How to choose a camera: decide on the type

You can independently choose and buy a camera that will best meet your requirements in the appropriate catalog at the link provided. And below we will talk about what is important to pay attention to when choosing a device.

Will we change the lens? This is a very important question, because it depends on the lens which image the matrix will digitize. According to the principle of replaceable / non-replaceable optics, cameras are divided into two types. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

In cameras with interchangeable lenses, you can install the optics that are best suited for solving a particular creative or technical task. This is the main advantage of this class.

There is only one “but”: you need to have such a lens, and they can be very expensive, several times more than the camera itself. In fairness, it should be noted that specific tasks are rare and for most types of shooting, a set of three or four lenses will suffice.

Cameras with interchangeable lenses have one insurmountable drawback - when replacing one lens with another, dust or moisture can get inside the device and onto the rear lens. Indoors, this is not so scary, but in nature it can lead to the need to contact a service center for paid cleaning.

By purchasing a camera with a built-in lens, you get a complete device at a fixed price, i.e. you can shoot them right away and no additional costs will be required (accessories, of course, do not count). Cameras with a non-replaceable lens are practically not afraid of dust, since their body is not separable.

However, the technological non-removability of optics, almost with very rare exceptions, also means its creative non-replacement. In other words, you cannot implement some photographic tricks based on certain characteristics of the lens, simply because the parameters of the built-in optics do not physically allow it.

Interchangeable optics: with or without a mirror?

If the idea of buying different lenses and changing them didn't scare you off, it's worth resolving another dilemma, and again a constructive one.

There are two ways to see the future frame (build it compositionally and, possibly, perform manual focusing). The first assumes the presence in the camera of an optical circuit in the form of a lifting mirror, a pentaprism, etc., which together are an optical viewfinder. An apparatus made according to this principle is called a mirror.

The main difference between SLR and mirrorless cameras is the path of light before and after the end of the shooting moment.

The second way is to display the future frame on the rear screen or in the electronic viewfinder after processing the data received from the matrix. Cameras of this type are called mirrorless.

The optical viewfinder came from analog photography, when there was no other way to overcome some of the technical challenges of having to match exactly what the photographer sees with what will be captured on film. A lifting mirror is an expensive and very precise mechanism, since it blocks the path of light from the lens to the matrix all the time, except for the actual moment of shooting. He has a resource, however, quite large - tens of thousands of operations for amateur devices and 100-150 thousand for professional ones.

SLR camera cutaway

An optical viewfinder has two advantages. It shows the future frame without delay. This is really important only when filming fast-moving processes: sports, sometimes reporting. And it does not consume battery power, which is why SLR cameras still hold the record for such an important parameter as the number of frames taken on a single battery charge. Of course, having a spare is not forbidden, but this pleasure is not cheap.

Previously, the optical viewfinder system made it possible to implement a phase-detection autofocus system, since before shooting, the camera's automation determined how to adjust the lens based on information about the distance to the object. This information was collected by a phase sensor, the light on which was reflected by a lifting mirror. Today, some manufacturers have begun to integrate phase sensors into the matrix, so the technological need for a mirror has disappeared.

In addition to the already mentioned complexity (hence the high cost and relative limited resource), the optical viewfinder system has two insurmountable drawbacks.

Firstly, the lifting mirror increases the dimensions of the camera, and the more the matrix is used in it. Thus, the working segment is also lengthened - the distance from the plane of the lens attachment to the photosensitive element. The effective distance is an important indicator that affects the difficulty (and ability) to design and manufacture certain types of lenses, providing a reasonable size and cost.

Secondly, the optical viewfinder only works when there is enough light. This means that focusing manually is already problematic at dusk, and framing in the evening or night shooting is not an easy task.

Cutaway mirrorless camera

The matrix in the electronic viewfinder works as a source of data both at the time of shooting and during its preparation - framing and focusing. This approach has its strengths and weaknesses.

Firstly, by sending data to the processor, and only then to the screen, the camera can show not only what the lens is projecting onto it, but also how the frame will look after shooting.

This is really important because it allows you to visually assess the correctness of the settings and reduce the percentage of defects, for example, due to an incorrectly set AF point, white balance, etc. And yet, using electronic signal amplification, you can comfortably work in almost complete darkness, when shutter speeds are calculated in minutes or even tens of minutes.

Second, by eliminating the mirror, engineers can make the camera much smaller and the lenses smaller.

The electronic method of displaying the future frame has two surmountable shortcomings. The first is delay. It takes time to digitize the image projected by the lens, process the received data and display it on the screen. It is small, but still noticeable, and in low-cost models it is larger. In other words, the photographer sees on the screen not what is happening now, but what happened a few (tens) milliseconds earlier. Sometimes he just does not have time to press the Shutter button, missing a phenomenal frame ... However, the success of the development of electronics inspires hope that this shortcoming will be eliminated in the foreseeable future.

