The Royal Photographic Society

What to look for when buying a camera:

Gear up
There is such a vast choice of equipment available today for any aspiring photographer, that the rows of shiny chrome and black cameras and lenses on the retailers shelves are totally confusing, Especially when your unfamiliar with all the technology that goes into today's high-tech electronic wizardry. 

When its time to buy your first serious camera there are a few questions you should ask.

• What do you want to take pictures of?

• What will you do with the pictures?

• What is your budget?

• Will your picture taking change over time?

• Are you intending to make a career of Photography?

The answers to each of these questions will guide you towards the type of camera and more importantly the accessories that you will need now and in the future.

If you want to grab great pictures of friends and family at home, on the beach, at a party in fact anywhere. 
The best camera for the job is a small automatic compact camera you can slip it into a pocket carry it with you every-where, never miss that opportunity to freeze the moment.
If you want instant pictures consider a Polaroid they make some great cameras they even come in a range of fashion colours.
Today the place to put your pictures has got to be the Webb. The quickest and easiest way of getting your pictures on the Internet is by using a digital camera plugging it into your PC and uploading straight to your home page. Why not check out some of the thousands of sites designed for sharing pictures. 
You can e-mail your pictures to anyone anywhere. Why not send you great aunt in OZ a picture greeting of you. 
You can even print out your pictures using your PC and your home printer. Check out some of the cool software that you can use to change, distort and generally mess up your friend's faces with. 
Photography has never been so much fun.

If you're serious about your photography then you're going to need a serious camera. Check out what to look for when buying a camera gear. 

The 35mm Single Lens Reflex 
This is the standard "professional" camera. The 35mm SLR it's the one used by Sports photographers, photojournalists, Fashion photographers, Travel photographers, even underwater photographers use them. Most serious amateurs will own a 35mm SLR and a range of lenses and accessories.
The 35mm SLR is a good choice as your first serious camera. The reason for this is very simple. It is the most versatile camera system available. You can change the lenses the flash system and accessories to suit the widest range of picture taking circumstances.
If you want to take landscape pictures fit a wide-angle lens mount it on a tripod load high quality slow fine-grained film. Perfect for high quality large prints.
If you want to take pictures of people use a medium speed film, stand at a comfortable distance with a longer lens for the most flattering effect.
If its very dark you can plug in a flashgun to light up your model whether you use one small flash on the camera or plug into lots of studio sized professional studio strobes.
If you want to picture sports action use faster more sensitive film, to be able to use a high shutter speed that will freeze any movement, a long telephoto lens will fill the viewfinder with the action. Use a motor-wind to take up to 5 pictures per second so you don't miss any of the action.
If you wanted to take pictures underwater fit the camera into a waterproof housing and dive in.
The 35mm SLR is the most versatile piece of kit available to the photographer.



So what do you need to know when buying your camera kit? Here are some hot tips.

Buying New
When buying a new camera a little research is required. Go along to a specialist camera shop, speak to the sale staff tell them what kind of pictures you want to take with the camera.
Set yourself a budget; spend what you can afford. Be careful of spending more than you intended just because the model you like looks good and has lots of unnecessary features. 
Trying to save a few pounds by buying something cheap that will not keep up as you develop your skills and need more control of the camera is a false economy. After a while you will out grow your camera, then have to spend more money buying a better more expensive model.

Get the sales people to show you the different cameras available in your price range. Find out the differences between the models. Try before you buy, ask to hold the cameras you like while in the shop. Does it feel comfortable? Is it too heavy can you reach all the dials and buttons? Do your fingers get in the way?
It may be impressive to have a large camera with lots of buttons and dials but if its too heavy to hold and you don't use or even know what the buttons do then it's a waste of time. But don't buy a camera that's to small if you can't hold the camera comfortably then it will useless to you.

Don't fall for the glossy adverts Just because a camera is advertised as "Professional," don't think that you have to buy that one if you want to develop a career in photography. Great pictures can be taken with very modest equipment.
Try to buy into a system. Look for a camera that is made by one of the major brands, they design there cameras to be used with lots of lenses and accessories so that as your photography develops you can change and adapt your camera to be able to take pictures the way you want to.

Consider secondhand
Bying any used cameras is going to be a little risky you can't be sure what your getting or how it has been treated. It may be worn out or it could have been dropped or damaged. This doesn't mean you should ignore secondhand. It could be a great place to pick up a bargain.  There are a number of things you can do to make sure you don't get ripped off.

