A Photography Equipment Archive To Put Past Pages At Your FingertipsThis page, Photography Equipment Archive, contains all previous equipment pages from Camera Choices, Lens Choice and Accessories. These will occasionally be compiled into PDF format collections and offered to readers. In the meanwhile please take advantage of this free information to make your buying decisions about photography equipment easier and more suited to your personal needs. There is a lot of gear available and none of us has easy access to all or even a small portion of it. My goal is to use my years of experience using a wide variety of equipment from many manufacturers to help you prevent time consuming mis-steps and costly purchasing mistakes. Whether focusing only on Florida images or general photography, having the correct equipment for the shot is crucial, so the advice on these photography equipment archive pages tends to be more in-depth than other information on this site. Use it wisely and shoot from the soul.
Make Your Camera Choices Easier By Knowing What You Need
So many camera choices can be confusing for even the most experienced photographer. If you are new to photography and not already familiar with a wide range of photography equipment the decision of which camera is the one for you can be overwhelming. The information and questions here should clarify things and make it possible to choose wisely. First ask yourself how serious you are about photography. Are you just starting and want to get your toes wet? Are you considering making it a career? Those are the two extremes and most will be somewhere in between. Second, ask why you want photos. If you want to e-mail them to your friends, look at them on the monitor or TV, use them on the web and make up to letter-size prints, a compact point & shoot with a 3x-4x zoom will probably do everything you need. Large prints for the wall and getting published or selling through a stock agency require the larger sensors and higher quality lenses offered by SLR cameras. Third, how much are you willing to carry around with you in order to be able to take photos? If you won't take it because it does not fit in your pocket, you will not use it much. If you are willing to carry something a little larger, are you also willing to learn the basics of exposure and depth-of-field in order to get the most out of SLR photography? Answer honestly because there is plenty to pick from throughout the spectrum. Once the decision is made of a basic point & shoot, an intermediate with longer zoom range and more mega-pixels or an SLR with interchangeable lenses, it is time to go to a real camera store and handle some cameras. You must be able to hold a camera in your hands and actually take pictures with it to know whether you will be happy with it. Every company selling cameras has their own quirks about control placement, menu layout, etc... Every company's lenses have a particular "look". Bring a few small, cheap memory cards with you to the store(compact flash, SD, XD and Memory Stick) and take a few files shot in the store home with you to look at on your computer. Photography equipment is expensive and generally lasts a long time, so make sure your cash buys something you will be happy with for a while. There are several things to remember through this whole process. One is that no camera will do everything well, but many come close. Another is that many high-end compact cameras approach or exceed the size and weight of some SLR/lens combos. The biggest limitation of compact cameras is their lack of expansion capability: no extra lenses, no more-powerful external flash units, no remote shutter release, and a much smaller sensor chip which limits quality in low light and for larger print sizes. Probably the most important thing to keep in mind is not to buy based on brand because you know someone who swears by them. Buy based on how it feels to you and the quality of the images you see from that camera. My opinion is that there is very little difference between any of the major brands now available concerning image quality or product quality. Photographers become loyal to particular brands mostly because they become used to the control layout and other brands then seem "clunky" to use. It is the same reason so few people own both Fords and Chevy. They both get you where you want to go, get the same gas mileage and last a long time but they are very different vehicles.
Compact Cameras Are Valid Camera Choices
This Camera Choices page focuses on compact cameras with built-in lenses. This is a vast category but can be roughly divided into three groups: 1.)very small auto-everything cameras with 3x-4x zoom lenses and few manual settings for casual snap-shooters who want the camera to do it all for them, 2.)compacts with 3x-12x zooms, high mega-pixel sensors and manual control options for photographers looking for a pocket-sized alternative when their SLR is just too big or conspicuous and 3.)almost SLR’s with wide-range zooms, lots of control options and larger-than-pocket sized bodies for those not wanting or needing a full system camera but craving the versatility of an SLR. Most of the cameras in all three groups will produce well focused, well exposed files the great majority of the time. Cameras in groups 2 and 3 can produce files that are focused and exposed the way you want them, every time. The auto-everything cameras tend to be the smallest and lightest and are great when you just want to have a camera handy. You can point them in the right direction, push the shutter button and expect to get a printable file. Those few times that you don’t get a useable file there just is not much you can do. My wife has a Canon PowerShot 850 IS. There is no control of aperture or shutter speed or even easy control of ISO/”film speed” – the camera does it all. More than nine out of ten shots are printable and will easily go to 11”x14”. It has a 3x zoom and even has image stabilization that works well. There is no exposure histogram and exposure compensation is not easily accessible. I borrow this camera regularly and use it exclusively for a day to break creative blocks. It is very liberating to occasionally spend a day photographing without ever thinking about exposure settings or if the highlights will be blown out or if there will be detail in the darkest shadow areas or if the focus is set for optimum depth of field. This is a valid camera choice. My personal middle-group camera is a Canon Powershot A640. It has a 4x zoom, exposure histogram, easy and convenient manual exposure and exposure compensation – all the control I am used to on my SLR’s. It only weighs six ounces, fits easily into a pants or shirt pocket and will shoot all day on a set of batteries. Its only real limitations are the lack of RAW files(jpeg only), no image stabilization and limited range of focal lengths. The fact that I am willing to carry it anywhere and everywhere means that it takes a lot of great photos while my SLR and larger lens is back in the car or at home or in the boat. You just can’t take that picture in front of you if there is no camera in your hand. I am more than willing to give up some lens flexibility and RAW files to get a camera that I am never without. Even if I do not succeed in getting the shot I want, at least I had a chance to try. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I resolve to always carry my “baby” SLR and lightweight lens with me, there are many times when I just don’t want the extra hassle. The Canon compact always makes it into a pocket and gets used. The “almost SLR’s” are the largest of these cameras, some even larger and heavier than a small SLR and standard zoom lens. The group 3 cameras usually have much wider range zooms than standard SLR lenses, though. Many of these cameras have built-in lenses of 28mm-300mm or 35mm-400mm. Many people could shoot for a long time without wanting a wider or longer focal length. Most of this group of cameras have all of the features of most SLR’s, though they might not be as convenient to access. You never have to worry about changing or carrying extra lenses but you always have to carry the same fairly large and heavy package. For very large prints, the smaller sensor of these cameras is not as good as the larger sensor in an SLR body even if it has the same number of pixels. The larger sensor of an SLR will also perform better at higher “film” speeds(less noise and finer detail). These points are not important issues for everyone. I have used a few of the Fuji cameras in this category and found them to be good performers. The decision always come down to what you need to do photographically and what kind of photography equipment you are willing to carry and learn how to use. I recommend always going to a local camera store to handle the cameras yourself. Different manufacturers make different sizes and different control placements that fit and appeal to different photographers. That is how they all stay in business. When a local store helps you to find the right camera, please buy it from them. It will probably be a few dollars more than the best on-line price but you will be keeping that store in business and if there are problems you will have a real person to talk to.
