It's National Camera Day: Here Are Our Staff's Personal Favorites

It's National Camera Day: Here Are Our Staff'south Personal Favorites

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While none of us had National Camera Day circled on our calendar as a big thing, it's a good opportunity to take stock of what cameras we use and why. So we polled the ExtremeTech staff to offer you this roundup of how each of us currently approaches our photography and our choice of cameras. Information technology turns out we cover quite a range of possibilities, from iPhone and Android smartphones upwards to multi-grand-dollar DSLRs. –David Cardinal

David Primal: Nikon D850

Every time I buy a DSLR I think it volition be the concluding, and that smaller, lighter, options will brand them obsolete. But for me, not yet. I love the total-frame sensor on the D850 (pictured, height) , which lets me get great paradigm quality even in depression lite. And for me, Nikon'south controls are more intuitive than those on similar Catechism or Sony models. That means I'm faster at getting the shot — which is essential for wildlife and sports photography. Nikon also has an unsurpassed pick of uniform lenses, so I can fit my camera out for but about whatever kind of photography.

Interchangeable Lens Cameras (DSLR and Mirrorless) are notwithstanding the best way to capture action at a distance, like this 560mm shot with a D850, 200-400mm lens, and Teleconverter.

Nikon has also merged some of the best aspects of its prior DSLRs into this i model. It has the super-capable 153-point Autofocus from the D5, shoots at 7fps in a dainty upgrade from the D810, and features a grade-leading 45MP sensor that tin can still grab images at ISOs up to 25,600. If Nikon wants its DSLRs (and potential total-frame mirrorless models) to stay relevant, though, they're going to need to move faster to incorporate the innovations found in smartphone cameras. Now that my phone tin can do HDRs, focus quickly, and makes capturing panoramas super-easy, at that place are less situations that require lugging a 2+ pound photographic camera and expensive lenses. Information technology's even possible to do some actually-interesting safari photography with a smartphone at present, like I did on a contempo trip to Africa with a Pixel 2 and Mate x Pro.

Ryan Whitman: Google Pixel 2 XL

I have a somewhat expensive "real" camera — a Sony a6000 . However, that's exclusively for piece of work. I only use it when I take to take high-resolution photos of phones and other devices I'yard writing about. I don't think I've ever used it to accept a personal photograph because smartphone cameras have just gotten so proficient. Specifically, the photos I get from the Pixel 2 Xl constantly blow me away.

The Pixel 2 XL has an optically stabilized 12.2MP main camera with stage detection and light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation autofocus. There'southward no secondary photographic camera module like and so many other high-end phones, but the Pixel isn't almost gimmicks. It's near taking stunning photos with the power of computational photography. I've used phones with fancy triple camera systems that can't touch the Pixel 2 XL with its single sensor.

The key to making this photographic camera amazing is Google'southward HDR+ system, which addresses the shortcomings of mobile image sensors. Even the best smartphone cameras have small lenses, so they tin't pull in very much light. Taking longer exposures mitigate this, but and then y'all stop up with blurry images. Optical stabilization in the camera tin help with that, but you're still left with noise from the small smartphone sensor.

Ryan Whitman dear the convenience of his Pixel 2 Forty for taking shots like this 1.

HDR+ changes the calculation by capturing multiple quick burst shots every time y'all snap a photo. Google uses AI to marshal each pixel in the photo and supercede the pixels with an average across all the shots. You lot end up with sharper images with amazing dynamic range. That means y'all can retain detail in both low-cal and dark areas of the frame. HDR+ tin can besides reduce racket to almost nothing without causing a "watercolor" effect like other photographic camera apps.

The Pixel 2 40 consistently takes the best photos I've seen from a smartphone. When nearly other phones would offer up a poorly exposed mess of racket and blur, the Pixel comes through. It'south impressive even in very depression calorie-free or with harshly lit outdoor scenes. This is true of the Pixel 2 40 and the smaller Pixel 2, which has the aforementioned camera hardware. Even if Google doesn't change the camera hardware on the Pixel iii, HDR+ ensures information technology volition all the same be in the lead.

