I often have people telling me “you take great pictures what kind of camera do you have”. I saw tweet one time that said “you take great pictures what kind of camera do you have is like telling a cook that you make a great turkey what kind of stove do you have?” I can’t lie it does make a difference in the quality of the picture but I have a received compliments from pictures that I have taken with my cell phone. Taking a great picture is really about the setup and seeing it in your head. I see things different than most people and that is why I always have a camera with me. When I take a walk or go for a drive I am always framing pictures in my head. I look at angles and textures. It is much more than seeing a beautiful sunset.
There are differences in cameras. Your basic camera line comes in three form factors with each of them having different levels within the form factor. These are cameras that you can go and buy at your retailer like Best Buy. They are your cell phone, point and shoot and DSLR cameras. We all know what your cell phone does and really if you’re just going to post pictures on Facebook, Twitter or any website you don’t need much more. They do fine if you can keep finger prints off the lens. So I really want to focus on the point and shoot cameras and next time I will focus on the DSLRs. Who knows maybe I will even do a study on camera phones.
Point and Shoot cameras come in several forms from a cheap camera that cost twenty dollars to a high end cameras that can cost around one thousand dollars. So what makes the difference? Let’s start with the build. The bodies on cheap cameras are made of plastic. The inner parts of the camera are also made of plastic which includes the lens. Try shooting through a piece of Plexiglas and see your results. Cheap cameras also don’t have many features. These missing features include timers, zoom lenses, HD video and rechargeable batteries. The next level of Point and Shoot cameras are you main stream cameras. They range from about one hundred dollars to several hundred dollars. What separates these cameras from the low end cameras are the features and build. You can even purchase a waterproof camera. They are built out of heavier plastic, a good image sensor and have glass lenses. Now we are talking my style!!! Shooting through glass!! Finally you have your high end point and shoot cameras. These cameras have all of the features. They are made from very good materials, and very good glass. These cameras can keep up with some of the DSLR’s and are packed with features. Real high end point and shoot cameras have the same image sensor as the DLSRs. Some may even have interchangeable lenses which is a very nice feature.
If you’re in the market for a point and shoot first set your budget. If you can only afford a cheap camera then you may want to consider just using your cell phone. It probably has a better lens on it. If you are looking at a mid-range camera buy for the features. I personally would stay within the main camera manufacturers, (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Olympus and Sony) these cameras have a good reputation. My favorite is Canon and there isn’t really a good answer why. Now if you want a serious camera like the Canon G1x or Coolpix A you get a bunch of features. For me the main features give me the ability to control the aperture and shutter speed. These features bring the point and shoot even closer to the DSLR. Also the image sensor (that is what makes the image) is the same. My belief if that the manufactures were a little afraid to make these high end cameras because they did not want to lose sales in the entry level DSLR market but, actually it opened another market. Professionals and semiprofessionals have purchased high end point and shoot cameras so that they don’t have to carry a big camera bag around all the time and I still have great flexibility. For me this is my fun camera, although I have fun will all of them!!!
This is it for today!!! In part two I will discuss DSLR’s and go into the difference in image sensors.
Please feel free to leave and questions or comments
Remember I am not a writer so as always I am sorry for any grammatical errors.
Ben