Choosing a Camera
Examine your needs.
Why do you want a camera? If it’s to take vacation snapshots etc, then a cheaper model would be fine. Decide how often you use it. The more you use it, the more likely you are to upgrade your camera. So, choose wisely. The budget is the next thing to consider about. Plan how much you’re willing to spend and compare it with the quality of the camera and never being hesitated to spend bit over, so that you will keep it much longer for sure.
Analog or Digital?
Both types have pluses and minuses.
Now that all professionals are going digital, film cameras have the advantage of being kind of cheap compared to a digital camera of the same quality and performance plus film cameras do not have the issues with noise effects. On the other hand, development cost of pictures would be high if you’re taking lots of photos
The main advantage is the ability to view the pictures that you have taken right after taking the shot and it allows you to retake the shot if needed. Disadvantage is the prices of the cameras are pretty high comparing to the Analog cameras.
P&S vs SLR vs Bridge vs DSLR
- The process of point and shoot cameras (P&S) are just what they sounds like: you point your camera at the subject, zoom in or out, then press the button to take the picture. Such cameras require very little effort on the part of the photographer; because such cameras typically focus themselves and adjust themselves to various light conditions. (Ex. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350)
- An SLR (single-lens reflex) camera is what you see professional photographers use and it’s basically a film camera. With a DSLR (and many SLRs), you have total control over the photograph. You can adjust the shutter speed, the aperture alone, change the ISO speed as u please, SLR camera uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image. (Ex. Olympus OM-2)
- Bridge cameras are cameras which fill the market between the single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) and the Point-and-shoot cameras. This type of cameras doesn’t have the feature of using interchangeable lenses. Like other cameras, most current bridge cameras are digital and many bridge cameras have long zoom lenses. With zoom ranges varying from wide-angle to telephoto, including macro) are feasible with one lens. Some cameras reach 500mm zooming limit and due to this reason, bridge cameras are also known as superzoom cameras. (Ex. Sony HX1, Cannon S90 etc)
- DSLRs are just like large point and shoot cameras. Unlike SLR cameras, you can use interchangeable lenses with DSLRs, which will add more quality to your photographs and it allows you to experiment various kind of techniques in different ranges like, macro, wide angle etc (Ex. Nikon D3000, Cannon EOS 40D)
Useful tutorial.. Thanks for the insight..
Can you also explain about cameras like Sony Nex5 where they have heavily focused on digital aspect/portability.
When you talk about digital cameras the most important aspect is the size of the sensor that is being used. you will most likely to hear terms like Full frame sensor or crop sensors in dslr specifications. your phone camera/point and shoot camera is most likely to have a 1/4 to 2/3 crop factor while cameras like canon 550d/7d, Nikon d5000, etc. have a crop factor of 1.5/1.6. the crop factor is a relative, and it’s compared to the size of a full frame sensor (seen in cams like canon 5d).
bottom line is : the bigger your sensor, the better the image quality going to be.
but the problem is, as mentioned by the author of this article “SLR camera uses a movable *mirror placed between the lens and the film/digital sensor to project the image.” light coming from the lens is projected upwards to our eyes and when we press the shutter button the mirror/prism moves up exposing the sensor which captures the photo. this mechanism needs lot of room,[bigger the sensor, bigger the mirror/prism and bigger the view finder] that is why dslr camera bodies are relatively larger than compact point and shoots.
Sony Nex series belongs to category named EVIL/ SLD: Electronic Viewfinder in Lens/ Single Lens Display. light entering the lens will directly hit the image sensor and we will get a preview of it in a lcd screen. so u get ur 1.5 crop sensor [big sensor]in a very compact body[pretty smart ha]. although there is a risk of easily damaging the image sensor.
*[please not that mirrors are used only in consumer grade SLRs. glass prisms, called pentaprisms are used in pro cams]
@Hasitha_K
“the bigger your sensor, the better the image quality going to be”.
Yes, that’s why we get better quality images by using DSLRs rather than P&S’ and other cameras. this post just tried to give a basic idea about all types of cameras in the market and theoretically for n00bs who are into photography.
My idea was not to promote any type of camera or brand name even though we all know that DSLRs are the best when it comes to image quality and Nikon has the best sensors but cannon is improving day by day and introducing latest features with their cameras, Sony too is no doubt a good competitor in the market. Sony NEX series is light in weight plus has mirror-less SLRs that can create a significant change in the industry. Pentaprisms are used in pro cams while the same performance will be done by a reflex mirror in consumer SLRs. What I wanted to explain here, was the basic concept of a SLR.
🙂
Cheers..!
Got a Canon 650D with 18-55mm kit lenses..
Will keep you guys posted 😉