digital camera selection

The best digital cameras are digital Single Lens Reflex cameras (dSLR’s). They have just about all the form and function of the SLRs that we have known for years, except that instead of film, they use a light sensitive electronic chip (single CCD, triple CCD, or CMOS) to capture the image, and memory cards to store the images. And then, they go on to add a LOT of functions that are unavailable to film camera jockies.

Second best are the “Advanced” Point & Shoots (these are dSLR “wannabe’s”). At first glance, they can be mistaken for an SLR. But, a closer inspection reveals that they are a little smaller, and do not have interchangeable lenses. Instead, they do have a single built-in zoom lens. (This zoom lense performs many of the functions that a dSLR provides via an assortment of interchangeable lenses). Their maximum “optical zoom” ranges between 10X and 20X. And they offer many of the same user options for manual, in-camera image control that dSLRs offer. Some presently offer upwards of 12 Megapixel pictures.

Third best are the simple “point & shoots.” They are small, similar in size from a pack of cigarettes up to a check book. Most offer a zoom lense, usually from 3X up to between 6 and 10X of “optical zoom.” Most current models offer between 6 and 9 Megapixel pictures. They offer varying amounts of user controlled options for image control.

Fourth best are the digital age’s cheap answer to the “Instamatic.” Nuff said.

The differences from film photography are many, primarily summed up as the photographer having many more options to control the image within the camera itself. Previously, you had to wait until you got the film to the dark-room or chemistry lab before you could manipulate the image. But with digital photography, you can manipulate the image inside the camera, even to the point of choosing settings that will manipulate the image before you take it.

These new options may seem very complicated, or even discouraging, when you begin to transition to digital photography, especially if you were never really worked with film in a dark-room. Therefore, if you are early in your career of digital photography, regardless of how elaborate a camera you select, it is advisable to be sure that the camera you purchase also has an Automatic or Program setting, so you can get the encouragement of taking good pictures right away, without having to consult a manual before each shot.

Again, if you can afford one, dSLR’s are the best digital cameras, for lenses, electronics, options, user control, and overall quality of camera and image. One of the advantages of the digital SLRs is the fact that the major manufacturers go to some pains to keep them as compatible as possible with other lenses that they have developed over the years for their film SLRs. So, if you have a series of lenses from a film SLR which you used previously, you might decide to stay with that brand when you get a digital SLR, since you would already have a stable of lenses for it, and only have to buy the camera body. And, you could still buy a new lense with additional contemporary features.

HOWEVER... that may not be the wisest thing to do.

Before the dawn of the digital age, my wife & I had to decide whether to upgrade cameras by staying with the same brand of SLR cameras, or by switching to a “better” (and more expensive) brand of SLR camera. Since we already had several nice lenses that fit that our existing brand, we stayed with the same brand, and merely bought a modern SLR camera body. It was then we learned that even though your old lenses may fit, and work, on your new camera, some may require an adapter, and some may not have full function !! Worse yet, a couple of our favorite 3^rd party “after-market” lenses wouldn’t even fit onto the new camera body !

SO.... it may be wise to take stock of your stable of lenses, & try to learn which of your current lenses will work on a new digital SLR from the same company, AND to learn if they will have FULL function. You may also want to do some research & learn if your existing brand of lenses are good quality lenses. For example, if you can, it may make more sense to cut your losses, so to speak, on your old partially functional, fair quality Schludwiller*** lenses, and start over with a new brand that is recognized as producing both many quality lenses as well as cameras.

If you do change brands when purchasing your dSLR, it would be wise to choose a brand that makes camera bodies and lenses that are compatible all along their price range (for amateurs, “pro-sumers,” and professionals). If you start with their cheapest line of cameras, and lose interest, you have not lost too much. But, if you get deeply interested, you can upgrade to their more expensive line of cameras, and keep your lot of good compatible lenses.

