Choose a camera so that my pictures pass quality control at the alamy

[Dionis]

52 minutes ago, M.Chapman said:

Certainly it will be easier and more fun to learn about photography if you have a camera to experiment with.  If you buy a low cost secondhand camera (e.g. on eBay), if it doesn't work out, you can always sell it again and you won't lose too much money. To find a suitable camera to learn with that is also likely to be OK for Alamy, type "digital camera" into eBay search box. Then down the left hand side I suggest ticking the following boxes

 

Type: Tick Digital SLR

Maximum Resolution: Tick resolutions above 12MP

Optical zoom: Tick up to 3x

Manufacturer: Tick Nikon (for the logical reasons stated by MDM)

Features: Tick Interchangeable lenses

Price: Enter your Max price limit

Buying format: Tick Buy it Now (to avoid auction disappointments and to have your price limit applied correctly)

Location: Suggest selecting your home country only (to avoid extra shipping and customs costs and make it easier to converse with seller if needed)

 

From the results select camera(s) that come with battery(s), charger, memory card and a Nikon lens (something like 18-55mm is typical)

READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION FROM THE BUYER - DOES IT STATE THE CAMERA IS FULLY WORKING!! 

Check they have sold multiple items before (i.e. experienced seller)

Check Sellers Rating and feedback as seller (Don't buy from anyone with less than 99% rating)

Check the seller has included good photos of the items for sale

Check they accept returns

 

If you find some possible cameras, you can post the URLs here for others to check for you.

 

If you do decide to buy, use eBay's payment system and, if needed, converse with the seller via eBay's messaging system (NOT DIRECT EMAIL)

 

Before buying I often send a message with a question to the seller to check they respond sensibly.

 

Good luck

 

Mark

 

Thanks Mark. I realized that I need to do this through Advanced Search. Thanks for advice)

[Dionis]

45 minutes ago, MDM said:

And don't forget to check the shutter count. 

I won't forget)

[Dionis]

46 minutes ago, M.Chapman said:

Looking what's available in UK, this looks OK to me (no doubt MDM will comment)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/355880273485?itmmeta=01J3K294DAC01EVEWQG32KZBB9&hash=item52dc1e064d:g:jmgAAOSwBoFmmPS~&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4GsAy1r%2Fz5%2BrOjbEpaybMoAHQYGD6Jcxfd9EMI%2BbfbGwj6YMNQjLYkr0MeocaaIvVfhj8VwkGD8lLPZSizmpDE5bbpV%2Bv9ZcawUK5uy7tkFGOtIqA4AGfejWvv1okojKwC%2BAylPE3QyeYFL4XEwMODRi7n2Gxc0y0QhrAprTrsyt%2Fsi9ZmVHO%2F9vupAxzTJnI%2B%2FLot57SBOX2%2Bx1dpcPNxmJR0d%2F2irAxG8HvEAvgI99qom3FdJD6AVnRGLVtmS8K94R0Yv9OsX%2BhHAYozzgmgrAJcMl5zQ1%2FhkB74rnZBd3|tkp%3ABFBM4sak4pxk

 

But I have no idea on shipping costs and potential customs duty if you were to buy it, or if the seller will ship to your country.

 

Hopefully you can find similar nearer to home?

 

Mark

It is written here that it may not be delivered to the Republic of Georgia. To clarify, I need to contact the seller. Thanks for the link Mark. I will consider possible options

[Dionis]

30 minutes ago, MDM said:

