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raymor · 10-19-2011, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brujah

Thanks, can you explain a little more about what contributes to the quality of a shot? Like others, I was confused and thought the 14MP meant it was probably really good quality. I realize there must be a difference between a ~$200 camera and a $800+ camera when both are 14/15 MP but I just don't know the difference myself.

The megapixels tell you the maximum resolution, or minimum graininess. It WAS an important spec in the days of 0.5 and 1.0 MP, because you can tell the difference between 0.5MP and 1.0. People learned to check that spec. You can't see the difference between 12 and 16. Magazine quality is about 8 or better, so anything above 8 in a consumer camera is for marketing purposes.

So what are some real differences? The biggest difference, by far, is just behind the screen. You can put me behind a $10,000 camera and my photos will still look decidely amateur. Photography classes shooting film use $100 cameras because it's the knowledge, skill, and technique that matter.

Next, a good camera has full manual control so that the photog can set the aperture, iso, shutter speed, and other settings based on his knowledge. If you (or your friend) doesn't know how to calculate the right apeture for a given shutter speed and iso, he doesn't need a better camera. He needs the class. (So long as his camera has the manual settings that will be taught in the class.)

Next up is the minimum fstop, how much light the lens allows in. Pros use those big lenses because they can let in more light, allowing more freedom in settings.

After that you get into different types of metering and other features that are out of my depth. I just wanted to cover the main beginner points, especially that thing at the back of the camera, the photographer. That's what matters. David Lace could make a pinhole camera from a shoebox in about 2 minutes and probably shoot better than either of us would with a great camera.