Buying new camera gear can be very exciting, but it can also drain your bank account rather quickly if you are not careful about it. If you are a newer photographer and wondering how to find the right gear for yourself without overspending, this helpful video tutorial will run you through the options and their pros and cons.
Coming to you from Pat Kay, this great video tutorial discusses how to upgrade your gear as a beginner photographer. I definitely recommend looking into purchasing used if you can. Camera gear that has been taken care of well generally functions just as well as when it was new, and you can save a significant amount, which is especially good when you are still figuring out what works best for you and what you prefer. Beyond that, try not to fall into the trap of thinking that spending money will improve your images. It is true that occasionally, new gear will enable you to create images you couldn't otherwise, but the vast majority of the time, investing in education and taking more time to practice will help you a lot more. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Kay.
People sure like to give advice for what camera stuff for others to buy. Seems like I see one of these every week.
Decide your budget.
Walk into a camera store.
Handle every camera at your price point.
Buy the one that feels good.
As a beginner great info! First yes use your phone camera to see if you have a good EYE or train it! While doing that research the camera makers and choose one (this may take some time) some are lagging behind. Todays software can make any image look like it was taken by a expense rig, study the most you can, an early camera of the 2000-2010 era can make a great capture. If you have weekends free go to estate sales you will find film and and many digital cameras almost free and great for learning the light triangle and the many different images that you can get. When it comes time to start buying with hard earned $'s on a make and model beware of the new stuff on all the web shows, no reason to start at the top! Either buy used or rent and buy. Get a rewards Credit Card and shop at online stores (very few brick and mortar stores) that reward with card points that can be transferred to cash, you buy with points and get points also when you buy, a twofer. All my gear over the past 7 years have been bought with points!!!
I also have Sony since 2014 and the Holy Grail for me is FE 1224mm f/2.8, f/4 to start; FE 24240mm but add the FE 200-600mm with teleconverters 1.4x and 2x you can capture anything anywhere and they are OSS/IS. All these have the best pin point stars corner to corner (I use to test a lens). A great travel lens that has got more expense is the APS-C FE 1018 /f4 OSS (15-27mm) but in Full Frame 12-18 (18 if you remove the rear light shield) great for Landscape to Astro Milky Way, my 2014 first lens on the A7s. Not to blow Sony's horn but the A7m3 has bright monitoring (night vision and other camera users jaws fall) and ISO Invariance very few cameras have and wants at some point. Also the film lenses you found at the estate sale are f/1.2, 1.4, 1.8 and 2.8 fast to prevent shake but with a $25 to $50 adapter can also be used on digital cameras, I used my Canon FD lenses of '74 for a year on my A7S before I had $'s before Sony Lenses and even captured the Oct 2014 lunar eclipse with a Telephoto