Lessons
Class Introduction
07:10 2Upgrading Pros & Cons
07:04 3Top 10 Camera Purchasing Mistakes
13:44 4What Are Your Camera Needs?
09:33 5Camera Types
15:21 6Sensor Size
17:50 7Pixels
06:02 8The Lens
18:54Lesson Info
Camera Handling
While we are looking at a new camera, a lot of times, it's easy to get fixated on the pixels or the brand, but one of the most important things is the handling of the camera, how are you gonna use the camera how do you like a camera to work in your hand. So, let's take a quick look at a couple of just specifics you know, so I can kinda point out the differences here. The Nikon D3500 vs the D7500. They both use the same crop sensor in there, they're both capable of good pictures. They both, essentially, have the same number of pixels as I recall, on this, but the control layout is very different. The 3500 is designed more as an entry level, lightweight, inexpensive camera, and the 7500 is more of an enthusiast camera, somebody who enjoys photography and really enjoys getting out there with a tool that's very proficient at it. So, for instance, on the back of the camera, both of the cameras will have a dial that you can turn to adjust the shutter. Alright, that's pretty good. Well, the 7...
500 has another dial in the front for controlling the aperture, so that if you want to do manual exposure, you have one dial dedicated for each control, which is ideal. The 3500, it wants to save a little bit of space and money, so they don't have a second dial, you have to press down on the, this aperture dial button while you turn the shutter dial, this dial on the back of the camera, so that it can change the aperture, and it's a system that's just a little bit more cumbersome and time consuming, and if you do that enough, it gets to be a bit more of an issue. On various places on the 7500, they have one-button access to features that you're gonna access quite frequently, like your ISO, image quality, and white balance. You don't have that option with a 3500. You have to hit the i button, and then, you have to navigate through their little menu system to turn these particular features on and off. It's pretty easy to see, it doesn't take that long, but it isn't necessarily quite as intuitive. Now, you can see right here, in front of you, I have both of these cameras out. We have the 3500, the 7500, these are, as I say, wonderful cameras. You can see a real size difference here between the size of these cameras. The 7500 is much bigger in the hand you might say. It covers up much more of your hand and of your grip, you're in there, and as you get to the back of the camera, you can see that the layout is definitely different. The size of the buttons are bigger. They're a little bit easier to get to. We have more tactile controls over here. So, when you're actually using the camera, the 7500 is by far the preferred choice in my mind. When you're carrying it around and you're not using it, this one is notable lighter weight. I would say that it's maybe two-thirds the weight of the larger camera, but this is part of the trade offs that you need to make when you are getting in to choosing which camera is best for you. Let's see if I have this one turned on here. I actually didn't put a battery in that one there, but that is a good example of kind of a entry-level versus an intermediate level, and what you get on that, and it's true not only with Nikon, I just used that 'cause it's a clear example, but it's true with Canon, Sony, Fuji, all the other companies. It's very, very common. The controls that you really wanna be thinking about is your primary controls that you want to be having access to on a regular basis are everything to do with controlling the exposure. You're talking about your shutter speeds, your apertures, your ISO, and exposure compensation. You need to have quick control of the focusing system, and so, being able to turn it on and off from manual to auto focus, going through the different focusing modes and being able to select a focus area, quickly and easily, is important. That's why I mentioned having that joystick in the back of the camera, makes changing focus very easy and quick. Secondary controls, and it depends on what type of photography you're doing as to how often you get into these, like changing the white balance for the type of light that you are in, changing the drive mode between single, continuous, and the self-timer mode, something a lot of photographers do from time to time, not every shot though. Changing the display in the electronic view finder, or on the LCD on the back of the camera. There's gonna be a info or a display button and this will go through and cycle through different screens of information, which you may wanna see what your shutter speeds and apertures are at a particular time, or you might just wanna see the straight image and back, go back and forth between the two of them. Other things that you wanna have access to depending on what type of photography you do, metering, flash, getting into video, and playback modes, and so, that's why I like getting my hands on a camera to see how it works, how quickly does it go from one setting to the next setting.
Class Materials
Free Bonus Material
Ratings and Reviews
Denise Watson
Another outstanding class by John Greengo, my favorite Creative Live instructor. John's delivery is entertaining and his info clear and very easy to understand. If you need more explanation, well, don't worry - he's got a slide or PDF for that! I'm a working photographer and I learn something new with each of John's classes. Don't hesitate to buy any of his classes - you won't regret it.
Sherry Throughmyeyes Prater
There a thousands of reviews/guides/ floating around the internet, but this one is by far the best by far. I usually watch a portion and then move on because I simply lose interest, but I watched every single lesson. John gives a very unbiased explanation of cameras, functions for every type of shooter. Not only would I recommend it, but I am going to recommend. I am a member of multiple photography groups on FB and one of the most asked questions is camera buying advice. This is excellent!
David Reichel
Yes - there is such a thing as a free lunch - this class is it! I enjoy landscape, seascape, architecture, portrait and travel photography. I've been a Canon user for decades (film and then digital full frame with the 5D Mark II then 5D Mark IV). Recently I got a Fujifilm mirrorless medium format GFX 50R and discovered some Fujifilm features (e.g., film simulation, menu system) that resonate with me. I now have over-kill on full frame format and because I like the Fujifilm so much, I've been thinking about moving from my Canon 5D Mark IV to a Fujifilm X-T3 as my walk-around camera. This class helped me better understand the trade-offs and alleviated my concerns about a crop format sensor in the X-T3. On top of that, this is a great refresher course on camera fundamentals.
Student Work
Related Classes
Fundamentals