| With so many camera models to choose from where | | | | they have unless they have had some trouble with it, |
| do you start? Well, the way I choose any new toy | | | | even then people are very forgiving. I think the reason |
| these days is to start at the end. What do you want it | | | | for this is that people think that, if they have made the |
| to do? Err . . . take pictures. Yes but what kind of | | | | wrong choice it is because they have somehow failed, |
| pictures and what are you going to do with them? The | | | | and they are not going to admit their failure. Back in the |
| other burning question is how much are you prepared | | | | 1980s I had a camera shop in England and at the time |
| to learn?As you are reading this and have actually | | | | a lot of people, who already owned an SLR, were |
| made it to paragraph two, I think we can assume that | | | | buying compact cameras 'for the wife'. They would |
| you are prepared to learn at least a little. So what do | | | | ask me which brand was the best and, if I didn't |
| you want to do? Do you want something that you can | | | | already know, I would discreetly try to find out which |
| keep in your pocket at all times so you can snap the | | | | brand of SLR they owned, then I would recommend |
| kids? Do you want a camera that will allow you to | | | | the same brand of compact camera.Trying to sell |
| take pictures in any lighting conditions from any | | | | them another brand was like telling them they had |
| distance (with the right gadget screwed on the front | | | | made a wrong choice when buying their old camera |
| of course)? Is this going to be a hobby or just some | | | | and was likely to lose me a sale. So I'd better have a |
| quick snaps?The Learning CurveI haven't seen any | | | | really good reason for not recommending the Canon, |
| cameras on sale in recent years that do not have a | | | | Olympus, Nikon, Pentax or whatever and I didn't have |
| fully automatic 'point and shoot' mode, most will | | | | one. All of the well known brands produce similar |
| automatically switch on the flash for you when it is | | | | cameras at similar prices and, by and large, you get |
| needed so you may wonder why we need all the | | | | what you pay for.I will stick my neck out a little bit here |
| other manual and semi automatic modes and an | | | | and say that in my humble opinion the manufacturers |
| instruction book to make your head spin. The answer | | | | who make the best film cameras the Japanese Nikon, |
| is that, although the camera can produce good | | | | Canon, Olympus, Pentax, Minolta and the German |
| exposures most of the time, there are times when, to | | | | Contax and Leica seem to make the best digital |
| get the results we want, we have to apply a little | | | | cameras. I would not be too happy to put my trust in |
| knowhow and select more appropriate settings than | | | | brands whose traditional expertise is in other fields |
| the camera would automatically choose.Before | | | | when there are such good cameras available from the |
| choosing a camera with lots of knobs and dials it is a | | | | traditional sources. I will probably get a lot of hate mail |
| good idea to consider whether you are ever going to | | | | from people who have bought Sony cameras or |
| bother to learn what they are all for. I've been around | | | | Hewlett Packard and are perfectly happy with them. If |
| cameras for many years now, and I'm still learning | | | | I wanted a printer Hewlett Packard would be top of |
| what all the settings on my latest camera actually do. I | | | | my list and I am a huge fan of Sony video and TV |
| never bother to learn how to do something until I need | | | | equipment but my first choice for a digital SLR would |
| to. So there are certain obscure settings that I have | | | | be one of the names mentioned above.How Many |
| yet to find a use for. Of course it would be nice if we | | | | Pixels?Until recently the quality of digital cameras was |
| could choose just the buttons we need and have each | | | | measured by how many pixels they boasted. Now we |
| camera custom made for us but in the real world all | | | | have cameras that can produce tens of millions and it |
| we can do is choose the level of control based on | | | | has ceased to be the only test of quality. In the real |
| how much we think we might want to get involved. | | | | world the number of pixels you need depends on how |
| Generally speaking an SLR will have more knobs, dials | | | | big you want to print your pictures. If you mainly want |
| and menus than a compact camera which will give | | | | postcard size or A5 then I would consider 4 million |
| you more control over your pictures but will have a | | | | pixels to be perfectly adequate. Even at A4 size I |
| much steeper learning curve.SLR or Compact?All the | | | | would be hard pushed to tell the difference between |
