Starter camera?

Starter camera?

Yet again, I’m indebted to an EPZ friend for the idea for this blog: this time, a discussion with Dora threw up the question of what makes a good beginner’s camera. Should it be small or big, hefty or light, older or newer, new or secondhand?

In practice, quite a lot of people start with a compact or bridge camera, because that’s what they got for taking snapshots, and then they find that they want to develop their photography. So one question might be how good these are for more serious image-making.

Others decide to take up our hobby, and set about finding a camera that allows them a quick start, and then has potential to expand capabilities.

Oh, and there’s also a question of how much work the photographer is prepared to put into the transition from snapshots to conscious, intentional picture-maker.

There are a couple of relatively complex ideas that you need to grasp when you begin taking photography seriously, and you need to take them in at the same time. Once you’ve done that, things get simpler, as you have a solid foundation. You need to understand the exposure triangle, depth of field, and the relationship between shutter speed, focal length and both camera and subject movement. If the camera makes the relevant adjustments easy and ergonomically sensible, it’s a big help in learning. You can concentrate on learning, without having to fixate on making the camera work. It’s like the way driving schools always use reasonably-small cars that don’t have obstructive gear-levers or weird electric handbrakes.

I’d say that for most people, a serious camera needs an eye-level viewfinder, control of ISO, aperture and shutter speed without recourse to the menus, and the ability to change lenses, or a high-spec zoom. Large aperture counts more than a supertelephoto zoom, unless you plan to take a lot of wildlife pictures.

Viewfinder: you find that blocking everything but the view through the camera out helps you to concentrate on the image – and pressing the camera against your face makes it more stable than holding it at arm’s length. Camera shake destroys many pictures…

ISO, aperture and shutter speed: traditional prosumer and upper-bracket DSLRs have two control wheels, front and back, so that in Manual, one can control shutter and the other aperture. In Aperture or Shutter priority, the second wheel or dial usually controls exposure compensation: more recent cameras allow a high level of customisation.

And there’s usually a button that lets one or both dials adjust ISO: basic competence with a camera involves learning to press this and adjust ISO with the camera at your eye, just as driving requires that you change gear without looking at the gear lever to work out where to move it.

Don’t get distracted by scene modes. One of the interesting things is that pro-level models don’t have them, which suggests that they’re not necessary. And they complicate things a lot: so, if you camera has them, ignore them, until and unless you really understand what they do and how. Keep it simple!

Actually, there’s a long list of things that don’t matter, and people put forward as reasons to buy this or that new model. They include a high frame rate (useful for action photography, but otherwise irrelevant), a second card slot (yes, cards fail: but not often. Backup is like carrying a fire extinguisher in your car – a good idea, but very few people ever need it), a touch screen, and, indeed, most extensive options.

The really big thing is decent ergonomics, so if a camera simply doesn’t fit in yoru hands, don’t get it. It goes beyond not too big or small for your mitts, though – much of the above adds up to ‘decent ergonomics’ I reckon. It can be worth talking to a few camera-owners, too, and if possible, playing with their outfit, though beware the ‘fanboys’ who will always find five reasons why their brand is better, even if they don’t matter to you at all.

Please ask here if you’re at that point, and have doubts… I probably won’t know, but someone else reading will.