This one (D3300) is a newer model although I can't remember what the differences are between them. They went up to D3500 before Nikon stopped making them. Shutter count is 7598 if I'm reading that correctly. I don't know about shipping and how much that would cost if the seller even does that overseas. 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235655291305?itmmeta=01J3K6F861SXJMB2PFY21167HR&hash=item36de2661a9:g:E9IAAOSwM-tmll-n&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4I3AT6%2F6VLnUUVg0zpxtHslXntpm4YPlPwYHgjieS%2BF3PHveLbKAx9N9%2BQXa0cBB4I5yS4IbcLIIN1P4%2F7ikr8e1sf43PVT7KbUsvGyaO0CPBJ4PGNrz1Ue6eGy%2BU47U0XKj2eQ8KsgNbm%2FykmfrVlh7lMplou56ftmSfwIPXA33EpVCxjnf35TA781SPZJUxfpdmwxjgOGTEbQCW%2B%2BX4uUMgDXIjSNYlo%2BvmrsssiyrNYUHbjuRk0odYPk0jOs8HacwyfszAbINEiS2kLhlzny%2FKJELFocTW5fdb8DtoQTY|tkp%3ABk9SR4yDveacZA

 

Thanks for the link MDM. I will consider possible options

[John Mitchell]

A good way to learn the basics of photography is to buy an old manual focus camera (any brand) with a 50mm standard lens. Many of us on the this forum used this type of camera for years. I bought my first SLR in 1968. You won't be able to submit your images to Alamy of course. However, you will have a lot of fun and learn about things like aperture, depth of field, exposure, shutter speed, composition, etc. Photography can be very satisfying just for its own sake.

[Michael Ventura]

55 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

A good way to learn the basics of photography is to buy an old manual focus camera (any brand) with a 50mm standard lens. Many of us on the this forum used this type of camera for years. I bought my first SLR in 1968. You won't be able to submit your images to Alamy of course. However, you will have a lot of fun and learn about things like aperture, depth of field, exposure, shutter speed, composition, etc. Photography can be very satisfying just for its own sake.

 

My daughter took three years of photography classes when she was in high school and the first two years, the students had to learn on manual cameras using film, the third year they graduated to digital.  I was so impressed with the curriculum and the teacher.  My daughter had a keen eye and did well in those classes but she decided to pursue a nursing career (smart choice).

[John Mitchell]

3 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

My daughter took three years of photography classes when she was in high school and the first two years, the students had to learn on manual cameras using film, the third year they graduated to digital.  I was so impressed with the curriculum and the teacher.  My daughter had a keen eye and did well in those classes but she decided to pursue a nursing career (smart choice).

 

The high schools here use a similar approach -- film first, digital later. I'm sure your daughter won't regret studying photography. No doubt she inherited the gene from Dad. 😉

 

 

[Steve F]

Showing that we've got a wide range of opinions here on the Forum! Despite spending 10 years with a film SLR camera before digital, I'm not a fan of suggesting it for learning photography. Sounds like my French teacher extolling the virtues of learning Latin first before French.

 

We're trying to save the Original Poster (OP) money; having to develop multiple film rolls, which is also getting harder and harder as those services withdraw, doesn't help with this. Also, with digital, you can see your results immediately and any mistakes that you've made. With film, you'd have to wait days or weeks to see what your images look like. And on digital, you'd start learning digital techniques immediately, which ultimately is what the OP needs.

 

I had suggested reading more before you purchased a camera system, but I agree with an subsequent point that you won't necessarily lose much money if you change system afterwards as you can resell second hand. So I agree with MDM's and other's suggestion to just go and and get a digital camera and lens.

[M.Chapman]

1 hour ago, Steve F said:

Showing that we've got a wide range of opinions here on the Forum! Despite spending 10 years with a film SLR camera before digital, I'm not a fan of suggesting it for learning photography. Sounds like my French teacher extolling the virtues of learning Latin first before French.

 

We're trying to save the Original Poster (OP) money; having to develop multiple film rolls, which is also getting harder and harder as those services withdraw, doesn't help with this. Also, with digital, you can see your results immediately and any mistakes that you've made. With film, you'd have to wait days or weeks to see what your images look like. And on digital, you'd start learning digital techniques immediately, which ultimately is what the OP needs.

Well said.

 

I learnt computer programming using punch cards and punch tape. Submit the program one day, get the results the next day (bug found in line 3... - try again tomorrow!)