Lens Choice 1
Lens choice is, in my opinion, much more important than the camera body, whether SLR or compact. Optical quality and focal length control the image to a larger extent than the size or the format of the film or digital sensor. The lens is the piece of photography equipment that deserves the most thought and consideration and often the largest portion of the equipment budget. I recommend zoom lenses unless there is a real need for a lens in one particular focal length. Modern zoom quality is so close to prime-focal quality as to no longer be an issue. Do be aware that many “all-in-one” lenses(18mm-200mm, etc…) do show lower image quality and greater distortion at both ends of their focal lengths compared to zooms with less extreme ratios. Depending on the type of photography you want to do and its intended uses this may or may not be an issue. For many, the convenience of being able to use one lens for ninety percent or more of their photographs outweighs any image quality issues. Carrying less equipment has many advantages over a large bag full of gear. This is why I recommend two to three zooms to cover a complete focal length range rather than seven or nine prime-focal lenses to cover the same range. The zooms will also be lighter in weight, take up less room in a bag and be easier on the buying budget. It is important to think about the way you usually see the world when deciding which lens to purchase, be it your first with a new camera body or compact or an addition to your current lens or lenses. In your head, do you see wide, expansive vistas, narrow slices of the scene or somewhere in between? For a first lens, this should be the first consideration. If your vision is large and inclusive, your first lens should probably be a wide angle zoom in the 10-14mm to 20-35mm range. If you see isolated details and portions of the larger scene, consider a medium telephoto zoom in the 50-70mm to 135-300mm range. For most, and for those just starting put in photography who are not yet sure, there are many “all purpose” zooms in the 18-24mm to 105-135mm range that will give you a more moderate version of both and everything in between. Keep in mind that very wide angle lenses can be much more difficult to master and use effectively because they include so much in their field of view(see the General Photography Tip “Get Closer and Simplify”. Longer lenses can leave you not being able to back up far enough to include what you need in the image. Lens choice, like all choices in life, are a compromise with no perfect solution. Overall optical quality needed depends on the intended uses of your photographs, possible future uses and budget limitations. For travelling and hiking during daylight, I like standard “consumer” zooms with variable aperatures. They are small in size, light in weight and relatively cheap while maintaining good image quality. When travelling by car, shooting in low light(before or after sunrise, indoors, etc..) or needing the fastest possible shutter speed for sports or wildlife, I like the large, constant-aperature “professional” zooms(70-200mm f/2.8, 16-35mm f/2.8, etc…). They are much larger, weigh much more and cost very much more than their slower cousins. Start by buying the best you can afford, see what limitations you encounter with that lens and start saving for next lens that will let you go beyond those limitations. Almost any lens now being sold will take very good, “publication” quality photographs on any camera body if used correctly. It is a matter of finding the right lenses to match your style and vision. If you are still searching for a style and vision, the most important thing is to get started and use your camera regularly. Style and vision will develop as you take more images and learn from your successes and failures along the way.
A Solid Tripod Will Enhance Your Image Quality In Many Ways
A tripod is usually a good first purchase after the camera/lens. Even with good light and fast shutter speeds, image sharpness is enhanced by placing the camera on a sturdy tripod. This is especially important if you plan to make large prints or project large images for group viewing. Hand holding might be plenty sharp enough for letter-sized prints but almost never is for 20”x30” prints. A solid tripod also allows you to take full advantage of that expensive lens quality. Having the camera mounted also forces you to think more about each image, to pay more attention to the composition, to study the background and frame edges for possible distraction and leads to overall improvement in the photos. Tripods, like cameras and lenses, should be chosen for the kind of photos you like to take. I like nature, landscape and wildlife photography best and my wildlife include insects and small lizards. The tripod I chose is solid enough to support a full/pro-sized SLR with 200-400mm zoom lens attached, can go to ground level for eye-level photos of snakes and tortoises and can flip the center column to horizontal for macro or copy work. I prefer ball heads for ease of use in the field. A level is helpful but not necessary. Some sort of quick release on the tripod head makes use much easier but requires the purchase of extra plates for each camera and/or lens to be used on that tripod. Be sure the head and quick release are rated for the maximum weight of your present and future equipment.
Return from Photography Equipment Archive to Photography Equipment
|
