{"id":1990,"date":"2011-07-01T14:20:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-01T22:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/?p=1990"},"modified":"2018-09-09T20:26:11","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T04:26:11","slug":"vacation-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/2011\/07\/01\/vacation-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"Vacation Photography – What to Take"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good news!\u00a0 Summer is here!\u00a0 And we\u2019re thinking \u201cVacation Time<\/span><\/em><\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Now, you don\u2019t have to be a professional photographer to figure out that you\u2019re going to take a camera.\u00a0 So the question becomes, are you going to take your camera that has been sitting around for umpteen\u00a0 years or use your upcoming vacation as an excuse to buy a new one.\u00a0 (When it comes to buying camera gear, any excuse will do, at least for some of us.)<\/p>\n

What Kind of Camera?<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re going to buy a new camera the logical question is, \u201cWhat kind of camera?\u201d\u00a0 You basically have two choices \u2013 point and shoot or digital SLR.\u00a0 Point and shoot cameras are compact and self contained.\u00a0 Digital SLRs have changeable lenses.\u00a0 As with anything in life there are pros and cons to each.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n

Sensor<\/h3>\n

\"sensor\"<\/a>Probably the one digital camera component that gets the most hype is the sensor.\u00a0 That\u2019s the light sensitive electronic device that takes the place of film.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot of misinformation surrounding these important wafers of silicon.\u00a0 The hype of course is all over MEGAPIXELS.\u00a0 And the implication is, \u2018More is Better,\u201d but that\u2019s definitely NOT true.\u00a0 It depends (again, like most things in life).<\/p>\n

The first thing to understand (and the point that often gets glossed over) is that in order to cram more pixels into an area of fixed size you have to make each pixel smaller.\u00a0 Logical, right?\u00a0 So what.\u00a0 It\u2019s simple; the larger the pixels the better the image quality.\u00a0 Smaller pixels are prone to more noise, especially at higher ISOs.\u00a0 Noise is a sort of blotchy look that appears in shadowy areas of your image.\u00a0 It can be a real game killer.<\/p>\n

And the other thing to understand is that the sensors in point and shoot cameras are smaller than those in digital SLRs, much smaller.\u00a0 So if you have a 12M pixel sensor in a point and shoot camera and a 12M pixel sensor in a digital SLR, the SLR will produce the higher quality pictures.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s a tip.\u00a0 If you choose to go with a point and shoot camera I personally wouldn\u2019t go above 10M pixels.\u00a0 With a digital SLR 12M pixels will give you the same resolution as a 35mm frame of film.\u00a0 I should quickly mention with regards to digital SLRs that they come in two different sensor sizes \u2013 full frame (which is the size of a 35mm frame of film) and crop (AKA APS-C crop which is a bit smaller).\u00a0 Most consumer and prosumer digital SLRs have APS-C sensors.\u00a0 Full frame digital SLRs are aimed at the pro and serious amateur and are a bit on the pricy side.<\/p>\n

Lens<\/h3>\n

\"g12\"<\/a>The next thing I look for in a camera is the lens.\u00a0 Point and shoots have built in lenses and you can\u2019t change them.\u00a0 So you want a zoom.\u00a0 I look for a decent optical zoom (forget digital zoom, it just uses an even smaller portion of the sensor to simulate a zoom).\u00a0 You can get good point and shoot cameras that have optical zooms anywhere from 6X to 12X or possibly even more.<\/p>\n

\"lens\"<\/a>With digital SLRs the solution is both easy and difficult.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy because all you have to do is buy another lens.\u00a0 And it\u2019s difficult because now you have to carry around the extra lenses.\u00a0 I look for a set of lenses that will give me a range of focal lengths that range from about 20mm to 200mm. There are actually several lens manufactures that produce 18-200mm lenses.\u00a0 These are really versatile lenses but at a cost.\u00a0 Making zoom lenses is hard and making one that is so extreme requires tradeoffs.\u00a0 So the image quality is not as good as a couple of lenses that cover the same focal length range.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re not going to make really large prints from your images then it\u2019s probably a moot point.<\/p>\n

Image Stabilization<\/h3>\n

While on the subject of lenses I should mention image stabilization.\u00a0 This is a technology that helps compensate for the inevitable little jiggles when you shoot hand held.\u00a0 Most point and shoot cameras have image stabilization built right into the camera itself.\u00a0 Also, some digital SLR manufactures have taken this approach while others require you to buy image stabilized lenses.<\/p>\n

