| With so many camera models to choose from | | | | camera they have unless they have had some |
| where do you start? Well, the way I choose any | | | | trouble with it, even then people are very |
| new toy these days is to start at the end. What | | | | forgiving. I think the reason for this is that people |
| do you want it to do? Err . . . take pictures. Yes | | | | think that, if they have made the wrong choice it |
| but what kind of pictures and what are you going | | | | is because they have somehow failed, and they |
| to do with them? The other burning question is | | | | are not going to admit their failure. Back in the |
| how much are you prepared to learn?As you are | | | | 1980s I had a camera shop in England and at the |
| reading this and have actually made it to | | | | time a lot of people, who already owned an SLR, |
| paragraph two, I think we can assume that you | | | | were buying compact cameras 'for the wife'. |
| are prepared to learn at least a little. So what do | | | | They would ask me which brand was the best |
| you want to do? Do you want something that | | | | and, if I didn't already know, I would discreetly try |
| you can keep in your pocket at all times so you | | | | to find out which brand of SLR they owned, then |
| can snap the kids? Do you want a camera that | | | | I would recommend the same brand of compact |
| will allow you to take pictures in any lighting | | | | camera.Trying to sell them another brand was like |
| conditions from any distance (with the right | | | | telling them they had made a wrong choice when |
| gadget screwed on the front of course)? Is this | | | | buying their old camera and was likely to lose me |
| going to be a hobby or just some quick | | | | a sale. So I'd better have a really good reason for |
| snaps?The Learning CurveI haven't seen any | | | | not recommending the Canon, Olympus, Nikon, |
| cameras on sale in recent years that do not have | | | | Pentax or whatever and I didn't have one. All of |
| a fully automatic 'point and shoot' mode, most will | | | | the well known brands produce similar cameras at |
| automatically switch on the flash for you when it | | | | similar prices and, by and large, you get what you |
| is needed so you may wonder why we need all | | | | pay for.I will stick my neck out a little bit here and |
| the other manual and semi automatic modes and | | | | say that in my humble opinion the manufacturers |
| an instruction book to make your head spin. The | | | | who make the best film cameras the Japanese |
| answer is that, although the camera can produce | | | | Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax, Minolta and the |
| good exposures most of the time, there are | | | | German Contax and Leica seem to make the |
| times when, to get the results we want, we have | | | | best digital cameras. I would not be too happy to |
| to apply a little knowhow and select more | | | | put my trust in brands whose traditional expertise |
| appropriate settings than the camera would | | | | is in other fields when there are such good |
| automatically choose.Before choosing a camera | | | | cameras available from the traditional sources. I |
| with lots of knobs and dials it is a good idea to | | | | will probably get a lot of hate mail from people |
| consider whether you are ever going to bother to | | | | who have bought Sony cameras or Hewlett |
| learn what they are all for. I've been around | | | | Packard and are perfectly happy with them. If I |
| cameras for many years now, and I'm still learning | | | | wanted a printer Hewlett Packard would be top |
| what all the settings on my latest camera actually | | | | of my list and I am a huge fan of Sony video and |
| do. I never bother to learn how to do something | | | | TV equipment but my first choice for a digital |
| until I need to. So there are certain obscure | | | | SLR would be one of the names mentioned |
| settings that I have yet to find a use for. Of | | | | above.How Many Pixels?Until recently the quality |
| course it would be nice if we could choose just | | | | of digital cameras was measured by how many |
| the buttons we need and have each camera | | | | pixels they boasted. Now we have cameras that |
| custom made for us but in the real world all we | | | | can produce tens of millions and it has ceased to |
| can do is choose the level of control based on | | | | be the only test of quality. In the real world the |
| how much we think we might want to get | | | | number of pixels you need depends on how big |
| involved. Generally speaking an SLR will have | | | | you want to print your pictures. If you mainly |
| more knobs, dials and menus than a compact | | | | want postcard size or A5 then I would consider 4 |
| camera which will give you more control over | | | | million pixels to be perfectly adequate. Even at A4 |
| your pictures but will have a much steeper | | | | size I would be hard pushed to tell the difference |
