In Today’s world, everyone likes to take pictures or videos for their memory. And to do this you need a camera. But you don’t know what to look for in a camera while buying it?
So for this, I write this article about camera buying guide to help you.
Things to consider before buying a camera
Camera sensor
For the Camera sensor in the camera, you have to only consider two things i.e. Sensor Size and Type of sensor.
Sensor size, the bigger the size of the sensor the more light it can capture. The full-frame camera has the biggest sensor size and the crop sensor, and then the smartphone and point-shoot camera. Sensor size should be considered concerning lightning conditions.
There are mainly two types of Sensors used in cameras which are CMOS and CCD. The main difference between them are; that CMOS sensor are cheaper and require less battery power consumption. Whereas CCDs are used in high-end quality cameras.
Budget
The camera comes in a wide range of budgets. You not only have to consider the price of the camera body but also consider its additional accessory costs like lenses, memory cards, tripods, and camera bags.
Initially, you should start with a basic camera and one lens, even if you can afford to spend more. This will eventually help you to better decide your needs. And then you can upgrade in the future.
Types of Cameras
Different types of cameras are available in the market to cater to different needs, which are as follows:
DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex):
DSLR cameras are for those who want manual control over settings and want to use a variety of lenses. These cameras use mirrors to click photos or video recordings.
These cameras have better autofocus, long battery life, and more lens options, An optical viewfinder provides better clarity and dynamic range. And also bulky in weight.
Mirrorless Cameras:
Mirrorless cameras are great for travel photography and videography. These cameras are compact and lightweight due to no mirror.
Mirrorless Cameras have silent or quiet shutter features and faster shooting speeds. The electronic viewfinder is used in this camera to show exactly what the camera’s sensor sees. As there is no optical viewfinder in mirrorless cameras.
Action Cameras
Action Cameras are great for adventure and sports photography and videography. These cameras are designed in such a way that you can mount them on your body.
Action cameras are compact, rugged, and waterproof body.
Point-and-Shoot
Point-and-shoot cameras are perfect for beginner and casual photography. These cameras are easy to use and highly portable.
These cameras don’t support lenses.
Connectivity
DSLR camera comes with lots of connectivity features like NFC, Bluetooth, and WIFI. NFC(Near Field Communication) helps the camera to transfer images to your NFC-enabled smartphone by placing both close to each other.
Bluetooth in the camera is useful in many conditions like:
- Quick and Easy Pairing: Bluetooth allows you to pair your camera with a smartphone or other compatible devices. This pairing procedure is very simple and straightforward.
- Remote Shutter Control: You can use your smartphone as a remote shutter to control your camera when your camera is paired to your smartphone through Bluetooth. This is especially useful for group photos, long-exposure shots, or capturing wildlife from a distance.
- Image Transfer: You can use the Bluetooth feature to transfer of images from the camera to a paired smartphone or tablet. This enables quick sharing on social media or cloud storage platforms.
- Camera Control and Settings: You can also control your camera settings and function from your smartphone with the help of Bluetooth. This can be handy for adjusting settings without physically interacting with the camera.
WIFI in camera is useful in many conditions like:
- High-Speed Image Transfer: You can also transfer your images or video to other devices but at a faster speed.
- Remote Live View: Wi-Fi enables you to use your smartphone or tablet as a live viewfinder, allowing you to compose and capture shots remotely. This is especially beneficial for using the camera when the camera is mounted in a hard-to-reach location.
- Wireless Printing: You can wirelessly send photos from your camera to a compatible wireless printer for immediate printing. This eliminates the need for physical connections or removing the memory card from the camera.
- Cloud Backup: Some cameras support direct upload to cloud storage services through Wi-Fi. This ensures your photos are safely backed up and easily accessible from multiple devices.
- Remote Control and Configuration: Camera control over WIFI has a more advanced feature than Bluetooth control because of the dedicated app made for smartphones.
- Firmware Updates: Some camera uses Wi-Fi to deliver firmware updates to your camera, It ensures that your camera has the latest software update. You don’t need to download it software from the camera website and install it on your camera.
Display
In Camera commonly Liquid Crystal Display is used. Different cameras have different resolutions, brightness, and contrast levels.
