I’m totally new to photography and want to get my first camera. I’ll mainly be using it for nature photography while hiking and traveling.

My only focus is on photos of the highest possible quality.

My budget is around $600, and I’ll also need essential accessories, but don’t know what I’d need, like a lens?

Not open to refurbished, as I’m buying in Vietnam.

  • everett@lemmy.ml
    4·
    3 days ago

    You’re probably (or maybe not, see edit below) looking for a “mirrorless” camera, which is like a DSLR with a digital viewfinder instead of the traditional optical viewfinder. (IMO, this is an advantage and there’s no reason to go DSLR anymore.) Like a DSLR, the mirrorless camera lenses are also interchangeable, so you can grow the abilities of your camera as you learn more. The low-end options you’ll find for around $600 new will typically come with a short zoom lens, and the overall package will be a nice step up from a smartphone, even if you’re shooting in full-auto mode, but you’ll gain more if you take a little time to learn the partially-manual modes, like shutter/aperture priority.

    There are a handful of mirrorless systems (they differ per camera manufacturer, and some manufacturers make more than one system), and which system you choose will probably take some research/asking in a specialized community. It really does matter which you choose, because lenses are generally not swappable between camera systems, and lens pricing is all over the place. If you know photo enthusiasts in real life, it’s not a bad idea to go with the same one they use, as you might be able to borrow lenses, accessories and knowledge from them.

    Not sure how Vietnam works, but buying used is often a good choice and will get you quite a bit more for your budget if you can buy from a trustworthy marketplace. Starting off with a camera that’s a few generations behind probably isn’t a bad choice at all, as the tech evolves fairly slowly and will save you some money if you realize down the road that you bought into a camera system that doesn’t best suit your needs.

    edit: It might also help to find out what kind of nature photography you envision yourself doing. I read “nature” and thought of wildlife (and assumed that chances are you’ll eventually want a longer zoom), but for all I know you might be thinking something like landscapes, which is typically at the other end of the lens spectrum. If you’re sure that you’ve outgrown your phone, there is another type of camera, basically an advanced point-and-shoot, which feature large-ish image sensors and offer quite a bit of manual control, but no interchangeable lens (just a decent zoom). They’re impressive for how much camera power can fit in your pocket, and you’ll find options around your price range, but these offer very limited, if any, options to grow in the future.

    • SurpriZe@lemm.eeOP
      2·
      3 days ago

      Thanks for the detailed answer. I’d like to take pictures of mostly still life, nothing moving too fast or anything like that. Could you recommend a specific camera you think would be best? I feel like taking pictures with my phone isn’t worthwhile enough as I love to study the details of each photo after I take and the phone’s quality doesn’t allow for that much.

      • everett@lemmy.ml
        1·
        3 days ago

        It would be pretty irresponsible for me to make a suggestion. I chose my camera system well over a decade ago and while it’s served me well, the market is way different today and I haven’t kept up with current choices. (There’s a very real chance I wouldn’t make the same choice if I was starting out in 2025.) I’ve seen posts in !photography@lemmy.ml or !photography@lemmy.world with questions like yours answered by helpful people who are actually up on current stuff, so I’d definitely see what they have to say.

        edit: To expand on this somewhat, if you choose well you’ll likely get a number of years out of your camera “body” (the actual camera itself, not counting the lens) before you feel like you need to upgrade to a new one. At that point you’ll keep all your lenses and choose a new body from the same system, which means it’s still compatible with your collection of lenses. (And while it seems counterintuitive, some lenses can actually cost more than the camera body.) That’s why, although these are things you don’t need to know today, per se, choosing a system that suits your needs and budget matters, and why you want advice from people with broader experience.

          • everett@lemmy.ml
            2·
            2 days ago

            First of all, are you sure you’re buying the camera body by itself? It’s possible that you are, but it sounds like that camera is most commonly sold together with the Canon RF‑s 18‑45mm IS STM, a good lens with an okay range that lets you zoom from “sort of wide” to “sort of long.” It’s a good starter lens, but Ken Rockwell (a trusted camera reviewer) points out a few other common lens options for this camera if you’re looking for more zoom range.

            Buying a camera+lens combo (often called a “kit” in the photo world) will usually save you a little bit, versus buying the two separately.