Professional grade digital cameras making inroads among amateurs

Gadget News - Wednesday December 12, 2007

Professional grade digital cameras making inroads among amateurs

Frankfurt (dpa) - In the early days of digital photography, professional grade digital cameras were a dream for many amateur photographers.

Due to their high prices of sometimes up to 1,000 euros (1,473 dollars), they remained a dream for many.

But prices have fallen to less than 400 euros for some models, not including the lens making the cameras affordable for many, says Constanze Clauss of the Frankfurt-based Photo Industry Association.

Brands like Canon, Nikon and Olympus have fairly affordable cameras for sale because they're probably trying to sell a newer, more advanced version of their camera to buyers with deeper pockets.

Still, this opens several doors and keeps prices down for photographers who want a single lens reflex camera but do not need the absolute latest model.

Photo enthusiasts, who already have a little experience and a camera only need to buy a new camera housing, as their old lenses should still work with the digital camera. Complete beginners will have to budget in the cost of a camera and a lens. However, many vendors offer package deals combining cameras and lenses, especially during the Christmas season, says Clauss.

Those deals are usually more affordable than buying individual components. Prices start at 500 euros for older models from the major names.

The camera packages usually include a lens with a focal length of 18 to 55 millimetres. "That covers everything from a wide-angle lens to a short telephoto lens," says Herbert Noll of the Berlin-based Stiftung Warentest, a consumer affairs organization. "That's roughly the same standard as the classic basic lens for an analog camera. It's pretty practical."

Ambitious hobbyists who think they need more than a standard lens can easily spend hundreds of extra euros on additional lenses. But there's still life in older lenses that were once used with analog camera.

"Sometimes you will have to accept slightly lower quality," says Clauss. "That applies mostly to the extreme photography ranges, like a large telephoto lens or wide angles, for example."

Aspiring photographers remember to factor in technological advances when looking at older lenses. "There have been a lot of developments, for example in light intensity." Noll says older lenses can mean lower quality pictures, but adds "That's not automatically the case."

Like point and shot digital cameras, single reflex versions have also seen pixel counts rise to dizzying heights. Six million pixels has become the low-end threshold and 12 million pixels is no longer uncommon.

"Whether you need that is a different question," said Noll. "Buying a new camera just to get more pixels is nonsense."

Anyone bent on buying a camera should get proper advice, recommends Clauss. "It's best to go to a special shop. There, you can take the camera outside and test it out."

Shoppers should take some time, especially to test the camera and its display in daylight. "It's always a good idea to see which camera feels best in your hand. And when photographing, you should always try a couple of different positions."

The quality of the display usually becomes clear as soon as the sun is shining. "A lot of merchants will also let you borrow the camera for a short time if you leave some kind of deposit."

Digital cameras are like mobile phones - users often don't know what all they can do with them and completely overlook some functions.

"You have to put in a little effort," says Clauss. "Many Canon and Nikon manufacturers offer seminars to help." Sometimes the cameras even come with a coupon for those classes.

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