The defacto start-point is an entry model DSLR..... Then you have choice between Nikon, Cannon and 'Other Makes', and chucked into that conundrum, is the 'mirror-less' question, championed by Olympus and the 'Micro-Four-Thirds; aficionados, with MFT and mirrorless cameras now oft offered by incumbent Nikon/Cannon.... but.... starting out in 'enthusiast' photography, the entry level Nikon/Canon offerings DO take some beating, and you have to either be a bit clued up, or prepared to get clued up pretty quick to choose else-where... so THAT is where I would suggest you start.
As has been said, on the technology front, pretty much any 'digital' made in the last five to even ten years, is probably far 'better' than you really 'need' to get going. ~(And since we managed to get going in years before digital? It could be said that ANYTHING will; get you going! Even a 50p 'toy' film camera from a charity shop! But still)
Just for illustration; about five years ago, my daughter elected to take photography at school for O-Level. She's gone on and taken that through A-Level, and into university, so pretty much the full range of amateur to professional, with the highest levels of academic in the middle.
Her enthusiasm, was started, I suppose, because I bought my first 'Digital' camera about 2003-ish, when she was still a pre-school terror... I used 'Serious' film cameras, and the wigi-pact of that era was not particularly 'serious', but dead easy to point-and-press use, I could chuck it at a tear-away toddler to go 'play' with, and stay out of my hair... when I still had some.... and was pigging around with f-stops and focus and everything else, pretty much making a meal of the deal..... mean-while, she progressed through camera-phones when that was the 'must have' play-ground accessory of primary school, to a more sophisticated digi-compact, 'for school trips and holidays and stuff' as she went up to High-School.... A-N-D ultimately elected to take the subject for exams.....
WHERE, for the first year, she was frustrated, at the teacher, in her words NOT teaching her any 'real' photography, because all they seemed to do, was go snap away with their camera-phones, and play with them in photo-shop on the computer..... and I recall a lot of rants about "Health and Safety Audits' and not being allowed to do much more than go look for squirrels in the trees on the school soccer pitch... but still..... her main 'gripe' was that she didn't get to play with 'fancy' cameras like mine.... (that still mostly took FILM! lol) BUT, cutting through a lot of play-ground politics, ACTUALLY, she was learning a LOT of good photography, and top of the lesson list IS that it AINT all about the camera...... and it wasn't until almost her second year of O-Level, that I bought her a 2nd hand, entry Level DSLR, a Nikon D3100, as it happens, mainly so she had compatibility with my batteries and lenses, and that camera has pretty much taken her to university.... that was five years ago, and it weren't brand new even then....
Lesson number one: Before learning to play 'settings' you NEED to learn to LOOK!
Its good photographers that make good photo's NOT more expensive cameras.
A-n-d.. you can do an awful lot with a humble camera-phone, so don't get your expectations up, and don't chuck the baby out with the bath-water, thinking that some-how a more expensive, more dedicated camera will revolutionise your photography. If you hunt around threads on here, or on flikr groups or elsewhere on the web, you will find some stunning photo's people have made with a camera-phone.... you just need the 'eye' to start with, and the small know-how to make the most of it.
Which begs the next bit of lore; WHY do yo think you need a new camera or bit of camera kit.... what does what you have now NOT let you do?..... and again, there's more than a good chance that what you 'think' that the camera wont let you do, ISN'T the camera, but your know how to exploit it and use it and if needed 'make' it do what you want.
Back to good photographers vs expensive cameras, and if not entirely able to dodge 'Gadget Acquisition Syndrome' and falling into the forever trap of always falling for the hype of the latest must have techno-wonder on offer in the shop...... at least being aware of it!
But back to top, and where to start. Already alluded to what I bought daughter, five years ago; a then, I think 3-year old 'entry-level' DSLR from Nikon, which has far more capability than 'enough' to tyake her through the full gamut of academia photography, and from the amateur rankings, towards making a living from it with the 'Pros'!
Main 'features' of the entry level DSLR is that they are first, SLR's, the kind of 'fancy-camera' with interchangeable lenses, my daughter expected to play with when she was 14, BUT, aimed at absolute beginners, they generally have all the automation and easement of more 'sophisticated' and expensive offerings.... BUT which you can 'switch off'.....
