Need appropriate camer?

2010-01-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

Camera Selection

The most common question is that what kind of camera is appropriate for pHotography? Camera users normally fall into one of these three main categories: Amateurs, Hobbyists and Professionals. So what you are going to do that is important, that will help you identify what features might be important. Before camera selection first you have to know about different features of camera and their uses that let you help choice camera selection. How much quality you are looking for, as cameras can range from large and bulky professional quality, SLR cameras to small ultra-portable cameras!

Sketch: The Hangover
Camera normally could be classified into P & S and SLR & DSLR and others way into; ultra-compact, compact, prosumer or hobbyist, and digital SLR. Most manufacturers build units in several categories to capture more of the market.

Point and shoot cameras mean just that point the camera at something and trip the shutter. The camera does all the work for you. Unfortunately, the camera is rarely as smart as the photographer so the results can be iffy. Point and shoot cameras are often abbreviated as P&S. These cameras started out as a fixed lens that focused about 4 feet in front of the camera with a fixed aperture and shutter speed. It was basically a box with a shutter. Then the lab that developed the film did what it could to fix the exposure. Today's P&S cameras are much more sophisticated. While there are still some P&S film cameras, such as the disposable or one time use cameras, most P&S today are digital.

Features

Metering systems, which calculate the amount of light entering the camera
Variable shutter speed
Variable aperture
Zoom lenses
Automatic focus
Preset controls for various photographic situations such as:

landscapes
nighttime
people
close-up or macro

The biggest drawback to P&S cameras is that many do not have a through the lens (TTL) viewfinder. This means that what you see through your viewfinder may not be what you capture on film or digital media. P&S cameras are usually small and fit into a pocket or purse. They are best used for casual picture taking where capturing the memory is more important than creating a marketable image.

Popular P&S Cameras

Kodak Easyshare series
Canon Sureshot series
Canon Powershot series
Pentax Optio series

Nikon Coolpix series
Nikon Coolpix L20 10MP Digital Camera with 3.6 Optical Zoom and 3 inch LCD (Deep Red)

SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex and DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex and refers to how the light enters the camera. These are the cameras you see many professionals and serious amateurs lugging around. These cameras have a larger body than most P&S cameras and interchangeable lenses. While SLRs started out a fully manual, where the photographer had to control all features including focus, most of these cameras are capable of acting in a fully automatic mode just like a P&S. Many now allow the photographer the freedom to also take control of all functions or any combination of functions. These cameras allow for great control over the photography process and allow the photographer to take images not always possible with a P&S.

Features
SLRs and DSLRs allow for control over:

shutter speed
aperture
film speed
focus point
magnification (through the use of various lenses)
capability for add-on flashes
remote releases
additional battery packs

Popular DSLR Cameras

Canon Digital Rebel
Nikon D80
Pentax k10D

The ultra-compacts are designed as a most portable, often fitting into pockets easily and used as key chains,

while the digital SLR cameras are professional quality tools that have the widest range of options, such as external flashes, lenses and tripods (but are also often the largest and most cumbersome to carry). Most units fall into the middle two categories, with compacts having a good range of quality, resolution, and options, and the prosumer range including higher quality and greater control over manual options and accessories.

Foremost trait:

Following feature should be considered before selection any camera for pHotography……

Mega pixel

Zoom

Storage media

Mega pixel: Buying by only the mega-pixel rating could be missed out on the other features of the camera – portability, accessories, a good quality flash, but it is one of the most important considerations. Less than 3 mega-pixel cameras are suitable for basic snapshots; the camera will be small and good enough to take basic 'I was there' shots, but the images won’t be as clear if you want anything larger than standard 4x6 prints. Between 3 and 5 mega pixels, you can make a good range of everyday use and vacation cameras – you can fill your photo albums with shots from cameras in this range or use them as desktop images, as you will generally find the images are good enough that you don’t need any more and will be able to make good quality prints at a variety of sizes. From 5 to 10 mega-pixels, you will find more serious cameras for hobbyists that want to explore photography as an art or those that are looking to stay ahead of the curve – the images will take up more hard drive space but will be perfect for manipulation and printing out in larger sizes. A number of cameras are available across different categories with 10 mega-pixels or more, although this kind of resolution is generally overkill for casual everyday use. Choose a 10 mega-pixel or higher resolution camera if you are a professional and expect to be paid for the work you produce, if you need the highest resolution because you expect to make significant enlargements of your photos for mounting/framing, if you want more flexible cropping options, or if you simply want the ultimate in image quality.

Zoom: Zooming is another important consideration with digital cameras - there are two kinds of zoom: optical zoom and digital zoom. If you are using a digital point and shoot camera you may have something called "digital zoom". In order to preserve maximum image quality you should avoid digital zoom whenever possible. If it is your only option, use it. If you have the option of optical zoom, use that instead.

Digital zoom
Digital zoom is basically a digital crop within the camera. It is not a true magnification. When you use digital zoom you are effectively only capturing part of an image, with lower resolution than the full frame image would have.
Optical zoom
Optical zoom is magnification created by a lens. This type of magnification is a "true zoom" and should not adversely affect image quality. Optical zoom should be your first choice for magnification whenever possible.

Storage media: The way the images themselves are stored can be a factor in your decision, as some camera makers have proprietary storage systems that are incompatible with the cameras of other makes. Some common formats are Compact Flash (a fairly common format across both compact and professional cameras), Secure Digital (SD) cards (which are fairly common in compact cameras due to their smaller size), and Sony Memory Stick (unique to Sony cameras, but also supported by Sony computers, televisions, and other devices). Storage sizes can range from smaller 8MB cards/sticks, which can hold about a dozen three mega-pixel images, to larger 32GB cards/sticks and higher, which can hold thousands of images, and are especially useful when storing photos in a 'raw' format (a direct unprocessed copy of the image data from the camera sensor, available more commonly with digital SLR cameras, and takes much more storage space per photo). Choose the largest size you are comfortable with, and ideally select a second smaller stick as a backup in case the first one becomes full – for example, a combination of a 512MB with a 4GB card/stick is good if you move all your images onto your computer on a regular basis.

Kingston 4 GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Memory Card SD4/4GB

Remember about:

v Aperture

v Shutter speed

v Understanding Your Camera’s Light Meter

v Using Your Built-In Flash

v Basic Camera Care

v Protecting Your Camera From the Weather

N.B: Reference from wikepedia, photographic book and my friends.