What To Consider When Buying a Camera Part I - by Jerry Schneir

Jerry is an instructor at Emeritus College in Santa Monica, California where he teaches courses in digital photography dedicated to seniors. He also has taught introductory courses in Photoshop Elements.

I buy 3 or 4 cameras a year as I am always looking for that one perfect camera and still have not found it. Come close, but no winner. Think about it for a second; if you're trying to take really great bird pictures you want a fast lens and a lot of zoom. That almost always means a bigger camera, and probably a bit heavy as well. At a party you might like something smaller and unobtrusive. Each set of circumstances and conditions tend to dictate a somewhat different type/style camera. It is hard to balance cost along with your perceived photographic needs as well as your photographic knowledge and/or ability.

Trying to evaluate things like: zoom range; viewfinder; fixed, tilting or fully articulating LCD; maximum lens aperture; movie functions and types; weather sealing or proofing; weight; size; these are just some of the factors that should play a role in making that choice. Sometimes the placement of buttons or dials becomes even more important as to how well you will like using a particular camera. Sometimes intangibles like ease of use of the menu or the degree of customization may become final determining factors. What is close to ideal for me may be a horrible choice for you.

ZOOM RANGE In today’s digital world, optical zoom in even pocket sized cameras have reached 50-60x. The lens can go from 24 or 28mm wide angle to 1200mm or more. That amount of optical zoom in a very compact camera generally has some very negative tradeoffs. The lenses on those cameras lose their fast aperture, if they have one, very quickly as you start to zoom out. That fast f2.8 lens at 24mm quickly slows to f5.6 by the time you zoom out to as little as 100mm on some cameras. Some of those lenses can be very much slower than a camera with less optical zoom. On some cameras you can increase the zoom range by reducing the resolution, sometimes a worthy trade.

LENS APERTURE-SPEED A faster lens (larger opening, smaller F number) means you can take pictures at higher shutter speeds and can contribute to getting sharper pictures, IF you used that higher shutter speed. A big lens opening yields a shallower depth of field (DOF). Note: MOST lenses are marked with 2 aperture values, the larger numbered one is at maximum zoom, the smaller numbered one is at maximum wide angle. The drop in lens speed is NOT linear but rapidly occurs as you start to zoom in on your subject. The bigger lens opening means you can use a lower ISO even with higher shutter speeds. Using a lower ISO level means less noise in the image and thus a sharper picture. A faster lens (larger lens opening) also means not having to use flash as often. And larger lens openings also means that you have an increased ability to blur the background so that your subject stands out better. That faster lens almost always means faster auto focusing even in poor light.

VIEWFINDER The more zoom a camera has the more important it is to have a viewfinder. The need becomes even more acute in bright sunlight. Trying to use a camera at or near maximum zoom but without a viewfinder in bright sun can be an impossible obstacle. The newer EVF (electronic viewfinder) closely mimic the best optical viewfinders and sometimes offer some advantages.

A few of the cameras with a built-in EVF (electronic view finder) have an eye sensor which automatically switches from the LCD to the EVF as you place your eye near the EVF. The EVF can display a live view, i.e., how the picture will look when the shutter is tripped by just half pressing the shutter button. That is not possible with some of the optical viewfinder. On the other hand, some type of an optical viewfinder may show you what is happening as you follow the action of a scene, there is no lag in what the camera is showing in the viewfinder and what will be captured. Again, depending of the type of optical viewfinder it may be best for taking fast action pictures.

Some cameras do not have a built-in viewfinder. On some of those cameras there is an accessory viewfinder, generally an electronic viewfinder that use the external flash bracket. That increases the bulkiness of the camera, may limit your use of an external flash, and gives you something else to carry around and perhaps lose or break.

In the next post, we’ll look at the size and weight of the camera, the LCD, the megapixels and the controls and shooting programs.

Battle of the Cameras: DSLR vs. Interchangeable-Lens Camera

Last week we saw a digital SLR do battle with a high-end point-and-shoot—today the DSLR faces its hybrid challenger, the interchangeable-lens camera. The main difference between these two cameras is that the latter does not have a mirror to bounce the image to the viewfinder.

The major difference between these two cameras lends itself to the main advantage of a DSLR over an ILC. The viewfinder on a DSLR is superior and ensures there is no update lag. The mirror allows the photographer to see what is currently happening in the viewfinder, while an ILC can only show you what has already happened. The advantage to the EVF, however, is that it accurately displays exposure and white balance. Some optical viewfinders on DSLRs can do this, but it comes at a greater cost.

While there are certainly plenty of digital camera lenses to choose from for ILCs, the selection is still larger for digital SLRs. DSLRs also have the ability to use older film-camera lenses without an adapter. But with better technology and bulky lenses, DSLRs tend to be bigger and heavier than ILCs (though there are compact DSLRs, as well as large ILCs on the market).

The bottom line is that the ILC is a good stepping stone for consumers who want a step above their point-and-shoot but without the bulk and the high cost.  

The Leap to Digital SLR Cameras

Over the next few weeks I'd like to devote some time to amateur photographers. As of late, there has been an increased interest in the purchase of SLR cameras. A decade or so ago they were used solely by professionals, students, and serious hobbyists. But today, we all know someone with little-to-no photography knowledge desiring the quality of a digital SLR. We may as well give them some advice before they purchase and we sincerely hope that the occasional photographer turns into a more serious hobbyist!

So what the heck is an SLR? It stands for digital single lens reflex because these cameras use a mirror behind the lens to direct light towards the viewfinder. As the shutter is released, the mirror moves out of the way, allowing light to travel to the sensor and briefly blacking out the viewfinder. A prism inside the viewfinder flips the image right side up and bounces it onto the screen.

All SLR cameras are not created equal, however. There are several types and you should know the difference before investing. The one most people are referring to when speaking of one is a full system digital SLR with an interchangeable lens. Users can remove the lens and replace it with another. Almost all SLRs today are this type.

A fixed-lens digital SLR is one in which the lens cannot be removed. Most use a semitransparent, non-moving mirror to bounce some of the light to the viewfinder, while the rest of the light goes through the main sensor. This translates to using the LCD to compose the shot.

An SLR-like, or SLR-style, is actually a standard digicam that uses an electronic viewfinder (EVF) instead of the standard pentaprism. They're technically not an SLR because they don't use a mirror and the image quality does not compare.

And lastly, we have the interchangeable lens camera, also known as a hybrid camera. They use the technology of a point-and-shoot with the ability to change digital camera lenses. However, they too use an EVF and lack a mirror in the viewfinder.