In the past two weeks two friend have asked me for camera recommendations. One was confused by the hyper abundance of models and the other was looking for a dSLR to improve the quality of family photos.
I'm not a terribly good photographer myself, but I know a few people who are (Bjarne and Lynn among the readers of this blog and a few professionals). I have a sense that the quality of photographers follows a powerlaw curve. At the high end there is a combination of genius, art, hard work and training. At the low end there is ... well ... not much. Most of us can greatly improve our photography through experimentation, study and feedback ... taking a course or even getting involved with online photography support groups (Tips from the Top Floor as an example) can dramatically improve one's art.
I will go so far as to claim that a sophisticated/serious camera in the hands of an unskilled user will decrease the quality of the image. (have you ever watched a rich kid try to drive a Porsche with a manual transmission and a racing clutch?) At some point a good camera, lenses, etc will improve your art. In the hands of a real photographer, art can be done with almost anything (a great camera helps, but I've seen brilliant images taken with a Kodak Brownie).
The great thing about digital photography is that you can afford to make mistakes. Taking thousands of photos won't bankrupt you. A cheap point and shoot is sufficient for the basics as is a dSLR, but the point and shoot has the potential of living with you allowing you to experiment and increase your skills at a much faster rate (I don't see too many people lugging around with a dSLR everywhere they go). Don't get me wrong - a dSLR is capable of better photography than a point and shoot - but the trick is to learn photography. Learn composition. Learn how to pose. Learn how to control light. Learn postproduction. Learn printing (an area where I have made very little progress)
My advice is to get something that you can comfortably control (don't get me started on horrible digital camera interfaces), get a flash and tripod (or beanbag) and practice practice practice. Don't worry about the most expensive camera you can afford because, when you are a good photographer a year or two down the road, you probably can do better and will have a better perspective of what you really need.
[If you have the bucks and know you will be sticking with the hobby, get the dSLR and a good point and shoot (I admit to have drooled over the new Leica-ish Lumix - I haven't tried it, but this may be the first serious digital camera with a usable interface)]
Good photographers should ignore my comments as they already know/have what they need for their particular flavor of art. One friend has a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II - it is so large that I would never use it. He does lug it around and creates spectacular imagery. Another friend does amazing art with his tiny Canon ELPH. He usually shoots medium format digital, but that is for fashion and ad photography - the Canon is for his own use and he says he is more creative with it than the big camera.
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