Let phones do talking
Nothing beats using a camera to take photos, so focus on the best of digital, writes David Behrens.
Given the enormous improvements in phone photography over the last few years, you may wonder whether there’s still any point in owning a “proper” camera. After all, the principal advantage – of being able to change views to capture subjects near and far – has been cancelled out by the use of three or even four lenses on newer handsets.
And for casual photography, it’s certainly true that your phone is nearly always fine. For a start, you’re likely to have it with you – and that’s the first rule of photography.
But for the enthusiast, it remains the case that nothing beats the experience of taking a picture with a piece of equipment designed especially for the task, and the proliferation of digital cameras means there’s now more choice than ever at the top and middle of the market.
The traditional camera, whose popularity dates from the era of 35mm film, is the single lens reflex, a bulky but craftsmanlike fusion of optical and electronic engineering which involves the use of interchangeable lenses for wide, medium and telephoto pictures. Digital SLRs are still the cameras of choice among professionals for their flexibility and quality.
At the heart of a DSLR is an optical viewfinder which, when you press the shutter, flips up a mirror to expose the light to the camera sensor. It’s a method that gives you infinite control over the way the light is handled.
And despite their pedigree, DSLRs are less expensive than they used to be.
Canon’s EOS 2000D is just over £400 with a standard lens included, but you can halve that by delving into the abundant secondhand market. Even if you choose a new camera body, you can plump for a selection of used lenses at a fraction of their usual prices.
But there’s no getting away from the fact that SLRs are big and cumbersome, especially if you want to take more than one lens with you on a trip – and that’s where the newer type of mirrorless camera comes into its own. As the name suggests, the flip-over mirror is done away with in favour of an electronic viewfinder, with the result that the camera body is smaller and lighter. You still get interchangeable lenses, though, so you sacrifice few of the benefits of DSLR photography. The excellent Panasonic Lumix DC-GX880 mirrorless camera is around £350 with a standard lens included, and you can try one out at most camera shops, including branches of Currys. An extra zoom lens will cost around £175, though you can pay hundreds for a really powerful telephoto. There is a second-hand market in these, too, but it’s less well developed than for DSLRs.
You are unlikely to be able to use an SLR lens with a mirrorless camera, or vice-versa. There are adapters on the market but the compromises and caveats would fill a book, so unless you want to pay for two entire sets of kit, the sensible solution is to choose one system and stick with it.
Bridge cameras, however, represent a third option for the semi-serious photographer. Looking vaguely like an SLR, they offer an all-in-one solution with non-interchangeable zoom lenses. They tend to have smaller sensors – and therefore less good quality – than DSLR or mirrorless models, but they’re also cheaper and represent a huge step up from almost every phone camera. The £300 Panasonic Lumix FZ82 bridge camera has an optical zoom lens with
60x magnification from ultra-wide to extreme telephoto – the equivalent of 20 to 1,200mm on a 35mm camera – and can also record ultra high definition video. You can transfer pictures to your phone over wi-fi and, perhaps most importantly, choose to shoot in RAW format so you can adjust the lighting later in your photo editing software without losing quality.
Your choice will come down to personal preference, but once you take any of these out with you, you’ll want to leave your phone in your pocket.
It’s a method that gives you infinite control over the way the light is handled.