| cameras on the market can be categorised into a few | | | | my 4 million pixel camera and my 6.5 million pixel |
| simple groups. The most important two groups are | | | | camera. Don't forget though that your cropping in the |
| fixed lens and interchangeable lens. The fixed lens | | | | camera may not always be perfect so you may be |
| cameras tend, with a few exceptions, to be smaller, | | | | enlarging only a portion of the image and so only using |
| lighter and more pocketable, therefore you are more | | | | a portion of the available pixels.Although an adequate |
| likely to have it with you when you need it. Well that's | | | | number of pixels is important, the quality of your picture |
| the theory anyway but I think we can say that you are | | | | will be greatly affected by the quality of the lens. |
| more likely to be bothered to take it with you on that | | | | When Canon recently updated the EOS 300D (digital |
| outing to the beach or the zoo.However even with | | | | rebel) with 6.5 million pixels to the EOS 350D with 8 |
| today's zoom lenses, which are pretty wonderful, you | | | | million pixels, the general consensus amongst |
| will often find that you are too far away or too close | | | | reviewers seemed to be that the money you needed |
| to get the picture you want so you need to be able to | | | | to spend on an upgrade would be better spent on a |
| change the lens for a longer telephoto or a wider | | | | better quality lens. So the answer to the pixel question |
| angle. The other major advantage of these single lens | | | | is that we seem to have now reached a point where |
| reflex (SLR) cameras is that you are actually looking | | | | enough is enough.There is also a school of thought |
| through the lens instead of a separate viewfinder so | | | | that we have reached the limit of the number of photo |
| what you see is what you get, although this is less of | | | | sensors that we can fit on a chip and that a greater |
| an issue now that we can review our photos on the | | | | number will cause the individual cells to be too small |
| screen of the digital camera. The down side of these | | | | compared to the space in between them. Usually |
| SLR cameras is that you very soon end up with quite | | | | though, when someone says something like that, the |
| a heavy bag of gadgets and are less likely to carry it | | | | following week the boffins announce a breakthrough |
| everywhere with you. However much I yearn for a | | | | which makes it all nonsense. You may have seen |
| compact camera for it's handyness I know I would be | | | | adverts for cameras, costing many thousands, that |
| frustrated by it's shortcomings so for me the choice is | | | | have 16 or 20 million pixels. These have sensors that |
| SLR every time.Digital or Film?Do they still make film | | | | are twice the size of those in the consumer cameras, |
| cameras? Oh yes they do and I wouldn't mind betting | | | | hence the price. To me, the resolution of a 6 or 8 |
| that they continue to do so for many years and I | | | | million pixel camera with a decent lens seems good |
| wouldn't mind betting that at some time in the future | | | | enough for most purposes and on a par with the |
| there will be a retro backlash and a large number of | | | | quality I used to get from a 35mm film camera.In the |
| 'serious' photographers will return to the darkroom. | | | | past I have spent a lot of time and money in the |
| Some will probably claim that they have never used | | | | pursuit of ultimate quality, I have owned a 5x4inch plate |
| digital at all, ever.You might think from the remarks | | | | camera, a Hassleblad and two Mamiya medium |
| above that I am a diehard supporter of film. Nothing | | | | format cameras, every major brand of 35mm camera |
| could be further from the truth actually I am now fully | | | | and in the end, I would be hard pushed to tell you |
| converted to digital and loving it. I am going to make | | | | which photo on the wall was taken with which camera. |
| the pros and cons a separate discussion that will be | | | | A fellow photographer once observed that |
| posted soon but, for now, I'll just say that I am | | | | photographers tend to smell pictures rather than look |
| completely sold on digital and do not feel that I have | | | | at them, by which he meant that they were more |
| lost anything significant by changing.Which brand?This, | | | | interested in the graininess and sharpness of the image |
| of course, is the big question that you really want an | | | | than the actual image itself.Geoff Lawrence has been |
| answer to and you know that nobody is going to give | | | | a professional photographer for many years and now |
| you one. If you ask anyone who already has a | | | | runs a website offering advice to people who want to |
| camera most will support the brand of the camera | | | | improve their photography. |