AWAI Exclusive Free Report: How to Buy the Right Camera
"The truth is, you can take great photos with lousy cameras and lousy photos with great cameras. Your decision rides mostly, then, on what you plan to do with the camera and where you plan to sell the pictures it produces.” – Rich Wagner
Photography is truly a field that has something for everyone. Whether you love gadgets and want the latest high-tech tools or you are always on-the-go and need something lightweight and easy, you can be sure there are cameras and gear out there to match your needs.
But with so many choices on the shelf today, how do you decide which is best for you?
This report lays out everything you need to know about different types of cameras and the pros and cons that go along with each. It also answers frequent questions we get from our readers like…
“What does SLR stand for?”
"How many megapixels do I need?”
“Nikon, Canon… or what about this camera that’s on sale?”
Let’s first start by talking about the difference between a point-and-shoot camera and a SLR and what kind of camera belongs in your ideal kit…
The Difference between a Point-and-shoot Camera and a SLR
Cameras are generally divided into two main categories: Point-and-shoot and Single Lens Reflex (also known as “SLR”).
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For the most part, point-and-shoots are compact, lightweight, and easy to travel with. They almost always have zoom capabilities (both optical and digital). And, if you’re just starting out, the camera you most likely already own, or the camera you’ll probably buy first, will fall into this category.
SLRs, on the other hand, have lenses that are removable and interchangeable. In addition, they usually offer many more options for controlling the camera, including the ability to change your aperture and shutter speed settings as well as shoot in “full manual.”
The biggest (and probably most important) difference that distinguishes a digital point-and-shoot from a digital SLR lies in the quality of the pictures each is capable of making.
While point-and-shoot cameras have their own advantages (they’re compact, easy to travel with, usually cheaper, and they auto-adjust almost everything to help you get the best picture possible), they cannot compete with SLRs in terms of image quality.
That is because digital SLRs have much larger image sensors. This larger sensor size produces a much higher quality image and, therefore, the pictures you produce with an SLR will be saleable in many more markets than those taken with a point-and-shoot.
How to Choose the Camera That’s Best for You: The Ideal Kit
There’s actually no such thing as the “Ideal Kit,” no more than there is an ideal mate, or an ideal car. It’s all subjective, and it all depends on what your photography goals are.
While it’s always best to have at least one camera on you at all times, it’s likely you’ll want a different setup for each of the different kinds of shooting you’ll do.
Here’s a quick glimpse of some of the equipment most photographers carry...
A Digital Point-and-shoot
Most professional photographers own a compact point-and-shoot camera they can easily slip into their bag or carry in their pocket.
Some will tell you they never leave home without it. All agree that a lower quality picture taken with a point-and-shoot is better than no picture at all. And sometimes, it’s just not prudent to carry your bigger equipment around.
This is the first level of equipment you should have in your kit. At times, it’ll be the only equipment you carry.
When you’re buying a compact point-and-shoot, try to get one that has at least five megapixels.
Megapixels aren’t all you should be thinking about though, because not all megapixels are created equal. Five megapixels on a point-and-shoot camera isn’t the same as five megapixels in a SLR.
It’s a start, though. So let that be one of your buying guides.
In total, you’ll want to consider the following when you’re buying a digital point-and-shoot...
Canon also has a “hybrid” of sorts, the high-end, compact,
Power Shot G9. While it can fit in your pocket and the lens is not removable (you can get wide angle and telephoto attachments), the camera does have many SLR capabilities when it comes to shooting modes, including “full manual."
A Digital SLR
Most professional photographers will tell you that their preferences in camera brands are largely dependent on how the camera feels and handles, not just on how many pixels or “scene” choices it has.
All professional grade cameras are ruggedly built and many have a fair amount of water resistance. With those in the water resistant group, you can shoot in the rain, sleet, and snow and never have a problem.
This doesn’t come without a downside, though. Better protected cameras are generally heavier. What’s more, they scream “I’m going to take your picture!!!” and they make candid shooting nearly impossible.
It’s very important to physically handle multiple cameras before you buy. It isn’t enough to Google all the reviews and make your decision based on Internet statistics. A camera is like a pair of jeans. You’ve got to try it on before you buy and make sure it fits. Is it too heavy? Are the most common functions — changing your aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and exposure compensation — easily manipulated on the body of the camera without having to search through the menus on the LCD screen?