No way would I advocate learning to program that way now.

A DSLR camera which shows the true live viewfinder view through the lens with depth of field preview and easy to access control of aperture, shutter speed, ISO and focus would be best.

 

Mark

Edited July 25 by M.Chapman

[Gervais Montacute]

10 hours ago, Dionis said:

I didn’t take pictures with a camera, I only took pictures with my smartphone)

I thought that might be the case. Then I would say, based on the fact that 99percent of information you get on any kind of forum is generally crap, (this is because it's way too varied and almost impossible to be applicable to an individual or on any individuals requirement basis) read up a lot on cameras and watch YouTube videos and get your own personal consensus. 

Otherwise you'll be here forever. 

[M.Chapman]

3 minutes ago, Gervais Montacute said:

Then I would say, based on the fact that 99percent of information you get on any kind of forum is generally crap

I'd like to think the Alamy forum is significantly better than that...

 

Mark

[MDM]

Deleted again. My mother always said "Michael, don't feed the trolls". 

Edited July 25 by MDM

[IanDavidson]

2 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

I'd like to think the Alamy forum is significantly better than that...

I agree with Mark.  Over the last ten years I have learnt a great deal from the Alamy forum; particularly the from the likes of Keith Morris (putting aside the circumstances of his death) and others.  Dare I say it, I think the usefulness of contributions have dropped somewhat over the last year; but only because the number of contributions have dropped significantly.  This is not helped by the same questions being asked time after time.

 

stock photography has as many different genres as there are types of photography. As such no one answer will suit or even be agreed, by all posters.  
 

I have found these forums particularly good on issues of keywording and marketing.  The “business” end of the business.  The understanding that photo editors see captions and keywords first, filtering pictures long before they see the actual photographs is key to a commercial understanding of the stock market.  
 

contributors on these forums are mostly well motivated and knowledgeable; long may it continue. 

[MDM]

15 minutes ago, IanDavidson said:

contributors on these forums are mostly well motivated and knowledgeable; long may it continue. 

 

I still miss David K's presence on the forum. 

[NYCat]

3 hours ago, Gervais Montacute said:

I thought that might be the case. Then I would say, based on the fact that 99percent of information you get on any kind of forum is generally crap, (this is because it's way too varied and almost impossible to be applicable to an individual or on any individuals requirement basis) read up a lot on cameras and watch YouTube videos and get your own personal consensus. 

Otherwise you'll be here forever. 

 

I think the red arrows are unwarranted so gave a green one. I think you explained what you meant by "crap" but people seem to be taking it as a personal insult. I see the Forum as invaluable. I got lots of help about buying my new MacBook Pro and setting it up. My technical knowledge is way behind many Forum members and I appreciate their willingness to give time and energy. Dionis will sort out the useful information.

 

Paulette

[Martin L]

You have to do a lot more work filtering stuff you want watching a YouTube video designed to appeal to the masses than asking specific questions on a forum.

In my view it is certainly more 'applicable to an individuals requirements' and so not 'crap'. 

[MDM]

21 minutes ago, NYCat said:

 

I think the red arrows are unwarranted so gave a green one. I think you explained what you meant by "crap" but people seem to be taking it as a personal insult. I see the Forum as invaluable. I got lots of help about buying my new MacBook Pro and setting it up. My technical knowledge is way behind many Forum members and I appreciate their willingness to give time and energy. Dionis will sort out the useful information.

 

Paulette

 

If we are really going to give this valuable thinking time, I would argue that the original statement is nonsense - meaningless and thoughtless generalisation in my opinion. If you give it a green arrow, it means you agree with it - really?

 

There are many excellent forums where experts in their particular subjects give valuable answers to questions that can be difficult to obtain elsewhere. On good forums, incorrect information (including nonsense) is often quickly corrected (peer review). YouTube on the other hand is completely unregulated and people can say what they like with no comeback. Most people probably just watch the videos and don't read or interact with the comments. In summary, good forums are invaluable internet resources. 