Despite the potentially daunting abundance of options & functions that confront a newbie digital photographer, it is almost impossible for a newbie not to fall in love with digital photography if they simply leave the camera on full automatic. Just the thrill of near unlimited “film,” the immediacy of seeing your pictures, the escape from developing and printing fees (which inhibit the profligate snapping of pictures), the capability of taking MANY pictures at once in order to capture the “magic moment,” the freedom to shoot the same subject from many different angles and zooms, in search of just the “right” shot, all induce an immediate infatuation with digital photography. And it only gets better with the mastery of the camera’s options. Consider the thrill of learning how to make your camera mimic the subtle nuances of your favorite films ! And in unlimited quantities !

But, if you are just getting your very first digital camera, it really makes a lot of sense to get one of the cheaper Point & Shoot models, and get the hang of digital photography, BEFORE you spend serious money. Even these less inexpensive models are likely to offer more options or functions than many digital newbies are prepared for.

One strategy to enter digital photography cheaply might be to troll store websites, looking regularly on their camera page for their clearance & outlet offerings. If you see one you like, you can usually look up reviews of it on the internet. (I’ll mention several of my favorite websites later on).

For example, on one site not too long ago, I saw the Panasonic Lumix DMC_LZ7K. It is a simple “point & shoot” which produces 7.2_Megapixel pictures, comes a 6X optical zoom, and offers both Image Stabilization and “Intelligent ISO Control” (which means that the camera detects motion in the subject, as at a sporting event, and then the camera automatically increases the ISO “film speed”, to reduce blurring by the subject). Current list price was $179.99. Their outlet was offering it for $86.99 ! How could a digital newbie go wrong with this ? Unfortunately, the website also said it was out of stock (when an outlet/clearance item is out of stock, it is unlikely to return).

For those who are eager to get started, and who won’t be spending enough to get a dSLR, and who are too impatient to “troll,” a personal (and affordable) Point & Shoot favorite of mine has been the Canon Powershot A720 IS (image stabilization).

When I am considering a camera, after camera reliability and lense quality, the Image Stabilization (IS) function has become a top priority. One of my most frequent photographic exercises is taking pictures of the roses that have been exhibited in rose shows. When I take these indoor pictures, I find it essential to have IS, in order to get natural color shots that are not blurred by hand-shake during long exposures.

Image Stabilization (IS) is very good to have when you want:

a long telephoto scenery shot, or

a longer exposure for more depth of field, or

a good shot in less than ideal lighting, or

to avoid the flash going off & washing out the rich, subtle colors.

There are 2 widely available types of IS:

Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) in which the lens itself compensates for shaky hands, and

digital Image Stabilization, which means that the camera’s computer does calculations to compensate for hand-shake (i.e. increasing the ISO “film speed”).. OIS is superior.

The term Image Stabilization is generic, without distinguishing type. However, the situation is such that if a marketer can lay claim to an advantage, they will. Therefore, if a camera has OIS, it will be prominently labeled as such. If a camera has only digital Image Stabilization, it will be labeled as IS (hoping you assume it is OIS).

If you want to photograph roses or other horticultural specimens, you'll want to get a camera/lense that has a "macro" function (capable of taking pictures extremely close to the subject), AND whose reviews don't have bad things to say about the "macro" function, or about pictures taken with the telephoto end of the zoom. A macro lense’s capability is sometimes indicated as a ratio: 1:1 is best, 1:2 less good, and so on. If you see the terms barrel distortion, pin cushioning, flaring, chromatic aberration and purple fringing scattered all over the review (especially if in more than one website), you probably wouldn't be happy with the camera/lense (no lense is perfect; they all have at least some problem. So read a number of reviews on the same camera/lense & get a feel for what is a normal amount of problems in a lense).

Also, a high power (at least 4X, and preferably 6 to 10 X) OPTICAL zoom is very good to have, both in general, as well as to enable you to use the zoom to fill the screen with a bloom without brushing pollen all over the lense. Using the telephoto zoom can also be useful in helping you to avoid overshadowing & darkening your subject.

“Digital zoom” is often an empty promise. It may be useful to slightly enlarge your photo, but more than a little really degrades the actual image itself. It “zooms” by over-enlarging a picture to the point of blur and graininess. It is similar to the effect you'd get if you took a nice snapshot with an extremely fast film, and then enlarged it to make a wall sized mural. That's the kind of degradation that happens pretty fast with digital zoom. Optical zoom on the other hand does not degrade your image; instead, it gives you the best image your lense is capable of producing.

