Part 1: Choosing the right camera...

I'm not a professional and certainly NOT an expert in the subject, but practically able to advise a bit on the subject of choosing a camera. If you are a professional photographer, you will know much more than whats written here, and certainly won't need to read this blog... :) Anyways, for those of you who would like some advise, here goes... Remember, this is advise about choosing the right camera for YOU, not the latest or greatest piece out there...

Lets start, by asking some questions, things you need to ask yourself:

Q: what type of pictures do you aim to take? and how often?
- If you want to take few pics once in while and like to share them quickly, you could just invest in a really good smartphone (if you don't own one already). If you want to better than smartphone quality photographs and would like to print them too, you might want a compact camera or one of the high end digital cameras with long zooms. If you like nature, go trekking/hiking/camping often (maybe venture into wildlife photography) Or simply want the best quality photos, definitely go for an entry to mid level DSLR (its worth the investment).

Q: how careful are you with expensive gadgets?
- It's a practical question, so do ask yourself this. The more you spend, the better quality cameras you can buy, but how careful will you be? The answer to this question could also lead you to the accessories you will need for your camera. Like a strong bag, screen protector, etc.

Q: would you like a compact camera to fit in your pocket, or enthusiastic to carry a hefty camera?
-  Again a practical question, about how big you want the camera to be. Do you need something that will fit in your purse or trousers, or are willing to lug around half a kg (or more)? You might go all out and buy a DSLR, but will you be enthusiastic all the way, or just the initial few weeks/months? I know friends who buy DSLRs, then later get bored, or don't fancy carrying them around and it collects dust. Only you know yourself best, so think about this...

Q: would you print a lot of your pictures?
- If so, the pics you take on your smartphone might not always be good enough. It might look good on the phone, but will be pixelated when you print or view on a big screen. Usually, 5 Megapixels shots can be printed upto A4 sizes (if you haven't used digital zoom), and I think all cameras these days will have atleast 5Meg, but more on this later.

Q: would you do advanced post processing on the pics?
- RAW images are useful if you do wanna do post editing, so if you wanna do this, look for cameras that let you take shots in RAW too (or both JPEG and RAW simultaneously).

Q: most important, whats your budget?
- This basically decides everything... :) Like all gadgets, there will be new models coming out every 6 months or max in a years time. So do you want the best now, and keep it for years to come, or would you like newer models later? Maybe you are not sure and just venturing into photography with limited budget and will expand later?

Now, looking at the above questions, I'm hoping you're getting a drift of what I'm leading into. The marketplace is filled with all sorts of cameras. Loads of manufacturers making all sorts of camera, with all sorts of features, so it can get really tricky to narrow down to the ONE... So apart from sifting through all the camera models out there, you need to know what you really want out of your camera, and hence the above questions to start off...

I really didn't think I would write so much, so lets treat this as part 1 of the topic of choosing the right camera...

[Will be continued... Part 2 link]

Part 2: Choosing the right camera...

[...Continued]

I started this topic with the intention of elaborating a bit on the different components of a camera, in the hope that it helps in finding your next best camera to buy. But when I started, I blabbered a lot more, and so this is the Part 2 post on this topic. If you haven't read Part 1, find it here.

Now, I'm gonna list few components and/or criteria that you'll find in the technical specifications of the camera or stuff that you need to look out for. When choosing the right camera for YOU, remember these aspects and make an informed decision. You can easily google more technical details if need be, so I'm only giving some quick thoughts here (and not comprehensive technical details). So let's start...

Type of camera: These days you have the compact cameras, DSLRs and also whats known as Mirrorless cameras. DSLR is the digital single-lens reflex cams (same as the traditional camera, just the D in front as they are digital now, no film) that have a mirror inside that reflects the image onto the sensor. With mirrorless cams, they have got rid of this mirror, enabling the camera body to be much more compact, but at the same time give results similar to SLR cameras. The mirrorless cams are doing well, but still have a huge way to go especially in terms of compatible interchangeable lenses. Certainly a good option if you want a compact compact camera, that performs almost like an SLR and you can expand too (getting newer lenses, external flashes, etc).


