How To Choose Your Camera                                                                                           
 

How to choose a camera ?

The most frequently asked questions I always get are all about

• which equipment is the best?

•  Should it be compact or DSLR?

• Should I wait or invest in one now?

 I hope the short write up below will help you find the best solutions for your needs.

What are you going to use the final picture for ?

• Different situation requires different quality and format of the final picture. If you just want to have snapshots to share with your friends , a simple point and shot or low end digital camera ( 2 mega pixel ) will do the trick. Quality is not really the main requirement but recording the moment is the main requirement.
   

• If you are more serious about photography  like wanting to  join contest or plan to publish your work in magazines. You need more control to ensure the final picture quality. The camera that you need will be different.

What is your subject matter ?

• If you shoot day-to-day moments, a 18-54 mm zoom lens will be able to satisfy 95 % of your requirement.

• If you shoot people and portray a lot, lenses ranging from 80 to 150 mm lens will allow you to approach the subject from a further distant and create a narrower angle of view and the nice out of focus background.

• If you shoot sport and nature, you need at least 200-300mm lens. For bird photography, 400mm is the minimum.

• If you like to do macro and close-up work, your lens requirement is again different.
   

• Ask yourself if  the camera you have in mind provides  the lenses to help you reach your goal ?

What is your budget ?

• There is always a better system that money can buy. I would rather buy a system that is within my budget ( and leave some money to do the traveling and exploring ).

• Below $ 500 gives you great point and shoot . An excellent starting point.

• Around S$ 1200 gives you entry level D-SLR  with 10 mega-pixel and interchangeable lens.
  
  Canon EOS 400D
  Nikon D40X
  Olympus E-410 or E510
  
  Are all entry level D-slr cameras

                  How To Choose Your Camera                                                                               Updated on Thursday, February 14, 2008

3 questions you should ask  before asking " How to choose a camera ?"

• What are you going to use the final picture for ?

• What is your subject matter ?

• What is your budget ?

How big do you print ?
Is it big enough ? Do you really need those extra Mega pixels ?

• 3.1 Mega pixel => prints 8 x12

• 4.0 Mega pixel => prints 10x15

• 6.0 Mega pixel => prints 16x20
   

If you only print  8 x12 inch, 3.1 Mega-pixel is more than enough.

Key features your camera should have for better creative control:

Besides just the brand and model that you have selected. Check the following features. Does the camera have these modes ?

• Manual Mode: Most cameras come with automatic and program mode only . You may need a manual mode to have better control on your exposure . Can you change the shutter speed and aperture easily ?
   

• Metering modes :Average metering , spot metering mode & multi-pattern metering mode. Can you quickly switch from one metering mode to another one ?
   

• Exposure compensation dial. Can you switch to different metering mode when you want to compensate the exposure ?
  
  Digital Photography
  Singapore workshop
   

Regardless what you choose. We hope you have selected the best camera for you.

Come and join us in the digital photography workshop to speed up your learning curve in just one weekend. Click on the WORKSHOPS button bellow to see the variety of photography workshops in Singapore that will suite your busy schedule.