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New York, 9:49 PM
Wed Dec 16
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of ProjectMoonlightCafe ProjectMoonlightCafe
    12/10/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    ROTFLOL: These are the cameras that photographers, or people who call themselves photographers, use.
     Reply
    SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!! promoted this comment ProjectMoonlightCafe was starred ProjectMoonlightCafe was unstarred
    Image of SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!! SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!!
    12/10/09

    @ProjectMoonlightCafe: I still don't have the balls to call myself a photographer.
     Reply
    SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!! was starred SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!! was unstarred
    Image of ProjectMoonlightCafe ProjectMoonlightCafe
    12/14/09

    @SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!!: I only call myself a photographer in front of my fiancee...lol. BTW you reminded me I have to finish ep2-4 of the new Monkey Island
     Reply
    ProjectMoonlightCafe was starred ProjectMoonlightCafe was unstarred
    Image of BK Phil BK Phil
    12/10/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    Great summary. I would add more about the aspect ratios - DSLR will *typically* have the wider 3x2, and point-and-shoot *typically*the taller 4x3 ratio.

    whiteflea: new point-and-shoot vs old DSLR: assuming both alternatives are decent of decent quality, the decision (imho) basically boils down to size (clunky/handy) vs shutter lag (snappy/sluggish). Shutter lag is a killer if you're shooting kids or fast-moving scenes; if you shoot scenery or posed portraits, it's not a big deal.
     Reply
    John Herrman promoted this comment BK Phil was starred BK Phil was unstarred
    Image of whiteflea whiteflea
    12/10/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    Excellent article. What I'd like to see is something similar to today's laptop article, where you give a best of the best at different price points.

    I'm wondering: if I'm on a budget of say $150, would it be better to get a new point-and-shoot or an old DSLR?
     Reply
    whiteflea was starred whiteflea was unstarred
    Image of Radio Silence Radio Silence
    12/10/09

    @whiteflea: Old DSLR, Old DSLR, Old DSLR, - For me, just the fact that a DSLR won't have the shutter lag apparent and extrememely frustrating in almost all PAS's
     Reply
    whiteflea promoted this comment Radio Silence was starred Radio Silence was unstarred
    Image of whiteflea whiteflea
    12/10/09

    @Radio Silence: Cool. I just need to search Giz for the DSLR tag and then look back at like 2007 or so.
     Reply
    whiteflea was starred whiteflea was unstarred
    Image of SigmundTheSeaMonster SigmundTheSeaMonster
    12/10/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    Thanks for the info on the differences! I am referring this page to some camera shoppers.

    AS far as after having the camera...Before I start trolling forums and gather headaches: Which is Better for working with images (cropping, archiving, ...) Apple's Aperature or Adobe's Lightroom? Using a Canon 5D...shooting objects to make catalogs twice a year. Or just stick to photoshop?
     Reply
    Edited by SigmundTheSeaMonster at 12/10/09 7:57 AM SigmundTheSeaMonster was starred SigmundTheSeaMonster was unstarred
    Image of mjt308 mjt308
    12/10/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    Great post, John, it was really informative. How about throwing in a couple of recommendations for each camera category? I know you guys had done that earlier in your holiday gifts guide, but it seems to be the only thing missing in this otherwise comprehensive article.
     Reply
    whiteflea promoted this comment mjt308 was starred mjt308 was unstarred
    Image of Canoehead Canoehead
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    Canon seems to have stopped bundling pathetically small SD cards with their P&S cameras. Props to them.
     Reply
    Canoehead was starred Canoehead was unstarred
    Image of masonsturtle masonsturtle
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    What category are those Leica cameras in?

    The Leica S2 37.5MP is selling for $28,000 on Amazon. Why?
     Reply
    Sandeep Murali promoted this comment masonsturtle was starred masonsturtle was unstarred
    Image of Sandeep Murali Sandeep Murali
    12/09/09

    @masonsturtle: The Leica S system is a medium format DSLR. Without delving into much detail, its sensor is much bigger than that of "Full frame" DSLRs from Canon and Nikon.

    The Leica M system consists of rangefinders. The M9 is a rangefinder with a "Full frame" sensor.

    Leicas, if you can afford them, are excellent cameras for everything except action photography. This is because the brilliant lenses that they have also happen to be manual focus only.
     Reply
    Sandeep Murali was starred Sandeep Murali was unstarred
    Image of Aetius Aetius
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    THIS is why I still visit Gizmodo everyday inspite of the pro-Apple overtures. Fantastic article, fantastic writing and totally worth reading it especially since I just started researching for a D-SLR.
     Reply
    Segador promoted this comment Aetius was starred Aetius was unstarred
    Image of Sandeep Murali Sandeep Murali
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    Good job, John. Covered everything that a newbie needs to know in a simple yet concise manner. Me likes.

