Still Camera

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Still Cameras

Don’t throw out your trusty 35mm film SLR (single-lens reflex) camera, just because the world is going digital. Many of the rugged and reliable Minolta and Pentax cameras of yesteryear work just fine and can be purchased very cheaply. If you are worried about missing out by not going digital, remember that most high quality flatbed scanners (your department or university probably has one you can use) will give you better image quality than a mid-range digital camera. Although I recently read online that at least 75% of professional photographers are using digital still cameras now most of them are using professional products that cost into the tens of thousands of dollars. If you are already comfortable and knowledgeable about using a 35mm SLR camera, stay with what you know. However, if you are getting into photography for the first time, go digital. Remember there is a learning process using any equipment, if you are going to invest this time I recommend going with the technology of the future.

When buying a digital camera there are two basic kinds: the point-and-shoot and the SLR. There are many trade-offs between these two, which I will try to quickly outline below.

Compact point-and-shoot

Discreet enough to fit in a pants pocket the image quality of these cameras can be surprising, especially in good lighting. There are some compact point-and-shoot cameras on the market today for around $300 that have 6+MP (mega pixels). Expect the image quality and resolution to improve every year or so for the foreseeable future. The point-and-shoot offers a level of convenience that has proven itself very useful to me in the past. I often feel awkward showing up with too much equipment, especially in the early stages of developing a relationship with your collaborators/informants. Additionally, a point-and-shoot reduces the hassle of walking through the streets with a huge camera on your chest or large camera bag that you might not want to take to an informal event or regular lessons. However, in my experience if you always have your camera with you, you will be much more likely to use it (e.g. you show up to your weekly lesson and your teacher is entertaining some of their friends who are important musicians).

As an extra note, I would like to point out that most digital cameras these days have a video mode. Although never the kind of quality you would rely on for your primary means of video capture, some digital cameras offer enough quality that they can be used in a pinch.

SLR (single-lens reflex)

The clear winner in image quality and flexibility between the two formats is the SLR. Price wars between camera companies have brought reasonably high quality SLR digital cameras to the $600-$1,200 range. Of course, the sky is the limit. The advantages of SLR’s are numerous, but one of the most important benefits is the ability to switch lenses. Most point-and-shoot cameras are currently limited by a fixed 3x optical zoom (if you use the digital zoom feature it will almost always compromise image quality, for the most part I turn this feature off in the settings menu of my cameras). Although some of the newer point-and-shoot cameras are pushing this envelope it is impossible for them to produce high quality images across the entire spectrum of the zoom and tend to have “sweet spots”. An SLR camera has the advantage of being able to switch lenses and so can accommodate a variety of lenses, from wide-angle to telephoto and everything in between. It should be noted that even a descent lens can cost several hundred dollars and that unlike point-and-shoot cameras, many SLR cameras do not allow you to frame your shot on the LCD screen on the back of the camera, which is only for playback of the already captured images. Additionally, SLR cameras tend to have more manual controls, which allow for more flexible usage (most importantly getting the right setting for action and low light shots), but require some practice time, so make sure you are comfortable with changing these settings before you head out. There are many good websites to help you understand what adjusting the f-stop and shutter speed will do.

To get the most out of any SLR (digital or not) finding the right lens is really important. Tech Lounge offers a primer, Five Things You Need to Know About SLR Lenses.

What to get…

When buying any digital camera it is important to not get caught up in the hype of “more megapixles means a better camera”. I would not recommend buying a camera today below at least 5 or 6 MP, but there is no need for breaking the bank to buy a 9 MP camera (some argue that the number of MP is even less important). The great thing about MP is that the higher the number the more you will be able to expand the image without it deteriorating. In essence this gives you a sort of secondary zoom, however the number of MP does not really affect the actual quality of the image, just how much it can be increased in size before it degrades. The two important parts that determine image quality are the lens and the image processor. This is the reason why you might see pictures taken with a lower MP camera that look better than one with more MP. The range of lenses used for point-and-shoot is sometimes hard to weed through. I recommend looking on websites like http://www.cnet.com, http://www.amazon.com and others to see reviews. For SLR cameras, the standard is using a CCD/AP chip, but other processors can be quite good.

Other features to think about: If you are shooting in low light a lot, especially in situations where you can’t use a tripod, image stabilization is a great option to help reduce camera “shake” when you are forced to use extended shutter speeds. In low light conditions it also important that you have manual controls so that when you can use a tripod you can adjust the f-stop and shutter speed accordingly.

The last thing to consider is how fast the camera is. How fast does it start up? Is there a delay between pushing the button and the picture being captured (SLR tend to be much faster)? How many images can be taken in a “burst” (great for action shots)? And how quickly is the camera ready to take the next image? The times for all these categories will undoubtedly drop across the board for all digital cameras, but if speed and quick response is a consideration for your fieldwork you should be aware of the camera’s capabilities before you buy.

Current quick recommendations:

Compact Point-and-Shoot: I am a big fan of the Cannon Powershot series which tend to have superior lenses. The Casio Elxim also requires some thought, they tend to have great image processors and probably the best video capabilities of any small digital still camera.

SLR: the Cannon EOS series regularly is at the top, but there are a number of great companies these days including Olympus and Nikon.

Remember, you will also have to buy a memory card for the camera. There are many types of cards, so make sure you get the right kind. Fortunately, very large cards (1gb+) are becoming very common and often cost under $100. The price and size will continue to improve as well.

Editing

Digital cameras can do a lot, but you will still probably need to do some editing of your images to make them suitable for a presentation or publicaiton. The newer operating systmes (Mac OS X and MS Vista) both come with fairly competant photo editors. There are also numerous programs you can install on your computer, from the top of the line Adobe Photoshop Professional edition ($650) to the free photo editor/orginizer from Google, Picasa. More recently a raft of, mostly ad-supported, online photo editors have become avaliable, which can be incredibly useful in some situations. Just make sure you have a reasonably fast connection! For a rundown, check out this roundup.

Techniques

Equipment Reviews

Links

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