Upon reading Alice’s post on her new Canon Rebel T4i, I thought I’d pitch in my own experience with cameras. I’m very fortunate – or spoiled – to have a camera-fanatic-dad (yes, this is the first step to getting the right camera: having a family member who will buy one for you so that you don’t have to give up your precious lollygagging time for a job). Over the years, I’ve been able to try different brands of cameras. Though I’m anything but techno-savvy about camera specs, hopefully the upcoming series of posts will shine a light upon the dark and confusing process of choosing the “right” camera for amateur photography (so nothing National Geographic-worthy, unfortunately).
Brand
As with anything in the consumer world, it’s all about brand. Choosing a Nikon or Canon is like the “Coke or Pepsi?” debate. Mind you, there are lots of camera brands out there; until recently, I’ve never heard of a Leica camera before, but apparently the company is extremely famous for their film cameras back then? Camera prices range from extremely low for an electronic product to mansion-priced high. I do recommend choosing one of the more popular and well-known brands (Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Leica, etc.) to start off even if the companies rip you off just to have their logo imprinted on their camera. But hey, these cameras are well-known for a reason, and it’s definitely worth the money to buy a $500 camera with warranty than buy a $50 one ten times because it keeps breaking and you can’t find the darn company because it went underground and whatnot.
Price and quality is one thing. The picture is another. One of the most important aspects of choosing a camera is making sure you like the feel of the pictures. Each brand has its own special touch to the pictures – going online to sites like Flickr is extremely helpful because they have their pictures grouped into the brands of cameras when you search.
Based solely on my experience with Olympus E-PL1, Nikon D7000, and Leica D-LUX 6, I prefer the Olympus for its lightweight but still good quality images, the Nikon for its ability to capture details and its HD quality images, and the Leica for its large aperture – meaning amazing close-ups and clear images in low-light conditions. As you can see, cameras are very personal items and very dependent upon your intent, so choose wisely!
Stay tuned for Part 2!
“The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people’s reality, and eventually in one’s own.” – Susan Sontag