How to Choose Your First DSLR

If you're like many recent amateur photographers, you interest in photography may have been sparked by a point and shoot digital camera. Maybe you realized you liked to take pictures when handed the camera. You probably started realizing that you took picture taking more seriously than other people. You started paying attention to composition, color, and contrast. Eventually, you picked up a book on photography, and began to learn the technical aspects.

Once this happened, you probably learned what an SLR is and why they are so great. You're now ready to buy your first digital SLR, but are unsure of what to look at. For this article, I'm going to discuss some of the entry level options, and compare them to help you out with the decision making process.

To keep things simple, I'm going to stick with the two biggest brands of DSLRs, Canon and Nikon. There are other worthy contenders out there, but I really prefer sticking with Canon and Nikon due to the broad support you can get with them. Professionals all over the world use these systems, so support and accessories are always available.

Let's start with Canon. Canon offers an entry level series of cameras known as the Digital Rebel series. These are very popular cameras. They are compatible with all Canon autofocus lenses, and offer high resolution and good image quality for the money. Definitely an option to check out.

Nikon offers several lower end cameras, all based on the D40 body. These cameras are generally considered to have better ergonomics than Canon. I myself think they also look a little more professional than the wildly styled Rebel series. One disadvantage of these lower end Nikon models is that they cannot use all Nikon autofocus lens. They can only use lenses with the motor built into the lens. These are common and popular, but its something to think about.

When it comes to choosing between these two systems, you can't go too wrong. Remember that when you're buying an SLR, you're really buying into the system, and Canon and Nikon systems are both world class. The best way to choose is to try out each camera and see which one feels better to you. See if the controls feel intuitive or not. This will go a long way towards your satisfaction with the camera.

Overall, though, you really can't go wrong with any digital SLR if you're coming from the point and shoot world. SLRs are loads of fun, and offer amazing control over the image. If you're a serious amateur, you definitely need to be looking into these as soon as possible.

How to choose a video card

Not sure about which is better,crossfire or sli?, Do you even need more than one graphics card to begin with? Well if your one of the many on the fence on what brand to buy or how many of that brand to buy, let Albert of Computertv help you pick which video card is the right one for you.



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How to Choose Your Professional Portrait Photographer

In today's market place, with so many amateurs with nice DSLRs claiming to be professional photographers, how does one determine who to hire to create their portraits?

It used to be a lot easier. In times past it was fairly rare that you would see an amateur with a professional camera. They were too expensive, and one needed a working knowledge of the science of photography in order to operate a professional camera. (I'm referring to the days of film and before Program mode was built into pro cameras as an option.) And certainly one would never see a professional using a point and shoot camera on a paid assignment!

Now days, while it is easy to spot the difference between a point and shoot camera with built in zoom lens, and a DSLR, so many hobbyists are carrying "pro-sumer" DSLRs, one can no longer tell a pro from an amateur by the camera they use.

So, why is it important to know if the person you hire is a professional or not if the cameras are the same? Because, simply put, cameras do not create photographs. What?! You say... That's right...cameras record the light that is reflected by whatever the lens is pointed at! Creating photographs is the job of the person operating the camera.

What's the difference, and why does it matter? You can have the best camera and lens in the world, but if you don't know how to operate it, you can't make a photograph. If you know how to turn the camera on, put it on program mode and press the shutter release, you can indeed make a photograph. Well, one might say, that's all you need then, right?

The answer to that depends on what you expect from your photographer. If for example a person knows how to turn the ignition of a car on, and put it in drive, that person can make the car move. However if that same person does not know how to use the steering wheel, accelerator and brake, you wouldn't say they know how to drive a car...and it wouldn't be long before they crash!

You see, photography and creating photographs is much more than turning a camera on and making a lot of exposures in program mode. With today's advanced metering systems and computer programs built in, one is likely to get some fairly good photographs that way, but if that's the extent of one's knowledge, the law of averages is not with them.

A professional photographer knows their equipment and how to operate it so that the image they have in their mind, they are able to create in the camera. A professional photographer knows how light and shadow affects the image, and how to balance the light to get the effect they want. A professional photographer knows the difference between a snapshot and a portrait, and how to enhance a photograph so as to turn a photograph into a portrait.

Particularly for portraiture, you want to hire a professional, because a pro knows how to light and pose you to accentuate your best features, and hide less desirable features. You do want to look your best in your portraits, don't you?

So, how do you know if the photographer you are considering is really a professional? You need to ask the right questions. Some good questions to ask are: Where did you learn photography? How long have you been a professional? What is your guarantee? Can I talk to some of your portrait clients? Why did you choose to become a professional photographer?

Besides being competent with their camera and lights, a professional portrait photographer should also put you at ease, and give you a sense of confidence that they will do the kind of job that will make you happy!

How to Choose the Best Hybrid Camcorder

The camcorder market has come a long way in the past few years. Just a few years ago, MiniDV was king in this market. Then we had DVD cams, HD video cameras. But all those gadgets had their own issues, which is why top gadget makers have decided to introduce hybrid camcorders to give you the best of a couple of worlds. With these gadgets you are no longer limited to DVD, MiniDV, or Hard Drive for your storage. You get more than one option and just in case one fails on you, you have another one to fall back on.

There are many cool hybrid camcorders around but not all of them are created equal. There are many options to choose from depending on the quality of content you want to produce with your gadget. Here are the factors you need to pay attention to choose the best Hybrid camcorder:

HD quality: the video quality matters a lot when choosing one of these gadgets. If you are spending a few hundred dollars on a new cam, you may as well get one that comes with 1080 video resolution.

Size: I don't know about you but I don't like to take a large v-cam with me on the go. I rather have a more compacto one.

Weight: old cams used to be too heavy. But things have changed a lot in the past few years.

Zoom: who can forget about the optical and digital zoom when choosing one of these.

Storage options: you want to make sure what storage options fit your needs the best. You can get DVD+Flash or HD among other options.

Hybrid camcorders are great options for folks who don't want to rely on one storage option. Besides, even if your hard drive or flash drive fails on you, you always have a back up option. You can never have enough space for videos.