The major players in digital SLR photography today are Canon, Nikon, and Olympus, with Canon and Nikon in the lead.
The major advantage to sticking with these brands is that they’ve been at this for a long time. They’re not likely to go out of business (leaving you with a bunch of equipment you can’t sell off, upgrade, or repair). And if you stick with Canon or Nikon, you’ll have a large selection of accessories to choose from.
The rest comes down to price. Typically, more expensive cameras buy you more durability and larger sensor sizes. More expensive cameras also tend to take better pictures at night with less “noise” in your shadows and faster ISO speeds.
SLRs for Beginners
The Canon Rebel XT is a great starter SLR camera for beginners. You can find it online for about $380 without the lens or for $430 with a standard, normal lens (at the time of this writing).
The Canon Rebel XTi is nice, too, but you’ll pay an extra $200 to $300 for the extra megapixels, even though the image sensor is the same size as the Rebel XT. Two extra megapixels on the same size image sensor isn’t going to make or break the saleability of your photos.
You’re better off going with the cheaper model and saving your money for a nicer camera two to three years down the road.
The Nikon D40 has a similar story.
The D40 will cost you around $440 without a lens and $460 with one.
And, while the D60 has more megapixels, it’s hardly worth the extra
$200 to $300 because it’s got the same image sensor size as the D40.
Note: There’s an exception to this rule if you plan to sell your photos for stock. The two megapixel leap from the Canon Rebel XT to the XTi won’t get you far. But Canon also has a Canon XSi with 12 megapixels. The jump from eight megapixels with the XT to 12 with the XSi should be enough to move your images up a notch on the online stock photography scale. Instead of limiting yourself to “Large” files, you could qualify for the “X-Large” file size and earn more money. (Currently only the Rebel XSi makes this size leap.)
SLRs for the More Advanced
Everything more expensive than the Canon Rebel XT and the Nikon D40 is best purchased by considering the price you’re willing to pay and what that price buys you – faster ISO speeds, more durability, a larger sensor size, and potentially newer technology.
Your best bet is to figure out how much you’re willing to spend and then go into a store to look at your options. Price alone will narrow your search dramatically. And brand will help you narrow them even further.
Again, Nikon and Canon are the biggest players. Both make really great cameras. And both will be easy to resell when you’re ready to upgrade.
And beware of Sony. Sony cameras need special adapters when you want to use anything that’s not made by the Sony brand -- studio lights, external flashes, etc. It’s generally not worth the hassle to start down that road.
Lenses
When you’re buying a camera in the store, your salesman will more or less tell you what you’re getting. But when you buy online, make sure you double-check to see whether or not your camera comes with a lens. Usually, the description will tell you. Or it’ll say “camera kit” which implies you’ll get both the camera body and a lens.
Most starter cameras come with an 18-55mm lens. This will serve you well on the street and at family picnics.
Most photographers, however, want something with a little more range for photographing things farther away and/or a faster lens for photographing things in low light.
Most likely, you’ll expand your kit to include:
- a “normal” zoom lens from around 28-70mm
- a wide angle lens from 15-35mm, and
- a telephoto lens covering 100-200mm
Sports photographers need telephotos in the 200-400mm range. Landscape photographers use telephotos and wide angles, sometimes as short as 17mm or so. And food photographers likely want a “fast” lens (more on that in a minute).
How to Buy a Lens
Quality lenses make a noticeable improvement in your pictures, so it’s far better to buy a quality used lens than a cheap knock-off of a no-name brand. KEH Camera (www.keh.com) and Adorama (www.adorama.com) are reputable sites for buying and selling used camera equipment.
If you don’t know what you want, start with the lens that comes with your camera and work your way through the ones listed above.
Lenses are generally classified by their focal length and their maximum aperture.
A 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 zoom lens has a lens focal length between 28 and 135mm and a maximum aperture of f.3.5 - f5.6, depending on how far you extend the telephoto (zoom).
Aperture is like the iris of your eye. The more you open up your aperture, the more light you let into your camera. And, conversely, the more you close it, the less light you let in.
And aperture is measured in f-stops. F-1.0 is the widest aperture setting you can get -- the most light your lens can let in. And f-22 is the smallest -- the least amount of light you can let in.
So, with a 28-135mm f3.5- f5.6 lens, you can't open it up all the way. You can only open it to f3.5. That's the maximum aperture for that lens.
Why is that important?
Well, think of it this way...
