CameraHobby - e-Book on the Camera, Chapter 5

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Photography e-Book Chapter 5 - The Camera

If you have already read some photography web sites and/or photography newsgroups, mailing list, and discussion boards, no doubt you will have come across the little gem that states that the lenses come first and that you should always devote as much as possible to the best glass you can afford. Good advice and very true if you are already into photography but a bit of bunk if you are starting out because how are you going to use that jewel like first lens that costs so much your wife is jealous, as she looks at that low grade diamond ring you bought her. You are going to need a body to use with that lens and all the future ones you will purchase, so go out and get yourself the camera body that you feel good about using. It is a personal choice so never mind about the brand or how entry level of how high flying the body, just get one that you like and can afford. Oh yes, you may wish to keep in mind certain features that will make life easier but not necessarily make you a better photographer.

Robust build. This is a personal criterion for me as I most admire cameras that have been built to withstand harsh environments or conditions wrought on to them by the users. Absolute bomb-proofness is not a requirement but monsoon proofing is nice to have in my wet, neck-of-the-woods of the coastal, Pacific Northwest. Cameras known to have significant quantities of rubber O-rings to survive a deluge or two as well as a solid metal or metal-hybrid chassis are tops in my book. Some examples of such cameras would be the Nikon F100 and F5; Canon EOS 3 and EOS 1v; Minolta Maxxum 9; the Contax N1; and the new Pentax MZ-S.

Robustly built cameras are not light, especially when mated to their companion vertical booster grips. The F5 has its vertical grip built-in as an integral part of its build and is not for the weak of arm. Even the predominantly plastic EOS 3 is still a very solidly built and hefty camera to hold (despite what some Nikon wags claim and despite my own allergic reactions to plastic).

Vertical grips or motor drives. Weight of a camera body may be an issue for some but for others who shoot a lot of portrait oriented images then a vertical grip makes life much easier as most such grips have a shutter release button as well as additional controls and dials to mimic shooting in the traditional landscape mode. Additionally, if you handhold a larger lens such as a 80-200mm f2.8 variant you will come to appreciate the extra stability that a vertical grips lends to such situations.

Other features that I would want from a camera are:

