First of all congratulations! You have made a wise decision. And if you need help, then here I am to help you out. This is the first part of a multi-part advice on photography.
First you have to choose what type of camera you need. That will depend on what you want to shoot and what your budget is.
If you are the kind who would like to shoot pictures as keep-sakes or visual records of events in your life, then what you need is a good compact. If you are the kind who approaches photography from a more artistic point of view, then what you need is an SLR. Fortunately, now price is no longer a criteria which decides whether you can buy a compact or an SLR. You can get compacts starting from under 1000INR, upto 8000-9000 INR, whereas the cheapest SLRs start from around 2500-3000INR(Russian makes) to 50000+INR.
This review will deal with choosing a good compact camera for all those who want a non-fuss camera.
First of all you would have to decide on what your budget is. This more or less decides what are all the features that you can afford.
The most basic of cameras can be yours for under 1000INR(the Kodak KB10 is one such...great camera and fantastic results, minimal fuss). First let us list out all the features that are usually available in the different makes and what their advantages are:
1.Auto focus:
Low-priced models usually have fixed focus(also called FOCUS FREE), meaning, anything that lies between 5 feet to infinity is within focus and will be captured clearly by your camera. While this may sound good, you may not always want that to happen. What if, for example you would like to take a shot of your girlfriend, standing in a garden of tulips and you would just want the background to fade into blobs of colour while your girlfriend stands out in sharp focus? Thats when autofocus comes in handy. The camera will focus on the subject (usually in the center of the frame, but some cameras have a smart focus lock, allowing you to lock focus on objects not at the center) and all the rest will be slightly out of focus giving a dream-like quality to your picture. Definitely worthwhile. This is available in the mid-range models upwards.(starting from 2500 on)
2.Built-in Flash:
Except for the cheapest of cameras, all compacts come with a built in flash. Good for night photography. However the quality of flash leaves a lot to be desired. However you can compensate for that by using a faster film(ISO 400 and above). I shall be writing about the speed of film to use in forthcoming reviews.
3.Auto Flash:
What this means is that the flash will come on automatically if the light is not sufficient. This is very handy too, as it removes the need for you to judge whether the flash is necessary. Now the price difference between auto-flash and non-auto-flash models is not very high so I would recommend taking up this option
4.Red-eye reduction:
Have you ever noticed how your eyes seem to glow with a devilish red in your photos when shot at night? This is a result of the celebrated ’RAMAN EFFECT’ on your eyes. What it is in simple terms is that the flash light has bounced off the rear walls of your retina and come back because your eyes are wide open to deal with low light. Red-eye reduction is good, but I personally haven’t found it very effective. A better work-around is to get your subjects to stare at something bright ( like a bare light bulb) before you take the shot using flash. Available in the mid range cameras
5.Automatic film winding/rewinding:
Motorized, and saves you the trouble of manually winding the film after each shot and rewinding after the film is exhausted. Plus the added convenience in loading the film. However, if you are the kind who likes to get your incomplete rolls developed by getting it cut, then this feature is not for you. Forcibly removing unfinished rolls would seriously damage your camera. So in these cameras, if you’ve loaded a film, then wait till you finish it.
6.Built in zoom:
Higher end cameras come with a zoom function. The cheaper versions have a 35mm lens which is quite a wide angle and covers most family groups. Downside? when you want to focus on one person, you will end up shooting the whole room. Cut the waste and get yourself one with a built in motorized zoom. For about 5000-6000INR, you will get yourself a model with atleast three zoom settings..wide(35mm), normal(50mm) and tele(70mm). Excellent for framing your pictures. The 70mm version is excellent for portraits too. (YES you can shoot your own passport-size photos at home) There are more expensive versions where you get zooms of upto 210-250mm too excellent for wildlife and nature.
7.Macro option:
Are you the kind who likes to shoot micro life? insects/ small objects/flowers???? You most definitely need a macro. Thankfully this option which was previously only available in expensive SLRs is also available in compacts. If you can afford it, then go ahead and splurge.
I hope I have covered most of the available options. If there is some other option that you would like to cover, then mail me at stigerclaw@hotmail.com and I will be pleased to respond with what little I know.
In coming reviews, I shall discuss selecting the right SLR (for those who take their hobby seriously), choosing the right film and other equipment. Anyway, the fun has just started.