Masterclass #2
Choosing a Camera (AKA Don't buy a Ferrari if you are only going to pop to Tescos)
When I was growing up my Dad was a big fan of photography. The kind of photography that would involve whisking out the ‘family camera’ to capture the chocolate sauce all over your face. A candle being enthusiastically blown out. The garden paddling pool, filled with a garden hose, then filled with kids and dogs. The formal line up outside the front door whenever visitors were leaving.
©my Dad
Christmas wasn’t Christmas until he had taken a Super-8 film of me and my brother tumbling down the stairs to see if the big guy had left anything under the tree. He was particularly pleased with his own version of stop motion where he stood at the bottom of the stairs and got us to move from stair to stair each time he stopped and started the Cine camera, so that it looked like we were magically descending down the carpeted stairs without moving a muscle. All to the sound track of my Mum yelling “get on with it”, keen to let us kids get to the presents under the tree. For Dad though, it was all about eking out the moment by preserving it on film.
I don’t remember him being particularly precious about the Cameras themselves; they were a way to freeze a moment in time and nothing more. But during a visit home a few years ago, he produced his whole collection of them, still in their original hard cases and all absolutely prestine. Clearly something he had saved up for back in the day, and really prized. They sit on my shelf, patiently waiting for me to get around to having them properly restored.
I have that cine-camera now too, which I can’t look at without hearing the noise of film whizzing through it at top speed, and smelling the smokey waft of the bacon rolls that my Mum would cook for Christmas morning, ready to eat between scoffing the chocolate in the selection boxes, and getting stuck into the bigger gifts.
Shelfie 1
These days Dad uses a small point-and-shoot style camera. Something he can fit in his jacket pocket when he goes walking in the Lake District with his buddies, pack lunches in their backpacks, hip flasks at the ready for when they begin to flag. Not a bad pastime for a man who is ushering in his 9th decade next year.
Decisions Decisions
Choosing a new camera is like choosing what car to drive, only you know what’s going to work best for you. There are obviously some key things to consider, mainly - what will you use it for? Don’t buy a Ferrari if you are mainly going to use it to pop to Tescos.
Image Credit DeVaughn Hughson
I would suggest that a good place to start is in deciding your budget. And don’t spend it all on a camera body, because the quality of lenses you buy will have as much, if not more, impact on your photography as your camera. A really great lens can take your images up a significant notch. And controversially, as a camera is essentially a black box with a light sensitive bit inside it, I think that it’s far better to have a superior lens and a cheaper camera than the other way round.
You might also want a tripod, external flash, extra batteries, memory cards. Invest thoughtfully, and take the time to visit a camera shop2 and hold a few to see how they feel in your hands. Some will just ‘feel’ better than others, and for my money that matters too - if it feels too unwieldy it will get in-between you and your ideas.
Cameras (and all their shiny accoutrements) are a pretty hefty investment, and so genuinely, if you just want to snap moments in your life as you go along without investing in all the bells and whistles, then you could do worse than to upgrade your phone and go on a phone photography course to up your game. I really recommend Matt Inwood’s one.3
My own Camera Bag
©Jennifer Adams
There are so many choices out there, and some great sites that will break it all down for you if you want to do a real deep dive before you spend your money. There’s a useful, well researched breakdown for beginners here
Here is a list of the choices I made, in case it’s useful too
Camera Body
When I was starting out, I was very much team Canon, and would buy the latest Canon 5D version whenever I was upgrading. In the last few years, arms aching from the weight of a pro Canon camera, I have switched to joining the legions of full frame Mirrorless users and bought a Sony A7R IV.
I love it, it’s so much lighter than my Canon, is brilliant at producing clear, vibrant photographs, has super rich detail and is great in low light - useful for shooting supper clubs, dark interiors and events.
©Kirstie Young for The Canteen
1000ISO | 50mm | 1/100 | F3.2
Lenses
I shoot predominantly food, so the lenses I favour are 100mm F2.8 Macro for those really close shots, and 50mm F1.8 to see food in a more lifestyle setting
©Kirstie Young for The Simple Things
400 ISO | 100mm | F5.6 | 1/100
Also in my bag are:
85mm F1.4 for Portraits
35mm F1.8 for Restaurant interiors
24-70mm F2.8 for Events
A moment for the Humble ‘Kit Lens’
Saving up for really good lenses is always a good idea, but kit lenses (the ones that come as part of the ‘kit’, bundled with the camera body) aren’t as awful as a lot of reviewers often claim. For example, if you are after something super lightweight, something that you can start shooting on straight away, and something really affordable, then step forward the Kit Lens as a decent way of learning to use your new camera.
Tripod
Manfrotto 055XPROB is my workhorse of a Tripod, but really anything in the Manfrotto range is going to be well made.
Memory Cards
SanDisc Extreme Pro. My go-to for speed and reliability
One last thing
If you are spending money on a decent camera then promise yourself that you will use the manual modes, even if the first few weeks/months mean making some mistakes. It will be worth it I promise. In the upcoming Masterclasses I will cover the whys and wherefores of Aperture Priority Mode, Shutter Priority Mode and the big dog - fully Manual
These Masterclasses are for you..
..the people who have chosen to Subscribe to them. I would love to tailor them to the community that I’m writing them for, so do let me have any comments about the areas you would love to see covered in future Masterclasses so that I can oblige! I already have classes planned on Natural Lighting and Artificial Lighting as those are things I get a lot of questions about, but do let me know your thoughts on others!
A shelfie is a picture of a shelf, that shows off someone’s books, movies, art, special belongings, etc.
I really like Wex as a company, their stores are predominantly staffed with friendly, knowledgable photographers and they also offer a really good selection of used cameras and lenses that are all thoroughly tested and graded accordingly. You can hire a camera from them for a few days, so you can take it for a proper test drive.
He also writes beautifully on Substack, and I thoroughly recommend Subscribing
So so much useful advice about buying camera kit. Thank you, Kirstie. Can you do one on non-camera kit sometime? Eg: reflectors, lights, those white balance cards etc?