Advice on variations of Photography cameras?
Ok so this is going to sound really simple but please consider my experience in this field as 0!
I'm going to be taking a course in College this year in Photography and have been told I need to bring my own equipment which I don't have a clue about.
I thought MegaPixel was the main importance in a camera, but clearly not, you can get good compact cameras with high MP but you never see photographers with them! So what is AF? ISO? Shutter Lag? Viewfinder output? TTL?
I have a Kodak V1003 compact camera, it takes a good enough snap. I've been suggested to buy the Nikon D80, but its only a 10.2mp camera. So what's the difference? Apart from the price tag
You want a low end DSLR camera such as a nikon d5100
iso= relates to film speed in a 35 mm camera. In digital the iso let you take photos in lower light but be carefully to high will create noise and grainy photographs… The standard is 200. You also have 400, 800, and 1600. Some cameras even higher.
shutter speed= how long the photo is taken. With dslr cameras you generally have from 1/4000 of a second to 30 seconds… Then a bulb mode which takes the photo as long as the button is pressed (bulb mode is used in long exposure nighttime photos.
as far as MP… Be careful. There's a lot of hype around them… You may probably won't understand the technical detail of it so i will explain it the best i can… You take a tiny point and shoot camera with 16 or 20 MP and a DSLR with even 8 MP… Take the same image on both cameras and print out a 20x30 print…
the DSLR with only 8 will have a better photo because the sensor chip inside the camera is bigger… MP are in millions… Image a piece of paper. As the chip inside the cameras. The chip inside the point and shoot camera is maybe 1, 5 x 1.5 inches… Can't be very big because the camera is small… But ake a DSLR it is a bigger body and has a much bigger chip. Now imagine putting 8 million dots (dots stand in for the MP in this example) on those two pieces of paper the dots will be very crowded and crammed in on the smaller paper than the larger.
basically if you have a DSLR with 8-10 MP your fine i think the newer ones than the D80 have more than 10.
Just to give you one more thing to think about…
Is your course a film course? If so you will need a 35mm SLR rather than a dSLR.
Other than that, any entry level dSLR will do.
I would suggest that you talk to one of the tutors for their opinion on the ideal camera that will cover the course you intend taking. From their thoughts you could then go onto a good comparison site to get an unbiased view on the suggested cameras. The site may well give the best prices as well.
When it comes to absolute image quality, it is actually size that matters. Big sensors (and big film) really make a difference, and that's why photographers don't use compact cameras. The large sensor allows each pixel to be isolated from the next, as a result neighbouring pixels don't interfere as much with each other, producing a cleaner image, and allows the photographer to use the camera in situations where there's less light. Additionally, a large sensor requires a larger lens, with a larger physical aperture diameter, this gives reduces the depth of field, allowing the photographer to isolate the subject better while using a complex background. Often as cameras get larger, you will see more and more control being taken over manually. This is often because the photographer is a better interpreter of a scene than a computer, however this can be slow and time consuming.
Automation, means that the photographer is more reliant on the computer than his own better judgement. However sometimes it's necessary, for example, good quality autofocus and drive speed has changed the way sports is reported, with photographs feeling considerably more dynamic than the past. While there's a strong argument for having automation, it is also very important for the photographer to be able to work completely manually (i.e. In the most challenging situation) as this means he can handle the worst case scenario.
Therefore you need a camera with a large sensor, and full manual controls. Whether you buy digital or film, an SLR can deliver that type of control.