Best beginner DSLR camera

[Chibal]

Hello, I am looking into starting some photography and just want a solid camera to take on hikes, vacations, outdoors, etc.  I was looking at the Nikon  but I do not know much about cameras and I don't know which brands are superior to others. I want good quality that is pretty simple to use and I do not need feature crazy because I will most likely be on auto most of the time.

Thanks for any and all responses!

 

Update: I have been hesitating these days, and today I decided to choose the Nikon digital SLR camera series. This article introduces several cameras. Which one do you recommend me?

Edited December 14, 2018 by Chibal

[Ekona]

Essentially just buy a Nikon or Canon in your price range and you won’t go far wrong. I prefer Nikon as their UI and button placement suits me more, but there’s nothing wrong with Canon. It’s like Android vs iOS, there’s no right or wrong answer. 

 

Lenses are probably more important, a decent 18-105mm lens will get you to most things, but you might want a 10mm prime or a 300mm telephoto one for specific stuff too. 

 

Arguably if all you’re doing is point and click on auto you could just get a point and click camera, or use your phone, but that’s no fun and doesn’t give you the same fiddling factor  I bought a D90 about 9 years ago now, and a 100-300 lens to go with the 18-105 kit lens that came with it for motorsport stuff. That’s pretty much all I’ve ever needed, except for the odd time I could’ve done with a wider view lens. 

[brillomaster]

My wife bought a canon 100d a couple of years ago, mainly cos for a dslr, its really rather small! Standard 18-55mm lens is a great starter, but she also got a 10-14mm wide angle, and a 50mm prime which is great for bokeh! Took it all round japan, took thousands of great photos.

[Rikz2004]

I have a Sony a6000 which is an aps-c camera (crop sensor). The sensor is almost as big as a dslr, but the camera is a lot more portable. I'd recommend going to a shop and seeing them all in real life to see how they feel to hold etc.

 

For me portability won in the end, and the quality is basically the same as a dslr (but obv this varies dependant on which dslr you're comparing with). There are of course newer versions of this camera that are more expensive and have more features (a6300 and a6500).

 

If you want something really small and easy to use that takes great photos the Sony rx100 is supposed to be very good.

[RobPhoboS]

Imho, the camera body itself really doesn't matter ultimately. 

Just get a decent lens or two for whichever brand you go with, because they will last forever, or you can sell them on if you fancy something different. 

[veeg33]

Depends what you fancy carrying around what type of photography you are doing. A basic DSLR with kit lens should be a good start, Nikon or Canon will be pretty much equal in performance. Main difference would be where the buttons are but if you are new to DSLR, don't think it matters as you'll learn how to use them from zero. The entry level DSLR kit usually come with 18-55mm lens which is OK but as soon as you are into it, you'll probably need a new lens and things can go expensive pretty quickly.

 

Another options is to get a 2nd entry level DSLR from Ebay and see if you like it. Entry level DSLR depreciate pretty quickly, for example, Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm lens for less than £200. I think this should do what you described in OP.