Buying a Camera for Christmas (Part 2)

Posted December 7, 2010 By Nature Guy and has no comments yet.

By now, you’ve got a good feel for the needs of the nature photographer you’re buying a camera for, and you’ve had a chance to look in your wallet (or purse) to see what’s realistic. You’re bound to run into a lot of different opinions, ideas and “sales-speak.” Here are some things to think about while you’re looking for the perfect camera.

More megapixels don’t necessarily mean a better camera.

Megapixels affect picture size, not image quality. It would take several paragraphs to adequately explain why, and even then the information would probably make your eyes glaze over.  So, boiled down to a basic concept, a 10-megapixel camera will take a high quality nature photo that can easily be printed at 13 by 17 inches, provided that every other factor (lighting, focus, steadiness, etc.) is also accounted for.

So if your prospective nature photographer is going to be taking photos for printing at 8 by 10 inches, or 13 by 17 inches, then 10 megapixels should work nicely. If they’re going to be shooting poster-quality nature photos, you’ll want to search for a professional grade camera with 14 megapixels or more. That’s really all you need to know. If a salesperson tells you anything different, run.

More megapixels don’t necessarily mean a more expensive camera.

You can spend less than $150 on a quality 12.1-megapixel point-and-shoot camera, or you can spend $400 or more. The extra money will be for the bells and whistles.

“Image stabilization” is one of those important bells and whistles.

There are three primary factors that influence camera blur:

  • Shooting in low-light conditions, necessitating a slower shutter speed that will allow more light to come in.
  • Shooting with a long zoom lens, which also requires a slower shutter speed.
  • Shooting when you’ve had a little too much caffeine.

Virtually every top quality camera offers some sort of image stabilization technology, which is particularly important for nature photography. That means it utilizes either software or hardware inside the camera to help mitigate the factors that cause blur. It doesn’t mean you’ll never have a blurry photo (stuff happens), but it does allow more room for error.

The most desirable type of image stabilization is “optical,” or OIS, which utilizes hardware to minimize camera shake. Usually, it’s a sensor inside the camera that measures any movement by the photographer while the photo is being shot, and tells the camera what to do in order to compensate.

The alternative is “digital image stabilization, which refers to software built into the camera that tries to minimize the blur after the photo is taken, rather than while it’s being taken. This isn’t a lot different than what you can do with image-editing software, and it’s vastly inferior to optical stabilization. Fortunately, digital image stabilization is becoming increasingly rare in today’s digital cameras.

Different manufacturers have different names for their stabilization technology, and not all stabilization technology is created equal. Regardless of the name, just remember optical vs. digital. Optical … good. Digital … not good. And if you don’t get the answer you want, or get some salesperson’s tap dance about why it doesn’t matter, then it’s time to move along.

Categories: Equipment, General, Seasonal

Buying a Camera for Christmas (Part 1)

Posted November 23, 2010 By Nature Guy and has no comments yet.

There’s only one thing that’s more painful than watching someone trying to shoot quality photos with inferior equipment, and that’s trying to shoot your own photos with inferior equipment. The rule for nature photographers is like the rule for carpenters: it’s generally easier to do good work if you have good tools.

Christmas is coming, and that means that there are bargains to be had. There are more choices than ever, at incredibly affordable prices, and you’d think that would make it easier to shop for a Christmas present. But more isn’t necessarily better, and the process can get confusing after awhile.

So here’s Part 1 of a series of tips designed to help you make the perfect Christmas purchase – whether it’s for you or for someone else. For our purposes, we’ll assume it’s going to be a present for someone else. We’re also going to assume that it’s a digital camera, and that you’ll leave the more sophisticated task of shopping for a film camera for another time.

You may already know some of this, so if that’s the case, consider this a refresher course in Christmas shopping for almost anything. Today we’ll start with the basics, before you even head out the door.

Consider their needs

Who’s going to be getting this camera? Is it Dad, who just wants to take simple pictures, but has a hard time even getting the TV remote to work? Is it your tech-savvy sister, who picks technology up very quickly, but just hasn’t had the time to go out and buy a decent camera? Or is it your younger brother, who is serious about nature photography as a hobby, but doesn’t have the right equipment to go to the next level?

For Dad, you’ll want to think about something that’s point-and-shoot, easy-to-use, and easy to download photos into a computer. For your sister, you can look for something that’s a little more sophisticated, and intuitive to learn (since quite a few tech-savvy people really don’t take time to Read the Frickin’ Manual). And your younger brother needs something that will take him well down the road from being a neophyte to being a true hobbyist, someone who’d be proud to show his best work once he has the tools to get there.

Bottom line: You can’t get what you want until you know what you want (or, in this case, what they need). Think carefully about who’s going to be using it and how they’re going to be using it. In fact, make sure that they even really want it as a Christmas present.

Consider your budget

Just about anywhere you go, prices range from somewhere around $125 for a reasonably well-equipped 10 megapixel point-and-shoot with optical zoom, image stabilization and face detection (more about all those later), that will also take halfway decent video; to upwards of $3,000 or more for a 21-megapixel, video-equipped, detachable-lens Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) model that’s dust and weather resistant with a self-cleaning sensor and a burst mode of 3.9 frames per second. In other words, it’ll do just about everything but cure a head cold.

Unfortunately (or thankfully, as the case may be), it’s not only likely to be a lot more than you can afford, but it’s also going to be overkill for just about anyone but the most seasoned photographer.

Bottom line: Finding the right gift is achieving a balance of what they need vs. what you want to spend. Don’t get them a Porsche if all they need is a Kia, even if you can afford to get the Porsche. And, equally as important, don’t get them a Kia when they really need a Porsche.

It doesn’t stop with the camera

Rather than fork out extra money for a camera they don’t need, think instead about setting them up with accessories that will come in handy:

  • Some cameras use proprietary batteries, so think about getting an extra battery that’s always ready and waiting in case the one they’re using runs out of juice. And if a camera takes AA batteries, look into a charger and two sets of rechargeable batteries. That way, one set is always ready to go in case the other set poops out.
  • The camera may come with a memory card, which is the internal storage media that holds the pictures once they’re taken, but many cameras don’t. In either case, make sure that there’s a memory card that will suit their needs. It’s not that expensive, ranging from around $12 for a 4GB memory card to around $25 for an 8GB card. There are a number of variables that determine how much room photos or video will take on a memory card, but 8GB is a solid bet. It’ll hold anywhere around 1,300 high-resolution photos, or about two hours of standard-quality video. It’s impossible to be too rich, too thin, or have a camera with too much memory.
  • Often a camera will come with only a basic carrying case. Check into getting a padded, bounce-resistant case that will hold some accessories as well.
  • If you really want to look generous (for not a lot more money) get a compact photo printer. Most are no bigger than 8 inches by 5 inches, lightweight, and easy to carry around. Best of all, you can usually find a good one for around $100.

Shop around

Check retail stores (Best Buy, Walmart, Fry’s and the rest of the usual suspects), but remember that you can also find great deals online at sites like Amazon, B&H or Crutchfield. The latter two are especially popular among photography enthusiasts, so you’re likely to get useful advice as well as decent prices. But whatever you do, shop around. Go to a local retailer and find what you want. Then go online and see what kind of price you can get.

Categories: Equipment, Seasonal