Photography basics
There are rules. Learn them and them ignore them to stand on the shoulders and giants. Ignore them and you will remain at their feet.
Kit does help in photography
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Any camera is better than no camera.
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Beginner? Who cares about sensor size?
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DSLR: You cannot see the effect of settings on the live image. But DSLR can be cheap. Quality can be as great as you want. Upgrading from DSLR to mirrorless (below), keep your lenses and buy an adaptor
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Mirrorless: You can see in real-time the effect the settings will have on your picture. Excellent to learn. Easier to carry. Use older lenses if you have them
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Zoom lenses: Unless you are ready to spend the price of a small car on a lens, zoom lenses are designed for those who cannot be bothered to walk and who are ready to settle for poor quality. There are exceptions of course but here, research is key (I can only think of one option)
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Prime lens: A pain. You will need a 28 mm or thereabout, a 50 mm and a 90mm. Pain to change over but the quality is up there, even for cheap lenses
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Camera settings
Automatic: Takes pictures automatically. Always worse than using the camera on your phone. Why bother?
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Aperture: Aperture refers to the opening in the lens that allows light to enter the camera. It is measured in f-stops, and the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture. A larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) allows more light to enter the camera and creates a shallower depth of field. A smaller aperture (larger f-stop number) allows less light to enter the camera and creates a deeper depth of field.
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Shutter Speed: Shutter speed refers to the length of time the camera's shutter remains open, allowing light to enter the camera. It is measured in seconds or fractions of seconds. A faster shutter speed (e.g. 1/500th of a second) allows less light to enter the camera and freezes motion, while a slower shutter speed (e.g. 1/10th of a second) allows more light to enter the camera and can create motion blur.
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ISO: ISO refers to the camera's sensitivity to light. A higher ISO setting makes the camera more sensitive to light, allowing for faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures in low light conditions. However, higher ISO settings also introduce more digital noise or grain to the image, which can reduce image quality. A lower ISO setting is less sensitive to light and produces less digital noise, but requires more light or longer exposure times to produce a properly exposed image.