If you have bought the right camera and if you are satisfied with what you have bought as a rule depends on why you would like to have a camera. What is the common answer to this question? I want to take pictures of my family, countryside… And generally that\’s all. However you can manage to do THIS with any camera. Another thing is HOW the camera does this. ?
1) Super compact or ultra compact cameras Imagine, you know absolutely nothing about taking pictures and you would like to have a camera only to make photos of family events, office and baptism parties and so on. You are also planning to print pictures at times in the 10×15 format and preview shots on a TV screen or a monitor. In addition, the automatic mode is the only setting you are going to use and you are not going to grasp why your pictures can be blurry and not light enough. In this case you\’d better buy an ultra compact camera. Most cameras have no possibility to change shooting settings. Still the manufacturers offer you plenty of pre-installed software for all sorts of modes such as landscape and portrait shooting, sport images, shooting at night and in the evening. The mode of the face detection has just become commonly used because it\’s fully automatic and easy-to-use. Now this mode can save those pictures that might have been destroyed. Taking into consideration that such cameras are portable, they are usually not bigger than a woman\’s hand. Plus, using lithium-ion batteries lets the companies make the cameras even thinner. Thus, some cameras are not larger than a mobile phone. Casio and Sony produce best ultra compact cameras (their prices are not best, though). Various brands and models of such ultra compact cameras look differently and their software is different but their technical specifications are similar. Of course, if we compare cameras produced at a different time, we will learn that their technical features have improved and so has the quality of the images. Still, devices made at the same time (same year) have almost no difference. The competition doesn\’t allow companies to have no options which their competitors use in their devices. You won\’t note important changes promoted in the commercial. That\’s why while opting for a camera, take the one which you find stunning, is very handy and has high quality equipment and price.
2) Classical compact camera (upgraded) Let us say you want to have a camera for the same purposes as in the first case. You feel however that you might want to control the shooting settings because you know that from time to time the automatic modes don\’t work. And apart from this, you want your camera be as compact as possible. The last criterion shows what you should buy, that is for compact digital cameras. As a rule, they are similar to the cameras mentioned in the first section. They however have some distinctive features:
* Apart from the automatic mode and various modes dealing with different types of shooting you will almost always notice manual modes such as the fully manual mode, the aperture priority and the shutter priority (you can see what these modes are like in books and Internet articles on photography). * Instead of lithium-ion batteries companies use typical AA batteries * Such cameras are slightly bigger than ultra compact ones. This, however, is not a drawback. It\’s more like an advantage because such cameras are more comfortable to handle and the settings are easily manageable. * As a general rule, such cameras are provided with a viewfinder. * Some cameras are provided with rotating displays. * Their price is usually lower than that of ultra compact cameras.
Why is the quality of the photos made with compact cameras is better than that of those made with ultra compact ones, to my mind? It regularly depends on the lens. While in compact cameras the choice between high quality optics and a compact size is made in favor of the size (for example, there are no interchangeable lenses for removing distortion), nothing limits the size of compact cameras. Besides, a very small size of the lens doesn\’t let one remove dirty spots. And the most part of the lens can be exposed to dirt, which affects the optical characteristics of the device.
3) Ultra zoom cameras… If you are determined to buy a camera, which will allow you to take high quality pictures; if you have a wish to explore all the details of the art of photography; if you are planning to try out the framing, then you should get a closer view of this kind of devices. There are a lot of brands, I won\’t waste your time enumerating them but you can recognize such cameras by their larger size (they are bigger than compact cameras) and by larger lenses which can\’t be fitted in the body of the camera.
As a rule, the matrix in these cameras is bigger than that in ultra compact devices. And the matrix is often bigger than that of compact cameras. The matrix and the higher quality lens lead in the end to the higher quality of the shots.
Distinguishing features of such cameras are: * Manual modes of shooting * Storing photos in JPEG and RAW (for storing photos without worsening of the quality) formats. * The option to use the external flash * The lens with the wide range of the focal length (or zooming features. In some cameras the value reaches 20). * The viewfinder * It is possible to use a filter or any kind of optical equipment (often) * There is a better internal flash than that of typical compact cameras. * Such cameras are easy to handle which lets one avoid the effect of shaky hands during shooting. These cameras usually have a rotating display.
4. Digital single lens reflex cameras Cameras are supposed to make high quality photos. That\’s why everything in the device is aimed at it. The quality of the photos depends on the matrix. In DSLR cameras for beginners and intermediate users the matrix is much bigger than that in the devices mentioned above. In professional DSLR cameras the matrix is even bigger and the frame is the same size as that of standard film that is 35 mm. Moreover, there are even bigger matrixes (medium format cameras). Still, because of their price only a few people could afford to buy them. They will never bother reading this article:). The bigger matrix lets DSLR cameras have a high value of ISO (nowadays this value reaches 100000) and better control the depth of the field as well. Secondly, it\’s important to have interchangeable optical equipment. Previously, I have already told that a low-priced compact lens with good optical characteristics can\’t have a great range of the foal length. Spending some additional money on interchangeable optics will help you solve the problem (one should spend everything on good quality
). To get high quality one should always pay a lot. If you made your choice and bought a DSLR camera with the kit-lens, you will soon find out that the lens is not very good (of course there might be exceptions and some kit lenses have higher quality). And in this regard lenses in ultra zoom cameras can have higher quality. And then you will have to choose a better lens. It\’s ok if you are taking pictures of the same genre. Then a single lens will be enough. But if you have a wide range of interests, be ready to spend a lot (quite a lot) of money. Naturally, you can save on opting for lenses produced by other companies (Tamron, Sigma,Tokina) or used lenses or use old lenses made in the Soviet Union with the connector. Having tried all this, however, you will soon understand that such saving does not always pay off. But if you have bought a good lens, then if you use it rightly, the photos will be lovely.
Digital-Photo-Camera.com recently published a review about best nikon lense for winter shooting