Digital Camera & Image

It was started sometime around 1970 when we had zoom lens, automatic devices etc. Peoples are fond of searching, talking and arguing about cameras. That is not a bad thing and that is the major factor for the huge success of the photo industries. Without a lot of consumers, no industries can develop or even survive.

Does digital camera affect our images? Certainly, a good digital camera would allow us to take better images. Yet, good images are not relied on digital camera alone.

I use to tell my students that good images depend on three factors, visualization, equipment and technique. It has been so in the old days and certainly remains true in digital era. In today's term, they are the idea of good photographic subjects, digital camera and the digital photo taking technique.

Do we have to get the best of all these factors before taking photos? No. We have different applications and we have different expectation.

There is one joke I used to tell and shall tell this now and in the future. Do not buy the best digital camera before you have achieved a higher standard of digital imaging technique. So when we have a bad photo, we can blame it on the digital camera. There were some people who started with a low quality camera. Later on, when they got the best one and their photos were not better, their only choice was to abandon photography to avoid embarrassment. To say it in an offensive way, money would not buy you a higher skill. Unfortunately, some new comers may take the same approach and end up with unhappy ending instead of enjoyment.

Unfortunately, the classification of digital camera is very difficult. Can we take resolution, the power of zoom or the functions as parameter? No, this is not reliable. However, SLR (Single-lens Reflex) digital camera that has interchangeable lens would normally be a higher standard. Price would be another way to define. Since the old days, brand is not so clear cut. Also in digital era, we have new brands for the digital cameras and some traditional camera manufacturers may not be able to keep their standard for digital imaging.

As mentioned, digital camera is a factor for good images. If we taking the same subject with the same level of technique and know how, the difference among our images would depend on the digital cameras we use. Do we accept one digital camera as the best one? It may be difficult for us to agree. Some like the C's; some like the S's and some like the K's etc. The difference in viewpoint remains the same as the traditional era.

For anyone who likes a certain brand, it would not be good to consider others. Confidence is an important factor. Yes, the digital images are different, but we have different taste too. Some like natural colors, some like strong colors and some even prefer color bias too. There is nothing wrong with that because our vision may not be hundred percent identical.

It is worth to know that if we want to get the best digital photos, we need to learn better technique and to find out how to select and treat our subjects. Do not blame on the digital camera only for not giving us a nice digital photo. Remember that digital camera will not take photos automatically, we are the one who choose the subject and press the shutter release.