Grant Brunner: Apple iPhone viii

Despite having enough of feel with manual-only SLRs and DIY photo development in higher, almost all of my photography these days gets washed with my smartphone. Specifically, I take my pictures with an iPhone 8. It doesn't take a born optical zoom or proper interchangeable lenses, but the convenience and ubiquity of a smartphone wins out for me every fourth dimension. Later all, I never leave my telephone behind.

For snapshots, the built-in camera app is just fine. But when I'thousand taking a flick at a particularly important moment, the actress precision and utility that Photographic camera Plus 2 offers is hard to decline. For but three bucks, I can shoot in RAW or TIFF, manually fine-melody the exposure, and quickly bear on up the photos on the go. It'southward certainly non a necessary part of taking splendid pictures on an iPhone, but information technology is a handy tool with a very reasonable asking price.

Grant Brunner takes some awesome shots like this one with his Apple iPhone 8, sometimes with a modest tripod.

For added stability, I have a Joby GorillaPod with a smartphone grip for tabletop use. That same grip also attaches to a larger tripod, then that's particularly useful for long exposures or video recording. I don't use them frequently, just these accessories make more complicated shots viable — doubly so in low-lite environments.

A bevy of clench-on lenses practise exist to modify the optics, only they tend to be exceedingly difficult to apply with a case. And since disassembling the outer shell whenever I want to accept a picture does abroad with much of the convenience, I simply don't use them. Still, information technology'southward a nice option for those of usa who desperately need magnification or fisheye effects.

If I had gone downwards the path of professional photography, an SLR would be a no-brainer. But even back in college, I knew that wasn't the correct fit for me. Instead, I leaned heavily on a loftier-end indicate-and-click in years past, and now my phone handles my needs just fine. Sure, more control would be nice every now and them, but I'm very content with my current setup. If goose egg else, I get fewer hecklers and puzzled expressions in public without the conspicuous cervix strap and giant lens.

Jamie Lendino: Olympus OM-D E-M10

I'm probably at the absolute starter end of figuring out what makes good photos. My photographic camera gear is fairly pedestrian, but I consider myself super lucky because I probably wouldn't have bought information technology at all if it wasn't on closeout. And at present that I've got it, I take a ball whenever our family visits an arboretum, or a park with public artwork. Information technology gives me something fun and geeky to exercise while we walk around, since I clearly can't spend asingle minuteaway from footling with some kind of electronic gear or other.

I utilise an Olympus OM-D E-M10 mirrorless camera, along with several Micro Iv Thirds lenses: the 14-42mm f/3.5-five.6 (28-84mm equivalent) kit zoom lens; a xl-150mm f/4.0-5.six telephoto lens; and my favorite, a fast prime f/i.8 17mm lens (35mm equivalent) that my wonderful wife bought me for Christmas a few years ago. It'due south with this latter lens that I've learned basic things like using Aperture Priority mode to blur the background and get some real bokeh. Now everyone knows what bokeh is because of the phone photographic camera wars, but several years ago I had no thought. Separate from that, I've also experimented with a tripod at night and the 300mm-equivalent telephoto lens to get some shots of the moon and any planets happen to exist in view.

This alignment of the Moon and Venus was from New Twelvemonth's Solar day 2022, which I got with a tripod and the telephoto lens. It looks as good equally it does because David Key tweaked it for me.

I'm still learning, but I really enjoy tweaking shots later on the fact using Lightroom; the sheer number of tools in the box is amazing. Apple Photos too delivers surprisingly good to my eye, peradventure because it contains the leftover algorithms from Aperture, which is what used to exist the master Lightroom competitor earlier Apple tree nixed it several years agone.

I've also got an iPhone SE that I use for casual shots; before that, I had a Nexus 6P that had a much superior front-facing camera, but a rear camera that was e'er too slow to capture my rapidly speeding-up toddler. And I all the same have trouble squaring what platform I adopt for storing and maintaining photos. I've bounced back and along between Google Photos, Apple Photos, and Adobe Lightroom, and local versus cloud storage; all of them have their benefits and faults. Don't exist me; all that happens when you switch dorsum and forth is you lose track of your favorite albums, and sometimes the metadata on photos go damaged. I'grand nonetheless pruning duplicates from a Google Photos import gone awry and it'due south been several years.