Expandable: Taking off from the last point, do you foresee that you might be interested in getting new lenses? Maybe wanna add an external flash or a microphone? These won't be possible with a normal compact camera. You'll have the most flexibility with DSLRs ofcourse. With big brands (like Canon, Nikon, Sony), you have 3rd party companies (like Tamron or Sigma) that make a wide variety of accessories too. Also check if the camera has HDMI connectivity as this is something useful to hook up the camera to your Television (do note, most cameras will have a mini-HDMI output).

Sensor type: You basically have CCD and CMOS sensors used in cameras these days. CMOS is better and as costs get cheaper, I see it making its way to more and more camera ranges. Apart from this, you also have full-frame sensors found in high level models. These capture the most of any composed shot, as nothing is cropped off. What you compose, is what you get and there is little information lost at the edges/corners of the sensors. Ofcourse these full-frame cameras are much more expensive, and unless you're looking into professional photography or have a lot of extra cash to spare, its not needed.

Megapixels: This is something I'm passionate about and try to explain to everybody I meet. Don't go running after larger megapixels. It's just a war raging out there, but you don't need the highest megapixel camera, and it might not be the best overall camera anyways. In most cases a 5meg shot is all you need - You can print upto A4 sizes with that. So why do you need more? Especially if you are gonna watch your pics on the computer all the time, or might occasionally print a few pics at the common sizes of 4x6" or 5x7".

These days, event the basic compact cameras come with resolutions higher than 5Meg, but the main pain point of shooting at the highest resolution of your camera is the image size. My camera is around 6years old now, and is a 10.2MP camera. But guess what, I done most of my shooting with 5MP shots, because thats all thats needed. Even with that I have over 60Gb of data to manage, so imagine if I had shot at 10MP - I'd need roughly double the amount of storage!!! The first thing I tell people is to change the camera resolution when they get a new camera. There are times when you can increase the resolution, like when you have a large group of people or a great nature shot that you'd like to blow up. But for daily use, choosing something around the 5MP mark is optimal.

Another reason why you might want to click at high resolution is if you often zoom into portions of your picture, crop them and then enlarge it or print them - then maybe you need a camera that shoots at much larger resolutions. But you still don't need to have the camera set at full resolution all the time... :)
[I told you I'm passionate about this point, apologies for the long paras]

Zoom: Firstly, let me be clear, I'm talking about optical zoom here, not digital. Don't be caught out by marketing terminologies that publicise combined zoom capabilities. Please check whats the actual optical zoom is. Another setting I always change on a camera is switching OFF the digital zoom. The moment you go into digital zoom space, you're into software enhancement, not the actual lens moving - so pictures are bound to be pixelated. Usually zoom is shown as 3x, 10x, or it can be shown at 18-200 also (especially for interchangeable lenses). Dividing 200 by 18 would be you a rough optical zoom range of the lens, in this case around 11x or 11 times zoom. Decide how much zoom you need based on what you wanna do with the camera. For indoor shots 3-5x zoom is more than enough.

Expansion slots: What type of memory card does it take. I think these days its mostly SD cards, so shouldn't be an issue. SD cards are freely available and most cost effective option. Next, do you want to have additional accessories, like a external flash or an external microphone? Please note, if you try to take pics with a big zoom camera, its built in flash might not be enough for taking pictures of distant objects in low light conditions. A good case of investing in an external flashgun.

Looks: Needless to say, its your camera and at the end of the day you should like how it looks. See how it feels in hand. Although you get great deals online, there is nothing like going instore and playing around with the models you have short listed. See how they fit and feel in your hand. Are the buttons easily accessible for most common operations. A larger display screen at the back with higher resolution makes viewing pictures on the camera more fun. These days you can cameras in different colors too, and I've noticed the prices vary based on the colours too.


Additional features: #Panorama shot is making its way into many camera ranges now, but then maybe you want a Wifi capable camera? Maybe you want the ability to geo-tag your photos? There are loads of features out there. Just make sure you're not paying ridiculous amounts of money for features (or gimmicks) you'll never use. If you're the lazy type and won't bother manually copying the photos to your computer and then sharing them, maybe you want to invest in the Wifi option.

