The most common question people ask me is "I wanna get into photography, which camera should I get?" Well, my answer is always, "it depends what you wanna photograph and how you wanna view it". Different cameras do different things. Each camera has its pros and cons. One camera may be good for one person but may not be as good for others. I mainly take pictures of my son and landscape. So, I look for certain things that other people may or may not care about. Here are things that I review before deciding which camera to purchase.
Picture quality: This seems to be the most important thing, but doesn't have to be the only thing that people should care. This is not just about how many megapixel the camera has. In fact, sometimes, cameras with lower megapixels takes better pictures. When pixels are too crowded in a small sensor, it produces noise and the picture won't be as clean. My Nikon D800E has the highest MPs at the time of purchase in a full frame sensor. I happen to like to have at least one high MP camera because I like to make huge prints for gifts and for myself, so the picture needs to be crisp when expanded. With its 36 MPs with D800E, 60 x 30 inch wall mount pic still look crisp.
Durability: When I take my camera for landscape pics, I like to have my camera tough, weather sealed and durable. I like taking pictures that are different from others. That means I have to take pics where not many people have been to. Those places are hard to get to. Many times I have to climb rocks, etc, banging my camera around. Weather sealed camera would be also nice. Misty areas in Alaskan fiords, dusty land of Death Valley, snowy Rocky Mountain require a camera with the weather seal. The Nikon D800E is weather sealed, made mostly with the durable magnesium alloy body and reliable in any weather.
Portability: Sometimes your iPhone is the best camera because you always have it in your pocket. Many of the best pics of my son is taken by my iPhone. Some great moments don't wait for you to set up your SLR. The camera that least likely to miss those opportunities can be the best camera many times.
Ease of Use: Ergonomics, accessibility to all the controls, technologies are important. Ergonomics matter when needing to change the settings on your camera quickly without taking your eye off your target. Sunset, sunrise, whale watch, bird pics or anything moving and changing every second needs quick adjustments. If your camera needs a lot of going through menu buttons, etc, rather than letting you use manual dials, it can take longer to set up and requires taking your eye off your target. Fuji X-Pro1 has all the required dials manually, so that I don't have to go through the menu window. I never have to take my eye off the view finder.
Price: Price of camera is often correlated with picture quality but doesn't have to be. Cost performance is very important to most people. Some of money goes into brand names and aesthetics of the camera. Some of the money goes to ergonomics, ease of use and nothing to do with picture quality. Again the definition of "the best camera" varies and picture quality doesn't have to be everything. So don't spend money on things don't matter to your style of photography.
Compatibility: One of the reasons that I like Nikon is that they have so many lens choices. A camera matters but it's only one of many factors that determine the outcome of the photograph. A Lens, photographer, location, time of the day, season, etc can all affect the photograph. If a good camera doesn't have a good lens, it can't take a good photograph.
Picture quality: This seems to be the most important thing, but doesn't have to be the only thing that people should care. This is not just about how many megapixel the camera has. In fact, sometimes, cameras with lower megapixels takes better pictures. When pixels are too crowded in a small sensor, it produces noise and the picture won't be as clean. My Nikon D800E has the highest MPs at the time of purchase in a full frame sensor. I happen to like to have at least one high MP camera because I like to make huge prints for gifts and for myself, so the picture needs to be crisp when expanded. With its 36 MPs with D800E, 60 x 30 inch wall mount pic still look crisp.
Durability: When I take my camera for landscape pics, I like to have my camera tough, weather sealed and durable. I like taking pictures that are different from others. That means I have to take pics where not many people have been to. Those places are hard to get to. Many times I have to climb rocks, etc, banging my camera around. Weather sealed camera would be also nice. Misty areas in Alaskan fiords, dusty land of Death Valley, snowy Rocky Mountain require a camera with the weather seal. The Nikon D800E is weather sealed, made mostly with the durable magnesium alloy body and reliable in any weather.
Portability: Sometimes your iPhone is the best camera because you always have it in your pocket. Many of the best pics of my son is taken by my iPhone. Some great moments don't wait for you to set up your SLR. The camera that least likely to miss those opportunities can be the best camera many times.
Ease of Use: Ergonomics, accessibility to all the controls, technologies are important. Ergonomics matter when needing to change the settings on your camera quickly without taking your eye off your target. Sunset, sunrise, whale watch, bird pics or anything moving and changing every second needs quick adjustments. If your camera needs a lot of going through menu buttons, etc, rather than letting you use manual dials, it can take longer to set up and requires taking your eye off your target. Fuji X-Pro1 has all the required dials manually, so that I don't have to go through the menu window. I never have to take my eye off the view finder.
Price: Price of camera is often correlated with picture quality but doesn't have to be. Cost performance is very important to most people. Some of money goes into brand names and aesthetics of the camera. Some of the money goes to ergonomics, ease of use and nothing to do with picture quality. Again the definition of "the best camera" varies and picture quality doesn't have to be everything. So don't spend money on things don't matter to your style of photography.
Compatibility: One of the reasons that I like Nikon is that they have so many lens choices. A camera matters but it's only one of many factors that determine the outcome of the photograph. A Lens, photographer, location, time of the day, season, etc can all affect the photograph. If a good camera doesn't have a good lens, it can't take a good photograph.