Paul
I am currently researching digital cameras and Digital SLR cameras. Please, could any experienced photographers recommend specific camera(s) and why you think that camera is superior?
What are the most important specs to pay attention to, such as shutter speed, focus ranges...etc when making such an important purchase? (I'm not only trying to find the right camera, but also a camera that will help me become a better photographer...)
I enjoy all different kinds of photography but particularly macro photography. If I decide to get an SLR camera, what things are important to pay attention to when buying a lense?
If you know of any websites that contain the information I'm asking for, please post that too!
Thanks so much!
Answer
I will start with my personal recommendation for macro photography: Canon 40D + Canon 100mm F2.8 fixed lens. It's a 1:1 aspect ration lens (that means no distortion due to enlargement effect and so) with clear crisp image and excellent colors.
Second, as general recommendations:
- don't run off for megapixels. Megapixels are important if you make large poster-size prints but if you stick to digital medium only it's slightly useful to allow you to cut and crop the image (basically giving you extra zoom for details).
- senzor build (CCD vs CMOS): that's basically Pentax and Nikon vs Canon. Pentax and Nikon cameras have a more natural feel to their images, with slightly more noise (color abberation at high sensitivity) while Canon has crisp clear and sharp images which also have a digital feel to them. I won't get into the 4:3 open standard (Olympus) because it's too poor to stand against the other three.
- on focus, generally you want as many focus points as possible, lately the standard number is 9 AF sensors, but that thing is, in poor light any camera eventually fails and you'll want either a plug-in extra flash (on hotshoe, since plug-in flashes have a red autofocus assist which can light the subject with a red light to allow focusing) or simply go on manual mode.
- overall, no digital SLR will hinder your ability to take great shots, at worst you'll need some Photoshop skills to repair the image (sure it's preferable to shoot a perfect image but no matter how good you are, 98% of your shots will need retouching). Most important thing is usability (for example I love Pentax and Nikon because their cameras have two separate wheels that are right next to your index and shutter finger to control both aperture and exposure time in manual mode, while Canon has another wheel on the camera's back which hinders your ability to quickly set camera parameters in a quick action sequence). You'll just have to try and hold a camera before you buy (try the B&H showroom in NY).
- look around the Internet for sample shots taken with your potential camera and lenses.
- don't buy long lenses just because they have high mm numbers. Rule of the thumb is: for portraits you'll want bright small lenses (50mm f1.2 or f1.8, the lower the f, less light is needed for a good image, that's great for indoors for example - also fixed lenses give you that blur around the main subject, called a bokeh effect), for sports and action and wildlife you'll want long lenses but also small f (400-1000mm f4), for macro you want ... well ... macro lenses (capable of close-range focus, that deliver best detail ... they're usually marked as macro, but theoretically any lens is capable of delivering various level of macro detail - don't trust macro converter filters, they work but they also produce various abberations).
- Also, fast memory cards are needed. For best quality you'll want to shoot in RAW Format. These files are very large and the camera will need to be able to quickly write the files on to the cart and get ready for next shot. SD 140x, CF Ultra III, that's the stuff. Cheap regular 40x or 80 cards will get clogged in transfer (you don't lose data, but you'll find that your camera will refuse to shoot until photos in its buffer get written on the memory card).
- Check out with your friends and see what SLRs they use. I switched from Pentax to Canon mainly because most of my friends have Canons, that means I can borrow their lenses every now and then and I don't need to buy the entire collection of lenses I need all by myself. You go to a concert with a friend, you take your fixed focal lens, he takes his telephoto zoom lens, you can switch between you the lenses as needed and you don't need each to carry both kind of lenses.
- almost forgot about wide-angles: I won't go into physics, but what you need to know is that for regular DSLR, a lens starting over 28mm (like 28-70mm) is a zoom lens and below (like 17-55mm: is a wide angle). A lens below 28mm (when set at its minimum focal range) is able to get a wider field of view (effectively a zoom-out) which is great for landscapes. A greater focal length narrows the field of view, zooming in. The ratio maximum focal length divided by minimum focal length is the optical x zoom you see on some compact cameras (eg 28-70 mm means 2.5x zoom). However in most cases a fixed focal length lens (which basically has a zoom 1x ) is much better than large zoom (large zoom usually mean large f numbers, making low light photography nearly impossible).
And as a general piece of advice regarding camera purchases: don't get carried away by advertising such as "OMG we have a 16x zoom on our camera!!!". A 28-448mm lens has 16x zoom but it's useless for landscapes. If it's also a f4, then I'd take it to the recycling bin. A 17-70mm lens however is a wide-angle, has a little zoom (4.2x) and has decent macro potential. I'd buy it over the 16x any day.
For more details, well, I have a few guides written around the net.
Cheers!
I will start with my personal recommendation for macro photography: Canon 40D + Canon 100mm F2.8 fixed lens. It's a 1:1 aspect ration lens (that means no distortion due to enlargement effect and so) with clear crisp image and excellent colors.