You have to be careful that the digital zoom is NOT on when you don’t want it on; it is not readily apparent in the view-finder or LCD screen if you are not paying attention..

Most people find it most convenient to have a camera that combines the ease of a simple “point & shoot” camera but that also offers a goodly number of the more advanced controls that are available as an OPTION that you can choose to activate when you want them:

ISO - similar to film speed or sensitivity. Many Point and Shoots have ISO ranging from 100 to between 400 and 600. Warning: in most digital cameras, the higher ISO’s create more “noise” in the picture. Noise is a by-product of the electronic nature of digital photography. It is a sort of “static” that appears when digital cameras approach the higher end of their ISO range. Noise looks like the graininess of very fast film, and the “grains” are often “off-color.”

Some of the other useful functions are:

Manual focus - when auto-focus keeps choosing the “wrong” spot;

focus assist light for low light conditions;

manual over & under exposure - can richen, deepen colors, compensate for backlighting, etc.

automatic f-stop bracketing - some cameras can take 2 extra shots of each of your photos,

one over-exposed and one under-exposed,

Auto Exposure Bracketing - similar to the above, except it is the time of exposure that varies;

White balance - used to obtain true color rendition under different lighting conditions.

The number of megapixels on a camera is a measure of how high a quality of picture the camera can take. The higher the quality of the picture, the more the picture can be enlarged and still look good. Generally speaking, the more megapixels, the better the picture it can produce.

However, not all pixels are created equal ! You may look at two different 10 megapixel cameras, but the pixels in one camera will be significantly larger than the pixels in the other camera ! This can occur because dSLR cameras are larger than other digital cameras. At least several brands of dSLRs have taken advantage of this increased size to install larger CCD sensors. The larger pixels can take in more information, and so can produce a higher quality of picture than the smaller pixels !

There seems to be a lot of interest in the ability to use digital “still cameras” to take very short movie clips. All the camera reviews discuss this at length. I say, don’t let this control your decision. My own preference is to use a movie camera if you want to take movies; no sense in filling up a still camera with 30 seconds of HD video.

A final, non-technical consideration are the ergonomics of the camera: how does it feel & work in your hands ? Is it too small ? Are your fingers too big ? Does it feel secure in your hands ? Does it feel like a poker chip that could go flying out of your hands, or unobtrusively slide right out of your shirt pocket if you bend over ? Is it too big to carry around conveniently ? How do you like the look & feel of it ? The sounds it makes ? The viewfinder, the LCD ? The buttons, knobs, & switches ?

Weight is also a part of the ergonomics of a camera, particularly for dSLRs. In a review, a camera may sound like it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But, you do need to know how all that weight will feel in your hands while you are composing & focusing pictures. Does the camera’s weight mean that you will often have to use a tripod ? (IS can only correct so much hand shake). Note for example, the stripped down body-only weights of the following cameras (without any lenses, batteries, etc):

Nikon D700 35 oz

Pentax K20D 25 oz

Canon XSi 17oz

But, even after considering weight, there are more trade-offs to be made. For example, while the Canon XSi is a clearly comfortable 17 oz., I was surprised to learn from Wikipedia that Canon has only produced 9 zoom lenses that offer both IS and auto-focus. The heavier Pentax however, has a unique IS method by which the IS function is installed in the body of the camera, rather than in each individual lense. That means that EVERY lense that Pentax has ever made will have the benefit of IS if it is used on this camera ! (Pentax is perhaps the leader in “backwards compatibility”). Although old, and even ancient, Pentax lenses will gain the IS function on this camera, they will NOT gain other “new” advances that were made after they were manufactured, such as auto-focus, etc.

When you've pretty much narrowed it down, consider both the reported battery life, as well as the TYPE of batteries the camera uses as a tie-breaker.

I find that cameras which use a type of battery that you can buy at the drug store are FAR more convenient than cameras that use a special battery from the manufacturer. Point & Shoots are more likely to use over the counter AA etc. batteries. dSLR’s are less likely to use such over the counter batteries. Be aware that there are stories out there of many problems arising from using 3^rd party “knock-off” batteries, instead of using the genuine manufacturer’s battery.

