All in the Families

So, which camera is right for the rookie photographer?

I will focus on four different types – or families – to choose from. And, selecting the right one can be a real challenge.

I will let you know right up front that there will be a few I won’t cover in this blog post.

First are any cameras that use film. Yes, you can still buy film and and have it processed, and manufacturers are still making film cameras. If you want a less expensive route to get into film photography, look at sites such as eBay to find high quality vintage cameras that sell for a fraction of their original cost.

I also won’t go into the action-type camera such as the GoPro. Those are awesome cameras for capturing your skydiving or scuba adventure, but they don’t offer the flexibility that a hobby photographer needs.

This leaves us with four families of cameras to choose from:

Point and Shoot. These pocket-sized cameras are easy to click away with. As their designs have evolved, manufacturers have added professional features such as optical zooms, more advanced controls and improved photo sensors. These are very affordable; however, they do have a few drawbacks. They limit the user to the one installed lens, which does a fairly good job. But, if you want to zoom beyond the camera’s limits, or that lens gets damaged, you are out of luck. Their image sensors are smaller than what are found in other cameras, meaning that printed enlargements may look pixelated.

Digital Single LensReflex (DLSR) cameras. These cameras are direct descendants of the Single
Lens Reflex (SLR) film cameras that preceded them. One of the greatest challenges faced by early camera designers is that the camera’s eyepiece was offset from the lens, meaning that you never truly took a photo of what you were seeing. You also had to guess if the viewfinder and the lens were both in focus. By using a series of mirrors, the SLR mechanism takes the image directly from the lens and reflects it to the user’s eye. Once you have everything the way you want it and press the shutter release, the mirror flips out of the way with a signature click, allowing the light to travel down the lens onto the film – or, in the case of the DSLR – onto the digital sensor.

Since the digital versions of the cameras use the architecture of their film-based models, manufacturers simply configured the camera bodies to accept their existing suite of lenses. Accordingly, these cameras can use the specialty lenses perfected through decades of research.

Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras (ILC). With digital sensor technology, camera manufacturers began to wonder if the complex reflex mirror mechanism was truly necessary. Why not combine the ease of a point and shoot with interchangeable lenses? Thus was born this new family of cameras. The complex mirror system is eliminated because the image is projected directly to the digital sensor, and, the photographer sees exactly what the camera will shoot on an LCD screen at the back of the camera. Want a different look? Use a different lens or change your settings. 

One of the knocks on this type of camera is that because there is no visual viewfinder, it may be difficult to see the preview image in bright light. Plus, only a few manufacturers – namely Sony – have embraced this newer format. More established brands such as Canon and Nikon have stayed with their more traditional DSLR formats, and professional photographers are used to the larger SLR format.

Cell Phones. I am counting these as a separate family of cameras because they are not quite the same as their point and shoot cousins. They have come a long way since they were first introduced in Japan back in 2000. Apple, Samsung, Google, LG and their competitors are reinventing the way images are taken and how they are processed in the camera. Digital manipulation is making up for the phone’s shortcomings in optics, allowing for images which appear in many ways to be equal to – if not superior – to those taken on more traditional cameras with glass lenses. They also allow for immediate sharing of photos through  cellular or WiFi networks. While these cameras are handy, the user must ensure that the lenses stay clean to get the sharpest image, and a lack of a tripod mount can cause the camera to shake in low light conditions.

While your choice of camera is important, learning how to use the features is crucial to getting great results.

Remember, practice makes perfect!