I'm not satisfied with my smartphone camera, I want to take better pictures!
If you shoot with a single-lens reflex camera or a mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses, you will surely be able to fulfill such a wish.
In this blog, I will write about the photos that can be taken with single-lens reflex and mirrorless cameras and their appeal.
By the time you finish reading this blog, I think you will understand the appeal of single-lens and interchangeable-lens mirrorless cameras.
It is summarized in the camera-related articles and the camera lens blog.
Please take a peek if you are interested.
The author of this blog is a photographer based in Africa. I've done a lot of photography for TV shows and other things.
In Japan, there are countless experiences in selling cameras and lenses at mass retailers,
It will be a blog by such a camera lover.
It may be a little biased, but I will try to explain it in an easy-to-understand manner.
I would appreciate it if you could keep an eye on it until the end.
【table of contents】
Camera lecture, part 1
Reasons for using mirrorless and single-lens reflex cameras
Nowadays, smartphones make it easy to take high-definition videos and photos.
If you take a picture with a smartphone that has a good camera performance, it will provide you with photos that surpass those of a dedicated machine from a long time ago.
What is the reason for shooting with a single-lens reflex camera or a mirrorless camera?
It is also a threat that the smartphone we usually carry around has a high-quality camera built-in.
I think there are still times when I can't shoot as I want and I feel stressed.
I tried to list the shortcomings of the smartphone camera and how it should be taken.
What are the drawbacks of smartphone cameras?
The angle of view and focal length are limited.
The front and back of the subject are not greatly blurred,
Weak in the dark
vulnerable to decisive moments
Aperture, shutter speed, and focus cannot be freely set
Under the scorching sun, it's hard to tell what you're shooting because the screen is reflective.
I wish I could take pictures like this! how?
I want to shoot more beautifully and impressively!
I want to make the subject stand out by blurring the front and back!
I want to capture the decisive moment of a moving subject!
I want to set the aperture, shutter speed, and focus freely and shoot!
I want to be able to see the subject clearly even under the scorching sun!
I want to change the angle of view from a telephoto lens to an ultra-wide-angle lens!
In response to the above wishes,
It is to use a single-lens reflex camera or a mirrorless camera that allows you to freely decide the settings and change lenses.
Of course, single-lens reflex cameras and mirrorless cameras have these drawbacks.
Bulky
big and heavy
expensive
I think that single-lens reflex cameras and mirrorless cameras have advantages that make up for such shortcomings.
As for the price, if you don't care about the latest model, you can enjoy photos cheaper than expensive smartphones.
I plan to introduce such things in this series.
Well, I'm going to live with a lot of benefits.
Advantages of owning a single-lens reflex or mirrorless camera
Just having a single-lens reflex camera or a mirrorless camera makes me excited because I can take good pictures.
Just by carrying a camera, I began to go to various places, saying, "Take better pictures!"
"Next time, let's take better pictures!"
Aiming for a decisive moment, you will learn to carefully observe things.
Just holding it makes me want to take good pictures.
You can post more beautiful photos on SNS etc.
I tried to give as much as I could, but there are still many more.
The fun of photography is endless with single-lens reflex cameras, mirrorless cameras, and interchangeable lenses!
Single-lens reflex cameras and mirrorless cameras can be used with a wide variety of lenses and accessories, from ultra-wide-angle to super-telephoto.
It can also be connected to telescopes and microscopes via adapters.
Also, if you attach an old lens, you can enjoy a unique image and taste that is different from recent lenses that are clear and sharp in every corner. In terms of taste, mineral water is about the same as tea. That's the image.
If you use a large number of filters, the range of expression will be further expanded.
Not only for photography, today's single-lens and mirrorless cameras can take high-quality videos that are not much different from commercial cameras, so you can even make independent movies.
In this way, every expression becomes possible.
There are high-end compact cameras with fixed lenses, but if you're just starting photography and want to enjoy photography, I highly recommend a single-lens reflex camera or mirrorless camera that allows you to change lenses.