If this is your first time buying used equipment go to a reliable retailer ideally a specialist shop. Going to a shop will cost a little more than buying privately. But you will have somewhere to go if things go wrong and you have to take the gear back.
The shop will have checked the equipment when they bought it in; they will offer some form of guarantee usually six months. Plenty of time to take the camera home and check it out fully.
If you do have a problem with the camera most good retailers will be able to sort it for you.

How to buy secondhand
Buying second hand is a lot like buying new so you need to look at the features and handling of the camera. But you also have to look at the camera of wear and tear.

While in the shop look closely at the camera, are there any marks scratches, scuffs, bumps or dents. If it has one or two scratches then these should be fine remember the scruffier the camera the cheaper it should be so a few scratches will help reduce the cost. Scratches on the bottom usually indicate it has been fitted to a tripod so are not usually a problem. Scuffs on the body are usually from the way it has been stored in a camera bag or bounced around when being carried around someone's neck.

Worn paint indicates more use. Badly worn and scratched down to bare metal could be a sign that it was owned by a working professional who used the camera everyday and it may be ready for retirement.
If there is a dent on the camera then leave it alone, the camera could have been dropped heavily and have internal damage. There will be others for sale. 
Look at the lens is the glass clean, are there any scratches on the outside of the barrel, a few minor ones shouldn't make much difference. Scratches on the lens glass will affect the picture, If the Glass is scratched give it back to the sales person and find a clean one, there will be plenty of choice. 
Next handle the camera pushing buttons turning dials opening the back. Do the controls feel right? Do they work properly? Is there any wobble or slack in the camera or lens? Try the lens turn the focussing, is it smooth and quiet? Does it sound OK? If it sounds like there is grit or sand inside, leave it. 

If possible try a brand new version of the camera from the shops stock compare the movements.
Just by checking out these basic things you should have a good idea of the general condition of the camera. 
If you are still happy turn the camera on (if you don't know how or aren't sure what the controls do ask the sales staff to help). Try firing the shutter does it sound right? Using the controls adjust the shutter speeds can you hear and see the different shutter speeds firing? With the back open watch the shutter curtain moving. You should be able to hear the difference in shutter noise as the speeds are adjusted. Looking through the viewfinder focus the lens can you see the image becoming sharper and blurred as you move the lens barrel? If it is autofocus does the lens move into focus as you press the shutter button?
Looking into the front of the lens does the iris inside the lens move when you change the aperture setting and fire the shutter. The more you play around with the camera the better feel you will have that it is working properly.

Many people are reluctant to buy secondhand hand, which is understandable. But remember cameras are very different to secondhand cars. Most cameras are bought and owned by amateurs, who take great pride in their expensive equipment. They are very careful to look after there precious cameras. They take relatively few pictures so the equipment is rarely worn out. The camera is often placed in a strong padded bag taken out occasionally polished and then put back. 
The camera makers are constantly updating to more feature packed models with the latest technology, which means photographers especially amateurs who like to buy the latest shiniest model, have to keep selling their old model. This is good new for anyone looking for a secondhand bargain.
This years what's hot camera will soon become as cool as Sclub7 this is great news for anyone looking for a secondhand bargain. 

So what should you need in a good camera?
A 35mm SLR: will have interchangeable lenses allowing you to include or exclude the elements to the scene in front of you.
Focusing: allows you to control what is sharp in the picture. Often it makes a better picture to make some parts blurry.
All cameras come with some form of exposure meter this indicates what the correct settings should be to take a clear bright accurate picture.
Some cameras have an automatic setting which allows you to control part of the settings either Shutter speed or Aperture. These determine the look of the picture.

• Aperture Priority: Lets you set your own aperture, Doing this will let you control what parts of the picture are sharp, and what parts appear as a blur.

• Shutter priority: By choosing your shutter speed you can use high shutters speeds to freeze any movement even high-speed action. Selecting a slow speed will show any movement as blur, creating an impression of movement.

• Programme control: Or the fully automatic setting makes picture taking easier the camera takes care of the exposure settings for you. 

• Manual Control: If you want to take professional quality pictures you will often have to take over the control of the camera to create the picture effects you want, rather than let the camera do it for you.

Overall the camera that you buy should feel comfortable to use. Don't buy something simply because your being told, "that all the professionals are using it".

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