What camera should I buy?

I've been taking photos for almost a decade now and this a question that I get asked ALOT, and for good reason. There are more choices for digital cameras than ever before (Digital Trends, The best digital cameras for 2019). The technology is more accessible and more affordable than ever; but that doesn't make the question any easier to answer. Throw smart phones into the mix and now we have all sorts of things to consider.

For the sake of simplicity, I am going to assume that you have already come to the conclusion that your camera needs exceed what is available on a smart phone (Although stay tuned, I'll address the pros/cons of smartphone photography in a future post!) But incase you need some convincing now as to why you should choose a dedicated camera apart from your smart phone, check out this great article by TechRadar: Smartphones vs Cameras.

Spoiler alert: I'm not going to tell you precisely which camera to buy, rather I will provide you with the context needed to make a decision. There are really four things to consider when asking what camera you should buy. These four questions will help you narrow in on the genre, price, technicality, and features that match your needs.

1.) Let's start by asking the "right" question: What do you want to photograph?

The first thing you must understand about photography is that it is a mode of expression. It's purpose is to share experiences. This is something we know and understand innately. Or at least we know we enjoy taking pictures and sharing them with others. When you ask yourself this question, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Here are some subjects to consider:

• Vacation/Travel photography

• Action sports

• Architecture

• Portraits

• Animals/Nature

• Insects

• Astro photography

• Street photography

Each of these subjects is rabbit hole of specialization layered with increasing complexity the farther down you go. Which leads us to our next item of consideration.

2.) How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?

One of the saddest things I see as a photographer is when someone receives a fairly expensive camera as a gift and never bothers to take it off auto mode. Photography is an art that involves learning the relationship between light, focus, distance, and time. Some people are fascinated by that, some are not. If you're not interested in learning photography and just want a camera that takes better pictures than your phone. Consider buying a compact camera like this Canon G9x II.

If you're ready and willing to take the training wheels off, then you're going to want to purchase a camera with manual controls and possibly even a camera with interchangeable lenses. Leading to our third item of consideration.

3.) How much do you want to spend?

Photography is a rewarding craft, and a money pit. Cameras range in cost from $100-$100,000+. Seriously. So why would anyone spend astronomical amounts of money on a camera and lenses? Well, the answer is more or less the pursuit of perfection. If you want to take the best astronomy photos in the world, expect to spend some money. You're competing with the over $10 billion Hubble space telescope. Although you can achieve some pretty incredible results on a private citizen's budget (PetaPixel, NASA vs. a Backyard Photographer).

Here are some price ranges to consider:

• Free: a relative or a friend might have an old camera they're willing to let you borrow or even let go! If you're budget is ZERO, its worth asking around. What's the risk?

• under $500: There are some decent cameras to be had in the sub $500 range. Many of them fall in the realm of casual interest. Your best value cameras in this range are point-and-shoots which are valued for their compact size. You’ll also find action cameras which are just a lot of fun to use especially if you enjoy high adventure outdoor sports like mountain biking or kayaking. They allow you to share experiences and images in places you might not want to bring a traditional camera. If you're not finding the features you want in your budget range, consider shopping used. Facebook marketplace has become a fantastic way to trade and buy used photography gear.

• $500-1000: This is an entry level range. You can buy a nice camera kit for a grand, but it's still going to fall short on 'pro' features. That said, your best compact cameras fall in this price range, along with entry level DSLR/Mirrorless camera kits.

• $1000-2000: You can do some decent damage with a couple thousand dollars, if well invested. This is your pro-sumer level budget, showing an active interest with a willingness to put some serious skin in the game. If you're spending this kind of money, it should be because you want to fully engage and immerse yourself into photography; professionally or not.