I use a Nikon D3200 Digital SLR, which is another 'entry' level camera. I bought that, just a little before Daughter started her O-Levels, and daughter insisting that she 'had' to borrow it for her 'home-work' and finding it in the bath-room surrounded by puddles where she had been bursting balloons full of water in close proximity to its sensitive electronics, I have to admit, WAS not small factor in my decision to buy her her own DSLR.... but still. Six or whatever years on, from 'new' I have little motivation to run out and buy the 'latest' must have 'upgrade' DSLR... that camera pretty much does everything I want it to, and an awful lot I never do......
Which brings me to the "Pro's go Manual" mantra so often bandies about. Yeah, well, my entry level DSLR has completely manual 'settings', I can choose to use, over-riding the automation. I rarely do, though... I did not spend umpety hundreds of quid on an all singing all dancing, automatic electric-picture-maker to turn ALL that 'off'.... and use it like I might my old clock-work Zenit film camera! If I want that sort of 'faff' I may as well slap some film in the old Zenit! Which begs mention of another niggle with the "Go Manual" mantra, in that there is a nice, easily identified 'M' or 'Manual' setting on the dial of the EPM, which begs you do have to manually select your own shutter-speeds and apertures, same as with the old Zenit.... BUT... its only 1/3 the story.... that 'setting' is on the 'exposure mode' dial, and all using it is doing is turn 'off' the coupling between the cameras internal meter and the aperture and shutter speed settings, and leave you to cock-them-up for yourself, rather than letting the programming of a silicon chip more often likely get them 'right' for you.... you are still, most often, relying on the cameras internal exposure meter, and even more often, making settings to 'balance' that meter reading, which at best, probably wont be far off what the electrickery would pick, anyway, an awful lot faster, with a heck of a lot less 'faff'.... and more... its only going 'manual' on the exposure settings! As hintimated, you are not metering manually, and you almost certainly aren't focusing manually.... leaving the Auto-Focus switched on....
However, even 'entry-level' DSLR's will let you do this, and 'over-ride' automation, to use it more like a traditional old film camera, with as much or as little 'manual' user involvement as you want or deem necessary..... and many, unfortunately DO seem to think that this is the major bit of being a photographer, and twiddling buttons and dials... not SEEING pictures, as you want them to be seen.
But, point is, with pretty much ALL the automation and versatility of interchangeable lenses built in to them, entry level DSLR's will let you either, leave all the automation switched 'on' and pretty much use them as a big point-and-press, like a camera-phone... OR turn as much or as little of it off as you like, to play settings....... This is what makes them useful for the beginner.... you can use them either way, or anywhere in the middle.
Onto lenses.
This is the 'big' and obvious difference between a DSLR and a Camera phone or compact. They usually have interchangeable lenses. And I have mentioned the incumbent Nikon and Cannon offerings, because, when it comes to DSLR's, this 'feature' is the one that most often inspires. And, in that 'game' the number of lenses that are available in Nikon or Cannon 'fit', either from Nikon or Canon themselves, or third party lens makers such as Sigma or Tameron, among others, is enormous. Not only is there an enormous number of lenses on offer, holding something like 80% of the market between them, the lenses on offer, not only are more often available, they are often better priced too.;
Hence IF you want to move on from the 'interest' in photography, with a consumer camera-phone, into 'hobby-photography', going with one of the incumbent Canon or Nikon DSLR's, offers pretty much the whole range of what you might want in a camera, but more, there are plenty of them, there are plenty using them, the advice and expertise to 'learn' with one is very very available and 'easy', as well as lenses and other accessories, IF you decide to have a dabble.
Not knocking MFT or Mirrorless.... or 'bridge' cameras, b-u-t..... what the heck... I'm gonna knock'em!
There are, especially second hand, an awful lot of a apparent bargains in the MFT 'world'. And its possible to buy a pretty high end camera, with a bag full of alternative lenses and accessories, for as little as an entry level DSLR.... there's oft good reason for this, and the big one is that there really isn't the range of alternative lenses on offer for them, and what there may be, is probably rather expensive, and the seller of the MFT kit, has probably decided its 'cheaper' to switch system completely to get a lens they really want, than buy it in MFT fit..... IF they do what you want, great, but they are probably making life harder for you in the long-run, as a starting point. Especially when it comes to that know-how on the ecact make and model and situation you would like advice over.