If your camera uses over-the-counter batteries like the AA, wherever you may be, if you need batteries, you can just run out to a drug store, market, Job Lot, whatever, & buy them. But, if your batteries die in the middle of a wedding, Thanksgiving dinner, anniversary, family re-union, etc., you can’t just run out & find a speciality camera shop that may carry the odd-shaped, proprietary battery made only by your camera's manufacturer. And, you can’t just stop the proceedings while you wait for your manufacturer’s “special battery” to recharge in a few hours.

If you have a choice, Lithium ion batteries are good when you're going to do a lot of shooting. This is especially true for cameras that use over the counter AA batteries. You won’t have to lug around a lot of extra batteries to get you through the day, and, you won’t have to run out in the middle of the day and have to find and buy more batteries,

A lot of the small Canon and HP cameras, as well as others, tend to use the AA batteries.

Caveat Emptor: There are a number of “business” considerations to bear in mind when purchasing a camera.

- While you can find the greatest selection of cameras, & best prices, on the internet, you get to actually see & handle the cameras in local stores, and you also have greater ease & certainty of support/return at a local store.

- If a price seems to good to be true, it probably is.

A common reason for remarkable prices is the warranty. The “new “ camera you are looking at may not be “new” as you define “new.”

Some vendors sell “new” cameras that do not have USA warranties that entitle you to repairs in the USA; instead, you have to mail the camera back to Japan or wherever in order to get it fixed.! (Good Luck if they do break down). These are referred to as “gray market” or “international / import” models.

Another variation on “new” cameras are refurbished cameras (“refurbs”). These cameras have been returned to the manufacturer by vendors and customers, and were exchanged for real brand new cameras. These refurbs were then fixed by the manufacturer, and are now being offered for sale to you. They are “brand-new second-hand,” and usually carry a 90 day warranty instead of a 1 year warranty. They may be fine now, or they may be true lemons. Do you feel lucky ?

Amazon has a good reputation for mail orders. But, you want to be careful when ordering from them. Some items are being sold directly by Amazon, and that is fine. But other items are being sold through Amazon by 3^rd party vendors. If you buy from one of these 3^rd party vendors, you are at the mercy of these 3^rd party vendors for any returns, etc.

If price is an issue:

Many of us entered photography at a time when the field was relatively stable; improvements came slowly and incrementally. In those days, it was important to determine which camera presented the best composite of design, build, and overall quality. The selected camera would become a treasured companion for years to come. And, on the grand and glorious day that we were able to graduate to an even better camera, the extra money that we had spent on getting the “best” camera would likely be recouped when we sold it to a newbie photographer. But nowadays, given the rapid progress in digital photography, it no longer makes a lot of sense for many of us non-professionals to buy the enduring quality of “the best” camera we can afford. Today, we just need something that will function long enough to hold us over until the next generation of break-throughs comes along. Whatever camera we buy today will be obsoleted in the next year or two, and it will wind up languishing in a drawer, with negligible resale value.

This caution is particularly aimed at digital newbies. The more photographic & digital experience a photographer has, the more he or she will know what they want, now, and are willing to pay for.

When I’m scouting around for cameras, my first stop is always these 3 websites:

http://www.steves_digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs.asp

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital_cameras/?tag=glnav

there are many more to be found on the new, including :

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/digital_camera/review.html

http://www.imaging_resource.com/DIGCAM01.HTM

Consumer Reports magazine is only secondary in my research on cameras: useful, but not "expert."

If you want to go mail-order, I have found both B&H and Adorama to be trustworthy.

If you're not taking good pictures, always remember,

“Beauty is in the viewfinder of the beholder," ....so clean it.

*** Schludwiller motto “Quod nescient sibi damno non erit” (What they don’t know won’t hurt them”).

A couple good examples of advanced point & shoot digital cameras might include:

Panasonic Lumix DMC_FZ28 10.1_Megapixel 18X optical zoom OIS

Olympus SP_570UZ 10.0_Megapixel 20X optical zoom Dual IS