Camera Lenses Explained

Choosing a Digital Point and Shoot Camera – What matters Most!

A camera technician explains

This is not the usual camera test report, which ends up with a list of camera recommendations to buy. Rather, I would like to give you camera advice and the tools you need to choose your next digital camera today and in five years from now. Let’s face it, there are hundreds of different cameras to choose from and the manufacturers release new models every month. To make matters worse, most retailers stock different models, which makes price comparison almost impossible. 
When it comes to choosing a new digital camera, you want to have knowledge on this subject, which can be applied as a foundation, before you start choosing brands and models.

extendable lens                          shook and watter proof             inbuilt lens

Choose the type of camera first!
It happens all the time – I see it almost every day. People come and see me with faulty point and shoot digital cameras, which have self induced faults. The good news is, that most of these expensive problems could have been avoided, when you had chosen the right camera type, which fits your lifestyle, and had taken the right precautions of course. The bad news is, these faults are not covered under warranty and are often uneconomical to repair!

What is a self induced fault? Sand -, liquid- and shock damage

• Sand damage can easily happen at the beach without realising it straight away. A couple of sand grains in the right spot can malfunction an extendable lens mechanism.
• The most common liquid damaged cameras we have seen are affected by rainwater, beach and swimming pool and believe it or not, drink bottles stored in the camera bag.
• Shock damage is a tricky subject, in particular when the camera is handled by multiple users.  Often it is not realised, as there are hardly any signs of damage on the outside housing of the camera, but the damage is done inside.

What is an uneconomical repair?
The most common symptoms, or let us say parts, which brake, are LCD displays and extendable lenses. LCD’s are made of glass and exposed often without any protection. Lenses are in most cases none serviceable items and need to be replaced as a whole unit, which is extremely expensive. Spare part prices can make up to 50% and more of the price you payed, when the camera was new! Given the price decline and the improved performance of new cameras, you can work out by yourself, were you want to spend your money.
What to look out for when choosing your new camera?
To get the most out of your investment, choose the type which suits your lifestyle best. Let’s put the earlier paragraph about self induced faults into consideration and assume we distinguish between 3 types of point and shoot cameras. Cameras with…

• extendable lenses
• inbuilt lenses
• water and shockproof

If you have a personal preference for a camera with an extendable lens, you must take special care of it, to avoid any damage to the lens.
In case you have kids and multiple users, who might be a little rough with the handling of the camera, the best return on the investment is given with a water and shockproof camera. Personally I use a camera with an inbuilt lens, which hasn’t given me any problems whatsoever.
Accessories
Do you want to upgrade your camera with a newer model of the same brand and hoping to use your old accessories like battery or memory card? In most cases you can’t. Different physical shapes and electrical specifications make it impossible. 
Features
Now, we are talking purchase price. More megapixels and optical zoom is not all! Often specifications are pushed to the limit and performance is sacrificed. Let me explain: to take a good shot with a high megapixel and let’s say 10x optical zoom camera without tripod requires a lot computer power. Often it can take a few seconds of shutter lag and the results are still not satisfying. What I am saying is, to have a good performance/specification camera you have to pay the price and go for a semi-professional or DSLR camera. However, the most shots indoors are taken in wide-angle lens setting and outdoors you use the same, most cameras handle these shots without any issues.
The best insurance from disappointments is to test the camera by yourself under different light conditions and zoom settings.
Test reports
Make sure, the cameras tested are readily available and the test topics make sense and are relevant for you. See it as a guideline only.
What is a good brand?
This is hard to say from a repairer’s point of view, we only see the faulty ones. When looking underneath the brand badge and housing, it is almost impossible to see if a ‘brand name’ stands out with better workmanship. All  I can see is, that mechanical components seemed to be done more out of plastics and the way they have been put together looks and feels cheaper as it used to. All the improvements, which lead to better specifications, go into more powerful electronics and computer chips.  Therefore manufacturer costs can be reduced to a minimum. Today, it is not as expensive as it used to be to manufacture a relative good new camera or release new models, which explains the ever increasing flood of new cameras.
What the reliability of the different brands concerns, I couldn’t recommend one or the other, as long as you compare cameras in the same price bracket. A lot of spare parts have Chinese writing on the boxes, which makes me wonder, where there are coming from and where the cameras are manufactured.
Summary
Here you go – this is an opinion and camera advice from a repairer. I hope, it was helpful and has shed some light on this almost overwhelming task to purchase a new camera. There are certainly a few points above, which should be elaborated on. To get the full picture, visit me on my blog for a few more pieces of the puzzle.  At the end of the day you want to educate yourself to be able to apply more common sense to make better decisions.
It is not always the cheapest price what matters, you want to have the right type of camera and value for your money.