Depth of Field preview, a button that should be logically placed (usually around the base of the lens mount) for easy access and quick checks to determine your range of sharpness. Note that I state range of sharpness and not range of focus because there is only one true plain of focus as determined by you but with small apertures, your range of sharpness will increase. As you move further away from the subject, the greater this range will be and as you move closer to a subject, the more constricted this range will be. Note that sharpness here is related to the actual details captured on film just its perception from depth of field.
Mirror lock up (MLU) or at least a mirror pre-release feature tied into the self-timer. Many photographers use mirror lock up religiously to maintain as much resolution as possible and avoid the vibrations of a mirror flapping up and down during the exposure making process. It is generally accepted that MLU most affects an exposure when using certain slow shutter speeds from slower that 1/60 to faster than 1 second. Some brief tests I have done with my mirror-lockup equipped Bronica SQ-Ai, confirms that MLU is a worthwhile feature to have for maintaining sharpness in the danger zone of shutter speeds. Unfortunately, my Nikon F100 body does not have MLU nor even a mirror pre-release tied into the self timer. Nikon get with the program already and offer a feature that most serious photographers can make good use of on your non-F bodies, after all many worthwhile images are in the danger zone of shutter speeds.
Exposure Compensation done in an easy fashion, as is the case on the Nikon F100 or various Canon EOS bodies in which compensation can be done via a control dial without the need to put the camera into Exposure Compensation mode via a dedicated button. A few cameras coming out these days have their own dedicated Exposure Compensation dial (Minolta Maxxum 9 and Contax N1). The compensation should be user selectable to go as fine as 1/3 stop over a plus/minus 3 stops range. Exposure bracketing is not much of a feature for me despite the fact that I do bracket my shots on occasion when using slide films. I find it easier and simpler to bracket manually whether I use a fully featured Nikon F100 body or the manual Bronica SQ-Ai. The ability to bracket an outrageous number of frames such as 15 or more is superfluous.
TTL flash capability is available in most of today's cameras or else accessories are available to provide the feature, as is the case with many medium format bodies. What would really be wonderful is the ability to have flash exposure compensation built into the camera but most times the feature is built into the flash unit. The exception to this are the mid-level cameras with built in flash heads such as the F80. The downside to these bodies is that their flash sync is a slowish 1/125 shutter speed instead of the more useful 1/250 or 1/500 as found in certain medium format offerings. The ability to synchronize the flash to the rear curtain of the shutter is also useful to have as well as the slow sync mode so that ambient light can be better balanced with the flash exposure. Red eye reduction may seem like a wonder feature but I cannot remember the last time I used it, probably back in the days when I was still feeling out the capabilities of my then new SB26 and F90x combination. I have otherwise not had a problem with red eyes with any of my flash shots when using the flash directly connected to the camera.
PC Sync socket is useful to have but not vital since $15 accessories can be bought to adapt a PC Sync connector to the camera's hotshot. PC Sync sockets are generally only available on the top tier cameras above the mid-level varieties such as the Nikon F80 and Canon Élan 7.
Electronic remote cord connections. You will find these types of connections on top tier cameras too and though a bit pricey, I prefer them to the mechanical cord release that uses a plunger to trip the shutter. Electronic cords do not induce as much vibration and are more reliable. The connections will also support computer link ups as well as variety of remote and radio controllers on the more advanced 35mm bodies. Most of these features I would have little use for but are nice to have if you decide you need them. The one feature I do like is the possibility to do cordless shutter releases so that you do not even need to be near the camera to trip the shutter. Mike Nicholls of National Geographic magazine has used infrared controllers on N90s bodies to capture images of wildlife at night and others like to use such devices to capture skittish birds on film without having to be anynear near the wildlife.
DX override allows you to alter the way the camera exposes the film, providing full control of the film's characteristics. Exposure compensation is exactly the same thing and you could use one or the other depending on how you wish to operate but just remember to return the setting to the default otherwise all your other rolls of film will also be DX overridden or compensated. DX override is also how you push or pull film.
Spot metering capabilities and if the camera can associate the spot meter to an auto focus point, so much the better (Nikon F100 among others). The finer the spot meter the more precise your meter reading will be. Your evaluative or matrix meter can handle the majority of metering for your day-to-day photography but certain conditions require manual readings for the best result. Just remember one rule of thumb, meter for the most important part of the scene as determined by you.
Backlight for reading the top LCD is necessary if you work in low ambient light a lot. Mid level bodies generally do not have such a feature, requiring you to move up to at least a second level body like the F100 or EOS 3.

There are probably a few other features that I would like to have but forgotten but these are the main ones I would prefer to have to others. You should be able to read between the lines and figure out that any recommendations I would make with regard to a camera body is for a near-state of the art model such as the Nikon F100, Canon EOS 3 or Minolta Maxxum 9. These cameras are not cheap and for the best bang for the buck, mid-level offerings such as the Nikon F80 and Canon Élan 7 are very good, however, they do not have the build quality and durability of the better cameras. Unless you absolutely need to burn through a roll of film faster than a Ferrari can go from 0 to 60, there is not a need for a top-level body such as the Nikon F5 or Canon EOS 1v. These are no doubt the finest high-tech 35mm offerings available (no disrespect to Leica and Contax users) but at the prices these bodies demand, not worth the money and an investment in another film format would be my suggestion. Remember, my opinion only, your needs will dictate your personal choices.

