Choosing a Camera

Article about cameras. For any photographer, one of the biggest problems is choosing a camera. This article will help you understand how cameras differ and what purposes they are designed for. How to correctly choose a camera for yourself.

Film vs Digital

The first thing to decide is whether we want a digital camera or a film camera. Film has a greater advantage because each frame will cost you money, and thus will be considered carefully before pressing the button, because there will be a limit of 36 frames. You won't be able to snap aimlessly left and right. This is one of the biggest advantages of film. Film has a wider range of colors and tones, it will be easier to fight with blown-out areas. There will be no need to struggle with post-processing. Remember, when choosing a digital camera, you need to have a computer. And the more expensive digital camera you buy, the more powerful your computer needs to be. Film cameras are very cheap compared to digital ones. You can already buy a used ZENIT camera for ~10 Ls and start taking pictures. For ~50-100 Ls you can already buy a used semi-professional SLR camera (Nikon F70 or Canon 300v). The image quality from such a camera will be comparable to a Canon 5D, which costs about 1000 Ls. You will also have the opportunity to try different films (color, black and white). The biggest photo fans can try printing photos using old technologies at home. I recommend buying a film camera for those who want to get serious about photography but don't have much money to buy a digital one. You will get better results with film. The only downside to film is that you won't be able to view photos immediately. You'll need to shoot the entire roll, develop the film, print an index print. This fiddling is the only downside (which of course can also be considered a plus). For those who don't have patience and want to photograph everything happening around them, I recommend buying a digital camera. The only thing is that your learning and development in photography will be slowed down, because the stimulation of looking, observing and analyzing photos won't be there like it could be when using a film camera. Used film cameras can be purchased at the photo shop "Foto 56" at Lāčplēša Street 56 (tel.: 67288786) or at the ss.lv classifieds portal.

Buying a Camera

For more specific information about each camera model, you can visit the website www.dpreview.com. Before buying any camera, I recommend looking at this website, reading the description and user comments, viewing photos taken with the specific camera. If you decide to buy a camera online, I strongly recommend first trying the camera at a local electronics store (Elkor for example), to understand how the camera handles, look at its size, weight, explore the navigation, etc. And only after such a procedure do I recommend buying online. Recommendation to buy cameras only from major camera manufacturers like Canon or Nikon. I would not recommend buying from manufacturers who also deal with other industries (TV production, other electronics, etc.), because those companies whose main goal is photography put all their efforts into their product quality and service. Remember that service is also a very important aspect in the camera purchasing stage. If the camera breaks, a good company will give you a replacement, another company may make you wait for months while the camera returns from repair. Further in the article, we will discuss camera classifications and what purposes and what audience the cameras are designed for. Further in the article, we will discuss only digital cameras.

Aspects

Sensor size and megapixels. When buying a camera, one of the main aspects is image quality. Don't get caught up in the megapixel race. An SLR camera with 3 megapixels can beat the image quality of a compact camera with 12 megapixels. Quality is determined by the sensor's physical size in centimeters or millimeters. The sensor size of each camera can be found in the link mentioned above. The larger the sensor, the higher quality and more alive the image will be. That's why also a camera with a sensor of 1cm (longer side) costs 100 Ls, but a camera with a sensor of 15cm costs 50,000 Ls. Of course quality is also determined by the lens, but on cheaper cameras the lens cannot be replaced. Remember that 6 megapixels is sufficient to print a quality photo at 20x30cm size.
Lens. I recommend paying attention to the lens. There are lenses with large zoom or large range (for example the Fujifilm Finepix S100fs camera has an impressive range of 28mm - 400mm (14.2x)). The larger this range, the worse the image quality will be or the camera price will be considerably higher, because building such a lens while maintaining good quality is expensive. Also, lenses with large zoom will have inferior macro capabilities. Also pay attention to the wide end of the zoom lens. How many mm at the wide end (the smaller this number, the wider the lens and you can stand closer to the subject in small rooms). A very good indicator is 24mm, 28mm is better, 35mm is worse (it simply means there will be situations when you won't be able to step back to photograph a group of people or some object).
LCD screen. The size of the screen is also very important. On a small screen you won't be able to properly evaluate the photo quality. Often the autofocus makes mistakes and on a small screen you won't notice it. A large screen will allow you to notice it and retake the photo. A tilting screen will allow you to often shoot from interesting angles while properly framing. Next, what to look for is the camera's comfort.
Comfort. How comfortable it is for you to work with the camera, how comfortable it is to hold, etc. At first it seems that comfort isn't that important, but if you have to shoot for a long time it starts to get on your nerves. If your palm and fingers are large, then small buttons will be awkward. Also, small cameras will cause discomfort when holding them.
Memory card. I also recommend paying attention to the type of memory card the camera uses. There are expensive types of memory cards and cheaper ones. For SLR cameras, one of the most popular is Compact Flash (1Gb starting from 12 Ls) card types. It is very popular, there is the ability to buy cheap memory cards. Secure Digital and Micro SD (1Gb from 14 Ls) are already more expensive. Even more expensive are xD and mini Secure Digital cards (1Gb from 18 Ls). And the most expensive are Memory Stick and Multi Media Card (1Gb from 19 Ls).
Power. If your camera has the ability to use regular AA batteries instead of a rechargeable battery, that's a plus, because on long trips, when your battery dies, you will be able to buy batteries at the nearest shop and use them.

