Buying your first Camera

Some twenty years ago, whilst photographing a wedding, I heard a guest behind me say, "Well he is using a Hasselblad, even I could take brilliant pictures with one of them". Now, I thought I would test this sound theory, so I visited our local music shop and asked to try the most expensive guitar they had. "That will be our Gibson Les Paul" said the helpful assistant, "£4000, beautiful instrument" he said. I sat down and played like Eric Clapton, at least that's what should have happened based on the theory. In reality I played it the same way I play any guitar, not very well. I wonder if Michael Shumaker learned to drive in a Formula One car, or would he have started on something a little more modest? Well of course he did!

There is no doubt that the quality of a photograph taken with a Hasselblad is better than that taken with a Kodak instamatic, but image quality is not the reason I can produce professional photographs. What is certain is that if you can produce quality images with an instamatic you will be able to shoot top quality photographs with a more expensive camera. A camera is a tool, it records what the photographer creates and nothing more. So if you are tempted to splash out on an expensive camera, think again because you may well be wasting your money.

Digital photography has changed the rules to some extent and, with the right software a photographer can enhance the images recorded, but don't fall into the trap of relying on PhotoShop to correct a sub standard picture, sometimes it just doesn't work. There are many tools to help enhance, or even change completely the images you download from your camera but there is no substitute for a well composed well exposed photograph.

Choice
Choosing your first camera can be a bit of an ordeal, you know nothing about photography, how the hell do you know what to look for? Not only do you have countless brand names to choose from, you now have the added headache, Do I choose a digital or conventional film camera? At the moment there are some very good deals to be found on film cameras, due to the digital market taking over. Digital cameras are still very expensive, especially the SLRs (single lens reflex). It is possible, with a bit of shopping around, to find a good conventional SLR complete with a good lens for under £200. To obtain the digital equivalent you would be looking at £1000. My advice is to buy something at a modest price on which to learn, as your expertise improve you will look for something better and as your knowledge increases, you will be in a better position to know what you need.

Let's assume you decide to go for a conventional starter camera. It would be best to steer clear of the Advanced film systems as Kodak seem to be cutting back on the system and it is likely that they may withdraw support over the next year or so. Look for a 35mm compact zoom camera and you will find prices under £100

The two cameras above both sell for under £100 (or at least they did at the time of writing) and would give you all you need to start taking photographs. They are not digital and would therefore not give you instant results but would allow you to experiment until you feel confident to upgrade to something better. The one on the left is a canon sure shot and the right one is a fuji.

On my forum one of our members has posted some advice on choosing a digital camera and it is worth reading the advice given and checking out the links Sarah has posted. The choices in digital cameras can be very confusing and very easy to end up with a camera that may not be up to the sort of photography you want to do. If you have not already done so please join the forum. Ask for advice before you commit yourself to a camera. The members will be only too willing to help.

Read the Instructions
About 5 years ago, before I knew anything about digital cameras, a friend asked me to take some shots of him at a presentation. He said he had a digital camera and gave it to me 5 minutes before the presentation. Although I told him I would rather use my own film camera he insisted that I use his. The pictures were a disaster, not focused properly, odd expressions, you name it and I had done it wrong. Professional photographer I may have been but he wasn't impressed.

You must spend time learning about your camera, read the booklet that will be included in the box. Don't just learn what the buttons do, find out why they do it and what will happen if you don't use those buttons. The camera's limitations are just as important as its attributes. If you can adjust the resolution (Megapix) find out how it affects the quality of the finished photograph.

It will almost certainly have a built in flash and you must know how powerful it is. Don't be one of those "ever hopeful souls" at the Edinburgh Tatoo who sits 1000 yards from the action at night flashing off pictures, only to find the result is a black hole. To work effectivly a flash must reach the subject, illuminate it and then travel back to the camera. Take my word for it, if your flash was powerful enough to illuminate a subject even 200ft away it would produce a bang louder than one of the canon in the show and fry the heads of anyone unfortunate enough to be sitting in front of you! OK maybe a little exaggerated but you see my point.

Now get out there and take a few photographs........................... Part two to come