I’ve followed Insidethem60 ever since I read about it somewhere, you’d made the suggestion that the MEN had only just started covering councils, and they responded saying that wasn’t the case. Do you think there’s a danger that ruffling feathers for the sake of it won’t achieve anything constructive?

With going and getting a degree so expensive nowadays you have to remember that if you’re looking to actually make investigations in the old fashioned sense you need a profressional camera and a good set of lenses. A Nikon D700 is a good one I’ve had a chance to try out, but I’m actually using an earlier D200 myself and find it alright. Obviously there are other brands like Canon, and I advise visiting a camera shop to get a feel for what you like; weight varies a lot and some like that others do not for instance. Don’t just read up online and think you ‘know’ what you want…for a purchase as expensive as this you need hands-on experience plus conversation with guys who know their stuff.

For a good new camera body you need at minimum £1,500 . Then another £1,000 for a few of the most versatile new lenses. This outfit will allow you to shoot in the dark easily (a blessing in our cloudy country) and at a reasonable speed but its not anything you’d want for paparazzi style work as that requires extremely fast captures unless you have better timing than Jimmy Carr on a great night. Oh and be wary of buying used; some cameras can have had more use and have a pretty heavily worn shutter.

Of course if you don’t want to do photos and reportage then this is irrelevant; there are many hacks who don’t know much better how to use a camera then John and Jane on holiday to Spain. They are commonly office bound but that’s how it is these days; good luck.

-Pete @ dirtygarnet.com