireing a longer exposure.
the smaller the apature,.. the more light gets through,.. requireing a shorter(quicker) shutter speed..
hope i helped a tad,..
but yea,.. you can learn these things on a digital cam..
i personally could only afford a Canon Powershot S3 IS with a wide angle extention.
it can serve as a point an shoot an also has manual settings letting you learn things,.. also a mass amount of special functions and can shoot 5fps
and it ran around a grand
it has manual focus settings, aswell as being able to shoot video at 30fps

goodluck with your choice..
steve really knows his stuff aswell so dont take his comment in vein

I dont really need any of this proper learning process bullshit, I just need a digital camera that will allow me to take a decent picture of a skier within a couple of weeks while not holding me back in the long run. Cheating means jack shit to me cause its not like I'm going to be doing this for a living, I just want some decent shots. It does need to be digital simply because I have better things to do than scan every single print to get em up on the www.

^ d50 is a good camera to start out.

i got the d50, 35-70mm, 70-300mm, 1gb card, bag, and 2 sky light filters for $1000.

works great for me and i like it

Panasonic make a good manuel camera thats only like 350

then dont call your thread "so im looking to get into photography" and u wont get help
pansy, dont get pissy wen ppl try and help u out and give u some tips

if you're just looking to get good skiing shots you don't need a DSLR. Just get a powershot or cybershot, or whatever suits you needs. you can get plenty good pictures with a P&S, and you don't need to learn to expose shots. Or if you're feeling rich and really want a DSLR, I'd say Canon XTi with 50 mm f/1.8 II

Those were my thoughts, thats why I offered to sell my old camera.

photog is a class at my school.i d recomd starting in some sort of class and reaching further into the well of photog

that's not a bad way to get into it too. you get a DSLR and learn quickly, but buying used saves a lot of cash. That's why I've bought all my lenses used. (Except 50mm, cause it was only 60 new)

no camera is going to give you good images unless you know the basics of photography. cameras dont take good pictures, photographers do.

Very true!

hahah im using a pentax k1000 that my mom had lying around since the 80's

First off, bump, secondly, its not just for skiing, and lastly, if my parents think dropping that much money on a dslr would be a good thing to do for xmas, who am I to turn that down?

I've taken decent shots of skiing with the little digital camera built in to my little video camera, and will continue to do so, but I want allout photgraphy, I have some sick stuff to take pictures of.

All taken with the canon