Here we have the 35mm camera that I use at the moment. Some of its key features include:

Magnesium-alloy build for long-lasting durability
Thick rubber cover for good gripping and extra protection against knocks and bangs
Depth of Field preview feature to check your zone of sharpness
Remote cord terminal that can also be used as a computer link-up for data downloading
PC Sync socket for easy connection to studio flash
Electronic contacts in the lens mount that allow the use of high tech lenses such as the Silent Wave and Vibration Reduction models
Screw mount drive that allows the use of other Nikon autofocus lenses. This makes Nikon unique in its ability to allow state of the art lens motor capable lenses as well as older screw mount lenses to be used on the same body.

Many of today's current autofocus cameras offer multiple focus points in the viewfinder display - you will need an effective and ergonomic control to select the desired focus point
A Canon innovation now widely copied, is the AF-On feature that removes the AF start from the shutter release and to this button, easily controlled by the right thumb
Many cameras also offer Custom Functions to fine tune your personal shooting requirements
Dynamic or Predictive Autofocus allows you to maintain focus on a moving subject, even those that move erratically - but do not expect miracles from this feature
An accessory vertical grip with additional controls to make vertical shooting easier is a must for those using big and heavy lenses on a regular basis
Any vertical grip should have easy access to the battery chamber for fast changing when required
If the camera does not come with a generous rubber eyecup, an accessory one should be available to make for a much more comfortable head to camera contact

No serious camera today should be without a LCD illuminator - Nikon's also turns on the illuminator on their top flash units
Exposure compensation is a must
Even better is for easy Exposure Compensation via a secondary command dial as is possible with the Nikon F100 body, without the need to press the Exposure Compensation button and then turning a dial
The more thoughtful companies include an indicator for where the film plane is
More and more cameras offer a frame counter even when the camera is powered down - very convenient to figure out how many frames are left with a quick glance while the camera is off.

Bracketing is an essential feature for many - for myself, less so
DX override is another method of doing exposure compensation - most cameras offer ISO 6 to 6400
Modern day flash electronics is a key part of today's state of the art camers
Locking mechanism to prevent unwanted changes to your personal settings is nice to have but some find it to be fiddly and slows them down for changing settings
A silent shooting mode is helpful when you need to be more discreet and silent in shooting and rewinding

Many people eschew the high-tech computerized autofocus SLRs of today and prefer manual cameras that do not require batteries to operate. If your eyes are in good shape and if your style of photography does not require autofocus and motor drives, a manual system can be a very methodical and involving manner of photography.

The best manual cameras can continue working for decades after first purchase and are often handed down from father to son/daughter.

The example here is a budget priced manual camera but for those who wish finer build and mechanics, there is little to compare to the classic Nikon FM2 but for me, if I were to buy a manual camera today, it would be the Nikon FM3a.

Some people eschew SLR cameras altogether and prefer rangefinder cameras. Although this elderly Konica S2 is no Leica M6, it does work in similar fashion and is capable of excellent results thanks to a very good quality, fixed 45mm f/1.8 lens.

Rangefinders are very quiet as there is no mirror slapping up and down for each exposure. With no mirror to provide a pentaprism view, a side-oriented viewfinder is situated for composing. No mirror also means never having a split second blackout of the scene and wondering if your subjects blinked or moved during the exposure.

The rangefinder method of focusing is of moving two superimposed images together in the viewfinder - you are in focus or not for your subject. So long as your viewfinder is bright, as Leica rangefinders impressively are, you will be able to focus in low light too, unlike SLR cameras with their dim viewfinders.

Rangefinder lenses are also built with less compromises than SLR lenses due to the lack of need to accomodate a mirrorbox in a rangefinder camera. This allows rangefinder wide-angle lenses truly superb as the designer has much fewer constrictions and they often knock the stuffing out of comparable SLR wide-angle lenses.

Don't forget to carry spare batteries for your caneras, especially autofocus and/or motor driven cameras. Always have at least one full set available for all your gear from cameras to flashes to meters.

Chapter 5 - Subsection on Holding the Camera

Previous Chapter 4 - Introduction to Equipment

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