Lesson 2ª

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Cameras

As we mentioned previously, the first thing you need to do in order to achieve good (or better) photographs is knowing your own camera. If you don't have one yet, or you want to change that old camera you've got,it is important for you to know the points you need to consider at the moment of purchasing a new camera.

We will begin by learning about the different types of cameras and the different formats available in the market today.

Types of Cameras

1) Small format cameras or 35mm:

35 mm cameras are the most popular ones used by both Photograph amateurs and professionals. The majority of models render an image of 24 x 36mm. These cameras have been made for easy and quick handling.

There are 3 categories in 35 mm cameras.

The first category are compact cameras, commonly known as "point and shoot". These cameras are the smallest and lighter of all cameras, hence their name compact. A great advantage is that we can take it anywhere in a bag our even our pocket. They are very easy and quick to use. Just several years ago, these cameras became completely automatic. You just need to point the camera towards whatever or whomever we want to photograph and press the shutter button. Basically, the camera does everything by itself.

Nowadays, compact cameras come with different manual functions and are beginning to look more and more like cameras reflex (next category). What does this mean to the person taking the picture? It means you can have more control on how the final picture will look like. You can decide if the picture will be darker or brighter; you can also change or correct the colour settings for the picture.

picture

This is a great advantage many people are not taking into consideration simply because they do not know how all these manual functions work. Through this course, we will explain the most important features of these cameras.

 

 

The greatest disadvantage of these cameras is the fact that they come with a fixed lens (zoom, actually). Due to this, the camera has limits when taking different pictures (we will discuss the different types of lenses in a later lesson). Another disadvantage, despite having several manual functions, is that these cameras do not offer the same level of control upon a picture as a reflex camera does.

The second category in 35 mm cameras are, in fact, reflex cameras. These are much larger and heavier than compact cameras. They offer the possibility of changing lenses. This option opens a great array of possibilities; you are able to take pictures at a really close or far distance, whenever there is abundant light or very little. These lenses also render sharper pictures and a better quality in the final result. This is one of the reasons why professional photographers choose these cameras.