What to Look For When Buying a Camera
There is such a huge choice of equipment available today for any
photographer, that it can be completely bewildering trying to decide what to buy. Especially when
you're unfamiliar with all the technology that goes into today's
high-tech offerings. Once you've read this quick guide have a look at
the links at the bottom of the page to find useful buyers guides for today's cameras. There
is also a
glossary of terms page which you may find useful, as the
technology increases so do the number of terms used to describe it!!
As a
professional photographer in London there are so many equipment stores,
conventions and support. I get asked all the time about which camera to buy..so
When you want to buy your first serious camera there are a few questions you should ask.
What do you want to take pictures of?
What will you do with the pictures?
What is your budget?
Will your picture taking change over time?
My own equipment
Compact Digital
If you want to take great pictures of friends and family at home, on
the beach, at a party in fact anywhere, the best camera for the job is a
small automatic compact camera you can slip it into a pocket carry it
with you everywhere, never miss that opportunity to freeze the moment.
Today the place to put your pictures has got to be the Web. The
quickest and easiest way of getting your pictures on the Internet is by
using a digital camera plugging it into your PC and uploading straight
to your home page.Some cameras will now have a facility to upload directly onto facebook and twitter and act more like a phone, but without being able to call anyone!
You can e-mail your pictures to anyone anywhere. You can then print
out your pictures using your PC and your home printer. Software for
processing photographs on your computer is a whole different minefield
but there is a lot of advice out there, so have a look on the links page
for ideas.
Digital SLR
This is the standard "professional" camera. The digital SLR it's the one
used by Sports photographers, photojournalists, Fashion photographers,
Travel photographers, even underwater photographers use them. Most
serious amateurs will own a digital SLR and a range of lenses and
accessories.
The Digital SLR is a good choice as your first serious camera. The
reason for this is very simple. It is the most versatile camera system
available. You can change the lenses the flash system and accessories to
suit the widest range of picture taking circumstances.
If you want to take landscape pictures fit a wide-angle lens, mount
it on a tripod. Perfect for
high quality large prints.
If you want to take pictures of people, use a medium lens of about 50-85mm, stand
at a comfortable distance, the longer lens will give a more flattering
effect.
If its very dark you can pump up the ISO which on the better SLR's is really quite amazing and have very little grain or plug in a flashgun to light up your model
whether you use one small flash on the camera or plug into lots of
studio sized professional studio strobes.
If you want to picture sports action use fast high ISO,
to be able to use a high shutter speed that will freeze any movement, a
long telephoto lens will fill the viewfinder with the action. The better SLR's have superfast ability to take up to 10 shots per second, although you pay through the nose for these ones.
If you wanted to take pictures underwater fit the camera into a waterproof housing and dive in.
The digital SLR is the most versatile piece of kit available to the photographer.
If you're on a limited budget then I would opt for some really good lenses rather than a wizzy camera body. Most of the SLR bodies will be pretty good now, it's the lenses that make the difference in a lot of circumstance. And with lenses don't get too excited about a super telephoto lens..the more it zooms, the less amazing the image..generally speaking a prime lens will give better performance than a telephoto lens but having said that there are amazing zoom lenses out there. Let me know if you need advice!
Buying New
When buying a new camera a little research is required. Go along to a
specialist camera shop, speak to the sale staff, tell them what kind of
pictures you want to take with the camera.
Set yourself a budget; spend what you can afford. Be careful of
spending more than you intended just because the model you like looks
good and has lots of unnecessary features.
Trying to save a few pounds by buying something cheaper that will not
keep up as you develop your skills and need more control of the camera
is a false economy. After a while you will out grow your camera, then
have to spend more money buying a better more expensive model.
Try before you buy, ask to hold the cameras you like while in the
shop. Does it feel comfortable? Is it too heavy can you reach all the
dials and buttons? Do your fingers get in the way?
It may be impressive to have a large camera with lots of buttons and
dials but if its too heavy to hold and you don't use or even know what
the buttons do then it's a waste of time. But don't buy a camera that's
to small if you can't hold the camera comfortably then it will useless
to you.
Don't fall for the glossy adverts Just because a camera is advertised
as "Professional," don't think that you have to buy that one if you
want to develop a career in photography. Great pictures can be taken
with very modest equipment.
Try to buy into a system. Look for a camera that is made by one of
the major brands, they design their cameras to be used with lots of
lenses and accessories so that as your photography develops you can
change and adapt your camera to be able to take pictures the way you
want to.
Consider second hand
Buying any used cameras is going to be a little risky you can't be
sure what your getting or how it has been treated. This doesn't mean you
should ignore secondhand. It could be a great place to pick up a
bargain. Try Ebay for example, where I bought a couple of lenses and
where you get a huge selection of second hand digital cameras and as the
technology moves on, so the older models come up for sale, so you can
pick up a bargain here.
Buyers guides
Kelkoo's digital camera guide
Which buyers guides and reports
My camera equipment
If you're reading this and don't know who I am, I am a
professional family photographer and pregnancy photographer living in London and have been running my own business for the last 7 years.
SPT Photography is my business name. Currently I have 2 superb Canon EOS 5D mk II camera bodies and with
them I use a number of lenses depending on what I'm photographing. The
ones I use 95% of the time are the 24-105mm f4 L series IS USM Canon
lens and the amazing 70-200mm f2.8 L series lens. These two are a
fantastic pair of lenses for most situations, I can get large groups in
shot as well as zooming in quite close for those intimate shots and the
2.8 lens has beautiful depth of field. The Auto Focus is fantastic with
both on these lenses and they create very sharp images. I also have a
prime 50mm f1.4 lens which is amazing but I have to say I don't use it
much as I'm a bit of a zoom fan. I have recently also bought a wide
angle zoom which is the 17-40mm f1.4, another L series lens, which has
been brilliant for taking large groups at weddings or where there is
little space. Phew I think that's it for now, but I do obviously have a
camera top flash which I try and avoid using as much as possible but
which is necessary some times.
Baby Photoshoots in West London are also amazing.
If you want any advice on buying camera equipment do
email me.
I also do lessons and can produce a
beautiful voucher if you would like to give a
loved one a photography session with me. My camera equipment was
bought from Park Cameras, an online retailer who were fantastic in their
service and expertise, and also the Flash Center, again who were
extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend both
retailers.
