What kind of Camera should I get? | Holiday Shopping FAQ | Palm Beach Photographer

Tis' the season for new toys and this year it seems like the toy on everyone's list is shiny new camera. So I thought it might be helpful to do a quick post on one question my inbox has seen a lot of lately."What kind of camera should I get?" There's really no short answer here but the first thing to determine is what your main purpose and budget for the camera will be.Are you a first-time parent with a baby on the way? Or a Dad who wants better shots of his kids on the soccer field? Got a big trip planned? Maybe you're interested in photography and would like something you can learn on and grow with. Whatever the purpose is there is a camera that is right for you.Let me preface this by saying that I shoot Canon and always have so this post will obviously be slanted toward Canon manufactured gear. I know a lot of wonderful photographers who use Nikon so if you're a Nikon user feel free to chime in with any tips in the comments section. In fact, I'd love anyone to chime in with tips and info they have on this topic!Let's begin by stating what may or may not be obvious. There are generally two classes of digital cameras. Point-and-shoot vs. dSLR. A point and shoot is a small, fully-contained versatile camera that you can throw in your pocket and go. The dSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera is actually just a camera body set up to hold a variety of lenses, flashes and accessories.A common misconception is that in order to get great shots, you need a big dSLR camera body with 100 mega-pixels and a long heavy lens. False. In regards to the mega-pixels, unless you're planning to enlarge your snapshots bigger than 8x10, you'd actually only need a 6 megapixel camera for optimal quality.Now beyond that is where the road splits in regards to which style is right for you.Want to let the camera do all the work to get good, crisp clean photos and video of your loved ones for under $400? Go with a point and shoot.  Canon makes a whole line of them but I have recently purchased the new s95 for its size but also for its manual functions which give me creative control of my images.It has a 28mm 2.0 lens which gives me a pretty wide focal length and good aperture value meaning it will work well in low light and give me decent background blur. It also has a focus ring in case I want even more control and would like to focus it myself. But set on the automatic settings, it will do its thing and land on whatever numbers it sees fit and produce an accurately exposed image almost every time. It also has video,  a big ol' screen on the back and optical zoom if you do need some distance.So for folks just looking for some nice shots of everyday life, something in the point and shoot family would be just dandy.But for some a point and shoot just doesn't cut it. It might not give you the ability to get artsy or capture ambient lit evening images. Maybe the small shutter delay causes you to miss the moments you're intending to capture. Maybe you want to learn the ins and outs of photography. There are many many reasons people decide to go with a dSLR. If it's your first one, I'd encourage you to start with an inexpensive kit to get your feet wet and determine which way you want to take it.This one from Canon is under $800 and comes with a body & 2 lenses that will do most photo needs justice. It has an 18-55 for close up every day life kind of shots and also a zoom for when you need to go the distance. Like the s95 it also shoots video and has a big LCD review screen.Getting a dSLR camera body will give you room to grow and unlimited creative control of your images. But set on auto, your photos won't look much different than what you could achieve with a point and shoot for half the price. So if you do go the dSLR route, I'd encourage you to order yourself a copy of Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, learn the manual functions and take advantage of what it can do.We could chat for hours on this subject but I hope the info above helps Santa choose the right camera for you this holiday season. Merry Christmas!