Beak Howard: Canon 7D Mk 2

Since ninth course, I've been shooting photos for non-profits, professionally, and personally. At present, I shoot a lot of the car photos to accompany my ExtremeTech reviews. It's fun to see if I can match the best photos in the PR handouts. A smartphone beats the snapshot cameras our parents and grandparents used; many were stock-still-focus and sometimes stock-still-exposure. I'thou never without information technology on the route, but I also carry a lot of gear.

My electric current road kit includes a Canon 7D Mk 2 plus a Canon 7D every bit backup and to accept a second lens readily available. The lenses are:

·      Canon EF-Southward 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 zoom lens, equal to 16-35mm on a total-frame camera.
·      Canon EF-Due south 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom lens, particularly for low-low-cal situations.
·      Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.eight zoom lens.
·      Catechism EF-S f/iii.v-5.six 18-135mm zoom lens for video.
·      Canon 1.4X lens extender

Likewise in the handbag are a Catechism 600EX-RT radio-controlled flash. a Catechism ST-E3-RT S Speedlight Transmitter (flash controller, allowing the flash to be used off camera for make full calorie-free), spare Panasonic rechargeable 2550-mAh AA cells, spare Catechism camera batteries (expensive versus off-brands, but reliable), and polarizing filters for each lens. Information technology all goes in a ThinkTank Photograph Streetwalker HardDrive backpack that also holds a 15-inch laptop. I'm searching out carbon-cobweb tripod legs that fit in my carry-on suitcase and a detachable pan caput for video.

Porsche 911 and author Nib Howard in Utah — Telephoto lens brings the desert and mountains up shut, polarizing filter removes glare from windshield and bodywork. Yes, we're all jealous that Bill gets to review awesome cars while the residuum of us inappreciably get anything more heady than cameras and computers.

Left at home are two more Canon flashes; a ring flash (for close-ups of auto switchgear); a 7-pound 300mm Canon f/2.8 lens for sports, auto racing, and pets; a Canon 100-400mm zoom lens; a ii-battery grip for 24-hour interval-long shooting sessions (more than i,000 photos or four-hours continuous-on); an aluminum monopod; a bunch of heavy tripods in my family unit dating to the 1960s; lite stands; big rolling numberless for local photo shoots; backdrop papers and fabrics up to eight×20 anxiety; and a pair of Paul C. Buff Einstein studio flashes with radio remotes for lighting up poorly lit hockey rinks and basketball arenas.

Likewise at dwelling house is a million-photo PC workstation I wrote about that holds that many photos (about 10TB worth), a Canon tabloid-size scanner for capturing family unit photos dating to the 1800s, a Nikon picture scanner, and a 40TB, eight-drive Synology backup server. The PC runs Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, plus Portrait Professional for quick retouching of faces (simply PP doesn't let you easily switch between PC and laptop).

A friend at one of the major camera companies told me the major departure between Catechism-Nikon-Sony-Leica lenses and tertiary parties (especially Sigma-Tamron) is ruggedness. Optical quality is quite close, simply the manufacturer lenses are amend suited to the solar day-to-24-hour interval pounding a photojournalist's rig gets. Plus Canon will fix any Canon component in a mean solar day and go it back the next day (if you lot're a pro).

The secret to shooting cars is to use a polarizing filter to knock reflections off windows and the paint. It makes a huge divergence. The best angle is a front three-quarter, pregnant more side than front end, hopefully showing both headlamps. Except for extreme shut-ups, running the car through a car wash is all the cleaning y'all need. Spotter uncluttered-background locations, which can exist a hilltop, the repeating brickwork of the side of an office complex, or a steel retaining wall that has tired reddish-purple.

To avoid getting in the mode of the wedding party, stand back with a long lens and frame the photo. It never hurts when the bride and groom are photogenic.

