Choosing a Digital Camera
Choosing a digital camera can be extremely daunting when you start. Here are a few simple points to help you understand the jargon and get to the root of what you really need from a digital camera.
- Your goals |
- What is a megapixel? |
- Digital camera Lenses |
- Which digital camera brand? |
- Digital camera prices |
- Accessories
Your Goals
What are your reasons for choosing a digital camera? What will you want to do with it? The kind of situations you want to photograph will decide the kind of camera you get.
Do you want a camera for holiday snapshots? Do you want to take it clubbing with you, for social situations? Do you care what the result is as long as it's acceptable and you caught the moment?
You want a compact digital camera. This type of camera is small, light and fits into your pocket. It will take great snapshots and even some decent creative shots, but it will struggle with more creative techniques.
Do you want to take beautiful photos with a "wow" factor? Do you want to take your time and really think about how your final picture will look, and make it interesting? Do you feel that getting the scene on paper isn't as important as making it look as amazing as possible?
You want a digital slr or "dslr". For the record, "slr" stands for "single lens reflex", which I discuss in detail in another article. If you're here, then this is probably you.
This question is more important than you might think in choosing a digital camera. You'd be annoyed if you found yourself in a situation not suited to your camera. A dslr will be next to useless in a club, while a compact camera won't be able to take those "wow" shots.
What is a megapixel?
Electrical goods shops have a habit of making megapixels sound important. They influence your decision choosing a digital camera which isn't always in your best interest.
"Get this 15MP camera for the low price of £200" and you're supposed to think "ooooo". The problem is that most people do just think "ooooo" and buy the camera, despite never needing 15 megapixels...
The megapixel value of a digital camera refers to the resolution of the photos it can take. More is generally better, but unless you print photos the size of a house, you don't need a huge number of megapixels.
Most modern digital slr cameras are around 10MP or higher. 10MP is plenty. I have a 10MP camera. When I upgrade it, it won't be for more megapixels!
I can print photos up to A3 without any problems, and I've never wanted to print any larger. For most purposes, consider when choosing a digital camera that around 6MP is a minimum you want to be above.
Digital Camera Lenses
This is a big reason to switch to digital slr cameras. Lenses give a great deal of choice and control over getting exactly the photo you want.
Most entry-level dslr cameras (i.e. the cheapest) come with "kit lenses". You can either buy the kit in one, so body and lens together, or you can buy the body on its own and pick a lens to go with it. This will be more expensive than getting it as a kit, though.
Get the camera with the kit lens. No, it won't be the best lens you'll ever use. In fact, it'll probably be the worst. So why would I recommend you get it?
When you start, you'll probably use your shiny new dslr like a point-and-click compact camera. The point is to let your ability grow with practice. If you can get to the point when you're taking amazing photos with the kit lens, then you can think about upgrading.
If you start with an amazing lens then it is doing all the hard work for you. You miss out on important aspects of photography which you should understand.
Which digital camera brand?
It really isn't that important, but there are a few things you should consider. Let's take Nikon and Canon as the two main brands. In the digital photography world, you buy into a brand more than in most other consumer sectors.
You won't be able to put Nikon lenses on a Canon camera, for example. Though there are third party lenses that go on both, the chances are that if you start Canon, you'll continue with Canon.
In terms of the camera quality, the difference is essentially zero. Whether you get a Nikon or a Canon is down to personal taste. Go to a camera shop and play with each camera.
How does the camera feel in your hands? Are the menus easy to navigate? Are the buttons in a sensible place? Does it feel well built? Go shopping!
Digital camera prices
I won't mislead you: digital photography is still an expensive hobby. More expensive than, say, reading. That said it is much cheaper than film photography and prices are coming down all the time.
Expect to spend at least a few hundred dollars (or pounds!) on your first camera.
Yes, there are cameras that cost stupid amounts, but ignore them for now. If you turn pro, you might look at them (and possibly not even then). You can covet them later.
Bear in mind that you'll probably want to get extra equipment like bags and filters, but if you just want to get started, all you'll need is in the box: the body, lens and various cables. You'll also need a memory card and a computer, of course.
Digital camera memory cards
Memory cards store the information from the photos the camera takes. They come in various sizes, holding more photos as they get bigger (not physically!). It's the same idea as the hard drive in your computer, measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). 1GB is 1000MB.
If each photo is around 5MB, a 1GB memory card will hold approximately 200 photos. 1GB will be plenty to get you started: you can always buy more later. This is one major advantage of digital photography over film photography: you don't have to keep buying film, there is no film!
Accessories
If you buy from a shop, the person selling to you will probably want you to get various accessories. You don't necessarily need them. To start with, all you need is a camera body, a lens and a memory card.
I suggest getting only these items first and getting used to them. There'll be plenty of time to build your equipment. Don't feel that you must get a tripod, flash gun, cleaning kit and extra battery packs just because they tell you to. Wait until you need them.
I hope this helps you in choosing a digital camera.
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