Hi
I would like to take up photography professionally, taking mostly portraits in a studio situation. I am looking for a camera without too many bells and whistles which would take very good quality pictures. Can anybody help?
many thanks
Alison

Hi
I have the canon 450d, its a well built camera at the entry end of slr with a host of very good features on it which are quite easy to master but to get good quality pictures its the lens that you use that counts

[Deleted by the author on 11 Nov 2009 22:47 GMT]

Go to Jessops and handle the dSLR's that are within your budget (what is your budget!?).

Every brand of dSLR will give you excellent portrait results, the important thing is how they handle in YOUR hands. When handling them ask yourself, is the weight ok, is the size ok, does the grip feel good, are the buttons and dials in the right places, is the menu system easy to navigate.

Since you are doing portraits, you may also need to consider if a vertical grip is available. Since getting a VG, I would not do without one. So be careful about the budget models, as they lack a VG option.

The next thing to consider is, are you using somebody else's studio? Can you borrow their lenses? If so, then it makes sense to get the same brand as them.

The single most important aspect of a dSLR purchase is how it feels in your hands, forget the brand name. Go and hold them.

Hi Canonman
thanks for that, I feel I'm getting an idea now of what I need to do

Hi Fishman
Thanks for the information. I will visit a camera shop and see what feels right. I didn't want to just go to a shop and be sold the camera that the shop gets best commission on. I'm getting some idea now.
thanks again
Alison

Read reviews on line of the cameras within your budget. There is a ton of advice around. Youve started by asking here - continue with using Google. When I upgraded from a Pentax Spotmatic to a Pentax D100 I researched for about 4 hours on the internet before I decided then I bought on Ebay.

Hope this helps.

www.dpreview.com is a good site for camera reviews....
Pentax do a good range of starter DSLRs...great bulid quality and image quality. My advise is to narrow down your options with reviews of cameras in your price range then go and hold the camera to see which one feels right for you. It is hard to buy a bad DSLR these days...most DSLRs are excellent quality

Call a second-hand seller like ffords and take their advice, (ffords have not hesitated to advise me against buying from them if that was the right advice in my interest but not for them) on the correct second-hand camera body and lenses to be as near as possible professional standard. Make sure they consider that anything you may buy must be compatible with any new kit you will want to buy once your ambition becomes a solid business. If you buy well today you will save a load of money when you do upgrade, and have worthwhile stand-by kit.

I know that leads inevitably to Canon or Nikon, (tough call for an Olympus fan...) but my detailed knowledge is woefully inadequate to be safe for you to follow. ffordes will tell you the truth. There are others like them, but I've always stuck to the people I know well.

Ignore any detailed advice from anyone who has never owned professional kit or who has only ever used one brand. Such advice, however well-intentioned, could seriously mislead you. So this is where I stand down...

My Nikon D60 is great as it gives you graphic representation of parameteres such as aperture and shutter speed - this is great when you're learning, and useful as a quick reference. Also it takes lovely photos -really rich colour. I've got the 18-200 VR lens - great for a really wide range of photography. However if you want to get loads of lenses it's not so good, as it works best with Nikon DX lenses. However I'm not complaining, because they're great.

But ignore me, because I'm an amateur photographer, and have only owned Nikon!

@veganflowerchild

An idea of budget for the camera body would help.

Hi Alison, Portraiture is not my speciality, but as said elsewhere a lot depends on budget, style of photography (I know someone who earns a fortune and does not know how to use flash so uses monster floodlights and a lot of motion blur). If I were you I would opt for a Fuji S3 Pro Fujifilm S3 Pro Digital SLR Camera Body Only (12MP) 2 inch LCD these are great for skin tones, has a Nikon AF mount which gives access to a host of lenses including old (cheap) manual focus. Option 2 spend a bundle on full frame gear (used go for Canon Eos 5D), New I would opt for Sony today. I use Canon myself but would have an Olympus tomorrow if they made a full frame, even so when they upgrade the E3 it will be some camera. Trevor

Trevor. Humble apologies, I forgot that point about Fuji. I have friends who put enormous amounts of money into their Nikon kit. Are their lenses that expensive, or are my friends useless at buying? (If you care to be biased, I would like the second answer so I can go poke fun at them...)

I have been waiting since the demise of the OM-4ti for Olympus to knuckle down and sell a no-holds-barred professional range, and it just never seems to really come. I am that much of an Olympus nut that if they did produce a true pro body and a real choice of pro lenses I could talk myself into buying expensive kit I can't justify, but, hey, if fun were serious it wouldn't be fun, would it? MMMMMmmmm, 24 megapixels, full-size sensor, 4 lenses at each focal length, (zooms included), etc, etc,.... Not, I fear, in my lifetime. The investment is beyond them, surely? But I can dream...