Image stabilization is an amazing technology and one you\u2019ll want to take into consideration when making your decision.<\/p>\n

Camera Modes<\/h3>\n

\"digital-camera-modes\"<\/a>Camera modes control how your camera helps you take the picture and there\u2019s not much difference here between point and shoots and most digital SLRs.\u00a0 They both have the standard modes of Automatic (AUTO) and Program (P).\u00a0 They also have Manual (M), aperture priority (A or Av) and shutter priority (S or Tv).\u00a0 But they also have Scene modes that configure the camera to photograph in very specific situations such as portraits, landscape, close up and action.\u00a0 These are the traditional ones.\u00a0 But there are also modes for photographing at the beach or in the snow or even fireworks and more.\u00a0 (What\u2019s interesting is the high end professional cameras don\u2019t have these fancy modes.\u00a0 Guess they figure a professional photographer should now how to photograph fireworks.)\u00a0 One thing to be aware of, however, is these modes only work when shooting JPEGs (see below).<\/p>\n

Movies<\/h3>\n

It seems like every camera these days makes movies.\u00a0 This is a really fun addition to the whole notion of a still camera and allows you to capture vacation moments as they unfold in time \u2013 like uncle Selmer dancing with a lamp shade on his head.\u00a0 You can\u2019t hardly buy a camera these days that is not capable of taking movies.<\/p>\n

Flash<\/h3>\n

Not all of your photographs will be taken outdoors in the bight sunlight.\u00a0 Some will be taken indoors and you will want a flash.\u00a0 (Warning: Most museums, cathedrals and the like do not allow the taking of flash photographs.)\u00a0 But when you can use flash and need it, it\u2019s great to have.<\/p>\n

Virtually all Point and shoot cameras have built in flash.\u00a0 The problem is that it\u2019s close to the lens and that means red eye.\u00a0 Many digital SLRs have built in flash but it\u2019s also close to the lens and produces red eye but not as bad as point and shoots.\u00a0 But digital SLRs have a hot shoe that lets you attach an external flash which, if you want to reduce red eye, is the best and most flexible solution.\u00a0 It\u2019s just one more thing to carry around.<\/p>\n

My personal preference is to never shoot flash \u2013 well almost never.\u00a0 I prefer to jack up the ISO so that I can get the shot with available light.<\/p>\n

Batteries<\/h3>\n

\"canon<\/a>\"aa<\/a>You can\u2019t talk about digital cameras of any kind without the subject of batteries coming up.\u00a0 Some point and shoots allow you to use regular AA or AAA batteries.\u00a0 You can buy these wherever batteries are sold.\u00a0 Others use proprietary (and expensive) rechargeable batteries as do virtually all digital SLRs.\u00a0 If you use rechargeable batteries you need to bring along your battery charger so you can recharge your batteries in your hotel room every night.<\/p>\n

One thing to be certain to do whether you use rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries is to always have a spare with you.\u00a0 And if you use non-rechargeable batteries, bring the exhausted ones home and dispose of the properly.\u00a0 They are hazardous waste you know.<\/p>\n

Memory<\/h3>\n

\"sdhc<\/a>\"cf_memory_card\"<\/a>The replacement for film is the memory card.\u00a0 Make sure you have more than enough memory before you leave.\u00a0 Memory is cheap.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like to delete my files until I get them all safely home and get them all uploaded to my computer with a backup.\u00a0 And I even take my laptop with me and upload my photos every night right next to those recharging batteries.<\/p>\n

If you just shoot still pictures\u00a0 you can pretty well estimate the amount of storage you\u2019ll need.\u00a0 But if you shoot videos all bets are off.\u00a0 That\u2019s when those 16GB\u00a0 and larger memory cards make a whole lot of sense.<\/p>\n

This would be a good place to mention file formats and file sizes.\u00a0 Your images are stored in files on your memory card.\u00a0 There are two file formats \u2013 JPEG and RAW.\u00a0 All cameras support JPEG and all digital SLRs support RAW.\u00a0 A few handful of point and shoots also support RAW.<\/p>\n

RAW image files are much larger than JPEGS.\u00a0 You can figure about 1MB per 1M pixel.\u00a0 JPEG files are a quarter that size, perhaps even smaller.\u00a0 Your camera manual will give you guidelines for file sizes.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re serious about your photography and want to get the absolute maximum quality from your images the best format is RAW.\u00a0 JPEG files on the other hand are much smaller because they\u2019re compressed \u2013 a lot.\u00a0 The important thing to understand about JPEG files is each time they are compressed they loose some of the data.\u00a0 So each time you save a JPEG file it is degraded.\u00a0 Do it too many times and you\u2019ll ruin the picture.<\/p>\n

