Can you tell me which of these is best first ever camera?

Pagi

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Hi, I know nothing about cameras but I want to start shooting my girlfriend at close range and indoors and sometimes at longer range and outdoors at night, creative arty shots.

My budget is basically as cheap as I can get away with, I can always edit the images on the Mac after too.

I need one that is light and easy to hold, as I am very left-handed. Ideally want a little screen to view the picture after taking the pic, guess they all have that though, and want the best lense and picture quality possible, oh and might wanna shoot video with it later so the best HD video be good too.

Feel free to ask more questions to know exactly what I wanna do with the cam.

Can you tell which of these cameras is best for my needs and value? Thanks.

Nikon D D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera - Black (Body only) Used Great 1st DSLR 915436789620 | eBay

OLYMPUS CAMEDIA E10 - FULLY TESTED - BOXED - EXCELLENT CONDITION. 5011375998187 | eBay

Canon EOS 1000D DSLR Camera Body & Battery & Charger Free UK Post 8714574547251 | eBay

Nikon D50 6.1MP DSLR camera "Great Performer" Excellent! | eBay

Fuji Finepix s602 Zoom DSLR | eBay

Nikon D80 Digital SLR Camera & Sigma 18-200mm DC HSM Lens + Lowe Pro Bag 81097008681 | eBay

Canon EOS EOS 700D Kit II 18.0MP Digital SLR Camera - Black (Kit w/ EF S18-135mm 8714574602431 | eBay

Nikon D3400 Digital SLR Camera + 18-55mm AF-P Lens brand new sealed | eBay

Canon EOS 550D DSLR camera + extras!! | eBay

Nikon D D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera - Black (Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens) BUNDLE 18208854431 | eBay
 
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Hi, some compromise is going to be needed. Reading what you describe you want I would go for a dslr less than 5 years old with a 50mm prime and a kit lenses to start with. If you have example pics you can link to that would help be more specific. Sorry I don’t have time to follow all the links you included.
 
Agree with Newbie1, for portrait, indoor or night you need large newish sensor plus large aperture (small f number) prime lens. Typically portraits are taken with an 85mm f1.8 lens on a full frame (out of budget) which is similar to a 50mm f1.4 on a crop sensor (canon XXD and Nikon D3/5xxx), 50mm f1.8 would do the job on a budget.
 
You want the best lens and image quality but want to spend as little as possible? Good luck with that ;) :p

Joking aside, the best lenses cost thousands. However, you can get IQ that may be 90-95% as good for a fraction of the price. Buy as used Nikon D3300/D3400 and 50mm f1.8G and you'll be able to get some superb images, IN THE RIGHT HANDS. Don't be fooled thinking you need the best camera and lenses. Invest your time and money in lighting, it will have far more of an impact :smashin:
 
I want to start shooting my girlfriend at close range and indoors

The last person to ask that here was Oscar Pistorius.
 
"Classic" - last I heard he's been "sprung" from Jail......
 
Wow, there's some real classics in there - while the Olympus E10 and Fuji S602 were decent cameras in their day, that was a very long time ago and I wouldn't even consider them now.

If you're not going to use video then I'd agree with the recommendation above for the D3400 as it's an entry level DSLR designed for people getting started with photography and it's capable of excellent image quality. People assume going up the range mainly gets you better image quality but until you get up to the full frame cameras, the main benefits of going up from an entry level camera like the D3400 are features rather than better IQ. The Nikon 35mm F1.8 is relatively cheap, high quality, great low light, shallow depth of field (the blurry background mobile phones are now trying to mimic) and the classic 50mm focal length which is versatile.

If you want video then I wouldn't recommend a DSLR because their design makes them difficult to use for video as they're design to work with their reflex mirror in place but for video, that mirror must remain up which disables the optical viewfinder and the camera's high speed autofocus system. Instead you have to use the camera's rear screen and its much slower sensor based focus system, in addition some DSLR lenses can have noisy AF motors which aren't suitable for video use.

The mirrorless cameras like Sony's E-mount and the Panasonic/Olympus micro 4/3 system try to take the large sensor advantages of the DSLRs, get the size and weight down combined with much easier to use video. I'm not sure what to look for on the Olympus or Panasonic front but Sony wise I'd have a look at the older Nex-6 with the 16-50mm lens - the 16MP APS-C sensor is extremely good with a lot of latitude in raw processing, it's a very compact and easy to handle body, the video is decent on it and you get an EVF as well.

John
 
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