Buying a Camera

WARNING: This is a large guide and has a fair amount of jargon. If you read this and don't understand something, just drop me a line and I'll explain as best as I can. If you could give me some feed back on this guide, I would be very grateful.

When considering buying a camera you have to take into consideration numerous expenses you normally wouldnÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t have accounted for, not just the camera itself. These will be explained in the following paragraphs as well as how to choose the camera that is right for you. This guide is assuming that you are interested in a digital SLR.

When drawing up a budget for your new camera you not only need to consider the cost of the camera but the cost of the media, software for editing your images and other accessories. So the first thing you do is find the camera you want, then look at the type of media it stores the photos on and what size the files are likely to be. When youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re thinking about what size of memory card to buy the size of photo created by your camera is very important. ThereÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s no point buying an all singing, all dancing camera when youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re only limited to shooting of 20 frames before having to empty your card. Ideally, you should get as big a card as you can but high capacity cards are very expensive and the cheaper cards are less reliable and slower than the expensive ones. Also, you should consider buying a few cards that make up the same memory as the size that you would like. For example, if you want a 4GB card, why not buy eight 512MB cards or four 1GB cards? If you have time to change the cards in between shooting it might be better to go for more, smaller capacity, cards. The reason for this is to protect your images. If you have just about filled your 4GB card with fantastic photos and your card crashes, you might lose the lot. If you had smaller cards, you might have filled three of your eight 512MB cards and one crashes, youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ve only lost a quarter of your images. Not something youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢d like but better than losing all of them.

The next step is to think how many photos youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re likely to shoot over the course of a year. Think about that in memory terms. ThatÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s quite a lot, no? IÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ve found myself shooting over five thousand in less than a year. So youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ll have to think about your computers memory now. You might think you have enough memory on your computer as it is, but if youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re keen, it will fill up quickly. The best solutions are to get either a new computer if youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re rich, this will help with the photo editing software (not just Adobe Photoshop ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ more on this later). However, not all of us have won the lottery so the most cost effective way to increase your memory is to buy an external hard drive. You can get about 320GB for around ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã150 in Britain, which is a lot cheaper than a new computer with far less memory.

Printing. This is something I know very little about. I only print for competition and the restriction on many competitions is an eight by ten inch print size minimum. This means that itÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s often cheaper just to have your photos printed at photo labs rather than at home. However, if youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re desperate to have your prints done at home, youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ll have to think about what a good quality printer will cost, add on the consumables: ink and paper, and then consider if it is really worth the cost.

Moving onto the processing side of photography. When you are going to buy your camera, you will often have bundled software. The RAW* file converters are usually pretty good. Canon gives their Digital Photo Professional away with every SLR, but I believe Nikon sell the full RAW converters separately, only giving you a demo version of the software. However, if you need a RAW conversion program but your camera wasnÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t sold with one, you can download a free program that offers all the creative controls as the bundled software. PixmantecÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s RawShooter essentials is a great program so you shouldnÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t worry too much about the bundled software when youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re buying your camera. However, you should think about getting a version of Adobe Photoshop. They are very expensive but the creative controls are great and you canÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t go far wrong with it. Photoshop CS2 is a fantastic program if you have the money, but if you can live without the extra controls of CS2, you can get by with Adobe Photoshop elements 5.0. This is far less to buy than CS2 and many of the tools in CS2 arenÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t depended on too heavily by photographers. However, if you want to use Photoshop for other purposes, such as signature making, I would suggest that you save up the big bucks for CS2.

Remember, because youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re buying a D-SLR, youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ll have to buy a lens. I recommend a 50mm prime (fixed focal length) lens. This is a great lens to start with. Partly because it develops your photographic eye as youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re trying to make things that seem ordinary seem extraordinary - because 50mm is similar to your own eyesight, focal length wise.

Now what youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re really interested in, how to compare and chose between several cameras to find the one right for you. First, having considered all of the extra expenses discussed so far, make a realistic budget. Then compile a list of all the cameras within that budget. Now, comparing them is very specific to your needs. IÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢m going to look at camera bodies that cost ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã1000 or less at April 2007.

