I love taking photos but I know nothing about what any of the terms mean...I've been using a Pentax K1000 (which is actually my sisters, which is why I want to buy one of my own), and I feel comfortable with that, but I want to get a camera and zoom lens and have just started looking. I don't know what any of the numbers on the lenses mean or anything, which ones indicate how close you can get, etc... (like what does 28-70 mm mean and 1:3.5-4.5 ??). And what's a telephoto lens, as opposed to a normal zoom lens? I'll probably buy second hand to keep the price down as I probly don't want to go much over $500. I'm kinda in a rush tho - I want the zoom lens for the tennis at the end of November, but after that the main thing I'll be using it for is landscapes, wildlife, flowers etc (I may want to get a macro lens later on..). Any suggestions? Please help!

-- Jodie Hill (jmirandah@hotmail.com), November 09, 2001

Answers

Jodie, You should start by reading a good, basic photography book. It will help you to understand how to buy equipment that suits your needs and your style. Any advice you get on specific equipment selections from other photographers will more reflect their needs and styles than yours. A good book is Basic Photography by Henry Horenstein. It sells for under $20 (or it may be in your local library) and will save you many times that amount by keeping you from buying the wrong equipment for what you want to do. Good luck. Jeff

-- jeff schraeder (jeff@circlesofclarity.com), November 10, 2001.

OK then, Jodie, let's have a go at piecing together an answer. Your question is most welcome here, and we'll give you any help we can, but, as I'm sure you realize, your question allows the scope for an almost infinitely long answer!

Fortunately, I'm quite good at almost infinitely long answers. :-)

From what you've told us so far, I can make a couple of inferences. First, if you want to be serious about taking pictures of landscapes, wildlife and flowers, you will need a Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) camera so that you can change lenses; from wide-angle (dramatic landscapes) to telephoto (birds -- a telephoto lens is one with a long focal length for taking pictures of subjects at a distance) to closeup/macro (flowers and butterflies). For nature photography, the books of the US photographer John Shaw are very good and usually have an introduction to the basics of focal lengths, apertures, depth of field, and shutter speeds.

(Your question about 28-70 mm relates to focal lengths and how big the image is on the film. Your question about 1:3.5-4.5 relates to how big the lens aperture is and how much light can get through.)

Secondly, if your sister has several Pentax/Takumar lenses (say, at least three) then it is probably best for you to buy a Pentax too, so that you can share lenses. (Always assuming, of course, that sibling rivalry permits this!)

To say anything more depends on information from you. Most SLR cameras in the shops nowadays are auto-everything: they set the exposure (shutter speed and aperture) automatically, they focus on the subject automatically, they wind the film on to the next frame automatically, they come with zoom lenses. If you want to take pictures but not have to learn the technical details of photography then they will do you fine. The MZ-5N (ZX-5N in the US) is Pentax's entry in the hobbyist SLR marketplace (competing with the Nikon F80/N80, the Canon EOS 33/Elan 7, and the Minolta Dynax/Maxxum 5).

If, on the other hand, you want to learn the craft of photography, then an auto-everything camera is a mistake. You will learn how to compose better with fixed-focal length lenses (and Pentax makes some cracking fixed-focal-length lenses); you will learn more about depth of field and movement from metering a scene and setting shutter and aperture manually; you will learn more about sharpness from focusing manually.

To the many curmudgeons on this forum (people like -- ummm -- me) this is *the* way to learn photography. And the Pentax K1000 is widely seen as an ideal camera for this purpose (the ME Super would be another good secondhand choice): much more robustly built than to-day's plastic wonders, it lasted a full 20 years in the 35mm marketplace (and was outlived only by my beloved Nikon F3).

But what sort of person are you -- technophobe or curmudgeon? And, when you photograph the tennis, how far away from the action will you be? (What tennis, by the way? Indoor or outdoor? I have no idea where in cyberspace you live. Tennis players here in the UK put away their racquets at the end of September, when Australian tennis players were getting theirs out.) If you could tell us as much as you know about your photographic plans, we can answer your questions in more detail.

Later,

Dr Owl

-- John Owlett (owl@postmaster.co.uk), November 10, 2001.

ok, let's see...I definitely am (or will be in the future or hopefully, anyway) serious about landscape photography, I definitely am going for an SLR camera, something like a Pentax....

I think I want to go with a manual...automatic would be convenient I suppose for things like the tennis (which is outdoors, in Melbourne..well, unless it rains and the roof's put up...Ill be halfway up in centrecourt, so that's not tooo far), but ultimately that's not the main thing I want to use it for (altho that is why I want to buy it now) but I do want to learn about photography, and I don't think I want to be tied down to something that always focusses for me...I'm definitely not a technophobe All I want is a basic, 'good' camera that will last me a while, and a medium-length zoom lens (so the bigger the number means the closer you can get the photo, right? like 105-300mm is a bigger zoom than 28-105 mm. Those are the ones a friend has, so I think I want one nearly as big as te 300 mm)...

I definitely will go and borrow some books...

-- Jodie (jmirandah@hotmail.com), November 10, 2001.

Jodie I have a suggestion on buying a camera and anything else you might need, including starting your own photo library...I have had very good luck buying most of my stuff on EBAY...You can find anything you desire in the way of photo gear...Give it a look you might be surprised..Lots of luck Bob

-- Robert Smith (snuffy@1st.net), November 13, 2001.

Jodie, One of the things you will learn from reading about photography is that it is a constant series of compromises. For instance: the larger focal lengths get you "closer" to the action but they also amplify any camera unsteadiness. The larger focal length needs to be used on a tripod or at a very fast shutter speed. The tripod could limit your flexibility for getting tennis shots but be fine for landscapes. The need for a fast shutter speed means either a lot of light, natural or flash, or a very fast film. The faster films tend to exhibit a graininess in appearance. SOme people like this, others don't.

In my first answer I told you that any specific equipment recommendations you got would reflect the prejudices of the responder more than your specific needs. For example: SLR is not your only choice. A rangefinder camera may be better for you. They focus faster, you can see more than the image area in the view finder so for action such as tennis you can anticipate your shots better, the image doesn't black out when you press the shutter do you have a better idea of what you shot, the shutter fires immediately on some RF models so there is no delay. There is no mirror to cause camera shake on longer focal lengths.

In the photographic world of constant compromise your best equipment is your brain. Read, figure it out for yourself, ask questions but make your decisions based on your own knowledge.

-- jeff schraeder (jeff@circlesofclarity.com), November 14, 2001.

Jodie, this might be worth reading: http://www.photo.net/photo/what-camera-should-I- buy#35mmslr. If you ask me for a personal recommendation, I would suggest the Pentax MZ-7 (ZX-7 in the US). The camera plus a standard zoom lens should be within your price range. And you can share lenses with your sister's K1000 since both cameras have the same lens mount.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), November 14, 2001.

Oops, there's supposed a link to users' review of the MZ-7. Anyway, here it is again: http://www.camerareview.com/templates/reviews.cfm? camera_id=332.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), November 14, 2001.

u should visit http://www.dpreview.com, http://www.procomdirect.com, http://www.imaging-resource.com. These all are best sites for cameras and accessories

-- Sunny (aftab25@hotmail.com), February 20, 2002.