Tech with Tom: A few hints on finding the right camera

Editor’s note: Tech with Tom Kirkham is intended to provide practical information about a wide range of electronic products, software and communication issues. Tom has promised to use layman terms, where possible, and to avoid geeky acronyms unless using said acronyms are the build up to an off-color joke built largely around sophomoric innuendo. Seriously, this should be good stuff and it will post on Fridays (barring any breaking news from Steve Jobs or elsewhere in the Tech world). Enjoy.

What’s the best camera?

First of all, it’s digital. Okay, all you old timey traditionalists, I saw your eyes rolling. “I like the subtle effects I get from using real film.” OK, well the rest of this article will not interest you. Go back to your darkroom and soup your film.

For the rest of the practical world, digital offers so many advantages over film, both in camera and after shooting, that the few remaining advantages of film (real or imagined) are disappearing faster than newspapers. Digital cameras are far cheaper to operate, results are immediate so you can see mistakes practically instantly instead of hours or days later, and there is no need to buy and store different types of film for different lighting scenarios. Not to mention doing darkroom work is much easier digitally.

So what is the best digital camera?

First of all, it’s the one with you. That’s right, the best digital camera is the one you have with you when a photograph is needed or wanted. This may be a camera phone, a digital video camera that shoots stills, an iPod, a point and shoot, or even a DSLR.  (Just in case the purists are still reading, yes I know that Hasselblad and Mamiya make digital medium format cameras and backs for view cameras, but let’s stay in the real world, shall we?)

If you have basic exposure, focusing and composition skills, you can improvise with whatever instrument you have. Most photographs are great because of 3 things:
• The photographer was in the right place at the right time;
• The lighting and exposure was correct for the subject; and,
• The composition of the subject was good.

Nowhere in this list is “the photograph was taken with a $5,000 Nikon DSLR.” Sure, many great photographs are made using $5,000 Nikons, but the photographs could have arguably been just as good had the photographer used a $400 or even $100 camera.

Regardless of your equipment, I promise that your photographs will be better if you understand the basics of exposure and composition. I have a 16 x 20 photograph taken with a $200 Canon point and shoot, handheld, in freezing cold, with a fully automatic exposure setting of Duffy Square in New York at night that is good (In My Humble Opinion).

It is good because I had a camera with me, and knew exposure, lighting and composition basics, not because I was carrying a $5,000 DSLR with a tripod and remote shutter release. The point is, learn the basics of focusing (depth of field), exposure and composition before springing for that $2,000 DSLR. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you will discover why you need a more expensive camera for those instances where a point-and-shoot just won’t cover it.

So, the take away from this article is: always carry a camera with you, learn the basics of photography, and shoot as many shots as possible. Follow these tips and you will see the number of awesome photographs in your portfolio increase significantly.
 
Here are two good photography Web sites:
• About.com: Photography

• Tutorial 9: Photography Basics

Notes on Tom
Tom Kirkham is the publisher and co-owner of The City Wire. Tom also is host of the Tom Kirkham Show on Newstalk KWHN 1320 AM, which airs each Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. He also owns and operates Kirkham Systems, a computer, communication and networking company. Tom has more than 20 years of experience in business and technology, and claims to be a photographer, jazz lover, Cajun food expert and dog rancher.

You can reach Tom at [email protected]