| learning curve.SLR or Compact?All the cameras | | | | between my 4 million pixel camera and my 6.5 |
| on the market can be categorised into a few | | | | million pixel camera. Don't forget though that your |
| simple groups. The most important two groups | | | | cropping in the camera may not always be |
| are fixed lens and interchangeable lens. The fixed | | | | perfect so you may be enlarging only a portion of |
| lens cameras tend, with a few exceptions, to be | | | | the image and so only using a portion of the |
| smaller, lighter and more pocketable, therefore | | | | available pixels.Although an adequate number of |
| you are more likely to have it with you when you | | | | pixels is important, the quality of your picture will |
| need it. Well that's the theory anyway but I think | | | | be greatly affected by the quality of the lens. |
| we can say that you are more likely to be | | | | When Canon recently updated the EOS 300D |
| bothered to take it with you on that outing to the | | | | (digital rebel) with 6.5 million pixels to the EOS |
| beach or the zoo.However even with today's | | | | 350D with 8 million pixels, the general consensus |
| zoom lenses, which are pretty wonderful, you will | | | | amongst reviewers seemed to be that the |
| often find that you are too far away or too close | | | | money you needed to spend on an upgrade |
| to get the picture you want so you need to be | | | | would be better spent on a better quality lens. So |
| able to change the lens for a longer telephoto or | | | | the answer to the pixel question is that we seem |
| a wider angle. The other major advantage of | | | | to have now reached a point where enough is |
| these single lens reflex (SLR) cameras is that you | | | | enough.There is also a school of thought that we |
| are actually looking through the lens instead of a | | | | have reached the limit of the number of photo |
| separate viewfinder so what you see is what you | | | | sensors that we can fit on a chip and that a |
| get, although this is less of an issue now that we | | | | greater number will cause the individual cells to be |
| can review our photos on the screen of the digital | | | | too small compared to the space in between |
| camera. The down side of these SLR cameras is | | | | them. Usually though, when someone says |
| that you very soon end up with quite a heavy | | | | something like that, the following week the boffins |
| bag of gadgets and are less likely to carry it | | | | announce a breakthrough which makes it all |
| everywhere with you. However much I yearn for | | | | nonsense. You may have seen adverts for |
| a compact camera for it's handyness I know I | | | | cameras, costing many thousands, that have 16 |
| would be frustrated by it's shortcomings so for | | | | or 20 million pixels. These have sensors that are |
| me the choice is SLR every time.Digital or Film?Do | | | | twice the size of those in the consumer cameras, |
| they still make film cameras? Oh yes they do and | | | | hence the price. To me, the resolution of a 6 or 8 |
| I wouldn't mind betting that they continue to do | | | | million pixel camera with a decent lens seems |
| so for many years and I wouldn't mind betting | | | | good enough for most purposes and on a par |
| that at some time in the future there will be a | | | | with the quality I used to get from a 35mm film |
| retro backlash and a large number of 'serious' | | | | camera.In the past I have spent a lot of time and |
| photographers will return to the darkroom. Some | | | | money in the pursuit of ultimate quality, I have |
| will probably claim that they have never used | | | | owned a 5x4inch plate camera, a Hassleblad and |
| digital at all, ever.You might think from the | | | | two Mamiya medium format cameras, every |
| remarks above that I am a diehard supporter of | | | | major brand of 35mm camera and in the end, I |
| film. Nothing could be further from the truth | | | | would be hard pushed to tell you which photo on |
| actually I am now fully converted to digital and | | | | the wall was taken with which camera. A fellow |
| loving it. I am going to make the pros and cons a | | | | photographer once observed that photographers |
| separate discussion that will be posted soon but, | | | | tend to smell pictures rather than look at them, |
| for now, I'll just say that I am completely sold on | | | | by which he meant that they were more |
| digital and do not feel that I have lost anything | | | | interested in the graininess and sharpness of the |
| significant by changing.Which brand?This, of | | | | image than the actual image itself.Geoff Lawrence |
| course, is the big question that you really want an | | | | has been a professional photographer for many |
| answer to and you know that nobody is going to | | | | years and now runs a website offering advice to |
| give you one. If you ask anyone who already has | | | | people who want to improve their photography. |
| a camera most will support the brand of the | | | | |