PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNEY.com

Every time I’ve ever announced I was about to buy a digital camera, I am inevitably asked the question “What kind of camera are you going to get?” Immediately afterward comes the even-more-inevitable follow-up to that question: “How many megapixels?”

Megapixels have become the universally understood measurement of a camera’s clout. More muscles. More horsepower. More gigahertz. More megapixels. More of anything — it just has to be good, right? Well, it’s true, megapixels are a good thing and the higher the number gets, the more flexibility you have as a photographer. But megapixels are really more about marketing than they are about making great photographs.

The truth is, in the early days of digital cameras, when megapixels were measured in ones and twos, it was a stretch to get the quality out of an image when printing. 5×7 prints were okay — but 8×10s at that level can’t pass as quality photographs. So early on, camera manufacturers realized that increasing the number of megapixels not only made it easier to make larger prints, it also gave them something to boast about!

Nowadays, though, most digital cameras are at least 5 megapixels. And some are well above that — as high as 12. My own camera, the superb Canon 30D, has a bit more than 8. What’s the difference? Frankly, not much. 5 megapixels is fine for an 8×10 image but 8, 10 or 12 allows printing even larger (and some fantastic printers out there such as the Canon Pixma Pro9000 allow prints and paper sizes as large as 13×19). I suppose if I wanted to make professional images for use in magazines or on billboards, more megapixels might make some small difference. But that’s not me — and I suspect it’s not you either.

So if megapixels don’t matter that much, what does? Ah, the money question. Fundamentally, I shop for a camera using the following steps:

1. What do I want it for? A tiny, lightweight digital camera such as the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS is a great choice. Slim enough for a pocket, it’s a wonderful camera. (Bear in mind here– my recommendations are often Canon products since I happen to use Canon myself. I am not paid by Canon and the fact is it’s merely a personal choice — Nikon, Panasonic, Sony and others all make fantastic cameras you may well prefer.) If I can stand a bit more weight as a trade-off for versatility, a higher-end camera like the Canon Powershot G7 is excellent. And of course, if I can afford the weight of a full single-lens reflex (SLR) camera that allows interchangeable lenses, than there are many great choices, with Nikon and Canon leading the way.
2. Quality and features. Once deciding on the particular size of a camera, the next step is to focus on quality and features. The best source for top-notch reviews on cameras of all makes, models and sizes is Digital Photography Review the field for you.. The site is a bit technical, but at the end of each article is a summary of the particular camera in question. If you read nothing else, read the summary. I guarantee it will help narrow down the field for you.

So what features do you want to consider when buying a digital camera? First, as I said, there are trade-offs between size, weight, and features. But in an ideal world, here are some general things you’d be well-advised to consider:

1. Image sensor size. At least as important as the number of megapixels is the image sensor size. The image sensor — in overly simplistic terms — is like the film of a camera. It is literally a small digital sensor that acts like the film. Because digital sensors, however, are far more sensitive relative to actual 35mm film, most image sensors are smaller than a 35mm exposure size. In other words, you get the same bang with less buck (not literally!). In my Canon 30D, the image sensor is roughly three-fourths the size of a piece of 35mm film. But in Canon’s professional 5D, the actual sensor is exactly the same size as a 35mm film slide (a 1:1 ratio). Why does this matter? More data. And consequently, higher quality pictures. There is much more to this than I can explain in this article, but you get the idea.
2. Lens quality. This, in my opinion, is the biggie. There is simply no substitute for a good piece of glass. Again, Digital Photography Review is a great source on this since the lens quality affects camera performance so well. As far as lens quality, I consider Canon and Nikon the best among point-and-shoot and SLR digital cameras. They also have the widest selection of lenses in the SLR line, which is something to consider if you plan to shoot with different lenses for your SLR somewhere down the road.
3. RAW mode. RAW mode is essentially a setting on the camera that allows you to shoot an image in “raw” format — with no compression. Some cameras offer only JPEG format but that can be a problem if you intend to do any digital editing afterward (after all, that’s the real reason we shoot digital isn’t it?). JPEG files are compressed, so any subsequent editing rapidly degrades the quality of the file. RAW images represent data in its pure form. And most cameras that shoot RAW come with software designed for handling it.
4. Shutter speed and maximum aperture. Shutter speed should be obvious. The faster the shutter speed the more effective your camera is at stopping motion. The bigger the aperture, the better it is at shooting in low light — a fabulous advantage. For example, a zoom lens with a range of f3.5 to f22 is not as strong in low light as a zoom that ranges f2.8 to f22. The smaller number always indicates when the aperture (or hole) is at its widest. And the smaller that number gets the better. But…alas…you will pay for it. Lenses with large apertures always have more glass, are heavier, and more expensive. Pro lenses are almost always of a very wide aperture.

Some things to avoid:

“Digital” zooms. These are effectively just a form of cropping the photo with tremendous loss of resolution. If you must crop — do it in the computer later. Not in your camera. If your camera has this feature, turn it off.

Alkaline batteries. This one may get me in trouble — many photographers swear by them, since they are easy to find in any country, are cheap, and not proprietary. However, I prefer the modern rechargeable batteries that come with most cameras today. While it’s true they cannot be easily replaced (and it is often wise to pack a spare) and are more expensive — at least initially — most hold a charge easily for quite a long time. When I’m out shooting, I have no trouble making it a day or two. And I simply recharge the battery every night.

That’s it for now. I’ve boiled down a lot of material and there is easily a great deal more I could write. But it should be enough to get you started. Cheers.

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