Seattle, WA

Most people don’t have to buy a professional digital camera capable of 16 megapixels, 10 frames a second, and zero shutter lag to produce stunning images. Camera manufacturers have made astonishing advancements but you don’t need expensive equipment if you follow a few simple rules in buying a sub $300 point and shoot camera.

1. Find a camera that feels good in your hand, ergonomics play a big part in being able to control a camera.

2. Always get the highest optical zoom available, 8x at the least. These aren’t hard to find and can be had in the $200 range. This gives you maximum flexibility especially for youth sports. And remember digital zoom is worthless, its something you can do on your home computer and usually with better results that will still be on the horrible side.

3. Get a camera with manual controls no matter what your skill level. Being able to see a histogram and adjust the aperture, ISO, quality, size, and color are essential and are all things you will wish you had once your skill level increases.

4. Image stabilization. This feature helps prevent the shaky hand and blurred shots that comprise at least half of an amateur photographers end results.

5. Accessories. Purchase extra batteries, memory cards, and a travel case. These will always come in handy.

6. A viewfinder with dioptric adjustment. Using the LCD drains the battery and cant always be used due to weather conditions. Dioptric adjustment allows you to take off your prescription glasses and dial in a clear picture based on your personal eyesight.

7. Customizable white balance. This is a very overlooked feature and makes the biggest impact in portraits. Skin tones vary to such degrees that digital sensors have difficulty with the predetermined settings. Creating a custom white balance in an especially dark locale can make the difference between usable and useless images.

8. Auto focus points. Look for something with at least 5 focus points in addition to the ability to let you change to other settings as in center spot. This will ensure your entire frame is focus, think family portraits.

9. Lens quality. When it comes down to it, this is the only thing that really matters. Without a good glass lens no number of tips will help you. Look for maximum aperture of 2.8 to 3.2. Canon makes superior lenses and now have added UD (Ultra Low Dispersion) and and USM (Ultrasonic Motor). Look to the sidelines on any big sporting event and all those big white zoom lenses are all made by Canon. Leica is also another good choice and they are available on multiple manufacturers and are experts at fitting an immense about of technology into their zoom lenses, like 11 different lens elements within 8 Groups with 3 Aspherical Lenses.

10. The most important piece of equipment isn’t your camera at all and is something you should never leave the house without and that is a Monopod. This is like a tripod but has only one leg and retracts into a very small form factor. This product will save so many shots it will pay for itself within just a few weeks. It keeps your camera stable, within reach and is easily adjustable to virtually any level. It can also help with overhead shots and those hard to reach areas.

These guys cant be wrong now can they?

One of my ‘cheapo’ point and shoot shots:

11. Bonus tip. If you have PhotoShop I recommend a plugin above all others. Its called Noise Ninja and it is brilliant at reducing noise in pictures and turning a subjects skin into flawless model-like epidermis. It has over 120 profiles made specifically for your specific camera model.

Photography, Canon, Gadgets, Seattle, Lens, Leica, Point and Shoot, Technology