What Camera is Best for Me?

A question I hear most from friends, client's ,and family member's is, "What Camera should I buy?"

This blog will take you through some of the terminology salesmans sometimes use, and you think your getting a good deal until you get to the checkout counter. With a few steps this blog will take the headache out of your next camera purchase.

First Ask yourself these few questions and answer them, Keep this questions in mind when looking for a camera.

* each of the questions will be explained below the question*
Q1.)What am I using this camera for?
Q2.)Where will I be using this camera?
Q3.)How much am i willing to spend?
Q4.)Do I want a high end name brand camera or a equally camera with the same capabilities for less the price?

Explanations
A1: Do you plan to take simple photos throughout time for photo albums, family photos; Do you wish to take a more serious approach to photography like learning to use various settings to make professional quality photos, or do you want to take photos of a wide variety of things with one click and it's ready to print.

A2: Do you plan to use the camera indoors mostly, outdoors, at the beach, in higher altitudes, or a camera that can go anywhere easily etc.

A3: The amount of money you are willing and able to spend on a camera and possibly accessories

A4: Would you want a camera that does everything that is a high-end trusted brand does or a camera that has the same capablity that may not be known as much.

Camera Types Explained:

Point and Shoot Cameras:

Nikon P100

Nikon Coolpix S3000

     

Pros: campact size and light enables you to carry the camera anywhere, Has many of the same settings as the larger DSLR Cameras which allows you to take many photos at many different locations like the ones listed above, records low quality video 

Cons: Some have lower mega pixel counts and may run off regular batteries, shortening the amount of time you are able to take photos.

Manual Lens Cameras:

Pros: Ability to control your picture, completely change any setting within the camera to produce almost perfect images
Cons: Must know how to change and control lighting, change camera settings seemlessly, must use a tripod/monopod to stabilize the camera so not to distort the image.
CPU/Manual Cameras(DSLR)-

Nikon D3100

Nikon DX3

  

Pros: Has the capabilities of both the Manual Camera and the Point and shoot camera, Records video. Can take up to 700 photos on a single charging under normal use, runs off Rechargeable batteries. Offers many ways to share photos  Cons. Some may have a bulky and heavy design

DSLRV-

D300S

Pros: offers all of the features the above camera's do along with the capabilitiy to take HD quality video and record sound
Cons: Extemely Expensive and has a somewhat bulky and awkward design

Lenses Explained

What lens you use with a camera depends on the type of image you are trying to produce for this post I will cover the basic lenses

* Check your camera's owner manual to be sure a lens is compatible with your camera before purchasing a lens*

Disclaimer- You DO NOT have to purchase a lens that is the same brand as the camera, many other brands are compatible with other cameras (Sigma lenses are compatible with Nikon DSLR Cameras)

18-55 mm Lens-

 Perfect for the point and shoot photographer

 gives a wide angle veiw at 15 mm

Auto Focus and Vibration Reduction aides the untrained photographer but can be turned off if desired.

Slower shutter speeds ( up to 250th of a second)

55-200 mm Lens

 

Has all the capabilities as the above lens except it produces a crisper image
It also allows for a faster shutter speed ( up to 4,000th of a second on Shutter priority)
Ideal for photos being taken from far away and photos that are being taken of moving subjects to give the effect of stopping let's a say a runner in their tracks or slowing the shutter speed a little to give a creative blur

400 mm+   Lens more or less follow the same standard.

Shutter speeds and the distance you can be away from the subject as well as the price of the lens increase with every lens size you move up.
However the Larger the lens gets the more distortion gets involved in your image, Trained photographers are able to compensate for the distortion to produce crisp images, Not recommended for the point and shoot photographer.

Camera Terminology
VR- Vibration Reduction: automatically compensates when the camera shakes to reduce if not do away with blur from normal hand held use.
AF- Auto Focus: Automatically focuses your lens to produce the best possible image to reduce blur
Face Recognition Technology- Recognizes faces in a photo under the portrait setting (On Nikon Cameras) and focuses on each face more than the rest of the image. This produces a well formed photo with everything in perfect focus with a little more focus on the face(s)
Red- Eye Reduction: Firmware built into your camera to reduce the light bounced back to the Camera's image sensor eliminating the red eyes you sometimes get when using external flash.
Firmware- The program that your camera uses to perform the various functions
MP's: Mega Pixels- Dots that form your photo, the higher the MP count the more defined your image will be and the more colors the camera is able to recognize giving a brighter more vibrant result.
SD Cards (Secure Digital): External portable cards that are able store your digital photo files; making it easier to transfer, edit and share your photos
* SD Cards come in different sizes*

 I recommend a 2 GB Card and I use this size in my camera personally

Finally research the camera you want to buy, sometimes online stores have a better deal on a camera then a regular department store
Also look at the Manufacturer's Warrenty
Nikon offers 5 year protection under normal use and "errors in workmanship" on some models

If the store where you purchase the camera offers a warranty, do yourself a favor and buy it.
Think of it as a small investment to protect your new very expensive investment plus if anything goes wrong that isn't covered under the manufacturer's warranty, you are covered and it won't cost you a thing to have your product fixed.

If you have any other questions please feel free to comment and I'll get back to you as soon as possible
Happy hunting!


I Do Not Endorse a specific Brand I just prefer Nikon and know the most about that brand