Second, as general recommendations:
- don't run off for megapixels. Megapixels are important if you make large poster-size prints but if you stick to digital medium only it's slightly useful to allow you to cut and crop the image (basically giving you extra zoom for details).
- senzor build (CCD vs CMOS): that's basically Pentax and Nikon vs Canon. Pentax and Nikon cameras have a more natural feel to their images, with slightly more noise (color abberation at high sensitivity) while Canon has crisp clear and sharp images which also have a digital feel to them. I won't get into the 4:3 open standard (Olympus) because it's too poor to stand against the other three.
- on focus, generally you want as many focus points as possible, lately the standard number is 9 AF sensors, but that thing is, in poor light any camera eventually fails and you'll want either a plug-in extra flash (on hotshoe, since plug-in flashes have a red autofocus assist which can light the subject with a red light to allow focusing) or simply go on manual mode.
- overall, no digital SLR will hinder your ability to take great shots, at worst you'll need some Photoshop skills to repair the image (sure it's preferable to shoot a perfect image but no matter how good you are, 98% of your shots will need retouching). Most important thing is usability (for example I love Pentax and Nikon because their cameras have two separate wheels that are right next to your index and shutter finger to control both aperture and exposure time in manual mode, while Canon has another wheel on the camera's back which hinders your ability to quickly set camera parameters in a quick action sequence). You'll just have to try and hold a camera before you buy (try the B&H showroom in NY).
- look around the Internet for sample shots taken with your potential camera and lenses.
- don't buy long lenses just because they have high mm numbers. Rule of the thumb is: for portraits you'll want bright small lenses (50mm f1.2 or f1.8, the lower the f, less light is needed for a good image, that's great for indoors for example - also fixed lenses give you that blur around the main subject, called a bokeh effect), for sports and action and wildlife you'll want long lenses but also small f (400-1000mm f4), for macro you want ... well ... macro lenses (capable of close-range focus, that deliver best detail ... they're usually marked as macro, but theoretically any lens is capable of delivering various level of macro detail - don't trust macro converter filters, they work but they also produce various abberations).
- Also, fast memory cards are needed. For best quality you'll want to shoot in RAW Format. These files are very large and the camera will need to be able to quickly write the files on to the cart and get ready for next shot. SD 140x, CF Ultra III, that's the stuff. Cheap regular 40x or 80 cards will get clogged in transfer (you don't lose data, but you'll find that your camera will refuse to shoot until photos in its buffer get written on the memory card).
- Check out with your friends and see what SLRs they use. I switched from Pentax to Canon mainly because most of my friends have Canons, that means I can borrow their lenses every now and then and I don't need to buy the entire collection of lenses I need all by myself. You go to a concert with a friend, you take your fixed focal lens, he takes his telephoto zoom lens, you can switch between you the lenses as needed and you don't need each to carry both kind of lenses.
- almost forgot about wide-angles: I won't go into physics, but what you need to know is that for regular DSLR, a lens starting over 28mm (like 28-70mm) is a zoom lens and below (like 17-55mm: is a wide angle). A lens below 28mm (when set at its minimum focal range) is able to get a wider field of view (effectively a zoom-out) which is great for landscapes. A greater focal length narrows the field of view, zooming in. The ratio maximum focal length divided by minimum focal length is the optical x zoom you see on some compact cameras (eg 28-70 mm means 2.5x zoom). However in most cases a fixed focal length lens (which basically has a zoom 1x ) is much better than large zoom (large zoom usually mean large f numbers, making low light photography nearly impossible).
And as a general piece of advice regarding camera purchases: don't get carried away by advertising such as "OMG we have a 16x zoom on our camera!!!". A 28-448mm lens has 16x zoom but it's useless for landscapes. If it's also a f4, then I'd take it to the recycling bin. A 17-70mm lens however is a wide-angle, has a little zoom (4.2x) and has decent macro potential. I'd buy it over the 16x any day.
For more details, well, I have a few guides written around the net.
Cheers!
Any reccomended digital cameras that have a very good camcorder function?
ralphnfifi
Looking for one that will take an hour or two worth of decent video too. Thanks anyone.
Answer
Canon Powershot S2 IS. Highly recommended camera (by Consumer Reports) and I've used it to video record from time to time with good results (example, recorded several minutes at the end of the basketball game between George Mason and UConn in the NCAA tourny from second level. Up to 40X zoom, so you can get a variety of views, and horizontal stabilization keeps things fairly clear even at magnification). Length of video would depend on how much memory you put in. Probably want at least a 1G card for the amount of time you're talking about.
Canon Powershot S2 IS. Highly recommended camera (by Consumer Reports) and I've used it to video record from time to time with good results (example, recorded several minutes at the end of the basketball game between George Mason and UConn in the NCAA tourny from second level. Up to 40X zoom, so you can get a variety of views, and horizontal stabilization keeps things fairly clear even at magnification). Length of video would depend on how much memory you put in. Probably want at least a 1G card for the amount of time you're talking about.
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Title Post: Serious advice about buying Digital SLRs and lenses?
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