How to Choose the Right Camera - Part 4

Typically when we think of portraits, we think about one or two people and taking the subjects picture from the waist on up. This means generally a short distance away from the camera with little or no zoom required. Choosing the right camera for mainly portrait taking may seem like a simple process but can actually be a hit or a miss.

Just like our eyes are very diffferent from person to person, so are the eyes (lens) of a camera. Not all camera lenses will allow for very close up focus and very distant focus. For portraits, we typically think of a distance around 1.5 meters 2.5 meters.  Make sure the camera you are interested in is tested for focus clarity in the range of 1 - 3 meters. Flash is important for low light and indoor shots therefore the flash should be located on the camera where it does not interfere with your comfortable holding position. A finger or two covering the flash means an under exposed picture that can easily be ruined.

Here is a quick list of features you should look for.

1:  Great focus in the 1 - 3 meter range.

2: Easily adjustable flash strength . This is critical for close up shots in low light situations to avoid over exposure or the face being washed out.

3: Face recognition. This insures you have the face in focus and not the background or another area like the neck.

4: Multiple face recognition. This is great for group shots involving people at different distances like people standing behind others.

5: Wide angle lens. This is helpful for when you want to take pictures at parties involving a large number of people. This allows you to keep the distance from the group and the camera at a short distance to insure good focus and proper flash level when necessary. Also, allows you to get more people in the picture when the physical space is limited.

6: Image stabilization. This is important for quick shots to insure that the image taken is clear and not blurred out. Image stabilization will prevent the image from being ruined due to shaking, low light conditions where the flash does not trigger or due to a slow shutter speed.

7: Easy access to the controls and often used features like zoom, forced flash, face recognition, flash strength, white balance.

8: Recessed lens with a sliding lens cover when not in use. This is a must have feature which is sometimes over looked. No one wants to remove the lens cap each time you want to take that spontaneous photo. Also minimizes accidental finger prints or dust on the lens for those that do not have a built in lens cover.

 This is just a short list and there are certainly many more features to look out for if you are seriously into portrait photography using a simple “Point and Shoot” camera. This list should at least allow you to choose a good camera nonetheless.