Pamela on Cameras: How to choose the brand that is right for you

Ok, we've gone over the digital camera basics.  By now you should have a pretty good idea about what features you want.  But what about brands? Should you aim directly for a particular brand of camera, to be sure you get the best?  Is there a best brand of camera? Well, maybe there is a best one for you--if you take the time and patience to look at the tremendous variety available, you may find that one brand suits you better than another--it feels more comfortable in your hands or has a feature set that you like a lot. For example, some digital cameras can now record video clips, which may be very handy for some travelers! A number of companies have entered the digital camera market, some of which expanded into the field after years of producing film cameras and lenses. Most offer a whole spectrum of choices, from a tiny p&s to a hefty pro model costing many thousands of dollars. There are two well-established brands that rise above the rest in terms of quality and prestige, Canon and Nikon. Each of these has countless fans, who are prepared en masse to defend their favorites at considerable length, and do, if given half an opportunity!. Most serious photographers are either "Nikonians "or "Canonians".Both are wonderful choices; you simply can't go wrong with either one. Other brands that are more recent entries into the market, but who have their proponents as well, are Sony, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic and Kodak. The pros and cons are different with each brand (look at issues like customer service and repair statistics, for example) but you can get very nice pictures with all of them. It's just up to you to learn how to get the most out of your camera.

 One more suggestion--as you share photos with other traveling friends, ask them about their cameras, especially if their pictures look good to you. Try to home in on their skill levels, and find out how they chose their cameras and whether or not they are happy with the results. Take a picture if you can! Conversations like this can provide you with some valuable shortcuts!

 So get out your calculator and your checkbook, and set your budget. Next time, we'll discuss point-and-shoots in greater detail.

Pamela on Cameras: How to choose the digital camera that is right for you

Picking out a camera system is just one of life's ongoing series of choices. I like to visualize these as the branches on a tree, repeatedly dividing. Each decision we make presents us with subsequent ones that are different from those we would have had, given taking the other option. According to Carl Sandburg, the road not traveled eliminates a whole parallel existence. For the most part, I think that's true, but not in the case of photography.

In today's photographic climate, choosing one camera or type of photography doesn't preclude another. So when you go out shopping for equipment, don't feel that you are married to whatever decision you make, if it turns out that you aren't comfortable with your purchase. A bit of research will help, however, in preventing unnecessary expenditures. Many elite photographers, in fact, have an assortment of cameras of various levels of sophistication, accumulated over time, as tastes and needs have changed, and still use them.  There is also an active market for good used equipment.

Some still hang on to the ones they started with, even an occasional box Brownie inherited from parents, mostly due to sentiment, so it becomes a shelf decoration, but not necessarily because it no longer functions. I wish I still had the Brownie I took my first really good picture with, at the age of 8 or 10--I was so amazed that I had managed to push the button at just the perfect moment! It was probably the beginning of my interest in photography as a hobby. There wasn't any way to make adjustments to the camera, and I think there was only one kind of film available for it--but it took some really great pictures!  So if you decide to purchase a camera that isn't technologically the most current, don't feel that you are doomed to subpar pictures.

The array of equipment you will be offered when you go shopping can be daunting, but with a little preparation, you can sort it out like a pro! To begin with, with rare exceptions, cameras come with two types of recording media: film and digital memory cards. Film cameras will open a lens, let light through, and bounce it around with some mirrors until it lands on a strip of film, leaving an impression which becomes useful after being doused with chemicals. There's more to the process, but it's already too messy and cumbersome for the average person to enjoy. In addition, film is a much more expensive proposition than digital; however, it isn't obsolete, because of the quality of photographs it can produce.  Film is still used by many elite photographers. Most sales clerks will assume (correctly, I would guess) that you aren't interested in using film, and will only show you digital cameras. In fact, many retailers no longer stock film cameras at all, except, perhaps, disposables.

A digital camera also opens a lens and lets light in and bounces it around, but at the end it lands on an electronic sensor, which is like a little computer covered with receptor cells that convert the light waves to digital data . Think of a mini solar roof! These are sent off to a small removable card--there are several different sizes and types, determined by the manufacturer of the camera--which records the electronic message. This is very much the way your eye works, so if you remember that from biology, you've got the concept!