Some Cameras even have a flip screen feature which means you can flip your screen. This can be very useful in a situation in which you are not able to see what you are shooting directly through a physical viewfinder.
Most people believe that resolution and screen size in the display. But In the camera, you don’t need to focus on these at the time of buying a camera.
The touchscreen can be an additional thing, you can look into a Camera display. The touchscreen is useful for controlling the camera like focus pinching to zoom in or other settings by just touch. You and I love to use touchscreen because of smartphones.
Ergonomics
You should also consider the camera body design whether you can reach all the buttons or you feel comfortable holding the camera in your hands. All that matters because you’re going to hold your camera for a long session. So you have to be comfortable with it.
Menu system
The menu system should be simple and easy to use. It should not be complicated for you to use that camera.
If you are facing difficulty in finding anything in the menu, how can you use your camera without hassle? So make sure the camera, you are going to buy has a simple menu. And you are known or able to understand its Menu.
Weight
Camera Weight differs from model to model. The mirrorless camera is less bulky compared to a DSLR camera.
In your starting days, you should consider low low-weight camera. So you can carry your camera with you everywhere and take photos from them. Thus it will increase your skills rapidly.
If you plan to shoot outdoors or in multiple locations, then low low-weight camera is good. As it is easy to carry. And vice versa.
Durability
If you are planning to shoot outdoors or in rough conditions, then make sure your camera has a strong and waterproof body.
Pano
With the help of this feature, you can take panoramic shots (multiple images of a scene stitched together by the camera automatically). This feature is available in point-and-shoot and in some mirrorless cameras. But not so common in DSLRs.
Megapixels
A higher Megapixel in camera means the camera is capable of taking better resolution and more detailed photos. But it also increases the image file size.
The main role of the megapixel is in the size of the image not in the quality of the image. High megapixel is useful in providing better image quality in printing bigger size of an image compared to less megapixel.
ISO Range
A wider ISO range help in taking better photo and videos in different lighting conditions. This is very helpful if you are planning to shoot in a location with different lighting conditions.
High ISO helps in shooting the video in a darker condition. Low ISO is useful in shooting video in Overlighting conditions.
So make sure your selected camera has a wider range of ISO.
Lens Compatibility
It is also important to check how many lenses and which type of lens is compatible with your Selected Camera. Make sure that your selected camera supports all those which you want to use for your work.
Video Capabilities
Mostly all cameras support video recording, but still make sure that your selected camera has video recording features. If you are planning to record videos from it.
Image stabilization
Image stabilization means the camera provides still video even if your camera is shaking or vibrating during shooting.
This is of 2 types i.e. optical image stabilization and digital image stabilization. In optical image stabilization, the camera body or lens itself has a hardware-based stabilization feature.
Digital image stabilization is software installed in a camera that does the work of image stabilization in video. Optical image stabilization provides a higher quality of stabilization in a video than digital image stabilization.
Frame Per Second
FPS means how much your camera is capable of capturing frames in a second.
You can consider a higher frame rate camera if you’re planning to shoot sports or fast-action scenes and events.
High FPS is also helpful in a situation like taking a photo of a moving object like in a sports event, wildlife, etc. To take multiple photos in seconds. And then you can select the best photo from it for further use.
Icon-Cleaning
Icon-cleaning is a feature that helps in removing the dust from the camera’s sensor by using ultrasonic vibrations. Although this feature is not always capable of removing dust. But still, it is a very good feature to have in your camera.
AF points
AF points mean how much your camera is capable of focusing different small things at the time of photo is clicked. It will provide better images for that area like in the case of group photos. And you want the faces of all people to look very sharp and clear in photos.
Processor
The processor in the Camera is used to process the image after you click the photo and save it to the memory. The latest processor has better processing power and produces better-quality images and videos.
Camera manufacturers generally use numbers in the processor name end Higher number means a better processor than a lower number. Like Expeed 5 processor is better than 4+ and 4.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
GPS in the camera adds a location to the photo (which is called geotagging) where the shot was taken.
This feature is useful if you capture photos in different locations to help you remember where that particular image was captured.