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Genuinely, how do you pick a camera when you’re not a beginner or a professional??
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Its difficult to explain my perspective because I know this sub is full of clever people who know what they’re talking about and I am not one of those people. But I’m also not a complete beginner who doesn’t know how to work a camera. I’m studying photography and I know the basics albeit I’m not the best at knowing the correct iso and aperture etc straight away and sometimes just wing it...but I get there eventually.
I’ve written pages of notes of the different types of cameras, the features to consider (although they feel endless), different types of lenses. And yet I’m still at a dead end.
Everyone suggests different cameras and different brands, then when you think you’ve found one there’s people telling you that’s it got problems - but the language is too technical to understand what the downsides actually are. Then you find another sub or website or comment section and there’s just another entire list of different cameras with technical clever people posting their opinions on sensors and lens mounts etc.
What’s the budget? What features do you want? What photography do you want to do? Full frame? Mirrorless? Try getting a new lens? Use the camera you’ve got?....what I don’t want it to make the wrong decision and waste money. I can’t explain it all in text because A) I’m not good at explaining and B) I’m too overwhelmed and confused to explain it.
What camera do I have? - a canon 4000d. Do I like it? No. Do I want to buy another lens for a camera I don’t like? No.
I want a camera that I like using, I can’t try out cameras because I don’t know anyone and there’s no camera shops around here.
I don’t understand camera brands, and everyone has their own opinion so searching about them is pointless. I don’t have an opinion because I’m not someone who particularly wants to try and buy everyone camera brand and dive into the technology of them.
I’ve been looking at Fuji film, why? - honestly I don’t know. I feel like I’m falling into a “tiktok girly” trap where you’re influenced by something you see and I don’t like that (no offence to the people with fujifilm cameras).
I’ve read that they’re good, I’ve read that they’re not good, I’ve read that they great for anyone both hobbyists and professionals, I’ve read that they’re not for professionals, I’ve read that they are great for everyday photography, I’ve read that shooting in raw is bad - and the first thing my photography lecturer taught us was to only shoot in raw and never in jpeg.
I don’t know an endless list of cameras and brands, I don’t know what brands I like, I don’t know what camera would suit me. It seems pointless listing features I “want” because I still won’t be able to pick.
I don’t want something too complicated. I don’t want something too simply so I don’t learn anything or take good photos. I don’t want to spend loads (anything more than 1k freaks me out unless I know it’s the right choice and will last me years). I don’t have a particularly type of photography I do I just want to take it outside or use it for whatever uni projects. I don’t want something heavy and big.
And I’m sorry that this has turned into more of a rant then a nicely worded questions, I don’t mean to sound like a brat but this is the first thing on my to-do list and it’s the only thing that I can think of, and it’s making me go crazy because there never seems to be the right choice or answer. It’s just forever open ended and destined to be the wrong choice. Or alternatively I’m considering not bothering and finishing my final year with my current camera and then giving up because it’ll probably be a hobby that I never really do anything with or get a better at.
I want to take nice photos, learn how to edit them well, maybe even make posters out of them with graphic design stuff. And do I dare say that I actually wanted to learn how to do video? - although this is a whole other obstacle and something I’ll have to hope my future self will do.
Is it meant to be this difficult and annoying?...I’m scared to throw money away
Top Comment: Ok, I will try not to fall into the queztion trap that you want to avoid. But I do have one to ask. "Why do you hate your current camera?". Understanding that will help get you better advice. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a camera/photography group/Meet up by you that you can go to and talk directly with owners of different brands/types. That would be a good place to start. Used cameras are a good option for fitting a budget. Almost any camera in the right hands can take "professional" quality images. The key is to understand how the gear works and how light works and is captured. The reason we ask what kind of things you want to shoot is again to get a better idea of what to recommend to you. For example, if you want to shhot fast action sports, we could recommend Sony vs say Pentax. Does this mean Pentax is a bad camera, no. But it isn't optimal for fast action due to the older autofocus system. But it excels at Landscape and portrait photography among other styles of photography. Uf you said you primarily wanted to shoot macros, I would recommend a camera that has built in focus bracketing vs one that doesn't. Does that mean you can't do macros without built in focus bracketing? No. But it does take more time and effort to fo it manually vs automated. One thing I do recommend, is to shoot raw whenever possible, do raw and jpg to start out until you get comfortable editing/processing raw images. Shooting raw gives you the best chance of rescuing images that have bad exposure, depth of field, etc.. You can edit JPGs, but again you don't have the ability that raw images give you.
Why do people use other camera apps than the Apple camera app?
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Is it so bad that I don’t realise it?
Also mind giving me some recommendations?
Top Comment: Generally, it’s the same reason that people choose to use a DSLR or a film camera. Fine-tuned controls and/or intentionally-constrained creativity are beneficial aids for capturing compelling photographs. ProCamera is an app that I occasionally use, but I still use the native camera app for most purposes because of its instant-on and native quick access shortcuts
How do I plug in a camera and get the software to load?
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I take pictures with Canon cameras. I process pictures with Photoshop. Ever since Windows XP, when I plugged in a camera, DSLR or point and shoot, the appropriate Canon software would load automatically to transfer the images. When I closed that software, the Canon Zoombrowser software would open automatically. Settings in each software provide for that.
Now, searching "Device settings" sends me to something "for developers." "Camera settings" refer specifically to webcams and facial ID. "Devices" sends me to Bing where I can purchase third party software. I found the connected devices window where I can pair software to the camera, but I don't find the option to load it automatically.
I'm looking for device settings where I can specify when I connect photo camera X, software Y loads automatically.
Thank you.
Top Comment: I take pictures with Canon cameras. I process pictures with Photoshop. Ever since Windows XP, when I plugged in a camera, DSLR or point and shoot, the appropriate Canon software would load automatically to transfer the images. When I closed that...