Here's what you should do if you are thinking of getting your first camera.
1. Think about what you want to do with your camera.
Uhh.. take pictures? Well, that's right, but there are many different types of situations requiring different types of cameras.
In general, there are three categories of cameras to choose from:
1. Point and shoot/compacts/digicam
2. "Prosumers"
3. Single Lens Reflex (SLRs)
For most people wishing to use their cameras for simple use like parties and holidays and don't really care about the fine details, a "point and shoot" (PNS) camera would be sufficient. PNS cameras are the typical cameras you see tourist hold, they are small and compact and are easily used without much hassle. However, these cameras are usually limited to some extent, especially in terms of night performance (high noise), slower reaction time and terrible flash results. They also have limited manual control which IMO limits the usage in some situations.
If you are looking for better results, faster responses, better night performance and still maintaining the versatality of a PNS camera, then a prosumer is the one for you. These guys are relatively small yet are able to perform well in most aspects of photography (landscape, portraits, etc.). Additionally, most newer models also support external flashes that greatly improves your photography. Downside is, they are stuck in the middle: not good enough in any fields and not too light to be truely compact. IMO, you'll feel like upgrading after a few months using them. If you just want a better camera for holidays and can't be fussed about carrying big equiptment, this is suitable. PS: they also usually have swivel lcds that allows lots of cam-whoring!
Finally, if you are more serious in photography, often zoom into pictures and look at pixels (i do!), demand more results and don't mind the extra weight then SLRs are the one for you. The advantages of SLR is it allows you to change lenses to fit into the specific shooting event, in other words, specialise. This means you can switch to a wider lens for landscapes or longer lens for portraits, etc. It also performs much better at night and supports external flashes (often more than one). The downside is the weight, which often is about 2kg (or more) and the cost.
Note: At this time however, big players making prosumers such as canon and panasonic lumix are improving so much that their performance rivals lower end SLRs.
2. Decide on which camera to buy
Now that you have an idea of what to look for you can start choosing. The following is for PNS cameras.
Step 1, Brand: Browse internet review sites. A good site I used for my first camera is dpreview. They usually have reviews for new camera models. Also look at user revieww
In my opinion these brands are good (the others not listed are not as good in my experience, but this is subjective).
- Panasonic Lumix (best performance in my experience)
- Canon IXUS
- Sony
Step 2, Specs: There are lots of specifications to look at and its a bit confusing. In general essential components are:
- Megapixels (effective pixels) - this is how high the resolution of the pictures the camera will produce. Basically the higher the megapixels, the more you can zoom in on it in your computer and the larger you can print the pictures. It also directly translate to larger file sizes (though you can usually shoot at lower MP if you want). Most people say about 1MP is enough but I think that's not true. For adequate quality even for facebook, 3MP should be used (IMO). I personally shoot at the max MP (10.2) my camera gives me simply because I like to have the best i can get. Choose cameras that support up to 10MPs or anything within your budget. For most people, something more than 6MP is adequate. It's really not a big deal anymore since most cameras come with at least 6MP nowadays.
- Image stabilisation - this is essential, it prevents blur pictures due to shake.
- Zooms - there are two kinds of zooms, optical and digital. Digital zooming is useless so choose the one with higher optical zooms. (more on this later)
- Macro focus range - the less the better. Indicates how close your camera can get to the subject to focus.
- Min shutter speed - the more the better, my first camera can go up to 60 seconds. With this you can take interesting night shots (stars, light trails). Some camera only go up to 30 seconds.
- Aperture range - the smaller the number it can go, the better (more on this later). Try to get cameras that can go at least down to F2.8.
- Self timer - most cameras have this function but the essential bits is the ability to set the time to 3 seconds or similar, this allows you to shoot with less shakes (more on this later)
- Autofocus - latest models have face detection, which IMO is a good function especially if you are new to photography. It will make sure all your shots are correctly focussed on the face.
- Tripod - models that support tripods are better because tripods are required for cam whoring and night shooting
While you're there, it's a good idea to talk to the shopkeeper about the camera. Keep in mind that he's just trying to sell you the product and sometimes they don't really know anything about it anyway. Sometimes however they know their stuff and would recommend you to another model they feel is better (it happened to me). Don't make up your mind if that happens. Simply go home and search for reviews and make informed decisions.
Step 4, Negotiate and Shop hunt: When you are ready to buy, head to the shop and negotiate for his best price. It may be a good idea to hunt around since camera prices actually varies alot. You can also try to buy online from eBay or other sites. Checking www.shopbot.com.au is a good idea to get a price range. Also keep note on other details such as warranty periods, etc.
And congratulations! You just landed yourself a new toy!
