Oh Hot Damn, Which Is My Cam?

If you're interested in photography as a hobby, there's something you need to know: it's a very expensive hobby. There are a crap ton of cameras, lenses and other equipment out there. But, we'll focus on just the cameras for now.

So. How do you know which to camera to choose? First of all, you have your two types of cameras: film and digital. Then you have your most common sub categories: point and shoots, SLRs and DSLRs.

If you just want a camera to document special events, birthdays, weddings, daily activities, etc, then a point and shoot would be best. It's your basic camera. Just like the name implies, you point, then shoot. Nothing fancy. Quite simple, really. There are point and shoot cameras that use film and digital point and shoots. Because the world is advancing in technology, no one really uses film point and shoots anymore. Firstly, there's the fact you need to actually purchase film. Then, you have to pay to have them developed. Much more costly. Whereas, digital point and shoots don't require film and they have the capability of previewing the picture before you decide to have it printed.

Although point and shoot cameras are very basic, it's still a good place to start for people interested in photography. It's nice to start out small. My first camera was a point and shoot. Even though a point and shoot isn't very professional, you can still get great pictures from it. (Right: Picture I've taken with my point and shoot. Click image to see a larger version.)


If you're interested in something a little more advanced, you can try the SLR cameras (Left) which uses film. SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex, which is a mirror system inside the camera that allows the photographer to see exactly what will be captured. The DSLR cameras (Bottom) are basically the same as the SLRs, except they're digital. SLRs are manual cameras and a lot more complicated and bulky than your average point and shoot. You have to take in consideration your shutter speed, apertures and film speed.

What are shutter speed, apertures and film speed? Well, that's something for next time.