Guest Blogger Pam Gurney

So, okay, you're off to acquire your  digital camera. Again, two main options. (There are some new, intermediate introductions, but they aren't yet well-established . We'll just  focus on the categories that are widely available.) The first one is known as "point and shoot" and the second as "D(digital)SLR(single lens reflex--the mechanism for directing light inside the camera, inherited from 35mm film cameras)". Point-and-shoot cameras are small, compact, and have fixed (non-removable) lenses. They range from very basic to loaded with bells and whistles. If you are on a tight budget, you can spend less than $100 to get started, for a p&s that you can't adjust much, sort of like your smartphone. At the top end of the scale, you can get one with lots of features including manual settings that pushes $500. DSLR cameras have interchangeable lenses, sturdy bodies, and more elaborate innards. An entry-level DSLR starts at a few hundred dollars, but a high-end model can be very pricey--up to about $8,000, not including the lenses, which can cost more than the camera bodies.. It's probably a good idea to have an idea of the upper limit of what you want to spend before you start shopping--a salesperson who likes and knows the stock can tempt you into a model that's beyond your needs and budget. Avoid buying a camera that is so advanced  you will get discouraged just trying to understand the manual, even if you can afford it!  You will get better pictures from a simple camera than a fancy one that you can't set properly!

Of course, you can use the internet and make an online purchase, which is a good way to save money, but for this first time, it's best to at least make a scouting trip to a brick-and-mortar store and handle the merchandise.  If you are going to buy online, pick a reputable company. One I personally like is Amazon, because the prices are a bit lower than most other stores, there's no tax charged, and, since Amazon is what's called an "authorized" reseller for the major equipment manufacturers, you don't have to worry about the warranty not being honored, should you buy yourself a lemon!  Tomorrow I'll get more into specific brands.

Guest Blogger! Mom talks cameras

One of the best parts of traveling is making and keeping memories.  Here, the first of my mom's series on cameras and photography.

I was cleaning my office this week, and in the process came across some pictures of my daughters that I hadn't seen in years. Oh, the memories! My brain started squeezing out long-forgotten experiences--times and places and actions that I thought would be stored forever in perfect detail, never far from my conscious mind! But the human brain isn't designed to recall detail, as much as overall impressions and emotional atmosphere. I know that because I just read an article last week about how memories are stored. It rang true--all those wonderful firsts, for example--when exactly did Skye speak her first sentence, or Kyle laugh out loud? I always thought I would remember such times to the minute, but I don't.
 

My father was the family photographer, and it became kind of a joke--there are hundreds of Polaroids of the grandchildren, which at the time we viewed as excessive. He and my mother would return from trips with rolls and rolls of film, which were turned into thousands of slides, over the years. My attitude was benevolent, but not fully appreciative. Now I understand.

        By now the point of this is obvious--our casual snapshots can become the protectors of priceless memories that might otherwise be lost. Trips are over in a flash, new experiences crammed into a few days or weeks, but they can be extended almost indefinitely by the pictures that record them.

        So, is there a best way to preserve your impressions? Probably, but it's different for everyone. The only common denominator is the camera--obviously, you have to have one of those! But it doesn't have to be any particular brand or type. If you have something already that suits you, my advice is, "Use it!" If not, here are some suggestions for getting started with travel photography.

        Before your enthusiasm gets the better of you, and you are tempted to rush off to the nearest camera store or Best Buy, and throw your photographic fate into the hands of a salesperson, take some time to think about your personal style as a photographer. Do you prefer to be able to stick a tiny digital in your pocket, or would you see a fancy pro model with lenses for every situation appealing? How much time and effort do you want to spend on taking pictures during your travels? Would you enjoy patiently setting up your camera on a tripod to get just the perfect shot of that sunset, or is it ok if the photo of the sunset is just streaks of color, as long as you remember the fun you had taking it? Do you want a piece of equipment that is state-of-the-art, or one that you won't mourn if it falls into a canal in Venice? Most travelers are somewhere in between. So, first, take your photographic temperature, and decide where you want to start.