Interpreting camera reviews.

One of the most influential elements in the sales of cameras in addition to recommendations from friends are the written camera reviews that we find proliferating magazines and the World Wide Web. These reviews are very informative. Personally, I get a lot of pleasure from reading reviews of new gadgets, cameras and lenses. It is helpful to be informed. And the developments are amazing these days. Some of the great new lenses stagger the imagination as they come to the point that they can convey the right amount of information to a digital sensor that has been set to record detail well beyond that of the old film.

35mm Film ISO 100 Canon 1N

There are two limitations in camera reviews that are worth commenting on. The first is the camera review written by the person who has just got a new camera and is in the honeymoon phase. The way that they write the review as often as if the camera can do no wrong. (This is the camera that can wake you and put breakfast on the table and clean afterwards.) There is no such thing as a perfect camera.

The same photographer, after they have used the camera for a period of time is going to have a different view. It will likely be very positive but at the same time they will have discovered its limitations. Every photographer has to work around the limitations of the equipment that they have. Of course if the camera has strengths that are the same as the photographers, then it can be heavenly to use. That is just the way that it is. So then with regard to this type of review it is important to recognize that there is not always complete objectivity in the way that the report or review is written.

The second limitation in reviews is that the reviewer's experience is based upon other cameras that they have used. If they are coming from a background of using a basic camera and they go to an enthusiast SLR and they get good results then it is not surprising that they will rave about the camera. For them it will be a big step up. If however they have been using a top-of-the-line medium format SLR pro camera then their experience is a step down in some ways and this will reflected to some degree in their comments. It is always helpful to know on what the comparison is based.

6 megapixel Image

Probably the most helpful reviews are those reviewers that objectively examine the camera and compare it to other cameras that are manufactured for the same market and price point. Some reviewers for example intentionally include comparisons of two or three cameras that would be regarded on the High Street as being similar.





It is also helpful when they include references to where the camera fits into the overall scheme of things photographic.Some reference or comparison point is essential.

 As a final observation on camera reviews it is important to recognize that photographs are taken by people using the camera as a tool. 35mm film has been effectively compared to an eight megapixel camera.

There is merit in this simple viewpoint. Many mobile phones have eight megapixel cameras these days. However using 35mm film some of the most remarkable and influential images of all time have been taken. They were put together by thinking photographers. They knew what to capture and how to do it and they worked within the incredible limitations of film. No auto ISO settings in those days. The ability to see the photograph, to compose an image focusing on what is really important is the key.

Who can forget the image of the great ship Titanic ready to sail. A black-and-white image taken on film  on a not so bright day. Priceless! Or what of a certain road crossing with a popular band spaced out across the road; you immediately think of Abbey Road. How often do wedding photographers try to take the same image. Of course it was taken on film whereas today we would be using digital photography. It is the photographer that makes the image. Composition is a key element. Have something to say! Let the image tell the story.

Buying a good camera is a good idea. It will not make you a photographer but it will give you the tools to start with. A friend of mine observed that it takes about 10,000 hours of photography work to become a good photographer. I'm not sure that that's actually right but it's probably in the right region. Photography is as much about thought and composition as it is about firing the shutter. As you read this notation you are surrounded by wonderful photographs. Can you see them? If you can then pick up your camera and get shooting.