I have just bought a Panasonic Lumix G1 and the Photos are Fantastic its classed as a DSLR and the automatic mode is so easy to use cost £485 from Comet

Classing the Lumix G1 a DSLR camera must be in breach of the Trade Descriptions Act, cos it ain't got no reflex thingey. I've not seen it advertised as a DSLR by any "less dumb than eBay" seller for some time now, and the media seem to have grown out of the habit. But I never managed to prevent all the members of a sales team talking about a product using inappropriate terminology, so my rant ends here. By the by, the G1 epitomises the non-professional digital camera. Not enough pixels, mini-sensor, no optical VF, no valid choice of lenses, etc...

Panasonic and Olympus with their Single Lens System cameras will get well-known photographers to write testimonials about using one for a day or as a stand-by item, but the every-day body that will always be in their kit will not be an SLS.

It is very unwise to be over-excited by the first results on an upgrade from one's previous camera. It can lead to innocently misleading comments.

But, Mrs Lorraine, I'm sure the Lumix G1 will bring you years of excellence for the photography you want to get out of it. The Image Quality, in the lower, noise-free, ISO settings, is excellent, and with Panasonic's impressive build quality it should age very gracefully indeed. Which is more than I am doing...

A panasonic G1 is not and never will be a dSLR because it does not have an optical through the lens viewfinder. This is a definition and it cannot be compromised in the same way that a cubic Zirconium is not a Diamond and Cava is not Champagne. There is a whole thread about this. It is only lumped in with real dSLRs by the ignorant because it has interchangable lenses, albeit fairly expensive. However, currently there are relatively few lenses available so it can hardly be described as a system camera. At the thick end of £500 I'm sure you could do better in value for money terms with Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax and Sony; of which Canon and Nikon are probably most popular.

Have a look at the sample pictures in the link below. I wont go into too much detail like the guys above, but this camera is good value, has built in steady shot and is easy to use.

Sony DSLR-A200K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera + Zoom Lens Kit (18-70 mm F3.5-5.6)

Also check out flickr...... http://www.flickr.com/groups/sonya200dslr/pool/

And a great review site..... http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Sony_Alpha_DSLR_A200/

Don't listen to people who might say this is the old versin. It's essentially the same as the newer models and has a bigger grip, which is much nicer to hold than the newer model. I have the A300, which is the same as the A200, except for the tilting screen on the rear. Which I don't use that often (if at all)!!! Whish I had gone for the A200.

Hi,
Firstly, stick to one of the MAJOR manufacturers (basically Canon and Nikon for 'pro work, but with excellent entry level bodies also), and carefully consider the lenses and accessories you might want/require in the future - once you are committed to one brand it can be VERY expensive to start over with another one! Then chose the one that feels best in your hands, as others have said.

One very important point that no one else seems to have mentioned (are any of them pro's?) is that for studio work it is imperative that you get a model that offers you FULL MANUAL CONTROL; auto modes are useless with studio lighting.

JFI - my partner/brother uses Canon gear, I use Nikon (D300s) - we both switched from Olympus when we went from film to digital.

Regards,
Nick (40 odd years exp).

I have 53 years of experience, but I wouldn't call them "odd". Well, not all of them, at least...

I still maintain that the wise approach is to call a reliable second-hand seller, explain the requirements, and put together a bundle. You'll have to wait, but, as things develop you will be so glad you did not try to buy a complete bundle based on consumer products. The situation that will arise if you do will be like quicksand: the more you try to fight your way out of it, the more expensive it will become. It is possible to get decent start-up kit for your project that will continue to serve you even when you have bought your first new professional body and lenses, with no compatibility problems, for little more than an enthusiastic amateur equipment would cost.

It goes without saying that the full manual mode will be included. I can't recall any professional body that does not offer that function.

I hope that you one day decide to buy film equipment for some of your studio work, but that's probably no more than an old man getting all nostalgic. "Sigh!"

@ N. White

Full manual control isn't mentioned because every dSLR has it. It is stating the obvious.

Despite what you might think, you can get pro dSLRs and lenses from more than Canon and Nikon and they all work just fine with Studio equipment. Anybody thinking that the badge on the camera determines the results is clearly biased and hasn't the first clue past the brand that they are using.

Frankly, you are a typical Nikon user.

Hi
Wow everybody, thanks so much for the fab advice. There's loads of information on where to start which is just what I needed.
I will now get to work following up and looking at all the models and variants, and get to a shop and have a look.
Thanks so much
Alison