In digital photography (omegle back camera) there is now an almost unmanageable number of different cameras and systems. When buying a new camera, the buyer is often alone. Kleine-Fotoschule.de would like to help you with your search for the perfect camera.
The “right” camera!? A little buying advice
A quick note before the tips for finding the right camera – don’t forget the local specialist shop when you go shopping on the Internet! Photo shops not only offer good advice, but also often have very good offers. The existence of local retailers can be important for professional and amateur photographers alike and depends on your shopping behavior. Good advice from a specialist retailer can provide valuable services and help to avoid a bad purchase.
The “best” camera!?
In consultations, the desire for the best camera is often expressed. This raises the question of the perfect camera. Does this exist? The question can be answered clearly with “No” . Each user must be guided by their own needs. The “test winner” is not always the right camera for you. You should therefore not only orientate yourself to the test reports in photo magazines and forums.
Many current cameras today offer more than adequate image quality for many applications. The image quality of most branded cameras should be sufficient, especially for the most common image sizes (9×13 – 13×18) and when viewing on a television or projector. Sure, characteristics like the camera’s noise performance matter.
Quality criteria like these should be considered, but first of all it is important to think about seemingly trivial properties such as size and weight. What size and weight is acceptable for each photo equipment? Remember, not only the image quality, which often only becomes visible with larger prints, but also the handling and the compactness of the camera can be in the foreground for you personally.
Criteria such as the focal length range (optical zoom), swiveling monitor, robustness, power supply or the expandability of the entire system can also be important to you when choosing a digital camera.
These features are often linked to the respective camera types. In digital photography, the various cameras can be broken down into the following types of cameras: small compact cameras, bridge cameras, SLR cameras, digital medium format. Deciding on one of these camera classes is also a decision on the weight and size of the camera equipment. You can find basic information about the different camera types in the “Camera types” article.
The image quality of a digital camera depends primarily on the following points:
- lens
- Camera electronics – firmware (camera-internal software)
- Sensor technology CCD or C-MOS
As already indicated, the image quality of a digital camera is not only dependent on the resolution (number of pixels). Other important aspects are e.g. B. Lens quality, sensor size, noise performance (especially important in low light conditions), dynamic range, color representation … A sensor can only record what comes through the lens.
This means that with poor lens quality, no matter how high the sensor resolution, there is no gain in quality. The rule here is that a camera is only as good as the weakest element used. These camera properties are not found in the technical data of the camera provided by the manufacturer.
To get more information about it, you should not ignore tests and experiences of other users about the corresponding product. However, it is often difficult to filter and evaluate the sometimes quite contradictory statements. Keep in mind that not every author makes an objective assessment. A broad information base offers the best opportunity to weigh the ratings and information.
With all the test reports, don’t forget that you decide whether or not you are satisfied with the image quality of your camera. Don’t let testing take the fun out of your camera. What is decisive is the image statement and not just the technical perfection.
Here is a quote from Gisèle Freund, a Franco-German photographer and photo historian
“The eye makes the picture, not the camera” (Gisèle Freund, 1912 – 2000).
With that in mind – focus on the photography and not the specs of the gear.
Here is a short summary as a “top list” of essential features when buying a new camera:
- Size
- Weight
- Image quality / type of image presentation (paper prints, computer display, Internet, beamer, size of the display)
- speed
- focal range
- image stabilizer
- Monitor (pivoting, size)
- Optical or digital viewfinder
- Mechanical zoom or motorized zoom
- power supply
- Robustness (waterproof? sure-footed? shockproof?)
- Expandability (remote release, flash system, lenses and converter)
- handling / operation
- facial recognition techniques, e.g. B. “Smile Shot”, facilitate focusing when taking pictures of people
- Connections (HDTV connection, HDMI, PictBridge, WLAN transmission … )
- Video function (video resolution, number of frames per second [frames per second], sound quality, zoom option during recording …
Questions to ask yourself before buying a camera
- How big and heavy can the camera be?
- The best camera is the one you have with you (height? weight?). A top-of-the-range model that is sitting in the drawer at home because of its size is of little use in this case.
- Don’t be tempted to buy a camera that’s too big and heavy for you to begin with.
- Can a single camera meet my photographic needs?
- The different demands on a camera are often in conflict with each other (e.g. as small as possible and yet maximum light intensity and low noise even with high ISO numbers)
- Tip!!! Do not believe in the “jack of all trades”
- It is often better to buy several models that are optimized for the respective application areas, e.g. B. a compact digital camera to always have with you and an SLR camera for your demanding artistic needs.
- Do you want to take photos in low light conditions?
- If night photography or photography in low light conditions is your priority, you should opt for a digital SLR camera. Due to their larger sensor, these have advantages over most compact digital cameras.
- Do you want to shoot sports?
- Sports shots usually require cameras that create fast image sequences (series images), have a fast autofocus and, in the best case, also have a high-speed lens with the appropriate focal length (telephoto lenses are usually at an advantage).
- Do you want to photograph children?
- Photos of playing, romping children pose a great challenge to many cameras. Here, too, a fast autofocus and possibly a fast continuous shooting mode are advantageous. The shutter lag should be as short as possible: However, using the camera correctly with the appropriate pre-focusing before taking the picture would often help. Please note the articles on focusing on Kleine-Fotoschule.de.
- Do you want to photograph animals?
- In these cases it is important to think about the distance to the subject beforehand. A powerful telephoto focal length (optical zoom is important here – digital zoom is at the expense of image quality) is often an essential feature in this case.
- Do you want to take portraits with shallow depth of field?
- If a shallow depth of field z. For example, when shooting portraits, cameras with larger sensors and fast lenses with a focal length range between 60 and 100mm are preferable.
- Due to their small size, compact digital cameras usually have a very small sensor. The crop factor means that the lenses in the compact cameras have to have significantly shorter focal lengths in order to achieve a comparable focal length equivalent to a small picture. This means that these cameras have a significantly greater depth of field than cameras with larger sensors with comparable focal lengths equivalent to 35mm images and the same aperture.
- How do you use the images. How big should the deductions or prints be?
- The larger the images are to be, the more important the image quality of the camera is. If you want to produce high-quality images larger than 20x30cm, you should pay more attention to this criterion.
- Are you possibly restricted in your movement?
- In these cases, a swiveling display can be an advantage. This means that people with restricted mobility, e.g. B. wheelchair users, take different perspectives.
- Even for people who are not restricted in their movement, a swiveling display can increase comfort or photographic quality, e.g. B. when there is a crowd between photographers and the main subject and the camera needs to be held high.
This list cannot be complete due to the diverse demands placed on photo equipment. You should vary and add to these questions based on your needs.