So these are few things I've highlighted. There are many more specifications you can delve into, and this is just a start. Feel free to comment and let me know if you think of any aspects that might be important when choosing the right camera. Things like autofocus points, movie recording capabilities, ISO ranges, etc are important, but you can get more information about this if you are really enthusiastic and want to dive deeper in your camera research. Feel free to email or message me for any help in choosing a camera. First thing I'll ask is about your budget, so fix that before reaching out to me... :)

I hope you have found this interesting and it'll help you too. Needless to say, check out for good reviews on the net. These days you find comparison videos for almost anything on youtube. Me personally I use DPreview site a lot...

Happy shopping...!

[Part 1 can be found here]

Lighting, explained further...

As I was saying, I'm not the best at blogging... :) Back after over 2 years... lol...

Anyways, I'm back and got some more info. The reason for yet another post on lighting is because it is so very important...

Let’s look at the 4 aspects or qualities of light, that we should take into account:
- Colour
- Contrast
- Direction
- Quality

We don't need to have a lot of professional equipment to take good photographs. Yes, in a studio you can have multiple light sources, and it does enhance portrait shots. But on a low budget, with little props, if we consider the above 4 points, and think a bit about what light sources we have to play with, it can make a great difference.

Colour - In the outdoors, during day time, one of the biggest light sources we have is our Sun. The colour is warm. Indoors, we have different types of bulbs - some warm, some bright white and so can be cooler. Then we have the flash (built-in or external), which are cooler too. So when composing a shot, take into account the colour type of the light source.

Next, let’s look at contrast. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, you should see what you are trying to frame. Do you have vibrant colours? A lot of white or a lot of darker shades? The histogram on the camera can show you the spectrum of colors. From 0 which is black to 255 which is white. Histogram of 255 is all white, and too much white causes the picture to be burnt. Ideally, the majority of your picture should be in the middle, so not too much black or white. Obviously, this is not a rule. Like if you taking pictures at night time, or with no ambient light, there will be a lot of blacks. Many times, to get different types of effects you can have too much blacks and or too much whites too.

Direction - very important. I discussed about this in my first post, years back... :) Basically, you need to always look at the direction your light sources are coming from and how they hit your subject. The picture can change dramatically based on the direction your light is coming from. I do a lot of photography at parties and events where the subjects are always moving. So I do use the flash a lot, but with an external flash with a movable head, you can avoid hitting the subject straight in the face (if they are too close). So in a sense, I am changing the direction of the flash light.

Quality - the actual quality of light would also matter. For example, if you have a red lamp that has a normal bulb inside, it will emit reddish light. Now with this you cannot expect to get a normal warm shot. This is an extreme case, but in general to get good shots you need to have good quality light. If you are not using a flash, and are shooting indoors, then you must have the place lit well, else with people moving, you will have double images with most cameras (not all of us can afford high end super flash shutter cameras).

Disclaimer: I am not a professional photographer. I'm camera shy, and hence am the one standing behind the camera and like taking photos of others... :)

Lighting...

Just some random thoughts, and basic rules I follow to get enough light on the subject/object...

- Make sure there is no big light source behind the subject/object (like the Sun when shooting outdoors, or a bright bulb/tube-light when shooting indoors).

- When shooting outside in daylight, always have the sun behind you (assuming you are the photographer). This way the sun falls on the subject/object...

Example: [S/O <-- You <-- Sun)

* I think I'm going to create an abbreviation - S/O means subject/object [To make my life easier]

- When it is unavoidable, and the light source is in front of you, and behind the S/O [Sun --> S/O <-- You], then you can try and force the flash. You might need to get close to the S/O, for the camera flash to fall on the face of the S/O. How close would depend on the range of the flash.

- Another trick I use is to change the exposure setting. Usually the -/+ sign on most cameras. I quickly toggle this up(+) or down(-) to change/improve the lighting. UP(+) to increase brightness and DOWN(-) to decrease brightness.

CAUTION: I see many people who try and ZOOM in from a long distance. This is fine when it is nice and bright. But if there is not enough light, you need to use the flash and most flash will not ZOOM IN... :) So try and get as close to the S/O as possible, so they are in range of the flash (Check the camera specifications, on how much range the flash has).