Introduction What is photography? The history of photography What this site will do for you Light: The most important element Why light is important to a photograph The many types of light Controlling light in your pictures The camera The basic function Types of cameras Choosing the right camera Putting the image together: the Lens How the lens bends light: a tutorial A brief introduction to apertures The variety of lenses Choosing a lens Exposure: a film tutorial How film records an image Understanding film speed Print vs. Slide film Film recommendations Taking Pictures Depth-of-field Apertures and shutter speeds Composition and experimentation: the basics Metering: when you can't guess The many types of picture-taking Photography with a point-and-shoot Accessories Tripods: for when you can't stay still Lens filters Post-processing: after development Scanning photos The digital darkroom Photo and equipment storage
After reading the last chapter, you may be wondering about which camera type will take the best pictures, or even more which brand. The best type of camera for you depends of what you want to do with it. You may be surprised to know that it doesn’t matter what brand of camera you have; it won’t effect your final image at all. You would get the same exact result on a Canon EOS as on a Nikon. In fact, you can take a better picture on a $100 camera than on a $2000 camera. Remember that a camera is just a light-tight box with a lens on one side, and film on the other. Despite this, there are still a few factors that you should look at when choosing a camera:
Reliability- How large is the chance of the camera breaking down?
Lenses- Each camera manufacturer has its own mount for its lenses (for SLRs, medium formats, and some digital cameras), including Nikon’s F mount, Canon EOS’s EF mount, and Pentax’s K and screw mount. Does the mount support a wide range of lenses? Does the camera allow interchangeable lenses at all?
Metering- As you will learn in Metering: when you can’t guess, metering will help you determine exposure. Does the camera have new technologies built-in to it, such as autofocus and auto-exposure, plus advanced manual-exposure metering? Having good metering will help you in many situations where you don’t have time to figure out your camera.
Film format
Besides the above, the film format is an important factor in choosing a camera. Will you need a 35mm camera or a roll film camera? How about a huge 8x10 view camera? Again, it depends on what you need.
4x5/8x10 sheet film- Film is expensive, and there is not as much of a variety of film available as opposed to the 35mm format, though it produces a beautiful 4x5 or 8x10 frame. The original negative or slide is as large as a standard 35mm print!
Roll film (120 and 220 film)- While film is twice the price of 35mm film, it produces a large square picture, twice the size of a 35mm negative or slide. You can also fit 15-20 exposures on a roll.
35mm- This film is the most popular film in production today, and it is also the least expensive. While it produces a small rectangular image, film is good enough to produce an image of about the same quality as roll film. You can fit about 24-36 exposures on a roll. This format is my recommendation if you are on a budget for film and developing.
Which format should I start off with?
Probably 35mm film. Film is extremely inexpensive, and you can get very reliable, sophisticated cameras for it.
Which cameras did we use for this web site?
When creating Photography | The Art of Light, we used a large variety of cameras, though it was mainly on two 35mm SLRs, the Canon EOS Rebel G, and Ricoh KR-5. Both are excellent cameras for beginning and advanced photographers alike, and have a variety of features.
After you have read all of this, check our Choosing what’s right for you: Camerassection to see what camera is just perfect for your needs.