A good friend of mine recently contacted me with a number of questions regarding cameras. She was in the market for a camera upgrade and had seen an ad for one that looked good. Problem was- she had no idea what all of the numbers and technical jargon meant. EOS, image stabilization, 15 megapixels....it can all be very confusing to the everyday consumer.
So I thought I might help others who are also looking to buy a new camera, but haven't yet because they don't know what they want (or need!).
The best thing about these camera for everyday consumers is that they can be set on automatic for beginners (just like your old point and shoot) but are also capable of full manual mode as you get more comfortable with the settings. There is also no delay from the time you press the shutter to the time the photo is captured (no more backs of heads!).
Other common photog terms that you might run across:
Live view- means that you can see the image in the screen as you are composing your shot. Most DSLRs do not have this feature and you must look through the camera to see your shot before snapping.
SD/CF cards- the format for the memory card. Any good store employee can direct you to the proper card for your camera. Most Canon and Nikon DSLRs take CF cards. The more megapixels your camera is, the larger each photo file will be. You may need a card with lots of memory to hold a decent amount of photos. (Think of it as film for your camera)
f/3.5-5.6 or simliar next to lens info- this is the aperture for the lens. Remember in our Live Laugh Photograph post where we discussed aperture? The two numbers here mean that the lens will have an aperture of 3.5 when set at the smallest focal length and 5.6 when zoomed all the way in.
Hope this helps you decode all of those letters and numbers and finally make the move to shooting with your own DSLR! Feel free to email me any questions- ashley@hugghinsphotography.com
