Advice on buying a digital camera.

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Advice on buying a digital camera.

Postby john_cina » Sun Mar 15, 2020 3:56 am

I plan on buying a digital camera in the next three months or so, but I know very little about them. I'm hoping for some advice on what I should be looking for and some info on what digital cameras are capable of. Most have their megapixels in big, shiny letters, but is that a reliable mark of quality? What other specs should I be looking for when choosing a camera?

I've also been wondering how digital cameras behave compared to old-fashioned film cameras. Is it possible to adjust depth of field with a digital camera? Do they have the equivalent of f-numbers for fine-tuning exposures? Do they have the option to take pictures in greyscale or high-contrast black-and-white?

If anyone feels like recommending specific cameras, I'm looking for something that mimics my mom's old Cannon SLR camera. Something more than a point-and-shoot, but nothing over-elaborate or expensive. I'd like to have the ability to fine-tune my pictures like in the previous paragraph. I'm not interested in video. I'd hope to get something under $300 if possible.
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Re: Advice on buying a digital camera.

Postby Steve Anderson » Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:17 pm

This isn't quite on-topic, but I'll let it slide for now, maybe the Admin might move it to Off-Topic.

But as a start have a look at this site, it covers all cameras (mostly still) from cheap disposable ones up to ones you can only dream of...most come come with some video function whether you want it or not.

http://www.dpreview.com/

I have no financial interest in the site...there are archives going back 20 years or so, also covering the resurgence of interest in film cameras.

But I doubt you're going to get an SLR-type of camera for US$300 these days...

Most consumers leave the camera in 'Auto' mode, but you can choose aperture priority, shutter priority, or totally manual. Greyscale also (B/W), for high-contrast effects you would use something like Photoshop, Picture Publisher software or many others to get the desired effect in post-production. ISO settings can range from around 50 to many thousands.

No, mega-pixels alone are not an indication of quality/resolution, the lens has to up to the task as well. My phone is 12M-pixels, yet photos from my Canon G2 4M-pixel compact camera are far better. I rarely use my phone for photos, just the odd snapshot.

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