    Just one complaint though. The part about CCDs and CMOSs is incorrect. As I mentioned in a comment below, DSLR makers have almost entirely moved to CMOS now. CMOS used to lag behind CCD when it comes to dynamic range, but with the current developments, they have bettered CCDs. The CMOS sensor in the D700 for instance is the class leader when it comes to dynamic range and high ISO performance.

    I have a camera showdown between a 6MP DSLR, a 10 MP point 'n shoot, a 3.2MP camera phone and another 12.1MP cameraphone. That's right, one cameraphone in the test had twice as much megapixels as the DSLR!

    [sandeepmurali.shutterfly.com]

    Would make an interesting read for those who wonder about optics vs Megapixels and just how much each of them matter.
     Reply
    Sandeep Murali was starred Sandeep Murali was unstarred
    Image of kaplanfx kaplanfx
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    FTA: "In real terms, focal length correlates to physical lens length, and zoom power. 18mm focal length on a DSLR is considered wide, 200mm or more is considered zoom-y."

    I think you meant to say 200mm would be considered telephoto. For example an 8mm-16mm lens would be considered both zoom-y and 'wide'. Zoom refers to the ability of the lens to change field of view.
     Reply
    FigNinja promoted this comment kaplanfx was starred kaplanfx was unstarred
    Image of MikeHerbst MikeHerbst
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    While its true that many DSLRs are starting to use CCD instead of CMOS sensors, there ARE some performance differences between the two.

    For VERY long exposure shots (like 10-20 minutes shooting star trails), CCD sensors can show heat bloom. The sensors will get physically hot and show hot pixels (at first) and then eventually the corners or edges will also show hot, ruining the shot. CMOS tends to be more immune to this.

    I imagine this would also be a problem for the aspiring budget filmmakers who are using workarounds to use their DSLRs to shoot video (long periods with the CCDs switched on).

    There are a lot of threads on this over at dpreview.com.
     Reply
    Sandeep Murali promoted this comment MikeHerbst was starred MikeHerbst was unstarred
    Image of MikeHerbst MikeHerbst
    12/09/09

    @MikeHerbst:
    Forgot to add, whether for cost, performance, or manufacturing issues, Higher-end DSLRs tend to have CMOS sensors and the entry-level DSLRs tend to have CCD.
     Reply
    Sandeep Murali promoted this comment MikeHerbst was starred MikeHerbst was unstarred
    Image of Sandeep Murali Sandeep Murali
    12/09/09

    @MikeHerbst: Indeed. Pretty much every DSLR announced in the past 18 months or so sport CMOS sensors. Even manufacturers who were using CCDs before like Nikon have moved completely to CMOS. This one move helped them become the champions in high ISO performance overnight.

    You're right that CCD sensors have amp glow trouble that's more prominent than in CMOS sensors.
     Reply
    Sandeep Murali was starred Sandeep Murali was unstarred
    Image of LoganAdams LoganAdams
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    I think it's also worth noting that micro four-thirds cameras can use old Canon and Leica lenses with adapters and take shots with a 2x crop factor. This stinks if you have some wonderful wide-angles sitting around, but if you can somehow get ahold of some good, long Canon FD glass, you can turn one of these into an incredible birding camera (at least that's my theory).
     Reply
    Sandeep Murali promoted this comment LoganAdams was starred LoganAdams was unstarred
    Image of jedi4life jedi4life
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    don't forget rule #1. whatever you buy, will get trumped by another better, more powerful camera, in about 36 minutes.
     Reply
    FigNinja promoted this comment jedi4life was starred jedi4life was unstarred
    Image of Die Fledermaus Die Fledermaus
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    Nice work Giz and John. Very little bias just the facts.
     Reply
    Die Fledermaus was starred Die Fledermaus was unstarred
    Image of slaine17 slaine17
    12/09/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: What Everyone Should Know About Cameras
    One thing not mentioned here that should go under both sensor and zoom is the magnifying effect (crop) of non full-frame DSLRs. These can range from 1.2x-1.5x or so and many site describe these as a magnification factor when it more accurately a crop of what would be captured by a full 35mm frame. Important for users new to DSLRs who might find out the hard way that unless they've bought a lens designed for digital their wide angles perhaps aren't.

    Should also be noted that not ALL DSLRs use CF cards - in fact, your picture shows a Nikon supporting both CF and SD slots.
     Reply
    Don Nguyen promoted this comment slaine17 was starred slaine17 was unstarred
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