Several people have approached me asking what type and what brand of camera they should purchase. The main rule to follow in deciding what camera to purchase would be for you to be honest with yourself and decide which camera, of the many types, would you most likely carry with you the most. If you don’t want to carry around extra lenses, filters, tripod, and other gadgets, then purchasing a digital DSLR would probably not work well for you. For years I used a Sony camera that would fit in my shirt pocket. It took great photos and I would still be using it now if it had not been stolen. If you want to take total control of your camera then I would recommend a digital DSLR. As for brand, when it comes to Nikon or Canon, I usually tell them it’s like Ford and Chevrolet. Just pick the brand that works best for you because they are both great camera manufacturers and produce an extensive line of products. Sony and Samsung are also getting into the digital DSLR camera business. I have no personal experience with either of these brands when it comes to their DSLR products. My guess is they are both good but lack the extensive lens and accessory selection that Nikon and Canon offer.
No matter what brand or type of camera you own or purchase, it would benefit you to read the manual. If you don’t like the manual that comes with the camera, there are numerous aftermarket manuals for almost every camera on the market. You can find a “For Dummies” manual for Nikon, Canon and some of their accessories. If you don’t understand something in the manual, you can look up the word or phrase in “Google”. “Google” is a wonderful avenue to direct you to free sites which will help you learn more about how to use your camera.
Once you purchase your digital camera, or if you already have a camera, I strongly recommend you set your camera to take the highest resolution possible. If you reduce the resolution you can fit more photos onto the camera’s storage card, but having more photos is not as important as having the highest resolution possible. In your computer you can always reduce the size of the image, but you can never increase the size of the image. With my first digital camera, not fully understanding digital at the time, I set my camera on a very low resolution so I could store more photos on the storage card. The kids and I took a trip to New York City and I was able to take lots of photographs and not change my storage card. The only problem was I got some great shots and had photos I wanted to print, but the resolution was so low I could only blow the image up to a 5”X7” photo. You need high resolution to produce the larger prints. So keep the resolution as high as possible.
Here are some of the photos I took in New York City back in 2005 with a Sony Digital pocket camera:
I always told Ryan this would be his first album cover if he continued to pursue music.
Travis looks like a native New Yorker - except for the cap.
Great shot of old Yankee's Stadium. Very unique experience.
The passed out bum on the left is none other than my good friend John Young.
Near Ground Zero.
For those of you who don't know this is the "Naked Cowboy".
This was the second game we took in. The 6'10" pitcher on the mound is Randy Johnson.
The two photos above are of Central Park.
Just the tip of the Empire State Building on a hazy day.
I will leave you with this photo that I took in the airport as we were leaving. I had to do a double take when I saw this pilot hanging out the window to clean the windshield of his 737. This was a first for me.
If you have never been to New York City, I would encourage you to go when you have the chance. I have been twice and I'm ready to go back. It does not have to be as expensive as you might think. Hotels are expensive, but you can find deals if you are willing to stay away from the tourists areas. I was told that food was going to be one of my most expensive items. I found that not to be true. You can eat in "Little Italy" for less than an average meal in Houston. There are, what seems to me to be, hundreds of restauraunts in "Little Italy". Besides "Little Italy" there are 'mom and pop' deli's throughout New York with simple food for reasonable prices.
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