Convenience<\/h3>\n

A discussion of digital cameras wouldn\u2019t be complete without talking about convenience.\u00a0 There\u2019s not question that point and shoot cameras are incredibly convenient.\u00a0 Many are small enough to carry around in your shirt pocket, handbag or at worst a pouch on your belt.\u00a0 Digital SLRs are bulky and a lot heavier.\u00a0 You can pack everything you need for a point and shoot in a fanny pack.\u00a0 It takes a full on camera bag to tote a digital SLR around with all the lenses, filters and other paraphernalia you end up with.<\/p>\n

On the other hand there\u2019s no question that the digital SLR is a lot more flexible and versatile and produces higher quality images.\u00a0 Does that matter?\u00a0 Well in one sense it depends on what you intend to do with the pictures.\u00a0 If the only way they\u2019ll ever be displayed is on Facebook you don\u2019t need a good camera.\u00a0 But if you want to photograph distant objects, a telephoto lens on a digital SLR is what you need.\u00a0 The other unassailable reason for choosing a digital SLR\u00a0 over a point and shoot is, well, simply because you want one.<\/p>\n

Summing It All Up<\/h2>\n

We\u2019re at the point where the decision is now up to you.\u00a0 To help you out I\u2019ve prepared a comparison chart with my recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Feature<\/strong><\/td>\nPoint and Shoot<\/strong><\/td>\nDigital SLR<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sensor<\/td>\n10M pixels max<\/td>\n!2M+ pixels<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lens<\/td>\n6X-12X optical zoom<\/td>\nTwo or three lenses that cover the range from 20mm to 200mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Image Stabilization<\/td>\nDefinitely<\/td>\nDefinitely \u2013 in at least one lens or your camera body<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Modes<\/td>\nA good selection is standard<\/td>\nA good selection is standard<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Movies<\/td>\nYep but get very large memory cards<\/td>\nSame answer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Flash<\/td>\nIt comes with the camera<\/td>\nIt comes with most cameras<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Batteries<\/td>\nRechargeable<\/td>\nRechargeable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Convenience<\/td>\nThe hands down winner<\/td>\nMore cumbersome, no doubt about it<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Flexibility<\/td>\nHas limitations, no doubt about it<\/td>\nAs flexible as you can afford.\u00a0 More lenses are a simple matter of money.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

You might be wondering where I come down on all this.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure you assume I shoot a professional digital SLR.\u00a0 And you\u2019d be right \u2013 at least half of the time.\u00a0 The truth is I shoot both.\u00a0 My big Canon is a 1Ds Mark III, an incredible camera.\u00a0 It has a 21M pixel full frame sensor with a stable of four very excellent lenses that cover the focal length range from 17mm to 320mm.\u00a0 I always shoot in RAW and process my images in Lightroom and Photoshop.<\/p>\n

My don\u2019t-leave-home-without-it camera is a Canon G11.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how I ever got along with out it.\u00a0 It goes with me everywhere.\u00a0 I really appreciate it convenience and can honestly say my compositions have improved in the nearly two years I\u2019ve owned it.\u00a0 I shoot with a lot more than my big Canon and, well, you improve at the things you practice.\u00a0 It has a 10M pixel sensor and a 6X optical zoom lens.\u00a0 It also shoots in RAW which was a major reason for selecting it.\u00a0 I process its images in Lightroom and Photoshop.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re going to be heading out to buy a camera I envy you.\u00a0 A new camera, lens, filter or even a packet lens tissues turns any month into Christmas.\u00a0 Regardless of whether you\u2019re purchasing a new camera or getting another year out of your old one, the most important thing is to enjoy your camera and capture those priceless moments.<\/p>\n

The next article I post in this series will deal with how to get ready to get the most out of your vacation photography.<\/p>\n

We do photography workshops.\u00a0 Come on out and join us.\u00a0 Click here to check us out.<\/a><\/p>\n

You can also check out our photography.\u00a0 Click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

(1511)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read about the pros and cons of point and shoot and digital SLR cameras.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[64,4,6],"tags":[83,325,84],"class_list":["post-1990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to","category-how-to-articles","category-journal","tag-digital-camera","tag-digital-slr","tag-point-and-shoot-camera"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Nl7-w6","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1990"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4049,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1990\/revisions\/4049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}