GCSE photography - suitable equipment?
Discussion
telford_mike said:
A friend's daughter has chosen photography for one of her GCSEs. They don’t have much money, and I have an old Canon 500D with the kit lens and a Canon 55/250 zoom (I think). I'm quite happy to give them this stuff. Will this equipment be any good for a GCSE course?
Yep. The school should be able to provide some of the peripherals.At this level it will be about composition, lighting, etc. So any camera with manual settings will be suitable.
When I did it at university, we had to put away our digital cameras, and buy a cheap 35mm film SLR, understanding light, and exposure etc - this was only in 2007/8
Any digital camera from the past 15 years will be suitable, so your 500d is fine, and grab a cheap 50mm lens also, great combo to learn with - limited zoom means increased thought on composition (zoom with your feet)
Any digital camera from the past 15 years will be suitable, so your 500d is fine, and grab a cheap 50mm lens also, great combo to learn with - limited zoom means increased thought on composition (zoom with your feet)
Edited by DailyHack on Tuesday 7th September 10:14
DailyHack said:
and grab a cheap 50mm lens also, great combo to learn with - limited zoom means increased thought on composition (zoom with your feet)
I have a friend who loves her photography, she was about to pull the trigger on a 70-300mm for her DSLR because she wanted more creative options, I suggested a 50mm 1.8 (at less than a third of the cost). Trying to explain the logic was not easy, but a few weeks in she is absolutely thrilled and the quality of her photography has already taken a massive leap forward.Don't get caught out by anyone saying you need loads of megapixels, it's slows your computer down, and you need more storage.
I started with a Nikon D70, just 6 megapixels and was selling A1 size prints to GT teams.
It's you ability to get as much right in camera and not relying on post processing.
Working with a 35mm SLR cameras teaches you so much about getting it right in camera.
Good luck!
I started with a Nikon D70, just 6 megapixels and was selling A1 size prints to GT teams.
It's you ability to get as much right in camera and not relying on post processing.
Working with a 35mm SLR cameras teaches you so much about getting it right in camera.
Good luck!
sherman said:
As long as it stores the pics as a jpeg when taking pics the camera will be fine.
Even better, the 500D does RAW output so there's a wide range of things attainable out of the camera as well, which may be useful.As for the cheap 50mm suggestion, yes! Though with the sensor in the 500D the "equivalent" is around 35mm, but 50mm on an APS-C sensor is still nice, and the extra thought that goes into shooting a photo can pay dividends. And of course the big thing is the speed/low light performance and bokeh, which are nice to experiment with.
wst said:
sherman said:
As long as it stores the pics as a jpeg when taking pics the camera will be fine.
Even better, the 500D does RAW output so there's a wide range of things attainable out of the camera as well, which may be useful.As for the cheap 50mm suggestion, yes! Though with the sensor in the 500D the "equivalent" is around 35mm, but 50mm on an APS-C sensor is still nice, and the extra thought that goes into shooting a photo can pay dividends. And of course the big thing is the speed/low light performance and bokeh, which are nice to experiment with.
Just give her the 500D and see how she gets on.
Until she knows what sort of stuff they are going to teach, you could just be wasting money.
Film may never be mentioned, it may even be taught on a phone.
It is unlikely to be very high level and possibly solely focussed on fashion.
Cross your fingers for it being an actually useful course, rather than stuck in the 80s.
It wont be anything not found on youtube.
Until she knows what sort of stuff they are going to teach, you could just be wasting money.
Film may never be mentioned, it may even be taught on a phone.
It is unlikely to be very high level and possibly solely focussed on fashion.
Cross your fingers for it being an actually useful course, rather than stuck in the 80s.
It wont be anything not found on youtube.
I would say the Canon 500D is more than capable for starters. When I am out walking, I still take my SonyA700 with a 28-80 Minolta lens and it still delivers. I always shoot RAW because it delivers cleaner results and teaches people more about editing.
My working cameras are Canon 6D and 7D.
A couple of additions which I find really interesting are extension tubes and manual focus 50mm lens (I love the Pentax Takumar lenses for their quality) with a Canon to M42 screw thread adaptor. This enables you to experience low cost, high quality macro photography.
I know the Canon 500D has a popup flash, but a secondhand dedicated flash would make a huge difference.
My working cameras are Canon 6D and 7D.
A couple of additions which I find really interesting are extension tubes and manual focus 50mm lens (I love the Pentax Takumar lenses for their quality) with a Canon to M42 screw thread adaptor. This enables you to experience low cost, high quality macro photography.
I know the Canon 500D has a popup flash, but a secondhand dedicated flash would make a huge difference.
It was a few years ago but for my GCSE photography we had to shoot 35mm film for the first year. I highly recomend learning on film as you learn a lot more about control and when you only have 36 shots on a roll it teaches you to be more selective and critical with your compositions. I would look for a fully manual 35mm SLR with a 50mm lens. Pentax k1000 is a popular choice with students but camera brand isn't important, anything will do.
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