Now what?"
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| A DSLR |
This will be the 1st part of a multi part installment.
It is not intended to replace the many wonderful books on photography; rather, it is for anyone wishing to explore
the capabilities of DSLR cameras as well as answer some questions we all have when considering purchasing one of these more
expensive cameras.
We will look at WHY do I need (or not need) a DSLR?
What is a DSLR?
Will my pictures be better than a inexpensive point & shoot camera?
How do I learn to use this thing?
What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of a DSLR?
The DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex), (often improperly referred to as a 35mm camera) is no doubt the most used camera among advanced amateurs and professionals; and for many
good reasons.
Here are several advantages:
1) WYSIWYG or "What you see is what you get."
When we look through the viewfinder of a DSLR, we are actually looking right through the lens. We see what will be recorded on the digital sensor, (1)
which is what takes the place of film. If we see it through the view finder, it will be on our print.
This ability alone is pretty awesome. We can get really close to our subject w/o fear of cutting off part of the image.
We could attach the camera to a microscope or a telescope and look through the viewfinder and see what the camera sees.
2) We can use a multitude of different lenses from very wide angle "fisheye" lenses to telephoto lenses that not only bring
the subject closer, but changes the way (perspective) that we view the image.
3) Relatively inexpensive. Starter DSLR's can be as low as $500 new, even less for used.
Yes. Some spend far more on DSLR's, as high as $6,000 for a camera body only (No lenses)
4) Creativity: Not only can we employ many different lens types, but we have total control over the outcome of the final image.
Many creative decisions are now in the hands of the photograher; not the camera.
(Auto) P,S,A..What?
"Auto" mode setting on a DSLR does it all. It sets the shutter speed, aperture of the lens, raises the flash if needed and figures out the best combination
to arrive at a properly exposed image. One problem is that the camera's brains rarely get it right. More on this and the use of
(P,S and A) in future installments. If we only use (auto) with our DSLR, we are missing the point of owning one.
With a DSLR, we as photographers now have complete control in how our camera sees the world.
Need to brighten up the image? Twist a dial and you are there.
A blurry background? No problem. Adjust another dial or place a different lens on the camera.
Stop a race car doing 200 MPH in it's tracks? No sweat.
5) No more film!
While this benefit is found in any digital camera, it has produced some remarkable new ways in how we learn
photography. Digital cameras all have a very useful button; it's called
DELETE.
Don't like the picture you just captured? Hit "delete".
Back in the day when film was the way to record a image, no such button existed.
Many of us would burn through a lot of film as we learned our craft. The expense of film in just a year could have paid for a
new digital camera of today.
Let's get to the heart of the matter. A question anyone new to the DSLR want to know.
Does it take better quality photos when compared to one of those inexpensive point & shoot cameras?
Yes, it does indeed. Here's why.
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| Digital Image Sensor |
The digital sensor, (the component that records the image) is composed of
many millions of receiver sites sensitive to light. These sites are called pixels or "Picture Elements".
While many inexpensive cameras boast of the millions of these sites they possess (pixels), the inexpensive camera crams these pixels onto a physically far smaller
sensor. The DSLR has a sensor far larger than nearly all point & shoot cameras. Yes, size does matter.
The larger sensor affords the DSLR a greater advantage when using these pixels in not only number, but physical size of each pixel.
Larger sensors equal more precise information in color, contrast, detail and low light ability to name a few.
The wonderful imaging ability of the DSLR does not guarantee our photos will be beautiful.
The beautiful images are created by the photographer, composition, understanding light, perspective etc..all contribute to the final image.
The camera remains a tool, nothing more.
I could purchase a very expensive set of golf clubs. Doing so will not cause me to play like a PGA tour player.
"So, do I need a DSLR with all these wonderful features and image quality?"
It depends on you and your goals as a photographer.
Many of us shoot perhaps a few hundred pics a year, some less, some far more.
The point & shoot cameras have come a long way in the past few years, producing great images.
If we only shoot a few snaps here and there, birthday parties, holidays, we probably don't need a DSLR camera.
Much of the work or (fun) of digital photography is what we do with the images when they arrive on our computer?
Some will simply take their memory card to the local one hour and have them printed.
Here is what to some may be a disadvantage:
To the advanced amateur and professional, the fun begins after we shoot the pictures.
If we don't enjoy working on our photos for hours after the picture taking is over, a DSLR is probably not for us.
Digital photographers today who desire more than just a snap shot must learn (post processing).
Although Post Processing may be more for the advanced amateur and certainly for the professional; even the casual shooter
can benefit from some post processing.
Post processing our images can be easy and short, or difficult and time consuming depending on what we wish to achieve as a final product.
In a later installment we will look at post processing and what it entails.
Tackling question #1, "Do I need a DSLR?"
1) Do I plan on making enlargements beyond 8" x 10"?
2) Do I need to bring the subject closer, such as in wildlife photography, sports?
3) Do I take more than a few hundred photos a year?
4) Do I wish to one day earn some extra money with photography?
5) Do I want to manipulate/adjust my photos to creative tastes after I take them?
6) Do I want more creative control with the camera?
7) Do I want my photos tack sharp?
8) Do I want to mate my camera with a microscope or telescope eventually?
If you answered YES to 3 or more of the questions, you are more than likely a good candidate for a DSLR.
A new entry level DSLR can be had for $500-$600.
One can certainly spend far more for feature sets, weather sealed bodies and full frame.
* Full frame DSLR's have a sensor closer to the size of the old 35mm negative.*
In the next installment we'll look at all those buttons, dials and what-cha-macall-it's.
Although the many dials and buttons can sometimes seem intimidating, photography really hasn't changed that much over the last several decades.
The camera is essentially a light bucket, catching and recording all those light photons.
Just like a painter, having paint, brushes and canvas does not make me a good painter; the magic is you, the photographer.
(1) Not all viewfinders render a 100% view.
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