Lets take some time to go over equipment. Most amateurs think, if only I had a good camera I could take professional quality photos. This just isn't true. Stop drooling over that fifteen hundred dollar DSLR and learn to love your point and shoot. Todays point and shoot cameras are every bit as capable of taking stunning photos as those DSLRs. All cameras are basicly the same in that they are a lightproof box with an image capturing medium-film or digital sensor-a shutter to regulate how much light gets in, and a lens to focus that light. Beyond that the real art of taking pictures is in the human eye, not the camera. Try to keep that in mind as we look at some of the equipment available.
THE EQUIPMENT PAGE
- First lets look at the cameras.
- There are many diferent cameras on the market today, but for our purposes we will discuss three basic types. First is the RANGEFINDER or VIEWFINDER.These cameras have fallen out of favor with many photographers with the coming of the SINGLE LENS REFLEX or SLR. The rangefinder is a camera that has a viewfinder that does not look through the lens. Because of this it is easy to get the picture off center as the viewfinder does not look at exactly the same point the lens this also makes focusing more dificult for the same reason. Todays point and shoot cameras fall into this category.The one place that these cameas are still in use is in locations where quiet is of the utmost importance as these cameras have a very quiet shutter release. Over the years there have been some very high quality range finders made, and they are still produced in digital format.
- Next are the ubiquitous point and shoot cameras.
- These are buy far the most popular cameras in the world. They are available in a myriad of styles, shapes, and sizes from almost all camera and electronic companies. These cameras have come a long way since they were first released in the 1980's. The first of these cameras touted a wopping 1.2Mpxs. Todays point and shoots are reaching upward of 10Mpxs.With their compact size, auto zoom lenses, and the ability to see the picture before you push the shutter they have become the overwhelming choice for the everyday snapshooter. They can even be found in many a professional's camera bag. In the right hands they are more than capable of taking professional quality photos. Many of these cameras come with most of the electronic features as todays DSLRs. They do however, have some drawbacks. One is that the lenses are not interchangeable, but most come with a built in zoom that makes that less of an issue. Another drawback is the physical size of the sensor. Although they may have a 10Mpx sensor, the sensors physical size is usually around a half an inch square. While 10Mpxs is very high resolution the small sensor does not capture a large enough image to allow for very large prints.
- Last but certainly not least is the SLR
- Yes we saved the best for last. SLR (Single lens Reflex) cameras have many advantages over other types of cameras, but they are still the lightproof boxes that we spoke of in the begining. The first advantage is the ability to change lenses. If you find yourself going from one type of photography such as portraiture to another such as landscape, this is a big advantage. They also have the advantage that gives them their name. That is when you look through the viewfinder your looking through the lens. You see what the medium will see. This allows you to set the camera for manual focus and focus exactly what you want to focus. This is very important when you are using focus to point out your subject. More on that later. The other big advantage is sensor size. While most DSLRs(Digital single Lens Reflex) are now 10Mpxs and up-like point and shoots-the physical size of the sensor is much larger, from 3/4 inch, to full size, which is the same size as a frame of 35mm film. And here lies the disadvantge. The price of a good DSLR starts at around $900.00 and goes all the way to $15,000.00. As you can see these cameras were not intended for the snapshooter. When purchasing a DSLR you need to consider not only the Mpx count but also the sensor size, but be advised that the larger the sensor the larger the price tag. Next
