Every year around this time I get emails and facebook messages asking “what camera should I buy?” or “Is this a good camera to buy for my wife or husband??” \u00a0I thought this year I’d do a quick blog post and give my knowledgable opinion.<\/p>\n
First and foremost, I shoot with BIG cameras. \u00a0If you hand me a point and shoot camera I’m apt to ask “how does this thing work?” \u00a0Once at a wedding I couldn’t get the little disposable camera to work. I was mortified, but it was so simple, I just over thought it. \u00a0What? No F stop? \u00a0No Shutter speed, how the heck does this thing work! \u00a0Finally, the bride and groom came over and helped me out. \u00a0 Oh how I wish I was joking!<\/p>\n
The biggest complaint I hear about Point and Shoot cameras is “the camera takes too long to let me take the next picture! I HATE it!” \u00a0So they run out and buy a big clunky SLR camera that is WAY more camera than they ever need and will never use all it’s functions. \u00a0Heck, I don’t even use all the functions on my cameras. I find new menues all the time ever AFTER reading the manual! \u00a0The delay in a point and shoot is due to the fact that it’s working off a memory card and that it’s also not a Single Lens Reflux. \u00a0There is no mirror, it’s all memory and digital technology.<\/p>\n
What does someone look for in a Point and Shoot Camera?! \u00a0The first thing people will say is “MEGAPIXELS!” \u00a0I’d like to say “buzzer” -WRONG! \u00a0Buying the camera because it has 300 million megapixles does NOT matter. \u00a0It’s a gimic camera companies keep throwing out there to think you “need” more megapixels. \u00a0 \u00a0Megapixels only matter if you are blowing a file up to billboard size. \u00a0People often ask- will I be able to blow the file up to 8×10 and not see the file pixels on my point and shoot camera? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0 You’ll be able to blow a file up to 16×24- or 20×24 on a 4 Megapixel camera. \u00a0How do I know? I use to own one. \u00a0Megapixels really don’t matter for the average joe. \u00a0They don’t even really matter to me. \u00a0To be honest, \u00a0I actually get ANNOYED with Canon when they add more megapixels to my camera because all it means is BIGGER files, and more memory on my hard drive. \u00a0In turn it costs me MORE money to buy MORE hard drives to back up all these HUGE files. \u00a0I actually shoot the Medium RAW because the files are half the size. \u00a0I don’t need all the information from all those megapixels. \u00a0It saves me a LOT of room to shoot that way. Megapixels don’t matter, it’s the sensor in the camera that you want. \u00a0I won’t get into that. \u00a0Megapixels only matter when you are printing a photos huge- got it? \u00a0Are you doing billboards? than don’t worry about the MPs!<\/p>\n
Another factor for buying a point and shoot camera is zoom. \u00a0How close do you want to be able to zoom? \u00a0That’s what the 3x or 4xx number means. \u00a0 Do you want to be able to do macro photos (super close photos of details like ring shots)<\/p>\n
You also want to think about the lens size? Do you want a REALLY wide lens or a medium lens. \u00a0Most point and shoot cameras come with a pretty wide lens.<\/p>\n
I had the Canon SD400 for awhile, the specs on the camera are this- and I’ll break them down.<\/p>\n
| Lens<\/td>\n | <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | ||||||
| Focal Length<\/span><\/td>\n | 5.8-17.4mm, f\/2.8-4.9 (35mm film equivalent: 35-105mm) \u00a0— This is how wide an angle you’ll be able to get. \u00a0Everyone understands zoom (moves closer) the 5.8-17.4 MM is how wide a lens it is.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n| Digital Zoom<\/td>\n | 4x- How many times it will zoom it.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Focusing Range<\/td>\n | NORMAL: 1.0 ft.\/30cm-infinity | \nMACRO: 1.2 in.-1.6 ft.\/3-50cm (WIDE), 1.0-1.6 ft.\/30-50cm (TELE) \u00a0– How close it will focus if you wanted to take close up photos of flowers.<\/span> \nDigital Macro: 1.2-3.9 in.\/3-10cm (WIDE)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Autofocus System<\/td>\n | 9-point AiAF\/1-point AF (fixed to center) (Intelligent Orientation Sensor), AF Lock, AF-assist Beam On\/Off –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | The biggest things I look for in a point and shoot camera is the focal length, and the zoom. \u00a0I also look for a camera that has smaller megapixels. I don’t need the megapixels. \u00a0The average person is not going to notice the difference between 5 MP and 12 MP. I might, but for your purposes, you’ll be fine with 3, 4 or 5 MP.<\/p>\n So what camera do I throw my support behind?<\/p>\n As a TRUE Canon Girl, I hate to say this- but I recommend this camera. \u00a0The Nikon 8100. I HATE that Ashton Kutcher runs around telling everyone they can be a photographer! \u00a0I hate that he encourages people to be annoying at weddings. \u00a0The camera though- is a great camera!<\/p>\n |