I think that the real pleasure of a single-lens reflex or mirrorless camera is to change the lens.
* I think that a high-end compact camera is a camera for black people who understand the camera and lens, focal length and aperture, how to take pictures, etc.
Then, if you shoot with a single-lens or mirrorless camera, I will look at the photos taken by the author.
All of them are just things that can't be captured with a smartphone camera.
Cut out the moment!
In this way, every expression becomes possible.
There are high-end compact cameras with fixed lenses, but if you're just starting photography and want to enjoy photography, I highly recommend a single-lens reflex camera or mirrorless camera that allows you to change lenses.
I think that the real pleasure of a single-lens reflex or mirrorless camera is to change the lens.
* I think that a high-end compact camera is a camera for black people who understand the camera and lens, focal length and aperture, how to take pictures, etc.
Then, if you shoot with a single-lens or mirrorless camera, I will look at the photos taken by the author.
All of them are just things that can't be captured with a smartphone camera.
Cut out the moment!
Taken with a wide lens (fisheye lens)
By using a wide lens, you can exaggerate the perspective when shooting.
Take wide pictures with the diagonal fisheye lens, and various expressions are possible by changing the lens
The photo above was taken with a fisheye lens.
Compared to the people in the lower left, the tuna on the right looks about 5 meters long.
The perspective exaggeration effect of the fisheye lens makes it look more like a giant tuna than it actually is.
This is an example of how changing the lens can greatly change the image and perspective.
【Related article】
Fisheye zoom lens AT-X 107 DX Fisheye review, APS-C lens that is fun to use at full size (internal link)
Recommendation of fisheye, introduction of Sigma 15mmf2.8 fisheye lens "Fisheye, bird's eye" (internal link)
Free photo expression by changing settings
With single-lens reflex cameras and irrorless cameras, you can freely set the shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity, and focus, so you can create a variety of expressions with the same subject and the same lens.
Panning
shutter speed and move the camera around the moving subject.
The slower the shutter speed is set, the larger the flow, but it becomes difficult to capture the subject clearly.
It is a good idea to find the right shutter speed while shooting with different shutter speeds.
By changing the aperture and shutter speed settings, the image changes, and it is also the real pleasure of shooting with a single-lens reflex or mirrorless camera to control the image.
I will also be blogging about setting up the camera for shooting.
firework
If you fix the camera with a tripod, you can easily take pictures of beautiful fireworks.
The picture above is Enoshima fireworks, taken during my stay in Japan.
Recent cameras have a convenient function called image stabilization, but it is limited to a short period of time.
A tripod is a must because long exposure times ranging from seconds to tens of seconds are required to capture the miracle of fireworks along with the scenery.
Tips for photographing fireworks
If you use a tripod, you can capture the fireworks as a trajectory.
However, fireworks are very bright, so if you expose them for a long time, they won't come out with colorful colors, and they will fly off white.
In order to express the bright and colorful colors of the fireworks beautifully, the above photo was shot with an ND filter.
The real pleasure of using a wealth of accessories
A wide variety of accessories are available from various companies to express your photos beautifully.
Along with changing lenses, if you use accessories such as filters well, the fun of photography will expand infinitely.
The ND filter I'm using is like sunglasses that dims the light without changing the color. .
ND16 is a filter that reduces light to 1/16, and reduces the light by 4 stops.
For example, if you use an ND16 filter with a good aperture of f22, you will be able to shoot at f5.6.
Kenko Tokina filters are good quality, so I recommend them.
I actually shoot with this filter.
I will write more about it in a future blog.
We recommend a lightweight 4- to 5-section tripod that can be carried more compactly and can be used even longer for shooting.
If you choose a good tripod, it will last for decades.
Even if the price is high, if you choose a good one from the beginning, it will be much cheaper in the long run.
Astrophotography
If you use a single-lens reflex camera or a mirrorless camera, you can take beautiful pictures of the starry sky.
