I get a lot of questions from people asking me to recommend a good camera for them to buy, it would seem to be a simple enough question but it's always been a little difficult for me to give a straight forward answer because there are several variables involved in deciding which camera to buy, especially as it pertains to what TYPE of camera maybe more than what MODEL or manufacturer to choose. So for our second installment in the tutorials series we will take a minute to talk about the different kinds of cameras available and what the pros and cons of each are. First thing's first though and I want to mention that there are no magic cameras out there! It doesnt matter if you buy a $40,000 Hasselblad or a $100 Olympus, the quality of the photos you take will not change much unless you put in a little effort to gain at least a basic understanding of the art of photography. People often come up to me, look at my equipment and say things like "I bet that camera takes some good pictures!" The thing to remember here is cameras dont take pictures, people do! I've basically stopped letting my mother and my wife take photos with my cameras, the same cameras I use all the time for creating the images you see on this site - because invariably no matter how I change the settings back to AUTO everything, or try pre-setting the camera so that you just need to aim and press the shutter release, they manage to cut off the heads of our beloved family members or the photos are crooked, horribly blurry with fingers and thumbs in them or any number of other photo mishaps. So really, its not the camera - if you looked at a Van Gogh painting and then someone rolled up and gave you all his brushes, the eisel and canvas...well, you get the point, you'd likely quickly learn that it aint the brushes! With all that said, there are several different types of camera generally available to purchase today, mostly its the compact also known as point and shoot vs SLR which stands for 'Single Lens Reflex' that we'll focus on here because those are the most popular cameras on the market for the average consumer. There are also rangefinder, medium format and large format camera systems available which each have different characteristics as well, but are out of the scope of this conversation. So now you may see why the question of 'what camera should I buy?' makes me pause a little as I generally dont know the level of interest in photography or what a person needs most from their camera selection. The general pros and cons of the SLR vs the Compact are as follows: SLR cameras give a photographer more options and control, generally with the ability to manually control all aspects of the exposure such as the shutter speed, aperture and ISO. SLRs have interchangeable lenses, larger image sensors and generally allow more sophisticated flash control. SLRs are physically bigger, generally more expensive and for a novice tend to require a steeper learning curve due to the multitude of settings and options that are usually available, even though most still offer auto or semi-auto modes.
Point and Shoot cameras are generally less expensive, more compact and require little to no learning curve as they are mostly designed to automatically set exposure, flash, etc. Creative options are severely limited with these cameras due to their general lack of manual control and the inability to change lenses means there are some perspectives that you just cant achieve; not to mention that there is no way to upgrade to an optically better lens as is possible with an SLR. I use SLR cameras for their increased control over the image making process and the ability to utilize many different lenses, from the ultra wide angle to the super telephoto, from macro to fisheye and the list goes on. Also the ability to manipulate depth of field in my images is a major advantage that is difficult to achieve with the smaller sensors of the compact cameras. In summary, I will say that if your budget is in the 200-500 range, you prefer portability over more creative control and are interested in basic snapshots of scenery and family without the need to learn much more than how to aim and press the shutter - Point and Shoot is the way to go! If you have a budget in the 850-2000 range or so, are interested in learning to take your photography to a higher level and can handle a little extra size and weight - a new SLR is what you should consider! |
