When choosing a camera.......

[mytime]

Hi Daidius,

I see this reply just today missed some things!
But your old 24 mm lens did a nice job together with the D5000!
Very nice photo, nice bokeh IMO.
Its no problem to put one of that size in the thread.
I just don't want the very big ones in the thread, not everyone has fast internet and big screens.

Photographing is nice but photographing fast moving things can be difficult.
I had to learn that
I waisted a lot pictures, but a lot good ones came out too when I was at the classic race today:

http://www.dollforum.com/modules.php?na ... fullsize=1

Mytime & Helen & Carmen

[janesays]

I am getting ready to buy a digital camera.I know essentially nothing about photography but I know how to capture a good image or at least I think so.I have a few questions.

Is a 10.3 megapixel better than a 9.3 megapixel ? In other words,if there are more pixels are the pictures going to be of higher quality?

What is the difference between an entry level DSLR and a regular DSLR?

Do all DSLR shoot video or do you have to purchase a HD DSLR?

Thanks.

[b-man]

The higher the pixel number, the higher the resolution. I'm shooting with an older olympus DSLR with 8.1. It doesn't do movies, as far as I know, most of them don't, but it's been awhile since I bought a new camera, so I don't really know about that. The nice thing about DSLR is the lens. They use multi-element ground glass lenses that give you great image clarity and detail. of course, the higher res numbers help there too. Here's a picture I took of Candy using my 8.1 megapixel DSLR for example.



Hope that helps. B~M

[janesays]

Thankyou b-man for your help.Your graphic work is great and I think you take pretty high quality pictures.So I guess I can definately compromise with an 8.1 if the camera I want is too pricey.

[ipani]

I am getting ready to buy a digital camera.I know essentially nothing about photography but I know how to capture a good image or at least I think so.I have a few questions.

Is a 10.3 megapixel better than a 9.3 megapixel ? In other words,if there are more pixels are the pictures going to be of higher quality?

Thanks.

10.3 mp is better than 9.3 mp but barely...
you need to double the megapixels (+3 db)
to make a significant difference in picture quality/resolution.
9+ mp is probably overkill anyways, unless
your blowing up the picture for posters.

[janesays]

I am sorry ipani but I must ask.What is +3 db?Thankyou for your help.
I am a camera dummy.Step right up to the dunk tank and throw 3 balls for $1

[dwhite601]

There is a lot more to resolution than pixel count. You need to consider the lens first. Larger is better. A larger lens is easier to manufacture without distortions. Larger lens also capture more light allowing a faster shutter speed. This is important to avoid blur which also effects resolution.

Zoom lenses are a compromise between convenience and sharpness. An SLR camera with a fixed focal length lens will provide the sharpest image.

Another important factor to consider is the size of the sensor. Larger sensors can handle a wider range of brightness levels (dynamic range also called exposure latitude ). In other words, you want to avoid details being lost in shadows or bright areas and having a lager sensor helps.

To get detailed reviews on cameras check out

http://www.dpreview.com

They use resolution charts to find camera resolutions under a variety of conditions.

[janesays]

dwhite,the link you gave me is now in my favorites.There is a wealth of information there.A lot more to it than I thought but the challenge will be exciting.Thankyou for your help D.

[mrmalek]

Here's my 2 cents worth, and only from an old 35mm film perspective. First, how much will your budget allow you to spend; second, a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera will usually be more versatile, i.e. more settings and functions (many you may never use), but the key feature is the ability to change lenses, however, the better lenses are more expensive (though used ones from reputable dealers can be a bargain) and will mount to only that manufacture's camera.......yes, adapters may be available. I agree with all the other posts also (megapixels, sensor size, lenses), so best to check out what is available within the price range you have set for yourself. Trust me, cameras are fun to use but can really get expensive when purchasing top of the line cameras and photographic equipment (i.e. lenses, flash heads and flash modifiers). Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

[ipani]

I am sorry ipani but I must ask.What is +3 db?Thankyou for your help.
I am a camera dummy.Step right up to the dunk tank and throw 3 balls for $1

db or decibel is a logarithmic unit of change...
(hmm... db=10*log(this/that))
so 3 db difference amounts to a 100% change.
(you may have seen this unit used in speaker or radio
specs)
the point here is that human sense organs are very
in-sensitive to change... it takes a lot of increased
resolution to make a difference to your eyes,
thats why tv's went from like 240 lines of resolution
to 740 or 1080 lines in HD mode.
it they had changed TV resolution from 240 lines to
say 300 lines, nobody would have noticed.

same with camera pixels.
going from 8 mp to 9 mp is not readily
discernable to your eye. (too small a change)
also is the problem of ultimate eye resolution...
at some point, the eye won't discern any
change at all... and i think we've already hit that
point at maybe 4 mp. especially when viewing
photos on standard size prints (5x7).
in other words, higher and higher pixel counts
just chew up available memory without providing
any visible resolution improvements..