Long lenses get you closer without intruding, or if there'south a cordon around a politician, stone star, or the defendant in cuffs. A lxx-200mm lens is peachy for youth sports, school plays, the bride and groom coming down the church steps, or the offset sermon by the new minister. Earlier you buy an even longer lens, get a high quality lens extender for the telephoto you have. If you starting time to shoot video, get a silent-motor-focus lens meant for video. You lot can as well utilize it as your main zoom lens, but my Canon 18-135 is painfully slow to brand initial focus. Wide-angle lenses permit yous shoot entire rooms at one time (for Airbnb) or a group of kids up close.

The best time of day to shoot cars, people, and scenery is often around dawn or sunset with no shadows and dramatic colour shifts. Overcast days are good, too. On sunny days, turn a portrait discipline then their face up is in shadow and you're shooting in the management of the sunday (yes); increase the exposure by 1 EV (one f/end) if you can.

If I did it over again, I might go full-frame, because Canon doesn't brand many crop-sensor camera (such as the 7D) zoom lenses that are f/2.8 at all apertures. With a full-frame all I'd need on the road are the Canon 16-35 and 70-210 plus extender and flash. Or I'd look at mirrorless cameras and Sony would be a contender. For those sticking with DSLRs who don't shoot at much as I do, the Catechism 80D at $900 matches the $1,400 semi-pro 7D Mk 2 for picture quality. When you buy cameras, camera plus lens kits salve y'all about $100. But the "51-piece camera kit" come-ons are often photographic camera, one or two lenses, and 48 pieces of low-price junk.

Joel Hruska: iPhone SE

Reading over my colleagues' responses, one fact has become crystal-articulate: I'm utterly outclassed.

There are a few things I'one thousand pretty practiced at, like troubleshooting PCs; a few that I used to be pretty adept at in college, like singing; and a few — okay, probably more a few — where I am truly awful. Ane of these is taking photos.

"It tin can't be that bad," said ane old colleague. "Take some shots, send them over to me, and I'll set them up in Photoshop."

"I'g going to need y'all to retake these," the same individual wrote, a few hours afterwards. "Did you go Cheetos grease on the lens or something?"

It'due south not just that I don't especially like having my photo taken (in the words of one commenter, I look like a bald, fatter Seth Rogen). That's common. Enough of people don't like sitting for photos in which they're well-nigh sure to emerge looking similar the baseborn spawn of a manatee and an aardvark. I'm fifty-fifty more likely to wreck a photo from backside the lens as from in front of information technology.

Terrible as they are, my photography skills accept benefited, even so marginally, from the release of ameliorate smartphone cameras over the years. Having upgraded from an iPhone 5c to an iPhone SE earlier this year, I tin can say the camera is meliorate, with quicker autofocus — and that actually matters when your hands take a tendency to milkshake slightly. Given my wretched overall level of skill, boosted storage capacity for photos is beneficial. When I actually shoot something, I tend to take a lot of photos, considering I'm basically hoping the Photography Gods volition smile upon me in a random shot. Moving from 16GB to 32GB of storage via upgrade (and the faster photo speed) both paid off hither as well.

The one feature I badly wish Apple would take added to the SE this year is DIS. Side by side time they revamp the SE hopefully they'll drop information technology in.

Some Observations

Although the sample size is small, our staff choices echo a couple major industry trends. First, the point-and-shoot is quickly disappearing, with double-digit market share decreases twelvemonth later on year. It has been replaced by increasingly capable smartphone cameras. Fifty-fifty my trusty Catechism G9 10 doesn't meet as much action at present that I've got a couple good smartphone cameras. Second, Interchangeable Lens Cameras (ILCs) are earthworks in and belongings on to the peak segment of the market. Overall, their sales are more-or-less flat, although at that place is a definite shift from DSLRs to mirrorless within that segment. –David Cardinal

Now read: PCMag's Best Digital Cameras of 2022

Source: https://www.extremetech.com/computing/272363-its-national-camera-day-here-are-our-staffs-personal-favorites

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