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DaemonEye
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Spyder On... The Camera
‘Which camera should I buy?’ is a question I’ve been asked a lot and one banned on a number of Photography forums, but what’s the answer?
A camera is a tool, if you ask ‘what screwdriver should I buy?’ people will (after looking at you strangely) answer ‘what do you want to use it for?’ and the same goes for cameras.
No company ever says to itself ‘lets make a shit camera that’s no use to anyone’ they all have their uses and functions. Ask yourself ‘what do I want to use the camera for?’ and be honest with the reply.
These things I can say for definite: If your learning photography, buy digital and make sure the camera takes pictures that are larger than 5 megapixels (gives you a good sized image to play with) film cameras have their uses but you’ll learn faster with digital.
Ok, rather than droning on about the types of camera you can buy, lets look at my little collection, in the order I got them and why I have them:
Kodak DC3200 (gone but not forgotten)
My first ever digital camera, although newer versions had a zoom function, this one didn’t. It was slow, clunky and the picture was tiny (about 1 megapixel). This camera has a special place in my heart as the lack of speed and the fixed lens (a standard 35mm) forced me to really think about how I took photos. It forced me to learn composition and to look for the picture in what I see.
Too often these days I run on ‘take now, edit later’, it’s a problem with the all-mod-cons compact digitals these days, the ability is there for the camera to do it all for you.
The camera becomes the photographer.
  
Taken with the DC3200.
Fuji S602
A sort of half-away-house between digital compact and SLR, all the controls of an SLR but with a built-in lens. The S602 is still (in my opinion) unsurpassed as a macro camera. A minimum focal distance of practically zero and aperture minimum of f1.4!
 
Taken with the S602.
Nikon F80
A solid semi-pro film camera. Bought second-hand on ebay with a wide angel lens thrown in for free. This camera started me down the Nikon route. I will freely admit Cannon make better quality cameras, but for a small improvement of quality you pay double the price, simple as that. This camera marks my move from ‘budding amateur’ to ‘semi-pro’. What I basically mean is I went from snaps to stick in websites to selling photos as a serious chunk of my income.
Film SLR cameras do have a number of advantages over digital SLRs (DSLR). They are, by comparison, cheap. The quality of your photographs is limited only by the quality of film and lens you use, no need to upgrade your actual camera as time goes by.
Important note. Don’t think you’ll get award winning pics with the free film they hand out when you get pictures developed, it is possible, but the quality you get from a pro film is well worth the expense.
You’ve gotta mean every push of the shutter trigger with film, store the film properly and get it developed as soon as you’ve finished shooting or you’ll lose colour quality.
It’s rare for me to dust this puppy off these days. In the world of the pro, time is money and clients aren’t too happy with a £1000 bill for film and developing.
  
Taken with F80.
Fuji S2
My first full digital SLR. Bought, and still used, for it’s colour control.
This is a DSLR with a whole list of problems, it’s almost laughable when compared to top of the range DSLRs these days. It’s slow, it eats batteries (of which it needs 2 kinds) and the auto-focus is a waste of time. It’s my favourite camera.
With this camera changing film suddenly became a push of a few buttons. I got all the advantages of my old S602 plus the feel and artistic possibilities of my F80.
The S2 is a studio camera, to fragile for nature photography, to slow for press work.
But as with all cameras, use it for what it’s good at and it’ll fly.
  
Taken with S2.
Nikon D70
So my photography crawls into the realm of professional. I say that with a certain level of reservation but it is true that by this time most of my income was from my photographic work. So why the D70? A backup for my S2 and a perfectly good press camera to boot. Press work doesn’t need stunning colour or a huge image size it needs the right shot fast. If I want good pics but there’s a chance I might break the camera or have it stolen then it’s the D70. It’s also become my ‘snaps’ camera for nights out or holidays or day trips to anywhere. It’s light, robust and cheap(ish).
  
Taken with D70.
Nikon D2x
This is the Beast. Fast, weighs a ton, fantastic quality photos and if someone tries to take it from you, you can beat them to death with it and then go back to shooting. Cost a bomb, paid for itself already.
   
Taken with D2x.
Nikon D200
A new one since I first wrote this article and an apparent step sideways as it's a poor cousin of the D2x.
But very handy for futher illistration in this article.
On the down-side, I get reminded of a lot of the D2x’s finer points because the D200 is lacking them, you pay big money for a REAL Pro DSLR because they are worth it.
But on the up side, the D200 is a 5th of the price of a D2x and 2/3rds of the weight.
 
Taken with the D200
A conclusion
Also new for this version of the articles. I stick with my original statement, the best camera for you depends on what you are going to use it for.
But here’s a few things that should set you on the right path.
1. Start small and cheap, learn to push your camera to it's limits before you even think of moving up.
2. Before taking a big step (compact to DSLR for example) rent the equipment you are thinking of buying, just for a day or two, to see if it is all you’re dreaming of.
3. Do your homework, search the net to see what’s out there and what people are saying about it.
Right, if all that’s left you dazed and confused, I’m not surprised, but do feel free to ask questions.
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