Most people buying an interchangeable-lens camera for the first time will opt for the ‘kit’ lens bundled with the camera. When you’re buying an entry- or mid-level camera, it’s a convenient way to get a lens (or two) that suits the camera.
Photo Review tips section
Crop factors explained
The term ‘crop factor’ arose from a need to help 35mm film SLR photographers understand how their existing lenses would perform on cameras with smaller image sensors than traditional 35mm film.
Shooting tips: best ways to frame your shots
In this article, Photo Review technical editor Margaret Brown offers practical tips and advice on how to use both monitor and viewfinder to frame and evaluate the photos you intend to capture. Margaret uses a compact system camera for illustration in this article, and most of the tips and advice apply also to DSLR cameras.
Shooting Modes
Different cameras provide different levels of control, ranging from very basic to highly sophisticated. More sophisticated cameras have external mode dials, although the functions that can be accessed via these dials can vary between simple and highly automated and professional standard.
Compact system camera accessories
Aside from lenses, there are plenty of other accessories to build up your CSC kit. The options available for different cameras vary widely with different manufacturers.
Lenses for compact system cameras
When you purchase a CSC you’re buying into a camera system based upon lenses. The kinds of photos you can take will be dictated by the lenses you have. Choosing a system on the basis of its lens offerings, both now and in the future, is the best strategy for serious photographers.
Compact system camera buying guide
Camera designers have had a field day since the first ‘mirrorless’ models were introduced. The market has now matured to provide an interesting array of body styles that use sensors from tiny 6.2 x 4.6 mm chips to the 36 x 24mm size used in professional DSLRs. There’s a camera to suit photographers at all levels of interest and expertise, from snapshooter to professional.
Going mirrorless
Although DSLR cameras have long been promoted as providing the best image quality, many people see them as too big, too heavy and too complex. But the latest ‘mirrorless’ Compact System Cameras (CSCs) are seriously challenging most of these perceived performance advantages and providing some quantifiable benefits of their own.
How to shoot and edit group portraits
Sooner or later, every photographer is sure to be asked to take a group photo, either at a family get-together or a reunion of friends and/or classmates or colleagues. It’s a daunting prospect and the larger the group you have to photograph – and the more diverse their ages – the more intimidating it can become. Here’s how to handle it and produce a well-admired group portrait…
Coastal photography
How to make the most of photo opportunities when you’re close to water.