photoxelsMany beginners make the first mistake of comparing digital cameras on paper. They research the features, compare these side by side and make a decision based on which digital camera has the most features. Of course, the second — and most prevalent — mistake that even “advanced” photographers (and reviewers, I might also add) make is to compare digital cameras based on price.
Now we can argue to no end whether price should ever factor in as a selection criteria when choosing the digital camera that is best for you. Unless “money is no problem,” as they say, price will always be a factor. However, it should not be the main factor that comes into play when you start out deciding which digital cameras to look at. Let me explain.
List Your Requirements
When you select a digital camera, first start with your skills level, desire (or none) to learn and grow in photography, type of photography you like, etc. Then, after you have set forth your “requirements,” go through them and list them as “must have”, “good to have”, and “can live without”.
Without a clear idea of what exactly you want to get from your camera (and lenses and other accessories), you risk ending up confused and miserable. There are just too many good choices out there, and the permutations can drive anyone insane. Decide on your requirements.
Compile Your Preliminary List
Then make a list of digital cameras that match those requirements, especially the “must have” ones. Leave price out of the picture for now because you just want to find the digital camera that is best for you, irrespective of price.
Read the Reviews
Next, read up on those digital cameras, and by that I don’t mean just the technical specifications and certainly not only the marketing material, but read independent reviews about the digital cameras on your list.
Why should you read independent reviews on a digital camera instead of simply relying on the marketing material or the technical specifications? Because, even if a camera has a particular feature you want, that feature may be implemented so poorly (e.g. be buried deep down many levels in the menu structure or require too many button presses or simply don’t work as advertised by the marketing material) as to be impractical in field use.
One glaring example is high ISO. Many compact digital cameras offer high ISOs but in practice, pictures taken at hose high ISOs are so noisy that they are good only for very small prints or small Web display. So, if being able to take pictures in low-light without flash is important to you, then make sure you find out in the independent reviews what is the highest ISO each digital camera does well at.
Shortlist of Candidates
As you do the grunt work of reading independent reviews on the digital cameras on your list, you will find your list getting shorter. Eventually you will end up with a “shortlist of candidates.”
Notice that we have not mentioned price at all so far. Now you have a shortlist of candidates of say, 3 to 5 digital cameras that match your requirements more or less (do not expect a “perfect” match of all your requirements). The prices may all be in the same ball park — or they may not. It does not matter at this point. What you have found are the 3 to 5 digital cameras that are best for you!
The All-Important Price
If you factor in camera price too early on in your search, you might disqualify the very digital camera that is the perfect fit for you! Don’t forget that camera prices vary and cameras go on sale or you may be able to get a second hand one in your price range. Someone who loves you may buy it for you as a present (hope springs eternal!). Or, as should be the right thing for you to do, you may decide to save up until you can afford that camera with your name written all over it.
Evaluate Handling & Feel
At this point, many people freeze up because they can’t figure out which one of the 3 to 5 digital cameras they should buy. If some of them are more expensive than you can afford (and you do not want to wait for the price to go down, etc.), then you can now eliminate them from your shortlist, fully realizing why you are doing so. Even then, you may end up with having to choose between two models that are very close to what you want, including price. How do you decide between them?
Easy! This is the step that many beginners overlook and learn the hard way, to their chagrin, when they actually receive the camera and find out that they do not like the way it operates. Then we hear them on the forum boards decrying how stupid the way this or that feature is implemented, ad nauseum. Then they end up returning the camera and buying the other one on their shortlist.
Wouldn’t it be better to avoid all that aggravation in the first place? How can you try a camera first without buying it? At a camera store, of course!
So, trek over to your friendly retail camera store, and ask to look at the camera you are interested in. Hold it, turn the knobs, press the buttons, look into the viewfinder, focus the lens, take a couple of pictures. How does it feel in your hands? Comfortable? Too small? Too heavy? Then ask to try the second camera, and evaluate the handling and feel all over. Remember, at this point in your search, you have already determined that both cameras match your requirements. Now, you want to find “the puppy that runs over to you.”
Believe it or not, usually you can find out as soon as you hold the camera whether you like it or not. There, you have made your choice! Trust it, and live with it. Any new digital camera takes some getting used to, especially if you are moving up to a DSLR, so be prepared to spend some time getting close and intimate with your new purchase.
Summary
Following our methodology ensures that you select the digital camera that is best for you — at this time and in your price range — as well as allows you to make a conscious buying decision (no asking forum members to make that decision for you).
In summary:
- No camera is missed because you have introduced the price criteria too early in your search.
- The features and requirements that you absolutely must have are practically usable in your shortlist of candidates.
- It removes the frustration of working with the wrong tool and ensures that your selected camera becomes an extension of your hands, your eyes, and whole being — becomes the instrument that allows you to capture the world as you see, or envision, it to be.
Related link:
– Digital Camera Buyer’s Guide
