I’m totally new to photography and want to get my first camera. I’ll mainly be using it for nature photography while hiking and traveling.
My only focus is on photos of the highest possible quality.
My budget is around $600, and I’ll also need essential accessories, but don’t know what I’d need, like a lens?
Not open to refurbished, as I’m buying in Vietnam.
When starting, focus on learning these basics very well: framing, how to use shutter speed, aperture, iso and how they affect the photo, some very basic post editing of RAW images such as cropping (framing), contrasting, color and light balance. Keep edits to a minimum as subtle is generally better. That doesn’t mean you can’t do cool, artistic things in post, just go easy at first.
If you have a solid understanding of the above and don’t solely shoot in auto mode, this is where you will see an advantage over using a phone camera. That said, it’s a hobby to enjoy, so there’s more to gain even if a phone would be sufficient.