April is almost over and now it’s time to prepare for camera-mania.
If you thought December and January were the busiest times of the year for shutterbugs, think again. According to my friend who owns a photo lab, the months of May and June are primetime for picture taking. I know. I was stunned too. But apparently Mother’s and Father’s Day along with school graduations and the start of baseball season inspire millions of family photographers to snap like there’s no tomorrow.
In other words, it’s camera season and as the weather warms up you can expect to see a slew of shutterbugs coming out of the woodwork wielding their digital picture taking devices.
In a previous blog I listed some of the most popular brands of cameras on the market today. (Just in case you wanted to pick up one for mom in honor of her special day.) In this blog I thought it would be helpful to review the two most popular types of digital cameras available, not only for moms, but for new grads, dads and sports enthusiasts as well.
POINT-AND-SHOOT
The name pretty much says it all. When you buy a point-and-shoot camera you get exactly that—-a device that allows you to aim, click and get a pic. Point-and-shoot cameras are typically compact and have sleek, compact lines, which allow them to fit nicely in a purse or pocket. On the flip side this type of camera has limited preset modes (low light, back light, portrait mode at best) and its zoom lens is too weak to capture decent shots of subjects that are far away. Which means if you are sitting in the bleachers trying to get a shot of your grad getting his diploma you’ll be lucky if your point-and-shoot camera allows you to zoom in as far as the stage.
DIGITAL SLR (Single Lens Reflex)
This is the type of camera most professional and avid amateur photographers carry. Traditionally, digital SLRs feature a slew of manual controls and allow you to swap lenses depending on your shooting situation. This means you can purchase a powerful zoom lens to shoot faraway subjects (this comes in handy if you take a bunch of photos at sporting events), a wide-angle lens for close-ups, or a host of others that will help you capture shots in varying situations. The downside to owning a digital SLR is its size. It simply won’t fit into your shirt pocket, and the maze of controls that are featured on a digital SLR can be intimidating to the photographer who just wants a shot of his child taking her first steps.
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