Q&A Monday: Camera

All questions will remain anonymous in Q&A section.

Q: Hey Travis, I'm looking to buy my first digital SLR camera. What should I buy?

A: There are a lot of cameras out there, aren't there? As far as brand, both Canon and Nikon are safe bets. Each makes quality cameras. Each stands behind their products. Each has a wide selection of lenses that work with its cameras. I know there are professional photographers who go with other brands and love their cameras, but there is more risk involved. Canon and Nikon are committed to be at the top of the industry for at least the next few years.

As far as individual models, don't spend $3000 on a camera if your entire photography budget is only $4000 for the next year. The great majority of enthusiasts would be best off spending under $1500 on a D-SLR. Good used D-SLRs can be had for $500 or less. For instance, Canon has two "enthusiast" lines of D-SLRs: the Rebel series and the 20/30/40/50 D series. The resulting images from these cameras (especially 20/30/40/50D series) in good lighting situations will be similar to images taken with more expensive cameras. Instead of buying a $3000 camera, it is much better to buy a $1000 camera when starting out and have an extra $2000 to spend on lenses. Lenses affect image quality more than the camera in good lighting situations. Lenses retain their value at least 3x better than cameras. The knowledge of the photographer affects image quality more than camera or lenses and it retains its value better than either. $2000 extra is a lot of money to spend on the (distant) 3rd factor of what affects image quality. Invest in the other two and there will be more return.

Flashback Friday: Hand Abstracts

This one goes waaayyyy back. I think it was my first personal project with artificial lighting. My mother gave me my first camera (a compact digital: Canon A80) for Christmas 2003. These were taken in November 2004. It was a great camera for its time. The macro mode was outstanding for a compact. For this project, I used a 90-watt lightbulb inside of a common desk lamp in an otherwise black room. I used a tripod to steady the camera, but I had to hold my hand fairly steady to capture sharp images. Quite a bit of Photoshop was used during processing.

A fingerprint is capable of distinguishing between any two people, correct? A handprint must have at least 50x the information. That would mean there are at least 5 billion to the 50th power variations of handprints, right? If 1 billion to the 50th power = a '1' with 450 zeros after it, then 5 billion to the 50th power is quite the number. Any mathematicians here who can help out???

(click images to see larger)

EXPLANATION

The other day I was thinking to myself: "Travis, why are there two-week gaps on the blog? You're a somewhat interesting person. Come up with a plan to post more regularly."

Long story short, here is the plan:

Q&A Mondays: Email me questions about anything having to do with the blog or photography in general. All question-askers will remain anonymous.
Reflective Tuesday: May be a quote from someone famous or a realization from my random thoughts.
Link-me-up Wednesday: A number of great people send me links to excellent videos, websites, etc.
Literary Thursday: Before going into photography, I wanted to be a writer. Poems, stories, essays will fall here.
Flashback Friday: A glimpse into my beginnings in photography. Will often include a picture (or multiple) to help explain.

As always, weddings, engagement sessions, and other current photography will be posted.

Comments are very welcome! Please share your thoughts. :-)

Amanda and David

Space, space, space. The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station in Haddam certainly is a spacious reception facility. This wedding had hints of Asian and Celtic motif. We were able to go outside for a few pictures just before it turned too dark. Floating guests? Yes, it was a magical night. Congratulations Amanda and David! Best of luck!