December 11, 2021

My New Camera

 Thank you to everyone who commented on my Recommendations Wanted: What Is Your Dream Camera? blog post. Here's what I decided!

Canon EOS M50

There were too many things I liked about the mirrorless camera to not go with one. The Canon M50 received consistently positive reviews from consumers, camera websites, and serious photographers. The negatives were either inconsequential to me or not confirmed by other reviewers. In fact, it was interesting to me how many professional and serious photographers own and regularly use an M50 for personal use. YouTube comparison reviews for this class of camera usually used the M50 for their standard of comparison. Another plus is that it shoots in both JPG and RAW formats. RAW is the format used by professional photographers for the best quality photos. It's something I'm interested in exploring in the future.

Because it's such a popular digital camera, pricing for it is very competitive. Another plus! I was able to get the camera plus a used Canon mirrorless telephoto lens and two extra batteries and stay within my budget. I'll be looking into a macro lens in the future.

The camera does have an auto mode, which I'll use to learn all the buttons, menus, and icons. I found an excellent YouTube tutorial by Michael The Maven for my specific camera, which takes you through all those things. To practice, I'm going to do an activity I found called "Make 30 Photos."  I'll put these on my photography blog. You can follow that link to see how it's going. 

Once I'm comfortable with my M50, I plan to take a free online photography course to learn the manual mode - A Year With My Camera. I also found some free short classes over at Udemy (where I took Bill Mollison's permaculture design course). That might be a way to sample various teachers in case I want to take a paid course (which are very affordable at Udemy, even for me!) Then, there's always YouTube, of course.

So, there's my winter learning project. One that I'm really looking forward to!

My New Camera © December 2021

20 comments:

Rosalea said...

Congratulations! Have fun!

Boud said...

Always good to have a winter project. I wish you plenty of pleasure and great pix.

Leigh said...

Rosalea, thanks!

Boud, for an "entry level" camera, I have to say it's the most complicated camera I've owned so far! But I also have to say that it absolutely takes the best photos of any camera I've owned so far. It's really put the joy back into photography for me. So, I'm motivated to learn the camera!

Florida Farm Girl said...

I'm glad you got a new camera. Now just how on earth did I not know that you had a photography blog? I've bookmarked it and will check it out. I'll also investigate the 30 days thing. I need all the help I can get with my new camera. Paid way to much for it to let it just sit.

Ed said...

My DSLR will shoot in RAW but I quickly switched back to JPG unless I am actively trying to take a photograph that I know I will want to do things with in the future. RAW just takes up so much room digitally and it was quickly bloating my hard drive. However, I just don't have the ability to delete pictures like many of the more professional photographers I know to keep the volumes slimmed down.

Michelle said...

Merry Christmas to you! Sounds like you have a good plan to learn how to make the most of your new tool. Off to follow your photography blog!

Nancy In Boise said...

Congrats and enjoy your new camera! Lots of really great things to shoot in your neck of the woods

Leigh said...

Sue, you should be able to find videos on YouTube for your particular make and model of camera. There are tons of them for mine, which is helpful for learning how to access particular features (most of which don't seem to be in the user manual). Also, check out the free course on that website, "A Year With My Camera." I know someone who took it and said it was great. I plan to do that once I can find my way around my buttons and menus.

Ed, I'm basically content with JPG, but I'm curious to explore RAW as well. If I'm going to take this learning project on, might as well dabble with all of it! The other thing I'm not particularly interested in mastering but want to explore is video. This camera is used by a lot of video bloggers too.

Michelle, thank you! You always inspire me with your photos. :)

Nancy, thanks! Yes, lots of interesting things to shoot!

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

Leigh, we have a relatively old Kodak Digital Camera (if you can believe it) that shoots both formats. I will be interested in your experience with the Raw files as this was one of the selling points of that model.

Leigh said...

TB, your old Kodak must have been considered a good camera in its time. I'll get to exploring RAW eventually. I'm still trying to remember which menus to follow to delete images and which way to turn the lens to unlock it. lol

In other news, my telephoto lens arrived last night, and I'm excited about that!

Seeking Serenity said...

yay I love the photo blog and what you take to meet the prompts!

wyomingheart said...

Excellent Leigh! Looking forward to your success in photos! I know there is a learning curve, but I know you will excel quickly! Hope you get a wonderful week!

Leigh said...

Serenity, thank you! The prompts are a lot of fun. :)


Wyomingheart, I just signed up for a free course "A Year With My Camera." It's geared toward beginners who want to get off auto mode with their photography. I'm really looking forward to it!

Retired Knitter said...

I had a Cannon years ago and it looked a lot like this one. I love it. The pictures were wonderful. I checked out your photography blog. Great fun. Love the pictures you have taken so far.

Ed said...

I do like the video aspect, especially when combined with a zoom lens, something I can't do with my smart phone. I have taken a few videos of my daughter at sporting events and me being in the nose bleed seats and it has worked out really well.

DFW said...

Congratulations on the new camera. Looking forward to seeing all the pics.

Powell River Books said...

I'm embarrassed to say I haven't used my camera in about two years. It is just so easy to carry my iphone and use the camera from there, even for video. I have an older phone so it doesn't have the best camera but it works for the blog and social media. - Margy

Leigh said...

RT, thanks! My very first digital camera was a Canon Powershot, and I got excellent action sports shots with it. Subsequent cameras didn't do as well. My first digital Panasonic was great, but the next one not so much. The other camera highly mentioned was Sony, but I'm glad I went with this one. For one thing, it's very popular, so there are tons of instructional videos and articles for it!

Ed, I haven't tried the video yet, but I can see how the zoom would be an really useful tool. Especially kids' sporting events, plays, or Christmas concerts. The other bonus, is that this particular camera cost about half what a good cell phone does, but with more than twice the camera features!

Deb, thanks! Right now, I'm putting my photos on my photography blog, as I put the camera through its paces. :)

Margy, if you're happy with what you've got, then you've got what you need! I've been frustrated that my old camera(s) couldn't do what I wanted them to do. But this one does and then-some. I probably wouldn't be happy with only a phone for a camera, but a lot of people are!

Chris said...

Awesome treat to deepen your skills with. I don't mind spending money on equipment that helps document a journey better. As long as it's important and it's something you feel passionate about. Of course, you buy equipment as you can afford to upgrade. So no shame is starting with what you can afford. I think you made a wise decision.

Leigh said...

Chris, thank you! Dan pretty much said the same thing about the right equipment to document our journey. I had some many frustrations with my old camera that I pretty much stopped taking pictures, except when necessary. This camera has brought the joy back into photography for me.