One of our customers recently asked me for advice as they wanted to take more photos of their growing family, and so they wanted to know what camera to buy.
There are many possible anwers to that question
So the first question I’m asking is :
How motivated are you ?
Your motivation will define your preferences, the budget and time you’re ready to dedicate to taking photos
Answer 1 : Get the best camera !
Let me explain, as a professional photographer I’m always looking for the best possible quality, and this is the expensive answer, it’s also the heaviest and most time consuming one.
If you’re the really motivated and want the best possible result then the pro camera route is the way to go, there’s no denying that those professional cameras will give you the best quality , but at a cost, a cost in both time and money, and this is their downside
Considering you’re looking to achieve the best results then editing your photos will be a must and so more time will also be needed on the computer.
Even a mid range DSLR will require you to get an extra bag to carry it around, and in the case of my customer here, they’re already carrying a very cute little baby around and everything needed to keep him clean, fed and entertained 🙂 that’s a lot to carry around !
It will also require some training to master fully and of course if you fall into that passion, remember it’s an expensive hobby, a fantastic one for sure but one where the big companies always temp you with new gear and lenses and just like my kids in a candy store I find it hard to resist.
So to sum up the best camera answer is the for highly motivated people who are ready to dedicate the budget and the time to obtain the best results possible.
Answer 2 : Get a compact camera
This is a reasonable compromise, much more friendly budget and easier to master, they do offer very good quality while very light and discreet, unlike my kids. Their weakness being their speed. For example you won’t be able to zoom in and out as fast as a DSLR. They have improved dramatically over the last decade or so but still they won’t be a match to a DSLR when it comes to focusing speed and especially on a moving subject, say a four year old in a park chasing his sister, in which case you’re most likely to get “artistic” blurry photos…but for most everyday photos they will deliver excellent quality.
Some even offer some distinct advantages such as the waterproof ones, you can take them to the beach, the mountain, drop them or even let the kids play with it… Most models offer the possibility to transfer the photos wirelessly directly to your phone which is a bonus as you won’t need to be hooked up to your computer to actually get to edit or share your shots.
So to sum up the compact camera is a best of both worlds : very good quality, ease of use and friendly budget but still an extra piece of equipment to carry around.
Answer 3 : Get a mobile phone with a good camera on it
This is an answer that has only started to make sense in the past few years as mobile phone cameras have really improved in both speed and image quality. This is the most practical answer, it’s not the best quality, it’s not the fastest and not even the cheapest actually but you always have it with you. You see the best camera is the one you have with you. Simple, effective.
it’s convenient, extremely convenient as you can edit and share your photos instantly and while the quality is not the best you need to consider that most people consume images on their phone or tablets so pure image quality and high resolution don’t really matter here.
It’s almost always there and you can take photo almost instantly.
So to sum up the mobile phone is the most practical and efficient. It’s the one I usually recommend to my customers and friends : Instead of dedicating a budget to an extra camera, use that to upgrade your current mobile phoned make the most of it.
My point here is not to get specific as to which brand you should go for, as long as you stick with the big names, wether camera companies or phone companies you will get excellent results. Learn to use and make the most of what you have at hand is a great way to improve your photography.
Take some photos, practice, make mistakes and practice some more, create memories
To encourage you, here are some photos I took and edited with mobile phones an iPhone 11 Pro and google pixel 6 pro
Don’t let the equipment be a limit, your imagination is the limit 🙂
Nico