The second drawback of the electronic circuit is its power consumption. As a result, an average mirrorless camera can take about 300 frames on a single battery charge (to be fair, this is quite enough for one busy shooting day, for example, while traveling), and a mirrorless camera of a similar class can take about 900. The disadvantage is eliminated simply: you need to buy a spare battery, although this will add several tens of dollars to the expenditure side of the low-cost for the purchase of a camera.

Electronic viewfinder or screen only?

The electronic viewfinder is mounted in the accessory slot

If you decide to purchase a mirrorless or compact camera, then you need to answer the last question: do you need an electronic viewfinder or will you get by with just a screen on the rear panel.

Cameras with a viewfinder tend to be more expensive, which is understandable: there are additional expensive components.

The viewfinder helps when shooting in bright light, such as on a sunny day in nature. Having stuck your eye to the eyepiece, it is much easier to see the future frame, and to work with the screen, you will have to close it in every possible way from ambient light (not without reason at the dawn of photography, a black cape was one of the most important accessories).

For some mirrorless cameras, an electronic viewfinder is available as an optional accessory.

And if the lens is built-in?

This technological feature does not affect the image quality in any way: it depends on the optical design, components and assembly accuracy. There are cameras with amazing built-in lenses, and there are dull interchangeable ...

Small camera with big features

Almost all modern devices with non-replaceable lenses can be classified into two classes - compact cameras and ultrazooms.

Recently, the segment of top-class compact cameras has been actively developing. This is a really small (compared to SLR) device, equipped with a fast lens with an average range of focal lengths.

In many cases, it is able to compete in image quality with SLR and mirrorless cameras, since it has almost the same control over shooting parameters.

The main trump card is a fast lens. Compared to those included in standard kits for SLR and mirrorless cameras, it gives a gain of two (sometimes even more) exposure levels, which allows you to set the ISO sensitivity two steps lower, thereby reducing the noise level to a completely competitive level.

From wide angle to super telephoto: all in one compact body

Ultrazooms are called cameras with a small matrix and a huge range of changes in the focal length of the lens. To appreciate the difference, think about it: the maximum of the widely available zooms for SLR cameras does not reach a factor of 19X (to be precise, 18.8X for Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 VC PZD Di II Macro while for superzooms this parameter starts from 18X and reaches a record 60X, while at telephoto the focal length exceeds a meter!

Some superzooms are similar in design and dimensions to SLR cameras, are just as comfortable to hold when shooting and offer similar control options, there are also fairly compact devices with beginner-oriented functionality.

Superzoom lenses do not differ in aperture ratio, but this is the only opportunity to purchase a compact device with long-focus optics for a relatively small amount.

Matrix Size: Forget Megapixels!

When choosing a camera, it is necessary to strike a balance between what is desired and what is available, accessible in technical and financial terms.

The largest matrix size for non-professional cameras came from film times, it is 24x36 mm and the camera is called full-matrix. APS-C is next in descending order (about half of the full matrix, 24x18, although the numbers differ slightly for different manufacturers), then - 4/3, an inch matrix and smaller matrices, usually indicated in fractions of an inch.

The larger the sensor size, the more the lens at open apertures can blur the background. In photography, this is called bokeh, is highly valued and is one of the key creative techniques - highlighting the main object by blurring the rest.

The size also affects the operation at high sensitivity values \u200b\u200b(ISO). The larger the matrix, the more photons hit each pixel of the future frame, respectively, the more accurately you can convert light into electrical signals. The result is an image that is less noisy and more natural.

And again, a double-edged sword. The larger the matrix, the more difficult it is to make long-focus and fast lenses for it, the smaller the depth of field, which is important, for example, when shooting landscapes and architecture.

And what about megapixels? Forget about them. Only six megapixels are enough to get a high-quality 20x30 cm print, two megapixels (in landscape orientation) are enough to display on Full HD TVs, and a little more than eight megapixels are needed for the increasingly popular 4K. Those. any modern device will do.

A multi-megapixel image takes up more space on the memory card and in the computer, it takes longer to process and is more expensive to store.

What else is needed?

Memory card. You should not buy the largest in capacity, it is better to buy a couple of common volumes. At the beginning of 2015, this is 8 or 16 GB. But you don’t need to save on speed, the minimum worthy of investment is Class 10, then Full HD video will be recorded without problems, burst shooting will become really fast, and the time for rewriting multi-megabyte files to a computer will decrease.

Bag for carrying and storage. Only some models of compact cameras can be carried in a pocket, the rest need a bag. It is better to choose a model that can protect expensive equipment from drops and adverse weather conditions, roomy enough for the necessary accessories - at least a charger, memory cards, screen cleaning velvet, perhaps an external flash.

Tripod. This is an indispensable accessory for shooting with long exposures, at night, or for implementing a creative technique for blurring moving objects. It is especially necessary for owners of superzooms and selfie fans.

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When choosing a camera, be sure to take into account the factor of rapid (three to five years) obsolescence of cameras and the long life of interchangeable lenses. Accessories are also capable of surviving several devices. Do not buy equipment with functions that you do not plan to use, it is better to spend the saved money on training in photography and only then select equipment in accordance with increased and conscious requests.