On the Internet, you can see amazing photos taken with the James Webb Space Telescope, but it is still best to take and finish it yourself.
You can change the lens, so you can take pictures like this
Starry skies can be captured easily just by fixing the camera to a tripod, but the stars move quickly due to their diurnal motion, so if you try to capture stars in dots, the exposure time is limited to a short time.
However, with recent cameras with excellent high-sensitivity performance, you can take clear pictures of the starry sky with just a tripod.
Since it is fixed and taken, you can enjoy it as a starscape photo together with the scenery.
If you extend the exposure even further, you can create a starry sky with trails.
It's beautiful in its own way, but you can't see the details of stars in space.
If you use a soft filter or a cross filter to shoot the starry sky, you can capture the starry sky more impressively. [Filter that makes the starry sky more impressive] (Internal link)
Secret Weapon for Photographing the Stars: Equatorial Mount
If you use an equatorial suit, you will be able to shoot with extended exposure. A telephoto lens captures the details of nebulae and star clusters.
The picture above is the famous Andromeda Nebula, taken with a full-frame DSLR and a 300mm f2.8 telephoto lens, giving a 2 minute exposure.
The nebula part is trimmed.
It's a bit difficult because you need a guide for a 2 minute exposure at 300mm.
The faint light and fine shading of the nebulae and star clusters that emerge as the exposure time is extended.
The world of the starry sky photographed with a camera, and the appearance of the universe, which cannot be seen with the naked eye even with a telescope, are very impressive.
portable equatorial mount
A full-fledged equatorial suit that can hold a telescope is also good, but it is bulky and not easy to carry around.
Under such circumstances, there is a portable equatorial mount, commonly known as Pota Red, as a convenient starry sky photography item.
It's easy to carry, so it's very useful for shooting starry skies without using a telescope.
In Japan, you can see the North Star, so if you use the attached polar axis telescope, you can easily set the polar axis very accurately.
In Kenya, where the North Star cannot be seen, it is difficult to align the polar axis.
For portable equatorial mounts, we recommend Kenko Tokina Skymemo S or Vixen Polarie.
I use Kenko Tokina Skymemo T (discontinued product).
*The Andromeda nebula above was taken with a manual guide using an equatorial mount Super Polaris for astronomical telescopes (which I have owned since I was in elementary school).
Full size is recommended for shooting the starry sky
For shooting dark subjects such as stars, a full-frame with excellent high-sensitivity characteristics and a bright lens are advantageous.
Of course, APS-C and Four Thirds cameras can also take beautiful pictures of the starry sky, so there's no need to stick to full size.
The format size of the camera, advantages and disadvantages will be covered in detail in the next blog.
Much more important than camera size for stargazing is getting out to suburbs where the skies aren't polluted by streetlights (less light pollution).
If you try shooting the sky in the city center, please try it handheld.
It's an example of someone taking you to the suburbs to take a picture of the stars with your camera.
summary
If you use a single-lens reflex camera or a mirrorless camera, you can freely express yourself in photography.
You can take all kinds of photos that you can't take with your smartphone.
With interchangeable lenses, filters, pota-red, and many other accessories, the range of expression is endless.
Advantages of SLR and mirrorless cameras
You can take almost any subject beautifully and impressively, although of course you need some technique.
If you use a telephoto lens or a bright lens, you can greatly blur the front and back of the subject and make it stand out.
Capture decisive moments of moving subjects
You can freely set the aperture, shutter speed, and focus for shooting.
If you look through the viewfinder or LCD viewfinder, you can shoot while clearly seeing the subject, even under the scorching sun, on snowy mountains, or on white-sand beaches.
By changing the lens, you can freely shoot from a telephoto lens to an ultra-wide angle lens.
It was just one example, but I think you can see that with a single-lens reflex camera or mirrorless camera, you can take any kind of photo depending on the situation.
How about exploring the infinite world of cameras and photography with your own hands?
Next, we will discuss SLR and mirrorless format sizes, and what format sizes are good.
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