About the Author

Experiencing technical difficulties? Can’t get your camera to work the way it suppose to? Remedies and solutions to everyday filming problems. Free online technical advice from a qualified camera technician. Take your camera confidence and filming technique to the next level. Complete video camera courses for download. Visit Thomas’s blog http://www.estudy.net.au/blog

Camera Lens Filters Explained – Adorama Digital Photography TV 1 on 1 Video

Nikon D700 Made Easy (Two Tutorial DVD Set) $49.00 2 disk TUTORIAL DVD set. Play on any regular DVD player worldwide (recommended) or CD-ROM drive (may requires decoder). These two 90 minute DVDs make you an expert on the D700! Learn all the features and functions in an easy explained manner. This camera has so many features you may not be aware of that are revealed in this DVD. Take your photography to the next level without having to flip thr…

Canon DSLR System $13.99 From Ammonite, these Expanded Guides are much more than just user guides! Written by experts and with worked examples, they are jargon free, full-color, and inclusive. This title covers Canon’’s digital SLR range and accessories from the turn of the millennium to the present day. From the D30 and Canon’’s first CMOS sensor to the flagship 1D series, each camera model is described and its refinements explained. Additional sections cover Canon’’s small accessories, flashguns, and extensive range of lenses. For the less experienced, technique sections explain camera sensors, Picture Style pre-sets, perspective control lenses, how to use spot-metering, and much more. For both the Canon enthusiast and the novice exploring the secondhand market, an essential overview of the EOS digital system is provided by this invaluable guide.

Canon E0S System $19.95 From Ammonite, these Expanded Guides are much more than just user guides! Written by experts and with worked examples, they are jargon free, full-color, and inclusive. This title covers Canon’s digital SLR range and accessories from the turn of the millennium to the present day. From the D30 and Canon’s first CMOS sensor to the flagship 1D series, each camera model is described and its refinements explained. Additional sections cover Canon’s small accessories, flashguns, and extensive range of lenses. For the less experienced, technique sections explain camera sensors, Picture Style pre-sets, perspective control lenses, how to use spot-metering, and much more. For both the Canon enthusiast and the novice exploring the secondhand market, an essential overview of the EOS digital system is provided by this invaluable guide.

David Busch’s Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses $29.99 Are you ready to go beyond the basics with your digital SLR camera but are unsure which interchangeable lens or two to buy and more importantly, how and when to use each lens? “David Busch’s Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses” offers focused, concise information and techniques on how to use different lenses to take great photographs. You’ll begin with a quick overview of how lenses work and the types of lenses available, including normal, telephoto, wide-angle, prime, and zoom. Then you’ll explore typical lens controls and features such as focus rings, depth-of-field scales, and image stabilization, and how particular settings can help improve your photography. Once you have the basics down you’ll learn how to create cool effects using lens filters and accessories, and how to select the best lens aperture for particular types of photos. Finally, you’ll go in-depth with telephoto, wide-angle, and macro lenses. Each topic or concept is explained using a clear, two- or fourpage spread, and beautiful, full-color images illustrate the results of photographing with each setting, technique, or lens. A mini-glossary will help you define unfamiliar terms as you go. Get ready to enhance your photographs using the versatility of interchangeable lenses on your digital SLR!

