Choosing A Camera Part One
© Mark LaMonica. All Rights Reserved.
Film Camera Choices
From $1.50 one-time-use cameras to $2,000 professional SLR cameras, there isn’t much around for choices when it
comes to film cameras in what seems to be a digital world. The good news is that they all use film and film has a few
advantages over digital. The biggest advantage with film is if there is a sudden failure of your digital picture storage
system. If it goes, then all your pictures go with it. Film is stored as individual slides or strips of processed film. If you
trash one, you only lost one not the entire collection.
One Time Use Cameras
These range from the basic high speed film one button version to the elaborate waterproof with flash version. In any
case, they are all under $20.00, easy to use and use film.
Simple Snapshot Cameras
The simple snapshot camera is easy to use and is typically under $40. Their low cost means they usually lack a
variety of features that add versatility, such as a zoom lens, auto focusing, and close-focusing capability. Indoors
their flash range is short (typically a maximum of 12-15 feet) so they are best suited for brightly light slow action
scenes and general snapshots outdoors.
Advanced Snapshot Cameras
These cameras can have some fancy options. They range in cost from about $160 to more than $500. In a good
advanced snapshot camera, you'll find a high quality glass zoom lens that gives you exceptionally sharp and clear
pictures in almost any situation with zoom ranges of 2X to 4X, so you can shift from a wide-angle setting to a
telephoto setting, an auto focus system that will increase the sharpness of your pictures, a powerful built-in flash
that can take pictures of subjects 15 to 25 feet away, an LCD panel known as the liquid crystal display which shows
a variety of information about the camera settings and status, such as battery condition, number of pictures
remaining, and flash status, a flexible exposure system having a variety of shutter speeds usually 1/4 to 1/500 and
lens openings from f/2.8 to f/16 all of which the camera automatically sets based on the amount of light in the scene
or exposure mode. These program modes are usually auto, landscape, action, night, close-up or manual.
Single-Lens-Reflex (SLR) cameras
SLR cameras in 35mm format are the choice of the professional or the person who enjoys taking pictures in a wide
variety of situations. These cameras are versatile, have the ability to use interchangeable lenses, a precise and
flexible exposure system and can choose from the manual version or a fully loaded auto focus model. There’s a
huge selection of lenses ranging from wide angle to telephoto and even specialty lenses like micro or shift. If you
can see it with the naked eye, a microscope, or a telescope, you can probably photograph it with an SLR camera.
SLR cameras give you exceptional creative control. You can choose a fast shutter speed up to 1/8000 available on
some models to freeze fast moving subjects or a slow shutter speed up 30 seconds to blur waterfalls. There’s a B
setting known as Bulb that you can use with a cable release and lock the shutter open for hours to create star trails.
Film
You're at your child’s soccer game, first performance on stage or just hiking a new location and you want to capture
the events on film, you may be disappointed if you don’t have the right film loaded in your camera. Some films are
versatile enough to cover such diverse scenarios, but not all. Here are some points to consider before you choose a
film. The subject and its setting are the most important things to consider when you choose a film, because each film
is designed to do something just a little differently. A fast-paced soccer match would require a fast film and a hike to
photograph waterfalls would require a slow film. That's why it's important to match the film to the situation, but
choosing the best film is no simple matter with so many to choose from and so many different situations. Like many
of us, you may never know when you’ll take your next picture. One roll of film may travel from the beach to a
birthday party, and then finish up at the soccer field. If you need a versatile film well suited to a variety of situations,
a 400-speed film is a great choice for any situation.
Film Speed
Each film has a number associated with it that indicates how sensitive that film is to light. Often this number is part of
the film name, such as Kodak E100VS or Fuji Provia 400F. A high-speed or fast film (400, 800, or 1000) captures
light faster than a slow-speed film like (25, 50 or 100). Faster films are better for action and low light. Today’s fast
film emulsions provide exceptional sharpness with minimal grain. Slower films are better if you want to blur moving
water and make big enlargements of your pictures. A note on slow films is that you should use a tripod or sturdy
support since the shutter speeds will be long in order to properly expose your film.
Processing
Film requires processing at either a 1hour processing mini lab or professional lab. In over 30 years of using film, I’ve
had 2 problems with processing that were not major issues. That’s a very good track record for film photography
and I still have original transparencies from the 70’s when I started taking pictures.
This article is based on 35mm film, consumer digital cameras and professional digital cameras similar to their 35mm versions.