Roger Barnes

Gladesville Hospital

Gladesville Hospital

Knock First Please

Gladesville Hospital

Pyrmont Panorama – Planet

A different perspective

Sydney Park – Tree

A bit of composited light painting

Some people keep lots of applications open from day to day.  I prefer to turn my work computer off overnight and start with a clean slate the next day.

Often, while rushing to leave the office and close all those applications, you might find that you were halfway through something.  In the past, I would write myself a physical note or send myself an email (if I haven’t closed my email client already), but now I have a simple tip for keeping track.

Create a text file on your desktop, and add a shortcut to it in your startup programs.  By doing this, there is an easily accessible dumping ground for last-minute notes or reminders, and it will pop up in your preferred text editor the next time you log in.

I get asked this question fairly often, so I thought I’d write a little blog post about it.

The short answer is, I don’t know. Unlike other gadget junkies, I only spend time researching camera gear when I know I want to buy something (same goes for computers, cars, phones etc). That said, I can clue you in on some general ideas, whether you’re buying Grandma a present or contemplating quitting your day job to become a pro.

In general…
Spend a little time looking at what the popular brands have to offer (see research links below), and consider what features are most important to you.  Once you’ve whittled it down to a few options, start looking more closely at price.   Don’t labour too much about it, you can’t really go too far wrong if a camera reviews ok.  If you don’t know what features are important to you, let’s talk.

Apart from reviews, forums are also good for recommendations.   Just watch out for picky people who are more interested in sounding like an authority on trifling matters or whining about a rare manufacturing fault.  Keep referring back to your list of important features to keep things in perspective.

Don’t wait for the next big thing unless you’re more interested in the tech than taking photos, you’ll miss a lot of shots and valuable learning opportunities by waiting.

On research… kenrockwell (DSLRs, lenses), dpreview (all cameras, lenses, printers), fredmiranda (DSLRs, lenses, printers, bags), photographr.info (search or ask a question on my Q&A site), flickr (camera stats), amazon (US prices), ebay (general prices), shopbot.com.au et al (Aus prices)

On megapixels… megapixels don’t matter much.  In fact, they don’t really matter at all any more, unless you’re printing big, because most cameras are at least 8MP (plenty for an 8×10 print).  Even then, there are many aspects of image quality (including noise and colour) that are just as important.  Putting a crappy lens in front of a 12MP sensor is kind of silly.  Similarly, filling up your hard disk with 20MP happy-snaps to upload to facebook is also silly.

On compact cameras… I haven’t bought one since 2001, though I’m considering a waterproof Canon D10 for canyoning, but can recommend (by all accounts) pretty much any Canon compact.  I’m sure another friend can vouch for others.

On digital SLRs… Buy a camera body from the price range that suits your needs best from one of the best brands (Canon, Nikon, maybe others?) and spend the rest of your budget on good quality glass.  The kit lens will do if that’s all your budget allows.  You might not even need a DSLR.  Dave takes some cracking shots with a Canon S90, and it has most of the control that you’ll likely need apart from on/off camera flash.

On accessories…
Most people don’t need a tripod, especially some cheap piece of crap, unless they’re shooting in low light (I do), in situations where they’ll have the time and inclination to transport and set up a tripod (I do), or if you’re regularly shooting panoramas (I am).  A Gorillapod or small table-top tripod can be handy (again, beware cheap ones), especially while travelling, but make sure it can handle the bulk of your camera.  I nearly lost a brand new DSLR off the side of a building by putting it on a crappy little tripod.

A big memory card is good.  Two smaller ones are usually better.  A fast memory card is rarely worth the premium you pay for it.  Watch out for dodgy knock-offs on ebay, the real stuff is pretty cheap nowadays.  If you value your images at all, don’t keep them building up for months on the memory card, download and backup regularly.  More on that another time.

A UV filter isn’t a bad idea if you want to help protect your SLR lens from the elements.  Some people think it reduces the image quality enough to matter.  I’m not one of those people.

A camera bag is a personal thing, depending on where, when and how you need to carry your gear (be it travel, street, hiking, wedding).  There are backpacks, over the shoulder bags, waist bags, pouches, sleeves, dry-bags, pelican cases, … you name it.  Personally, I’m happy to wrap my relatively expensive camera in a woollen hat and lob it in the top of my hiking pack, but I also appreciate then utility of an appropriate bag on other occasions.

On where to buy… I can recommend d-d-photographics (North Sydney, imports), hksupplies.com (Hong Kong based) and digitalrev (Hong Kong based).  They are all grey-market import, but the ridiculous premium on camera gear in Australia means the cost saving is worth it.  It might be a gamble, but the lack of international warranty has yet to be a problem for me.  At the very least, check out these sites to get a feel for how much to talk down the sales drone at your local retailer.

On brand loyalty and pissing contests… if you already have compatible equipment or friends who’ll lend you compatible equipment, go with that brand. Otherwise, it really doesn’t matter.  A good image has more to do with the photographer than the equipment.   For what it’s worth, most of my brand sentiment comes about by finding out which companies treat their customers the least like crap.

Exceptions to all this… if you’re shooting sport, concerts, macro, star trails, huge panoramas, HDR, lightning, very long exposures, or any of a bunch of other possible things that push/exceed one or more of a camera’s limits, then other considerations are likely to apply, some in contradiction to the above.

Any questions?

Salamanca Markets, Hobart, Tasmania