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July 31, 2006

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Here's another shot of a barrel cactus with some flowers in bloom. 
Now let's all say, "Aww, that's down-right purty!"

Digital photography tip: "cameras, cameras, cameras?"

All too many times I have people asking me, "What camera should I buy?" And of course they want the best camera for the lowest price. But of course we all know, the more you spend, the better product. Well, usually. But there are just so many cameras out there on the market that it seems almost impossible to make a decision on just any one, and as to which one is the best. Well, although I might appear to be an expert on digital photography, I do have to admit "I'm not". I mean, while I might be able to provide some insight, here and there, into certain aspects of taking pictures with a digital camera, I don't know all that much about all the different models and brands. After all, think about it, I have no real, practical way of testing them all out myself. So I wouldn't know anything about any of the other cameras I have never owned or used. I definitely recommend purchasing a few photography magazines where they actually have tested out different models in detail and have written reports on them, from their perspectives. However, I have given advice on certain things to look for and it seems to have provided a few people with some pretty good purchases. "Whew! glad that advice worked out."

So what I can do is provide some different options or ideas that you might want to take into consideration. And here I will talk about what I feel is one of the largest factors in choosing a digital camera, with what I like to refer to as; "Pixels vs. Lens".
With so many cameras on the market, and the digital industry shooting (pun) off like a rocket, they all seem to have been in the race for the most megapixels, for the best quality image. While this is a huge determining factor, it is not always the most important thing to focus (pun) on. So don't zoom out (pun) and buy the first thing you see. With technology growing like it is, I just shutter (pun) to think of how far things can develop (pun) in the future.

So, all joking aside, my bottom line here is; it doesn't matter how many megapixels you can cram into a camera if the lens is not good quality. And here, in most cases, bigger is really better. The smaller the surface of a lens is, the less perfect the surface can actually be manufactured. Sure, it's great to have a camera and be able to put it in our purses or pockets. But we might sacrifice quality for size. So think of a good brand name, and they will likely put more emphasis on the quality of the lens. And stay away from the cameras with the tiny lenses. I don't care if they're cute.

Now of course I would highly recommend getting some type of digital SLR camera, such as Canon's "EOS" line. But they can come with a rather high price tag, and some don't even come with a lens. You actually have to purchase that separately. So if you're not looking to be a professional photographer and just want something for a little less money, a little smaller, a little more practical, and pretty good quality there's definitely a lot of other choices. I've seen some pretty good results from Olympus, Nikon and some others from Sony. But just this past week I saw some amazing prints that really shocked and impressed me and rivaled some of the more professional photos my father took many years ago. 
This camera that a friend recently purchased was a "Canon PowerShot A530". Not so many bells and whistles to worry about. It's a smaller camera with a pretty good lens, and at 5 megapixels it can be found for just under $200.
"YAY!! there's your camera, there's your answer, now leave me alone!"     (just kidding)

And gosh-darn-it, you can even find 'em down thar at yur local Wal Mart!! 
Just tell 'em that "Danny" sent you. And when that guy, Fenton, behind the counter, looks at you all funny-like and says, "WHUT?"  just punch 'em in the nose.

(just kidding again)

(well.....sort of)

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