Bridge Cameras? In the show-room, are often sold with a lot of hype, that as an 'all in one' camera with umpety times zoom, built in, its ALL the lenses you might ever want, in your hand, nothing else required..... simply? No! No they are not! They achieve enormous 'equivalent' zoom ranges, normally by dint of a very very small 'micro-sensor' and the enormous amount of 'zoom' they offer, perhaps 20, 30 or even 50x, might seem very very good, b-u-t...... even at a mere 20x 'zoom' the equivalent focal length to a 35mm or full-frame camera, is around 500mm, which is an awful lot, and if you had a full-frame camera, probably not a length of lens many would want. let-alone use very often. Meanwhile, for all the oft unnecessary 'zoom' they offer at the narrow-end, they probably don't go all that 'wide' very often, and most will start 'fairly; high on the scale, at an equivalent 'zoom' to perhaps 25mmm which is pretty much in the 'normal' territory for 35mm/full-frame, where a 27-80mm lens, covering the 'normal' angle lens length of 50mm, on 35mm/FF., is the more usual 'kit' lens that comes with the camera, and equivilent to about the 18-55mm lens that normally comes as standard with most APS-C sensor sized 'entry-level' DSLR's, so while these cameras offer an awful lot of probably unneeded 'telephoto' zoom, they don't offer anything beneath that, on the wide-side, you would more likely want for 'landscape' photography, and you cant change the lens! Some do have a lot of DSLR like automation 'over-rides' and you can often go to manual exposure settings and stuff, but rarely can you manually focus with them, and you are stuck with that all-in-one lens.
SO, the entry-level DSLR's from Nikon/Canon, then are bang on the money for what they are intended. Beginners. They offer all the support by way of know-how and expertise that comes with either brand, plus the major chunk of any alternative lenses you may want to try or accessories you'd use, AND all of them available and affordable... and you'd likely find few niggles with them.
Go, get, go play, go learn... go from there. With that know-how and bit of camera savvy, the quirks of an MFT may suit you, and not be a problem, and you could get a bargain, and could exploit one pretty well. Alternatively, you might want to go 'Dull-Frame' and step up to a bigger sensor camera, and again you'd have the camera savvy, hopefully' you know what you were about, and why that might be a good move and what to expect from it. OR.... you find that you don't get into it all, or don't often get to exploit what you could from an SLR or more sophisticated camera, and a consumer 'bridge' may be as much as you really need or want, and still be conveniently 'more' than a camera-phone.... of you go back to a camera phone!
The entry level DSLR is then, exactly what it says on the box; your "entry" from which you might progress any way your interest develops, as you learn, the camera making that learning pretty much as easy and painless as it may, and opening more doors for you to explore than leaving barriers for you to try climbs.
Off the shelf in Argos of Curry's for under £500, new, and you are away. Searching second hand, you can get started for half that, or less, and start to explore all the options open in 'hobby' photography... IF you have a mind to......
But STILL, its down to YOU and your eye and your know-how, NOT the camera.
FWIW, the camera that has taken most of the 10's of 1000's of photo's I ever have, is an Olympus XA2 'compact'. Not actually my first, which I was given for my 11th birthday many decades ago, I wore that one out! But, lovely little 'compact' film camera, that is point-and-press easy to use, and mostly is used that way. Despite all the 'fancy' cameras cluttering up the shelves, despite how much they may have cost, in years past, THAT little camera (or at least a another, working example!), with a fixed lens, and probably about as much, if that, user twidle-ability, as a camera phone..... IS more often STILL what is in my pocket, and probably more often than the 'phone' which is probably left at home, cos I cant find it, or on charge in the car, 'cos the battery is flat... a-gain....
Like I said, its NOT the camera, its what you do with it, and more, what you KNOW how to do with it. And starting out? Wanting to learn more? Tjem entry level DSLR's can get you going, and take you as far as you might want to go after, and make that journey as easy as it can be, and only as hard as you want to make it!
Choice really comes down to what's in the shop, and which you like more; Nikon or Canon.... go try, play, fiddle, and see which you like best. Personally I prefer the Nikon, it's more intuitive to me to use, with most stuff on a dial like my old film cameras, rather than hidden in an obscure menu that takes twenty button prods to find, like a mobile-phone.... but.... go try, see what you preffer.... but that's the answer... an entry level Nikon or Canon.... new or used.... what's your budget, and how much of it do you want to splurge?