If your camera needs more light to hit the digital sensor in order to make a correctly exposed image, and it can’t open up your lens to get the light it needs, it has no choice but to adjust your shutter speed.
If it does that – adjusts your shutter speed – you run the risk of getting a blurry image if you’re in a low-light situation. (Remember, the longer your shutter stays open, the more chance you have of getting camera shake.)
So, that’s why food photographers often want a “fast” lens. That is, a lens that’ll let you open the aperture as close to 1.0 as you can get, so that your shutter speed can stay fast in dimly lit restaurants.
Do you need a fast lens?
Probably not. Travel photographers might not care about speed as much as they do telephoto length. But it’s something to consider when you’re adding lenses to your toolkit.
Most likely, the first lens you buy will be a 28-70mm f2.4 lens. It’s still considered fast, and it also has a nice telephoto.
So which is right for you: Point-and-shoot or SLR?
Truth is, point-and-shoots are great cameras to start learning on because they don’t typically have all the bells and whistles an SLR camera has. That means you can master basic photography techniques without getting bogged down in the technical specifics of your camera. (They’re also great on trips where a bulkier camera might be more of a hindrance than a help.)
Besides that, almost all of the techniques in our e-letter archives and our Turn Your Pictures into Cash Program can be practiced on a point-and-shoot. Selective focus will be an exception. Other than that, their main drawback is when it comes to selling your work. They don’t produce images of a high enough quality for most publications.
If you’re technically savvy enough to jump straight into an SLR camera, and you want to sell your photos (not just take great pictures for your scrapbook), then you might be better off starting right out of the gate with an SLR.
Of course, having said that, no matter which camera you have, you will come across buyers and editors who would like you to use something else: a different format, a different film, a different pixel count, you name it.
When that happens, don’t worry about it. Remember — the reverse is also true. There are buyers and editors out there who prefer to work with your type of camera, too. And, there are a lot of different markets out there. Each has its own requirements. You just have to learn to focus on the markets best suited for the equipment you’ve got.
In general, point-and-shoot markets include:
- Online stock agencies (though you’ll have a lot more images turned down for image quality and size than you will with an SLR)...
- Supporting photos to go with a travel article on the web...
- Most newspapers...
- The family scrapbook...
- Fine art for pieces 8 x 10 and smaller.
SLR markets have no limits. You can sell to:
- Travel magazines...
- Newspapers...
- Text books...
- Fine art...
- Galleries...
- Web markets...
- Portraits...
- Etc.
One last thing...
PPI and DPI
Why do some pictures look great on your computer but blurry and pixilated when you print them out? The answer lies in PPI and DPI. Both are used to measure image resolution.
DPI (or dots per inch) refers to the number of individual dots of ink a printer or toner can produce within one inch of paper space. PPI (or pixels per inch) refers to the number of digital pixels per inch your computer screen and/or camera need to display a picture of the same resolution.
Technically, they’re different (resolution in print vs. in digital) but a lot of people confuse the two.
What you need to know, as a photographer who wants to publish his/her pictures both on the web and in print, is that your computer screen displays everything at 72 ppi, while prints on paper generally require 300 dpi to make a quality reproduction. That means an image measuring 1050 x 1500 ppi will display on your computer screen as 15 inches x 21 inches (1050/72 = 15 by 1500/72 = 21). But that same image printed on paper at 300 dpi will only print to 3.5 x 5 (1050/300 = 3.5 by 1500/300 = 5). If you try to print it at 15 x 21, like it appears on your computer screen, you’ll stretch the image and it’ll appear blurry and pixelated.
Your Most Important Asset
While there is a plethora of different camera equipment available on the market, hopefully this report has broken things down in a way that makes it easy for you to discern the main advantages and disadvantages of each option.
Ultimately, what you plan to do with your pictures and where you plan to sell them will be the deciding factor for which particular brand and model of camera you buy.
Remember, too, though that your most important tool as a photographer isn’t your camera. It’s your eyes. As you become more advanced in your photography, you’ll learn to see things differently from the average person: the details/angles/lighting/etc.
The key isn’t just purchasing the right equipment; it’s being able to develop a photographer’s eye. Practice with your new equipment and you’ll improve your overall sense of the craft, how well you see things, and the quality of your photos.
Join us on one of our photography expeditions and learn to see the world through your lens.
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Seats always fill up fast, so be sure
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about these events, here: www.thephotographerslife.com
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Writers & Artists Inc.
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