Compact Cameras

Compact cameras are small and lightweight cameras. Their average price is 100-200 Ls. Designed for capturing everyday events, parties, balls, hiking trips, etc. The downsides include the lack of zoom or the zoom capability is very limited (3x). I wanted to add that digital zoom is not worth considering, because it is based on simply enlarging an existing photo, which means a rapid decrease in quality. Optical zoom is the most effective, which is based on optics and quality doesn't decrease during magnification. In low light conditions, such a camera will automatically turn on the flash. Many such cameras have limited settings. For a photographer who plans to seriously pursue photography, such a camera won't work. The biggest plus is that the camera is lightweight, small, understandable to anyone. There's no need to delve into photography parameters and settings to take pictures. This camera is recommended for someone who will use it mainly just to capture everyday events, memories.

Advanced Compact Camera aka Pseudo-SLR Cameras

Advanced compact cameras differ from compact cameras in that their capabilities are expanded. The built-in lens is expanded, so for some models optical zoom can be very impressive (12x). They already have semi-automatic and manual modes, which will allow you to understand the basics of photography, create unusual effects and use your camera more fully. The advantages of such a camera are lightweight, compactness, manual mode options, universal zoom. The downsides include that it is not an SLR camera, many capabilities are still limited (compared to an SLR), cannot change optics, slow autofocus, in low light conditions imprecise autofocus, LCD viewfinder (for an SLR camera in the viewfinder you see directly the image that will reach the sensor thanks to the mirror, but in pseudo-SLR cameras the viewfinder has a small built-in LCD screen, therefore manually adjusting focus is practically impossible). I want to add a bit about the universal zoom. Such a camera functionally replaces an SLR camera with 2-3 lenses, because it has a large zoom and with such a camera you can take macro photos. For an SLR camera, to achieve this functionality you need to buy at least 2-3 additional lenses (average price of one lens ~100-150 Ls) to cover this range. I recommend buying such cameras for those who need an everyday camera but are also somewhat serious about photography. This way you can both capture events and enjoy the pleasures of photography and delve into photography thanks to the manual and semi-automatic modes. Approximate price 200-400 Ls.

Beginner SLR Cameras

Beginner SLR cameras immediately open up the advantage of SLR cameras - interchangeable lenses. The price of such cameras ranges from 400-700 Ls. Mostly the starter kit (KIT) comes with the cheapest and simplest lens, but over time you can add lenses for your needs and preferences (Lens prices average from 100-1000 Ls) They have both fully automatic, semi-automatic, and manual modes. Their capabilities are more expanded than a pseudo-SLR camera. The greatest surprise is the photo image quality. It is incomparable with compact camera image quality. The image quality of such cameras is further influenced by the lens. The later you buy a more expensive lens, the higher quality your photos will be. The biggest pluses are interchangeable lens, real viewfinder, image quality thanks to a larger sensor than compact cameras. The downsides include the size and weight of the camera (it won't fit in a pocket or handbag anymore, but you'll need to buy an additional camera bag), the need for additional lenses (the kit lens usually has a small zoom and poor image quality), discomfort (often these cameras are small and awkward for a large hand). The weight of such a camera and a few lenses can already reach 2kg. I recommend buying this camera for those for whom photography is a hobby or pastime. This camera will open up SLR camera possibilities.

Semi-Professional SLR Cameras

For these cameras, the fully automatic modes partially disappear, semi-automatic (A,S,Av,Tv) and manual (M) modes remain. The approximate price of these cameras is 800-1500 Ls. They become larger (therefore more comfortable) and heavier. Capabilities become wider (frames per second, minimum shutter speed, etc). I recommend buying this camera for an amateur photographer or a person for whom photography is a hobby, but occasionally needs to do some work or help a colleague photographer. The advantages of this camera are faster autofocus, real viewfinder, multiple frames per second, wider capabilities, more comfortable to work with. The downsides include a limited shutter life compared to professional SLR cameras, no grip (but can be added), no full-frame sensor (except Canon 5D), not weather resistant. A great camera for an amateur photographer who occasionally works as a photographer and earns some extra cash with photography.

 

Professional SLR Cameras

Professional cameras are designed for photographers who work professionally. Their prices range from 2000-5000 Ls. Pluses: fast, comfortable, precise, large shutter life, durable, much more weather resistant, resistant to rain and even snow, durable body, precise autofocus in low light conditions, large and bright viewfinder. The only downside is the price. Currently the most professional cameras in this class are Nikon D3 and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III. For a beginner, such a camera will be very difficult to master and in most cases the capabilities of these cameras won't be fully utilized. These cameras are recommended to be used with the same brand's best lenses, otherwise the full capabilities and quality that these cameras can provide won't be utilized.

 

 

 

Professional Studio Cameras

These cameras are used in most cases for studio work and advertising photography. The prices of these cameras range from 10,000 to 40,000 Ls. The biggest advantage of these cameras is the large sensor, which produces very high quality large images needed for big prints and posters. The biggest downsides of these cameras are partial inconvenience, huge files, difficulty shooting news/reportage, high price, service problems in Latvia. These cameras are purchased only by experienced photographers who are firmly established in the market. In Latvia, such cameras are owned by about 8 photographers. The most popular manufacturers are www.hasselblad.com and www.mamiya.com. Links: www.leaf-photography.com, www.sinarbron.com
 

 

 

Conclusion

Remember that it's not the camera that takes pictures, but the photographer. You can buy a ZENIT for 10 Ls and take great photos, open exhibitions and win competitions, or you can buy the most expensive camera and achieve nothing.

 

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