Edited July 25 by MDM

[IKuzmin]

4 minutes ago, MDM said:

There are many excellent forums where experts in their particular subjects give valuable answers

+1

[Ric Holland]

36 minutes ago, NYCat said:

 

I think the red arrows are unwarranted so gave a green one. I think you explained what you meant by "crap" but people seem to be taking it as a personal insult.

Absolutely and the red arrows are out of order. The thread needs to get back on track which started with the OP’s heading ‘Choose a camera so that my pictures pass quality control at the alamy’ - the OP’s text not mine.

Essentially he needs a DSLR with zoom lens at up to $200  which is about £155-160.  In my opinion he’d be better to look on ebay.com (rather than ebay.co.uk) where there are quite a number of DSLRs with lens in that price bracket. He can select ‘Ship to Georgia’ in ‘Ship to’ at the top of the search page and this will filter out non-possibilities.
 

Additionally, he’s interested in learning about cameras and photography and quite rightly is being advised to read up on the subjects while also looking on YouTube for information and advice. Not be told about film cameras and how it used to be with school learning et al.

 

 

Edited July 25 by Ric Holland

[MDM]

9 minutes ago, Ric Holland said:

Absolutely and the red arrows are out of order. The thread needs to get back on track which started with the OP’s heading ‘Choose a camera so that my pictures pass quality control at the alamy’ - the OP’s text not mine.

Essentially he needs a DSLR with zoom lens at up to $200  which is about £155-160.  In my opinion he’d be better to look on ebay.com (rather than ebay.co.uk) where there are quite a number of DSLRs with lens in that price bracket. 
 

Additionally, he’s interested in learning about cameras and photography and quite rightly is being advised to read up on the subjects while also looking on YouTube for information and advice. Not be told about film cameras and how it used to be with school learning et al.

 

 

 

It was mister GM who told Dionis to go away, save more money up to twice his existing budget on top of what he already has and come back later. Really? This is to somebody in a poor country whose financial circumstances we know nothing about but can have an educated guess based on the stated budget. And it ignores the fact that it is possible to get a camera that will do the job within the budget. If you read the thread properly, you would see that is exactly what Mark and I have advised and given links on eBay. 

Edited July 25 by MDM

[NYCat]

21 minutes ago, MDM said:

 

If we are really going to give this valuable thinking time, I would argue that the original statement is nonsense - meaningless and thoughtless generalisation in my opinion. If you give it a green arrow, it means you agree with it - really?

 

 

I suspect you know that what I meant was to counteract the red ones. I prefer people respond in words rather than rude gestures.....even rude words.

 

Paulette

[MDM]

23 minutes ago, NYCat said:

 

I suspect you know that what I meant was to counteract the red ones. I prefer people respond in words rather than rude gestures.....even rude words.

 

Paulette

 

 A green arrow doesn't counteract a red one. This is not an election and there is no real scoring system any more. GIve it a green and it means you agree with it. 

 

I prefer words myself and I did spend time explaining why I think forums can be excellent places to learn. That said, should one really have to spend time counteracting unsupported sweeping statements that are completely meaningless - tabloid headlines of the worst kind in my opinion. 

Edited July 25 by MDM

[Gervais Montacute]

I'm betting this is going to a minimum of 10 pages. 

[Gervais Montacute]

1 hour ago, NYCat said:

 

I think the red arrows are unwarranted so gave a green one. I think you explained what you meant by "crap" but people seem to be taking it as a personal insult. I see the Forum as invaluable. I got lots of help about buying my new MacBook Pro and setting it up. My technical knowledge is way behind many Forum members and I appreciate their willingness to give time and energy. Dionis will sort out the useful information.

 

Paulette

 

Paulette I think with the best will in the world you put far too much faith in people on forums. Most of them haven't got anything better to do. 

[MDM]

Don't feed the trolls Michael.