First, let me make clear that this “best camera for beginners” review was written by a real human… in fact in my case a real human camera TUTOR. What’s more, the following article is taken from material I taught as long as ten years ago, or long before I ever thought about writing this or any other blog post. There are three features on SOME cameras that have become so essential to my photography that if any new camera didn’t have any one of them, I’d refuse to buy it at any price and no matter who manufactured it.
First cameras matter for the same reason that first trees matter when deciding where to plant them around a new home. A tree planted in the wrong place, or a tree with the wrong features, gets harder and harder to move each year that goes by. There are all kinds of beginning camera buyers out there, ranging from “just give me shots that aren’t embarrassing” all the way through “I’m planning to shoot for National Geographic when Joel Sartore retires”. If you’re the first type, then pretty much any camera will do. In fact, save your money and learn to use your cell phone’s camera. But for the rest of you who aspire to create art, a living, or both: Read on.
I’ll confess at the outset that I’m strictly a Canon shooter. That bias makes me not the best choice when looking for a camera reviewer. I do though, know the handful of features that I can’t live without, and those that I never use. That can be way more helpful to camera newbies than knowing how many megapixels one camera has than another. I don’t remember the last time I exported an image that wasn’t cropped, or at very least compressed to death before use. Watch and see: The vast majority of those mega<b>bytes</b> will be deleted.
“Must Have” Feature #1 – Articulated back screens
In my view, the best camera for beginners and pros alike really has to have an articulated view-screen. I’m already tall at six feet four inches, but with my arms straight up I can put the lens well over anybody at most crowded events. That doesn’t work though, if you can’t see what’s in your viewfinder. It’s sort of the same when trying to get upshots at short subjects, like flowers and small pets. I also don’t want to stoop with a crunched neck all day at a product shoot. Articulated screens have to be on any camera I’m shooting: No exceptions. Canon’s t7 Rebel (paid link) is called a best camera for beginners. Stay alert though: The t7 doesn’t have the articulated screen. The t7i does. You’ll likely see both the t7s and the t7i’s on the same page. Also, Amazon’s listings for cameras are great, but tricky to navigate. Keep in mind that you’re seeing new, used, refurbished, bodies only (without lenses), and with and without cases. Be sure your final choice includes a return option, just in case.
“Must Have” Feature #2 – Built-in PopUp, Hot shoe, and LIVE Flash
I will not buy any SLR or mirrorless camera that lacks a basic hot shoe receptacle, and a popup. I’ll add a feature to this: The hot-shoe has to have a built-in feature that allows the camera’s pop-up flash to trigger an off-camera (i.e. “detachable”) flash, AKA a Speedlight (or Speedlite). If you haven’t left yet, then please hear this: I hate pictures taken with popup flash. So does pretty much the whole world. There are two exceptions to that: One is pictures taken in bright sunshine, and the other is my main reason for wanting one. It’s because Canon has a system for triggering an off-camera flash with the popup. That system is called “live flash”, and when used properly, it can be a game changer.
To be clear, This live shooting isn’t a “walkaround” feature. Having a detachable flash can be a walkaround feature – especially during daytime! Yes, if that sounds strange, then you should plan to learn how to use a Speedlight soon. The part about triggering the big flash with the tiny popup probably isn’t a walkaround skill though. Not that is, unless you happen to be on a camera club hike.
“Must Have” Feature #3 – AEB – Automatic Exposure Bracketing
Okay, Exposure Bracketing needs to be explained. After cameras and a few other things, I’m something of a history nut. Back in the day when cannons and artillery were common, they used to aim with a method called “bracketing”. If the target was a mile away, they wouldn’t aim for a mile. Instead they’d “bracket” the target by shooting some shots short, some long, and some at just one mile. The idea was that if they aimed at just one mile and they were off, then all shots would be off. If they mixed them up though, they were pretty sure that some were hitting the target.
Modern cameras work the same way, except that we’re not talking miles, but degrees of exposure. One shot underexposed, one right on, and one overexposed. Editing programs like Photoshop can easily blend all three shots, using the best parts of each shot to get one image that’s correctly exposed in nearly every pixel. The following image demonstrates this blending, except only two shots are used here.
Anyway, some cameras have a feature called AEB built into the custom settings. You can adjust the distances between each shot (in “stops”) So that three or more shots can taken with one press of the shutter release button – each at a different exposure for later blending as described above.
By the way, even if you plan to never learn the skill of blending exposures in an editing program, there’s another great reason for insisting on a camera with AEB: Sometimes cameras make mistakes in getting exposures right in one shot. Shooting in AEB uses three times the storage space on your camera, but it can be great to have “exposure insurance” for those times when the camera misjudges the correct exposure setting.
Buying Tips to Save Money
As I said earlier, I’m a Canon guy. I don’t know how many or which models have all of these, but there are two ways you can find out: Either buy one on Amazon and be sure the listing shows that the model you’re buying allows returns. Good advice for anything you’re buying on Amazon. The other way is to download the pdf version of user manuals for each model you’re considering (they’re usually free from the manufacturer) and try to find it there. I doubt that the camera guy at any store knows anything about AEB, and same for the “LIVE flash” feature (Canon’s name for that popup function).
On that, you’ll also have to buy a speedlight made by the same company as your camera. Save some money though: Used ones are almost always like new, as they’re given as gifts a lot, and most of those end up in a closet somewhere until they end up on an auction site as used. I have three speedlights, all bought used on Ebay and all still like brand new after many years of good use (I never buy cameras that way though: New and NOT refurbished! By the way, every one of the features mentioned in this article are found in Canon’s now ancient 60D. Good luck in your search!
