Help with buying a camera

phixman

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I'm looking to buy my first camera, I want to take very close up pictures of coral (macro). Based on some reading I did, 100 mm or so lenses seems to be what people recommend for my purposes. I'm basically wanting to upgrade from my LGv40 phone camera. My budget would be under 300 used. Recommendations and thoughts are welcomed, thank you.
 

footgal

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I use the icecap lens for phones. Here are some pics with my iPhone 7 and the lens.

94DBE904-33CD-40A7-993E-125266A9AD69.jpeg 5AC6F9D6-720F-4E4D-A5C5-54B2CF3E8E14.jpeg C2E259DA-7CFB-499A-88DF-B193977C9E84.jpeg 78AA948A-C072-49C3-B52B-D52477A76A98.jpeg 75816B04-6BFD-4D2A-B421-41AD62FD31CB.jpeg 9FF58E04-51FD-44EC-882F-C89D997EA99F.jpeg 9D7C2AEA-16C6-4457-B1AB-C97DA4901256.jpeg 5D855229-998A-4B4A-95F9-B93F9F66EB65.jpeg A3502048-E7A5-41DA-A31B-DCD366D219E0.jpeg BDEB06CE-32BD-45C7-9DB0-05BA2BD6F751.jpeg F64537E8-9BDB-4BED-A37C-6258446FF1AB.jpeg 8C0C61E8-AC77-4527-9F72-0657D46D2504.jpeg 39572A26-16E7-425B-BADD-69148DCC3AB6.jpeg
 
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phixman

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Thanks for the reply, I have the clip on macro lenses too, but want to get something that can take very high quality close ups
 

msjboy

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I think the problem with a lot of photos is that people use blue leds mode for their aquarium lights. The blue led mode is terrible for our cmos sensors. However, If you do, just go buy some clear plastic sheets called gel filters. If you want go pro Picts, without photoshoping, you have to shoot under metal halides for best results. The guy at tidal garderns has some nice YouTube videos on shooting and even people buy stock videos and Picts from him.
 
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phixman

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Yeah, I do have an orange filter, but I can never get the detail I want when taking pictures of my coral
 

AZMSGT

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Your budget is FAR to low. To be honest, you haven’t done enough research. For example my gear cost me $4500. That’s camera lens and tripod. Pro level gear.. so to be honest you should consider more money for gear that will do better than a phone. $800-1500 can get you good gear to do the job, however there will still be many compromises.

A good macro lens used will set you back $400 if you can find it. Then you need a camera body, tripod, possibly a flash. Image processing software....
 
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thaistalyn

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It sounds like your goal is to learn how to use a DSLR to take better photos with the option of swapping out lenses to get some good macro shots, learning about f-stop, ISO, and shutter speed to improve your photography skills. Then taking the photos into an editor and cleaning them up for presentation.

I would start with a good beginner lens like a Nikon 3500 (more than your budget) or go with a Canon T100/EOS2000D. You can get the Canon new in a kit for just under $300. I'll include the link below.

However, to get macro you will need either a 1:1 or better magnification lens which are fairly expensive. Again since it seems you want to learn it may be better to get an extension tube (which I'll also link below). With extension tubes you can get macro shots without sacrificing quality and adding a 50mm extension tube to a 55mm lens gets you close to 1:1.

All together you can probably get started with a $300 camera and $35 extension tube kit.

Link to Canon T100 Kit --> Canon EOS Rebel T100
Link to Canon Extension Tube Set --> Neewer Metal Auto Focus AF Macro Extension Tube Set
 
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phixman

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Thanks for the replies, I found the following camera for $200, Canon 50D DSLR with 28-135mm lens, I'm not sure if anyone has experience with it & is a decent camera.
 
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