Semi-Professional DSLR for a beginner?

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Semi Pro Dslr

If you can jump straight to medium format (which is above full-frame) then that would be the best. No one can deny you learning photography with a $45,000 dSLR if ever.

Yes, no problem going that high for your first dSLR. IT will make learning easier with more control range and easier control access. Here are a few thoughts though.

You mentioned you wanted to shoot landscapes, wildlife and macro. Landscapes need a wide angle lens, something around 18mm or a bit less. Wildlife is best shot from far away and you will need the exact opposite, a telephoto lens. The more mm, the better. I'm thinking at least 300mm for that. Macro is best shot with a macro lens. I suggest you get somewhere around 50mm. Macro lenses are explicitly marked Macro on the barrel.

70-200mm is telephoto. You won't be able to get landscapes with that. There may be a macro version, from a third party brand even but I'm telling you now, 200mm will never be enough for wildlife.

If you want to go cheap, get the 18-55mm lens. It's cheap. You can use that for most every shooting scenario out there. The only two things it can't do is make very distant subjects seem near (but you can always walk closer) and make small things seem large (you can use extension tubes with this lens for macro).

Semi-pro is a misnomer. It's either you earn money shooting pictures or you don't.

When you talk about skipping the entry level camera it really depends on two factors.

How much are you willing to learn on your own?

Are you likely to push yourself to use the camera to it's fullest potential?

The reason these are the two important questions are because the entry level cameras give you easy to follow functions that can help you understand what a DSLR does and get you started with using it properly. The more you move up in class of camera the less you're going to get in terms of introduction and hand holding as these things are taken for granted by the manufacturer and replaced with more functionality.

Personally - If I could do it again I'd have bought the D7000 outright, but I didn't know how fast I was going to pick up the DSLR camera style and how much I was going to use it when I purchased my D3100 six months prior to upgrading.

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http://photography-course.info/

You can be like the masses of humanity and buy a camera you can afford that has auto this and that for worry free picture taking. And learn through trial and error how to use something like aperture or shutter priority auto modes or even attempt to use the thing on full manual mode.

You seem to know already there is some thinking to using a camera and to take pictures. A good place to start is by reading the owners manual that comes with a camera. Read the information and look at the illustrations with part names and look at the real camera. Handle the camera and take pictures. Let me rephrase that. Take pictures to learn how to use the camera and maybe even to keep some. Don't start with important stuff you cannot photograph over again such as birthdays, a toddlers first steps. That puts picture taking out of the learning phase and puts the pressure and emphasis to taking pictures for real and to keep.

These first pictures are for you to learn how to use your camera. And you have learned how to use your camera when you can take pictures with it and can teach others how to use it. Honest. You can also go to a college in your area and take a beginning photography course. There you will be taught the basics even a pro must learn and do in their work. Camera handling and use, taking exposures with film and/or digital cameras, and maybe even some photo assignments to get some real time learning. In this learning do not take serious pictures you must keep as that detracts from the learning aspect of the class. Do so only if you have mastered the use of your camera before class is over.

It's like growing up in a way. And I am happy you know there is a way to learn how to use a camera and take pictures. It's like learning how to drive I suppose. Someone can teach you or you can get taught at a driving school. Both will get you a drivers liscense. One though will really teach you the fundamentals you can use for the rest of your driving career.

When I bought my first DSLR, I deliberately bought one level up from the entry level. My thinking was that it would give me more to grow into. I've read other places that this is a good strategy for the serious shooter, even if an amateur. I didn't go higher due to budget contstraints. I'm not sure what an amateur gains in the 7D over the 650D. Weather sealing? This tool compares them.

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-EOS-650D-vs-Cano...

This tool compares the specs side by side.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-s...

Get the kit lens that comes with the camera. By the time you grow out of it, you'll know if you need that f/4.0 lens.

Beginners DSLR's are often much lighter and less robust that the semi or Pro cameras. They represent the volume sellers in the manufacturer's range, and are the most aggressively marketed. The durability of DSLR's is not so high as that of the higher spec cameras. Bodies, and often the lens mounts, are often plastic. There can also be issues with back-compatibility, where older lenses cannot be used on these cameras. Beginners DSLR's will often be bundled as a kit at point of sale, usually including one or more popular lenses of (usually) average quality. These cameras are aimed at the educated beginner who wants more creative control, but without excessive cost or specialised features that can be found on semi-pro and pro cameras. The Nikon D40X is a good beginners DSLR. Semi-Pro DSLR's, such as the Nikon D200/300/700 models, offer a wider range of features, such as exposure bracketing, maybe more pixels, and often other things like extra battery packs. They are usually more robust in construction and heavier as a result, even without extra batteries. They offer a vast range of creative flexibility, but can be daunting to use if you are not ready for the learning curve. Some of the newer DSLR's from Canon and, more lately Nikon, now offer full 35mm sized sensors that allow the use of film lenses without the usual penalty of increased magnification (usually between 1.2 and 1.6 times the standard film focal length). This is a bonus for any work that requires wide angle shots and allows a collection of older lenses to be used to their full advantage in terms of field of view at least. Lenses designed for smaller sensor cameras will also work on these cameras in the same way as with the cheaper camera. Pro cameras, such as the Nikon D3 are even more robust and heavier. They usually are extremely well sealed, and are designed for many years of use without loss of precision or any mechanical failure. They may include special dedicated accessories, and a service and training programme. These cameras are best used with premium lenses and can be used in any number of professional applications. It used to be the case that the megapixel count on pro and semi-pro cameras was higher than that of the beginner's models, but this is less so these days. Most ranges of cameras available will have 10MP or more available on most models from beginner's and up. It is the accessories, build strength, sensor size (as oposed to megapixel count) and your own abilities that define how good your photos will be. The advantage of digital photography has been the ability to take many more photos without being consigned to paying for having them all printed, the bad as well as the good.

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