photo:dig_buying
choosing a digital camera
brief summary
the following is to give you are good idea in a very brief time of what type of camera you need to be looking at depending upon your needs
if you don't really care about learning photography, making high quality images, using telephoto lenses, external flashes, or blurring out the back ground to make your subject look better - just use your smartphone
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how many pixels do you need?
to trick your eye into thinking the pixels in an image are smooth continuous, you just need a pixel density in the output image of 3438/viewing distance in inches. This equates to 72ppi for an A1 poster at 4' and 300ppi for a small print viewed at 1', both of which would be satisfied with a base photo of 8 megapixels - so unless you are severely cropping an image or your viewers will be scrutinising detail in a poster close up, you will probably NOT need more than 20mp. This is why Apple can make those roadside billboard advertisements showing off the capability of their iPhone.
if you really must have the shallowest
depth of field (DOF) and money is no object, and big, heavy, expensive lenses don't worry you, and you are not traveling to places where theft is a constant worry, then consider getting a full frame mirrorless camera.
Micro Four Thirds cameras are perfect for a whole range of photography needs including travel, photojournalism, photoblogging, street photography, portraiture, fashion, astrophotography, macrophotography, social events.
The latest ones will easily link by WiFi to your smartphone which can even control the camera, and the Olympus
E-M5 and
E-M1 are almost waterproof!
The future of most cameras is
mirrorless camera systems - either full frame or Micro Four Thirds, you may wish to take this into account before spending big money. DSLRs as a technology are near the end of their use by date.
professional, very large prints of stationary subjects
the largest sensors with the best quality lenses are what generally wins out here
these cameras need to be used on a tripod to get the most out of the sensors
examples of usage: studio work, landscapes, architecture, fashion
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if you cannot afford that price, you could consider either:
professional wedding photography
sports/action photography
tough, waterproof, droppable, compact cameras
these are take anywhere cameras which will cop a lot of abuse and give adequate image quality for 8“x10” prints or the web use
they can fit easily into a pocket or hand bag, and can cope even with sand and salt water at the beach
see Olympus TOUGH cameras
niche cameras
if highly detailed B&W images in a relatively compact package where cost is not critical - Leica M Monochrom rangefinder (~$10,000 body only + $2000+ per lens]]
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if shallowest
depth of field (DOF) is the prime need and you can afford $2000+ for camera without lens:
compact super zoom camera for travel:
everything else including travel, photojournalism, photoblogging, street photography, portraiture, fashion, astrophotography, macrophotography, social events
it is hard to look past the offerings of the
Micro Four Thirds system with its compact, quiet cameras and fantastic range of quality lenses with fast AF
the BEST camera is the one you have with you, so if you have little need for the above features, then get the smallest camera and lenses that will give a high image quality capable of printing great prints at 20“x30” if you need to - and that is
Micro Four Thirds system
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what do I look for in a camera?
basic qualities
sensor image quality - all current digital cameras with a sensor size of
Micro Four Thirds system or larger will give adequate image quality for MOST people (larger sensors will do better for low light and ultra shallow
depth of field (DOF) photography)
fast and accurate AF
as a baseline, this MUST be reliably possible for most slow moving or stationary subjects with closest Eye being able to be automatically selected with AF points spread across at least 60% of the frame
in addition, it would be preferable that the camera can focus track moving subjects
even better if it has AI to detect the subject YOU want - only the latest mirrorless cameras will have this
build quality and weathersealing
for a camera you want to take to the coast or out in dusty or rainy weather then this is critical (Olympus make the most weathersealed cameras in general), however, you may just need a budget cheap camera for travel (eg.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 mark III camera) which you don't want to spend much money on in case it is stolen
good range of high quality, relatively affordable dedicated lenses
hand holdable movie mode with excellent image stabilisation
most of us only occasionally do videos, but when we do we are probably not going to have a big heavy gimbal stabilisation kit or a tripod
sensor based
image stabiliser (IBIS) is a critical basic requirement (not Canon's “digital Dual IS”)
fortunately most new mirrorless cameras (except Canon) have this - Olympus is the best at present
not too expensive
cameras I would avoid
cameras I would recommend in 2020
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Canon R3
Canon R5
Canon R6
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photo/dig_buying.txt · Last modified: 2022/04/19 21:31 by gary1