Camera and maybe shooting advice

[donaleen]

I am looking for advice on the right camera for me plus any shooting tips for taking photos while hiking.

I would call myself a beginning photographer. I currently have a Nikon L22. I experiment with the various modes because I know that underneath it is varying the shutter speed and aperture and such, though the camera doesn't allow me to control much directly.

What do I like about the camera? Good color. Small size (it fits in my overalls top pocket). Easy to use. Very affordable.

Here is a photo I took with it that I like pretty well. But it was largely luck. The light was right. The camera worked pretty well with it. I'd like to know more and have a camera that allows me more control.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/donaleen/7 ... 905896640/

I don't want a camera that it is cumbersome or so expensive I don't want to carry it.

Any advice out there? I know there are lots of great photographers on this site. I've seen lots of great photos.

thanks
donaleen

[jdemott]

Hi donaleen,

That's a great shot--a nice composition that gives the feeling of what it must have been like standing in the shade and looking at the rushing water sparkling in the sun.

You don't give many specifics as to what sort of camera you're looking for or what your budget is. Do you want a rugged camera specifically for hiking--one that is waterproof and can take a beating--or are you generally pretty gentle with your equipment? Does it have to be as small as the current camera--shirt pocket size--or would you accept coat pocket size? What about the zoom range--do you like wide angle or telephoto shots?

The Canon S100 is a shirt pocket size camera that is a definite step up from your current camera. It allows more manual control but still can be used as a point and shoot. It has a wider angle lens than your camera, but not as long a zoom range. There are many more choices depending on what you want. From your question, I sense maybe you're not sure what sort of camera you should be looking for. If that is the case, you might want to explore some more about photography before you spend your money.

As a beginner, you might check out the website The Mindful Eye ( http://www.tmelive.com/ )which has a lot of really helpful info-- some technical info and some artistic info on what makes a good photo. It also has very friendly user forum.

As to specific advice about the photo you posted, an advanced photographer would probably say that the water is a bit over exposed since there are large areas of the water that are completely white without any detail. Even with a point and shoot camera, it is often possible to trick the camera into adjusting the exposure by focusing on a particular area like the water, depressing and holding the shutter button halfway, and then recomposing and shooting. Of course, then your whole photo would look somewhat darker which might require some software adjustment. In general, larger (more expensive) cameras can accommodate a wider dynamic range (range of brightness from light to dark) than small point and shoot cameras. Trying to achieve the proper balance between the highlights and shadows in a scene is one of the main challenges of outdoor photography and one on which many books have been written.

General advice about photography--take lots and lots of photos! Even pro photographers take lots of bad photos. You can learn from the bad shots and keep the good ones. If you just show people the good shots, they'll think you're a great photographer. Have fun.

[donaleen]

John,

Great response hitting on all aspects of what I am looking for. Thank you

I am looking for a pretty small camera. The one I have is a perfect size. It fits in my overalls pocket just right. My pocket couldn't handle anything much bigger and I wouldn't like to carry much more weight. My current camera uses double A batteries... there are probably lighter battery choices. I do want to take it hiking. And I don't want to spend too much on it. Between two and three hundred seems about as much as I want to put at risk carrying it around in my pocket. I just checked the Canon S100 on Amazon and it is at a low of $379. Are there better cameras that are within my price range and size requirements?

I am trying to experiment and play with what I can change with my camera. Like what I focus on. And the modes. I'd like to learn as much as I can using it. So that I know better what I want. I've been reading camera reviews and they often are over my head. So that tells me I have lots to learn.

What I see in the viewer is not the same as what I get when I actually get in the photo. Is it always that way? It makes learning harder, that is for sure.

donaleen

[jdemott]

I don't know of anything in that price range that provides the combination of small size, additional control and improvement over what you have. The S100 does those things but at a higher cost. But there are hundreds of cameras and I know about only a few so there are probably some good choices out there.

The Canon ELPH models are in your price range and are generally well regarded and very compact, but don't offer any additional control and I can't say they would be noticeably better in image quality than what you have. They would offer image stabilization (very worthwhile), rechargeable lithium batteries (I think) and the possibility of buying a camera with a greater zoom range if that is of interest to you.

Or maybe you could find a used Canon S95 or S90 (predecessor models) at a good price.

[jdemott]

As to your other points, definitely check out The Mindful Eye--you'll learn a lot.

Yes, it is very normal for the photo to look different from what you see on the camera's LCD screen and certainly different from what you see with your eyes directly. Camera LCD screens (especially on point and shoot cameras) are not the same quality as your computer monitor. Some cameras allow you to easily "bracket" exposures so you take several shots of the same scene at different exposure settings...then pick the best one when you get home. Also useful is a "histogram" display when your photo is shown in review mode on the camera--it gives you useful info about your exposure, but you need to learn to read it.

[donaleen]

John,

I really appreciate the time you took answering my questions. Your insights are very valuable to me.

I am excited about exploring that site.

And figuring what image stabilization even means....

thank you so much,
donaleen

[pdxgene]

Image stabilization basically means the camera compensates for your hand shaking when you take the picture.
Some of the easier things you can do, and of course there are exceptions to all of these... Keep the sun behind you.
If you have a white cloudy sky background, try to keep it completely out of the picture so it doesn't bleach out your other colors.
And remember, the best angle isn't always the one you get from eye level. Especially if you are trying to shoot a reflection, for one example, sometimes the best spot is right at ground level.
I got lucky that the week my point and shoot film camera broke, one of the local camera stores was having a sale on refurbished Pentax dslr's. So I got mine for just over $200. I've heaped abuse on it for almost four years now and it still works just fine. Kinda of a pain to carry sometimes but you can't have evrything at that price.

[retired jerry]

I'm an amateur photographer, but

If it's cloudy, my point and shoot camera pictures will come out blurry because it slows down the shutter speed and I can't hold the camera steady enough.

If I point to a brighter place, and half push the button to set the exposure, then move to what I want to take a picture of and push the button fully which takes the picture, the picture will be much darker but not blurry. If I wanted to, I could adjust the brightness later.

[donaleen]

Thanks for the great tips and education. I am going to try the exposure trick. I would love to have more tips on taking good photographs with a point and shoot.

I am watching the Mindful Eye lessons. The more I can learn about how to use what I have, the better decision I will make when I get ready to buy something else. What I have learned so far has already changed what I would look for in a camera.

thanks!
donaleen

[donaleen]

I just want to thank John, Jerry and Gene for their comments. You've made exploring photography a lot more fun.