• $2000 plus: This is how much professionals spend. Annually. I'm not even joking. You can eat up $2000 budget with one professional lens. Spending this type of money as a hobbyist... is a bit much? Well, who am I to judge? If you have the money (not to be confused with your credit card limit) and you understand what you’re buying and why, then by all means, go for it! One more thing to consider is this, before spending a ton of money on photo equipment, think about whether or not you intend to make money with your photography. Since this blog post is about your first camera purchase, maybe take a step back and make sure you really, really like photography before diving in head first.
  

Spend your money on the features that matter most to you. If you want to do portraits, for instance, make sure to allocate part of your budget to a decent portrait lens like a 30mm, 50mm, or 85mm with a maximum aperture of at least f/2. A smaller “f” number means a larger aperture, which allows the lens to let in more light; as well as creating more defocused backgrounds. BOKEH!

If you want to travel and take great photos, then prioritize your budget for traveling! (makes sense right?) Then purchase or rent a camera that is compact enough to fit discreetly into a small day bag, but still maintains full manual controls over shutter, aperture, and ISO (light sensitivity). Equally important is not spending more than what is needed. If you want a camera to take on vacation, don't buy a giant expensive camera that's going to keep you from jumping in the water at the beach because you’re stuck “camera-sitting”. Buy a camera you can take to the beach, like this waterproof Nikon W300!

*Note: Going into debt for camera gear is not tremendously wise. It should be given the same thought and care of any financial decision... If you're not very savvy with finances, run your decision past a parent, friend, or coworker you know will give you the hard brass answer on the subject, even its not the answer you want to hear!

4.) Features: resolution, sensor size, max shutter speed... none of that will help you take better photos

This topic deserves a post all on its own. In fact, as I come to the end of this blog post I realize I may not have done a great job answering the question we started with.... but here’s why: Choosing a camera is so personal and so involved. I can tell you that I loved my first camera, a Canon t4i, but I think I would have loved my first camera no matter what. As soon as I realized it's limitations though, I sold it and upgraded. I think that's just sort how these things work. Like a hermit crab outgrowing it's shell, you learn and move on. Like any art form, you should be growing constantly.

That said, here’s a few closing pieces of advice to consider before buying your first camera:

• The best vacation camera is the one you can take with you everywhere. In the water or on a rollercoaster, the perfect vacation camera will never get in the way of enjoying your trip or time with family. Features to consider: Waterproof, shock proof, compact, zoom range Recommendation: Nikon W300, GoPro Hero9 Black, Insta360 One R

• Any camera can be a good travel/street photography camera. It all comes down to location, weight, and versatility. It's your back, so carry as much or as little as you want. Just to be clear, the difference between a vacation camera and travel camera is the purpose. A vacation camera is for documenting a vacation. One buys a travel camera because one intends to travel for the purpose of taking photos to share unique locations, food, and people. Features to consider: Manual controls, compactness, light sensitivity, large sensor, wide angle lens, larger aperture (f1 - f2.8) Recommendation: Sony RX100 VAVII, Canon G7X III

• Taking brilliant portraits is mostly about the lens. You can achieve decent portraits with large sensor compact cameras, like the Sony RX100 VA, but most enthusiasts prefer mirrorless/DSLR style cameras. Features to consider: Manual controls, wide aperture, sharpness, interchangeable lenses, auto focus speed Recommendation: Sony a6400 + Sony 35mm f/1.8, Sony A7III + Sony 55 f/1.8, EOS R + Sigma 50 f/1.4

• If you're a professional and you can't decide where to go from here, please post your question below! As I stated earlier, choosing one's crafting tools is so personal. It's so rooted in your own journey as a photographer that a blog post simply won't be able to completely help you make a decision. Do as much homework as you can, but more importantly talk to other professionals. Feel free to reach out, I'm always happy to chat about gear and engage in some photo talk.

Thank you for taking the time to read our blog. I hope that I was able to offer some insight on purchasing a camera. So, what camera will you buy? Let us know in the comments. Feel free to leave feedback and your thoughts on what factors you think should be considered before dropping coin on a camera. For more great content, please subscribe!