David Busch’s Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses $29.99 Are you ready to go beyond the basics with your digital SLR camera but are unsure which interchangeable lens or two to buy and more importantly, how and when to use each lens? “David Busch’s Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses” offers focused, concise information and techniques on how to use different lenses to take great photographs. You’ll begin with a quick overview of how lenses work and the types of lenses available, including normal, telephoto, wide-angle, prime, and zoom. Then you’ll explore typical lens controls and features such as focus rings, depth-of-field scales, and image stabilization, and how particular settings can help improve your photography. Once you have the basics down you’ll learn how to create cool effects using lens filters and accessories, and how to select the best lens aperture for particular types of photos. Finally, you’ll go in-depth with telephoto, wide-angle, and macro lenses. Each topic or concept is explained using a clear, two- or fourpage spread, and beautiful, full-color images illustrate the results of photographing with each setting, technique, or lens. A mini-glossary will help you define unfamiliar terms as you go. Get ready to enhance your photographs using the versatility of interchangeable lenses on your digital SLR!

Digital Photography for Next to Nothing: Free and Low Cost Hardware and Software to Help You Shoot Like a Pro $20.43 New – Take photos like a pro without breaking the bank by using free and nearly free software and hardware explained in this book. Get professional looking shots from a low-cost camera. Save money by building your own lighting rigs, tripods, monopods and stabilisers for next to nothing . Learn how to use older lenses on modern digital cameras, and make your own macro lens, lens hoods, flash diffusers, flash concentrators, decorative Bokeh effect lenses and more. Use dozens of free and low cost p

Digital Photography for Next to Nothing: Free and Low Cost Hardware and Software to Help You Shoot Like a Pro $12.7 Used – Take photos like a pro without breaking the bank by using free and nearly free software and hardware explained in this book. Get professional looking shots from a low-cost camera. Save money by building your own lighting rigs, tripods, monopods and stabilisers for next to nothing . Learn how to use older lenses on modern digital cameras, and make your own macro lens, lens hoods, flash diffusers, flash concentrators, decorative Bokeh effect lenses and more. Use dozens of free and low cost

Nikon D-SLR System $11.61 From Ammonite, these Expanded Guides are much more than just user guides! Written by experts and with worked examples, they are jargon free, full-color, and inclusive. This title covers Nikon’s digital SLR range and accessories from the turn of the millennium to the present day. Each camera model is described and its refinements explained. Additional sections cover Nikon’s small accessories, flashguns, and extensive range of lenses. For the less experienced, technique sections explain camera sensors, Picture Style pre-sets, perspective control lenses, how to use spot-metering, and much more. For both the Nikon enthusiast and the novice exploring the secondhand market, an essential overview of the Nikon digital system is provided by this invaluable guide.

The Medium Format Advantage $21.62 Learn the advantages and capabilities of medium-format cameras and examine all aspects of medium-format operations, including SLR, twin lens, panoramic, rangefinder, wide angle, press, and view cameras. Also explained and illustrated are lenses and their accessories, motor drives, films, flashes, filters, slides and slide projectors, and more. Includes black and white and color photographs and drawings to illustrate proper use of equipment and various techniques, effects, and possibilities that produce successful photographs with the best possible image quality. The medium format is truly the format in the middle. It combines many of the benefits of 35 mm photography with those of the large format, making a medium format system an excellent choice for almost all types of photography from candid action with a hand-held camera to critical studio work from a tripod. Special chapters are devoted to these different applications and the type of equipment that most likely meets your photography needs. This book explains clearly the medium format’s benefits, advantages, and disadvantages and provides a comparison of the medium format to other formats so you can decide whether it is right for you and your photography. *The definitive book on medium format, cameras and technique, the most commonly used format of commercial photography*New material on panoramic format, apochromatic lenses, aspheric lenses, tele extenders, glass and relative illumination, and motor drives*Updated information on perspective control, tilt controls, built in metering systems, and use of apertures.