WHAT TYPE OF CAMERA DO I NEED?
Obviously it would be pretty amazing if we all had $3000+ cameras but unfortunately that is not possible for a any numerous of reasons. If you do have a digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) by all mean please feel free to use it for any or all of the projects that we will be doing in this course. However if you do not there are various options listed below that will work for our needs in this class. The biggest manual features we will be needing are ISO, exposure, focus, white balance.
- A DIGITAL SINGLE LENS REFLEX -
A digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor, as opposed to photographic film. In the reflex design, light travels through the lens, then to a mirror that alternates to send the image to either the viewfinder or the image sensor. By using only one lens, the viewfinder of a DSLR presents an image that will not perceptibly differ from what is captured by the camera's sensor.
If you are serious about upping your photography game and are willing/ready to make a little more serious financial investment this may be the way to go. Personally I wouldn't invest more than $500 in a camera at this point in your photography career. The higher end features will not be much use to you right away and technology is always changing. Wait until you have more experience with photography before you start dropping the serious money.
- A DIGITAL POINT AND SHOOT -
Most digital point and shoot cameras over ~$50 will include the necessary manual features we are looking for in this class. If you think you will be taking many photos beyond just this class and don't want to break the bank, it might not be bad to pick something like this up that has a few extra features. Make sure you are buying something with a minimum of 8 mega pixels, 1.5 micron pixels, and a f/2.2 aperture lens (these are the specifications of a iphone 5s). The biggest manual features we will be needing are ISO, exposure, focus, white balance.
- YOUR PHONE -
ProCam (Iphone app)
$8 - BUY NOW
The ProCam 3 is arguably the best third-party camera app for iOS. It gives users a full set of manual controls and the option to change the aspect ratio of the photos, as well as the ability to easily adjust the video recording resolution (by default, it's quite a process on the iPhone). Several in-app purchases can add even more feature to the app, including the ability to capture 4K video on iPhones that are older than the iPhone 6s. ProCam 3 has a companion app for the Apple Watch, too.
Obscura 2 (Iphone)
$5 - LINK
Boasting a simple and clean interface, Obscura 2 takes a minimalist approach to help you take better pictures. It gives you a handful of manual controls to choose from, all of which work via dials on your screen. And with over 19 filters included, you can choose from one of the presets and then proceed to edit your pictures further
Halide Mark II (iphone)
FREE with in app Purchase - LINK
While somewhat intimidating at first glance, Halide is designed to put the controls back in your hands, letting you set everything from exposure to focus to ISO to shutter speed. The interface includes views for histograms and depth peaking, so you can monitor how the phone is registering and processing the depth of field settings.
Procam X(android)
Free - $
The strong point of Procam X is its interface. It is simple but at the same time leaves all the adjustments we need at our fingertips, turning our Android into a professional camera. Thanks to this we will have a total control on all the parameters that can affect a photograph.
Open Camera (android)
$Free$
When you want a lightweight and fast camera app, Open Camera is the best choice out there. It's completely free and contains almost all the adjustment options you might need, such as manual focus, ISO and exposure time (assuming you have the Android 5.0 Camera2 APIs, which come with Android Lollipop).
What's particularly great about this app is that it has a widget you can add to your home screen, which will open the app and taken a picture with a single press.
Hedgecam 2 (android)
Free - $11
HedgeCam 2 is a fork of the open source Open Camera app. It takes the winning combination of simplicity and features and adds onto them with a few extra features. This version is also open source, by the way, and the link for the code is in the Google Play description. This one includes a bunch of manual controls, HDR and DRO (dynamic range optimization) photo modes, various customization elements (like turning off the shutter sound), and even things like face detection support.
Additional camera buying resources:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/digital-cameras/buying-guide.htm
- A DIGITAL SINGLE LENS REFLEX -
A digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor, as opposed to photographic film. In the reflex design, light travels through the lens, then to a mirror that alternates to send the image to either the viewfinder or the image sensor. By using only one lens, the viewfinder of a DSLR presents an image that will not perceptibly differ from what is captured by the camera's sensor.
If you are serious about upping your photography game and are willing/ready to make a little more serious financial investment this may be the way to go. Personally I wouldn't invest more than $500 in a camera at this point in your photography career. The higher end features will not be much use to you right away and technology is always changing. Wait until you have more experience with photography before you start dropping the serious money.
- A DIGITAL POINT AND SHOOT -
Most digital point and shoot cameras over ~$50 will include the necessary manual features we are looking for in this class. If you think you will be taking many photos beyond just this class and don't want to break the bank, it might not be bad to pick something like this up that has a few extra features. Make sure you are buying something with a minimum of 8 mega pixels, 1.5 micron pixels, and a f/2.2 aperture lens (these are the specifications of a iphone 5s). The biggest manual features we will be needing are ISO, exposure, focus, white balance.
- YOUR PHONE -
ProCam (Iphone app)
$8 - BUY NOW
The ProCam 3 is arguably the best third-party camera app for iOS. It gives users a full set of manual controls and the option to change the aspect ratio of the photos, as well as the ability to easily adjust the video recording resolution (by default, it's quite a process on the iPhone). Several in-app purchases can add even more feature to the app, including the ability to capture 4K video on iPhones that are older than the iPhone 6s. ProCam 3 has a companion app for the Apple Watch, too.
Obscura 2 (Iphone)
$5 - LINK
Boasting a simple and clean interface, Obscura 2 takes a minimalist approach to help you take better pictures. It gives you a handful of manual controls to choose from, all of which work via dials on your screen. And with over 19 filters included, you can choose from one of the presets and then proceed to edit your pictures further
Halide Mark II (iphone)
FREE with in app Purchase - LINK
While somewhat intimidating at first glance, Halide is designed to put the controls back in your hands, letting you set everything from exposure to focus to ISO to shutter speed. The interface includes views for histograms and depth peaking, so you can monitor how the phone is registering and processing the depth of field settings.
Procam X(android)
Free - $
The strong point of Procam X is its interface. It is simple but at the same time leaves all the adjustments we need at our fingertips, turning our Android into a professional camera. Thanks to this we will have a total control on all the parameters that can affect a photograph.
Open Camera (android)
$Free$
When you want a lightweight and fast camera app, Open Camera is the best choice out there. It's completely free and contains almost all the adjustment options you might need, such as manual focus, ISO and exposure time (assuming you have the Android 5.0 Camera2 APIs, which come with Android Lollipop).
What's particularly great about this app is that it has a widget you can add to your home screen, which will open the app and taken a picture with a single press.
Hedgecam 2 (android)
Free - $11
HedgeCam 2 is a fork of the open source Open Camera app. It takes the winning combination of simplicity and features and adds onto them with a few extra features. This version is also open source, by the way, and the link for the code is in the Google Play description. This one includes a bunch of manual controls, HDR and DRO (dynamic range optimization) photo modes, various customization elements (like turning off the shutter sound), and even things like face detection support.
Additional camera buying resources:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/digital-cameras/buying-guide.htm
