Choosing and using photographic equipment

Walk into any camera store these days and you would be forgiven for turning around and walking right back out again! The choice is overwhelming even when you know what you want. So where do you turn for advice? Do you trust the store owner, or search the internet, or wade through the thousands of reviews in camera magazines about brands, models, lenses and accessories? Should you start with a digital camera or buy one that takes film?

There are several very important questions you must ask yourself before you do anything. First, how much money can I afford to spend? Second, what do I wish to do with the photographs that I take? Third, how would I rate myself as someone who is prepared to persevere once I start something?

With answers to these questions in hand and a plan in mind, you'll need to exercise self-control when you go to the camera store. Don't allow yourself to be tempted outside your plan.

For simplicity's sake, I would start with one camera, one lens (probably a zoom is best: 35-150 mm covers most needs) and one kind of film. If you are tempted to start with a digital camera and wish to edit and print your own images, be willing to develop your computer skills. You can have your digital files commercially printed, but you'll achieve far better control of results if you are able to work with your images on computer. Even slides or prints need to be digitised for the internet or for creative manipulation.

Finally, remember that the industry is kept alive by developing and marketing new cameras and products. You do not need to keep up with the very latest; you need a camera that produces the results you want, nothing more and nothing less. After all, photography is not all about cameras and accessories - it is primarily about the other seven chapters in this book.