Cell phones - Smart phones - The most popular cameras in the World are the ones that come with phones. Generally the newer the phone and the more expensive the phone the better the camera. This fact is exploding the number of images and videos produced Worldwide. My latest phone an iPhone X takes very good images. However, the latest phones are also getting more complicated to use. And both Apple and Google have begun to lock down their software so that it is becoming more difficult to organize your images and videos in ways that don't use their software. Google eliminated Picasa that made it very easy to take photos off your phone and put them where you wanted to. Apple discontinued iPhoto and Aperture which also made it easy to download photos from your phone to your filing system for safe keeping. Now both IOS (Apple) and Android (all the rest) have cloud systems which automatically file your photos in their clouds. What this means for the amateur photographer is that five years and 10,000 photos from now you may want to save a copy of your pictures to one of your back up drives. To do that would be very difficult and very time consuming if they are on the Apple or Google cloud. So here is my advice - use your phones to take stills and videos but save copies on your local drive that is not in a software program. If you are not doing that now, start today with your new images and videos.
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| Taken with Minolta 600si 50mm f2.8 macro lens and Kodak Ektar |
The above splendid shot was taken with a 15 year old Minolta film camera and Kodak Portra.
I love the way the new phones have advanced the technical abilities of image and video capture. But to really improve your work you will need a real camera that does not come attached to a phone. I have a six month old Sony compact that cost 40% of what my latest smart phone cost. It is far more capable than the camera in my iPhone X except the iPhone is better in low light. The compact camera can go easily from wide angle to super telephoto optically. Even at a 500mm equivalent the images are very good. And at 35mm equivalent the photos are sharp and color rendition excellent. It also takes very good video and the Zeiss zoom works without adding noise to the video. You can transfer photos and video wirelessly to your phone or computer, but it also comes with a standard SD card that makes it very easy to download files and put them where you want them. In your file system. You can then upload the best ones to Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or anyone else without fighting with software.
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| Taken with a compact Sony super zoom camera |
To get the best images and video you need a more advanced camera like a DSLR or mirrorless camera with removable lenses. I personally like Nikon cameras, but there are a number of good brands like Canon, Sony, Olympus, Fuji, Pentax, and others. Of course if you are rich get a Leica or a Hasselblad, I would if I had lots of money to spend on my hobby. To me the best camera to get good and easy images and video in the more advanced category are a mid sized sensor based model. This is the Nikon or Canon "crop" sensor based cameras. Olympus uses micro 4/3rds which is also fine. And Fuji is crop sensor for most of their bodies. The cost for this type of camera with lens is between $600-1,700. A Leica is more like $9,000. And on the Hasselblad, if you have to ask you cannot afford it.
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| Shot with Nikon D5500 and 35mm f1.8 lens |
And then we have film cameras. Analog film cameras have made a come back. A lot more people have started shooting film today compared to 7-10 years ago when film almost died. I shoot film all the time and can tell you my opinion is that if you want to get interesting and artistic images you should consider film. Photo film does not produce the same product as digital. Film uses a random pigment process and digital is a geometric pixel. The result is not the same. Outdoor full sun mid day images come out much better from film than digital. However, inside shots with various lighting is much more difficult to get right with film compared to digital. But if you keep it simple and get a reliable camera or two and stick with just a couple of films that you know work you should be fine. Keep in mind that excellent to outstanding film cameras cost $20-200 with lens. A Leica is more like $2,000. If you don't have a film camera and want one just get a major brand SLR from a used camera store or ebay. It will be much simpler to find a used camera store. That way you can return it if it does not work.
Consider making prints if you shoot digital or film. Apple makes it easy to do so along with a lot of other people. And make photo albums. Photo albums last pretty much forever and are very very easy to use. Just open the book. No computer or electronics needed.
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