So many of my friends come to me asking whether they should buy a dSLR for their travel photography. It’s hard to say whether or not exactly you should buy one, as it’s a very personal decision, but often I find people are buying them for the sake of it and not really thinking about the practicalities of them. When I ask people why they want an SLR their response is always the same
“I want to take great photos”
Here’s a big surprise: you don’t need an SLR to take great photos, in fact I know a few people who brought SLRs expecting to open it out of the box, press the shutter and to take amazing photos – they were sorely disappointed. It simply doesn’t work like that, it’s all on the photographer to take great photos. A good camera helps take things “next level” but when you consider the additional cost and price, it might not be practical for you.
My first SLR was a Canon 400d, which is an entry level SLR. I had this camera for a couple of years, but only ever used the kit lens. I enjoyed taking photos and occasionally got a few photos I was proud of, but the truth was I could have easily taken equivalent photos on a Point and Shoot that would have cost and weighed half as much. I got to the point in my photography where I became frustrated, I wasn’t really making much progress, so what did I do? I invested in a 5d mark ii and spent time researching lenses that would suit what I wanted to achieve from my photography. It was an expensive decision, but my reasoning behind it was that if I had the best camera and lenses I could afford, then it definitely wasn’t my gear that was limiting me anymore, it was me. I found my photography improved in leaps and bounds. Do you need to invest in a full frame SLR for your photography to improve? No! You just need to change your frame of mind.
The truth is a high end point and shoot is probably going to serve you better than a low end SLR, especially if you’re going to stick to the kit lens. If you’re reading this article, then chances are you’re interested in buying an SLR or at least upgrading your camera, so let’s point out what I consider to be essential when purchasing a new camera if you want to take great photos.
The first thing I would encourage you to look out for is a camera that shoots with adjustable settings – for example, a camera that you can shoot in AV (aperture priority) or manual mode. This will allow you to have a lot more control of the specifics of the photo – which I believe is absolutely key to making progress in your photography.
The second essential criterion is: a camera that shoots in RAW. For some people this might not be as important as it is for me – it is a deal breaker. I will discuss the benefits of shooting in RAW properly at a later date, but for now I will say that shooting in RAW basically takes an entire snapshot of what the camera sees. When you shoot in JPEG or other formats, the camera automatically compresses the image. This means that when you come to edit the photo (a key aspect of photography, for me personally) you have an image that already has a fixed exposure and if you try to edit it you will negatively impact the image quality. However, if you shoot in RAW, you have much more flexibility with your image processing at a later date, as the “snapshot” of the image has been saved.
A high end point and shoot will meet both of those criteria, for example the Canon G12 which is a great camera. But SLRs are bigger, so they’re better, right? You might be able to take marginally better pictures on the entry level SLR with kit lens than your high end point and shoot, but, for the extra price you pay and the size and weight of the SLR, my overall opinion is no – they are not better.
If you’re going to set aside thousands of dollars to invest in good quality lenses to go along with your SLR then by all means, go ahead and make the financial commitment. But if all you’re looking to do is take great photos on a practically sized camera without destroying your bank account, then look for an adjustable high end point and shoot.
What do you you use for your travel photography?
At the moment I’m camera-less as my 5d was stolen in Los Angeles, so I’m using my iPhone!