[soragesum]

One thing that people often forget about when talking about resolution is the ability to
crop in on an image or digitally alter an image.

The higher the resolution, the more of an image you can crop out and still be left with a decent amount of resolution. Wouldn't it be nice to take a full body shot and be able to crop out everything but the face and still have enough resolution left for a decent sized print?

And even more so if you plan to do heavy digital alteration. When it comes to serious digital alteration, you can almost never be too high res or have enough dynamic range.


U nudd tiy!

[robinyadushi]

Before you determine what you need, you need to consider what you actually want and what you will ultimately use.
Everyone is always obsessed with mega pixels and manufacturers make that seem so important. If all you will ever do is keep the photos on your computer or not print anything larger than 8x10s, anything on the market in terms of mega pixels is already over-kill. Consider that you will store all this super-size digital data and how much hard-drive space it will take up and so on. But if you don't intend on printing billboard poster sized prints, you really don't need to be considering mega pixels as the determining factor.
The lens is FAR more important than anything else - in fact the body of the camera is really not as important in the grand scheme of things, and also you will find that all your expense will be in your lenses if you get into serious photography.
If you want to take video, the Canon EOS 7D takes video takes videos that rivals that of professionally used cameras that cost 20 times as much. In fact some professional film segments have been filmed with that camera. One of my very close friends is a professional videographer and he jokes that this little camera could "destroy" the professional camcorder sales if people knew its secrets.
That said, ultimately everything is in technique, no matter what kind of equipment you get. Amateurs typically buy the most expensive equipment and still end up using it like a point-and-shoot and never really produce anything outstanding, while some of the best photographers produce breath-taking images with pretty inexpensive equipment. You would be far more invested into learning the proper techniques of photography, and if you are serious, you will find that you will be able to create incredible images on pretty much any SLR/DSLR you choose.


U nudd tii di nyvj.

[Vickylover]

Hi janesays.

You have asked some questions that could fill the whole forum with answers. Everything everyone else has said is true. Composition and technique matter more than equipment. More pixels are better but there is very little difference between 9.3 and 10.3 megapixels. As far as lenses are concerned bigger is better but a damm-sight more expensive. Entry level DSLR's tend to have controls more like a compact camera with auto modes for point and shoot, while upper range models are arranged for the photographer to take control of the camera. Not all DSLR's take video, you will need to check out the cameras you are looking at.

Every photographer has their likes and dislikes, ask 100 photographers what camera to buy and you will end up with a list of at least 50 if not more

My camera is a Nikon D80 10.2 megapixel, I picked it up cheap after Nikon introduced it's replacement the D90. It takes all of the lenses off my old F65 35mm film camera, and that is one of the things that I think is important. Whatever you do start out with one of the leading brands that have a large range of equipment: Canon and Nikon to name but two of the market leaders, there are others of course

Whatever you buy now is unlikely to be what you want later on when you have more experience, but with a leading brand you can add accessories and upgrade with out having to change the whole lot

Buy what you can afford now, practice and use the camera. Then decide where you want to go from there.

See what I mean about filling the whole forum; this must be one of my longest posts yet and we haven't even touched on flash, studio flash, photographic lights, soft boxes, reflectors............ the list just goes on.

Start with a basic DSLR then build up as you gain experience, if you start out with something like Stacy might use it would be like asking you to fly the space shuttle.

I hope my ramblings are of some help, Vickylover.

[RainLover]

The world of cameras and photography is an even deeper well than the world of high end dolls. Decent cameras start in the high hundreds and quickly escalate into the thousands. My advice is to pick up a couple books on photography and read them before buying a high end camera kit. Reading a couple books won't make you a professional, but it will make you better informed as to what equipment suits what you want to accomplish, including the level of commitment you want to make to photography. It's a no-brainer to turn the camera on full auto, pop up the flash and take acceptable snapshots. But if you want to turn out truly awesome photos, you have to actually know what you're doing, which means gaining a complete understanding of all the variables that go into composing an image. That's what separates the amateur from the professional, just as in any line of work.

[janesays]

Thankyou guys for opening me up to a whole other world. I agree that with anything technique is required and it seems as though technique is the most important thing to learn. I have also learned that a bigger lens is better and more important than mp. Just by looking at b-mans pictures I can tell. I am going to check out a few books on photography and go through my old Playboys to find some poses that I like.
Please continue to add to this thread anything you guys feel should be in here. As Vickylover mentioned that it can fill the forum with answers and I think it will be helpful to newb's like me instead of having to sift through dozens of websites to get an answer to one question.