>>3197801> What the fuck are you on about?You're eliding over a lot of knowledge that the vast majority of people don't have.
> Buy a DSLRRequires:
* Knowing that shallow depth of field is what that effect is
* Knowing that a DSLR will give you shallow depth of field
* Knowing enough about cameras to pick out a DSLR to buy
> get a 50mm/1.8Requires:
1. Knowing about aperture and it's effect on depth of field.
2. Knowing about different lens mounts so you get a lens that goes with your camera
3. Understanding focal length.
Plus a (new) DSLR plus 50/1.8mm will run you about $600 minimum. If you want to bring that cost down by getting an older model, you need to know about older models of DSLRs and their strengths and weaknesses--e.g., you CAN get a Canon D30 for cheap, but a D30 sucks to use, will give you shitty low-res pictures, and won't mount EF-S lenses, so it's not a very good deal.
Going with an old MF lens like others have suggested adds in requirements of
* Understand flange-focal distance, so you know which lenses can and can't be adapted to your camera
* Understand your camera's issues with manual focus lenses. Nikon has a wealth of MF lenses that don't need an adapter, but if you're on a cheap camera, you have to shoot in M mode because they turn off the meter if there's no chip in the lens. Canon will meter even on a bare mount, but manual focus Canon FD lenses don't use the same mount as Canon EOS DSLRs, but it DOES have a short enough flange-focal distance that lots of adapters are available. Pentax can mount and meter with old lenses, but older manual focus Pentax lenses are M42 rather than K, and there's still a trick on some bodies to meter properly. None of them have viewfinders that can show depth of field shallower than f/2.5 by default.
