How to Choose the Best Camera for You
If you want to take pictures, you need a camera, but there are so many camera brands and so many camera models to choose from. You may ask your friends who like to take pictures to help you choose a camera. In fact, it’s best not to listen to other people’s recommendations for things like cameras. It’s like when you go to a store, the salesperson tells you the hype, but when you get it, it doesn’t feel like that at all.
The most important thing is to choose the one that suits you. Before buying a camera, you may wish to ask yourself these questions:
- What do you want to shoot?
- What is your budget?
- How will you share your photos?
- How long do you want to use this camera?
- Do you edit the photos you take?
- What brand of the camera are your friends around you using?
What do you want to shoot?
This question is very important, the subject matter determines the camera. Only when you know what you want to shoot can you choose the right equipment according to your needs.
Although it is no problem to shoot any subject with any camera, if you want to shoot better, you’d better choose the right camera.
If you choose a small compact camera, then the most suitable subject is street or casual shooting in daily life. If you choose an interchangeable lens camera (SLR, mirrorless, or rangefinder), the advantage of the interchangeable lens camera lies in its rich scalability, you can adapt the most suitable subject matter of this focal length by changing the lens of the camera.
If you want to focus on taking portraits, you may need a camera with a medium-telephoto prime lens.
If you want to focus on landscapes, then you need a camera with a wide-angle lens.
If you want to shoot wildlife or do sports photography, then you need a camera with a telephoto lens.
If you want to shoot flowers, plants, or insects, then you probably need a camera with a macro lens.
All in all, different focal lengths can help us perform better with more suitable subjects.
What is your budget?
No matter what type of camera, whether it is a compact camera, mirrorless, or SLR, there are low-end and high-end. The difference between them is mainly in the sensor and limit indicators, ranging from two to three thousand yuan to tens of thousands. But if you mainly consider low-end entry-level cameras, then the limit indicators, such as the high-speed shutter, focusing speed, etc., are also very important. But for beginners, most of the cameras are estimated to be able to meet our needs.
And high-end cameras will provide you with a higher dynamic range and better high-sensitivity control, which is very important for shooting more detailed picture quality, and for those who have their own ideas and want to create more in-depth works, It is also necessary for people.
For interchangeable lens cameras, good lenses may be very expensive, but you can consider switching to old lenses for use. Although they can only focus manually, the quality of many old lenses is indeed very high.
How will you share your photos?
This question is mostly about the pixels of the camera. In fact, the pixel mainly determines the size of the photos taken and also determines the maximum format of your photos that can be printed. If you don’t want to print photos as large as the entire wall, in fact, almost all mainstream cameras on the market can meet your needs.
In fact, you usually share photos on social networks, so there is no need to be bothered by the problem of pixels. But there is an advantage of high pixels, which can bring a higher degree of freedom in cropping, that is to say, you can crop more high-pixel photos while still ensuring high quality. But if you don’t take long-distance candid shots and crop them vigorously, the demand may not be that high. The camera with 16-24 million pixels in the market is enough.
How long do you want to use this camera?
The body of a digital camera has a lifespan. The development of technology will always make the body of the past worthless and quickly eliminated, and the lens can be used forever if it is well maintained.
However, it should be noted that entry-level cameras are basically small-format cameras. Most SLR cameras are APS-C format cameras, while mirrorless cameras may be APS-C or M43 format cameras. Small-format lenses cannot be used in all frame bodies, but full-frame lenses can be used on APS-C frames, so if you want to upgrade to full-frame in the future, try to buy full-frame lenses.
Do you post-process your photos?
Although most cameras on the market can now shoot in Raw format, not all of them are. If you want to have more control over your post-production, you must choose a camera that can shoot Raw.
What brand of the camera are your friends around you using?
Although it is not possible to blindly follow the trend, it is still beneficial to refer to the cameras of friends around you. For example, you can try the camera first and feel it. If you think it is not bad then it is not too late to decide to buy. If you want to buy a 4k ptz security camera, you can visit valuestek.com.