These include the Nikon D200, D40, D40x and the D80. CanonÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s offerings include The EOS 400D and EOS 30D. SonyÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s first D-SLR the ÃÆýÃâñ100 is also included in this comparison. PentaxÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s K100D and K10D are part of this demonstration. OlympusÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s E400, SamsungÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s GX-1L and FujifilmÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s S5 Pro are included as well.

A basic comparison table is drawn up below:

You look at this table and you can compare them on cost and resolution, but you have your budget which all these cameras are in so disregard the cost. Looking at the resolution, think about what size you want your prints to go to. While 10MP is pretty popular, the difference between 10MP and 8MP is only noticeable under close inspection, however, 6MP cameras might struggle with prints around eight by ten inches so try to steer clear of these. So eliminate the 6MP cameras. You can now omit prices from your list if you like. The resolution is kept in to make some make the difference from two similar cameras if you have trouble choosing between a couple. Your list should look something like this:

So now you want to find out more of the features of these cameras. I would now look at the shutter speed range. If youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re after some shots of fast moving subjects, you will want a fast shutter speed possibly to 1/8000 of a second , if you prefer long exposures, youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ll be looking for the longest shutter speed to be about 30 seconds and have the option to have a mirror lockup bulb exposure mode. So you should refine your list further.

Obviously, it is better to eliminate the cameras that are least versatile as you might like to broaden your techniques to use longer or faster shutter speeds and the cameras without a bulb exposure mode should be omitted from the next list. Also, as they are all within budget, you can afford to be choosy and remove the cameras with the most limited shutter range.

That, I think youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ll agree, has very quickly reduced thirteen cameras to just two. However, you should adjust this method to suit your needs, list the most important things in a camera for you in order of importance. Then work down that list as shown above until you get to two or three cameras.

Now draw up a table like the one shown below, the second two columns are to see which features each cameras are better on.

What IÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ve done here is constructed another table with the last two cameras from the shortlist and compared them, head to head. Obviously you can alter this to suit your needs and you might want to rank the specifications in order of importance to you. This could let you see which one is best for you. The above table is assuming that all of the specifications are weighted equally, which obviously they will not be. The two cameras are very similar and comparing them like this allows you to see the differences and how different they are. However, some of the features are personal choice. While more autofocus points are generally better than less, some people argue that the autofocus points clutter the viewfinder making composing your shot more difficult. So you might prefer to have fewer autofocus points. Another feature thatÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s debatable is the size of the camera. Most people find larger cameras have better handling and you might favour larger cameras however, they weigh more, making handholding at fairly slow shutter speeds slightly trickier. This is another matter of personal choice. In this example, the difference is negligible.

Now that youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ve selected the camera you want, youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢ll be interested in getting it for the least amount of money possible. Before going straight to the internet and buying it online, go to a photographic retailer and hold the camera, try taking a few photos. If the handling doesnÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t impress you, consider the other cameras, particularly the one you eliminated before deciding on the camera youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re checking out. If that suits better, go for it! However, donÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t rush into buying it. Ask how much they sell it for then go away and see where you can get it cheaper. Maybe as a kit (though some kit lenses leave a lot to be desired) to get you started. Always try out equipment in a shop and then go elsewhere ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ but make sure if youÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢re shopping online that itÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s a retailer you can trust.

I hope this guide helps you get started in the photographic world and I wish you all the best in your photography.

Acknowledgements

My thanks go to Practical Photography for the camera specifications and to http://www.warehouseexpress.com for the prices used in the comparisons.

Useful Websites

Adobe ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://www.adobe.com

Canon ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://www.canon.co.uk

Corel ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://www.corel.com

Fujifilm ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://www.fujifilm.co.uk

Nikon ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://www.nikon.co.uk

Olympus ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://www.olympus.co.uk

Pentax ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://www.pentax.co.uk

Samsung ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://samsungcamera.co.uk

Sony ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ http://www.sony.co.uk

Foot note:

*RAW files are files that have not been altered in anyway by the camera; they appear ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ãâ¦Ã¢â¬ÅflatÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬ÃâÃ