Compact Cameras and Manual Control

So, you like photography. Maybe you are a casual shooter looking for more knowledge. Perhaps you are going on a vacation and want to document every step of the adventure, or a growing amateur, or maybe you are even playing with the big boys in the pro arena. A capable compact is a camera tool every photographer should own, and becoming a game changer in the every-day-photo realm. Now here is why…

Manual shooting mode, it’s an awesome (not to mention critical) thing for photographers. It allows us to take the pictures, rather than that know-it-all camera brain trying to run the show. The basis for all of the Matty Photography workshops are to teach students photography from the ground-up, as well as advanced techniques, and none of that teaching would be possible without full control over our cameras. Taking the training wheels off and giving you a shove down the street on your photographic bicycle, as you learn to peddle and balance the camera all on your own to make images. This IS photography and understanding the very basics in light exposure.

Let’s Rewind to a Couple Years Ago…

Up until a couple years ago, point ‘n shoot cameras were just that. You point, you shoot, you get no say in what the camera does for the rest of the process. Well… I guess you can say that you pointed it at someone’s face, framed the shot, and even selected one of those fun pictures modes, like “mountain,” “running man,” or “flower.” If you were halfway lucky, it focused on a face, and it wasn’t completely blurry. The advantages of a point ‘n shoot are: small form factor (for easy packing, slips into the pocket), light, fairly cheap, versatile fixed lens, and a few other things that makes them overall very convenient. The disadvantages: camera/computer driven (no manual control, all automatic), lacking in photo quality, poor low light performance. On the other side of the spectrum, you have DSLRs, and they are all about the manual-minded, well-versed photographers. DSLR simply intimidate the uneducated person who lacks all photographic knowledge, “what in the hell are all these buttons, and why do all my photos look like crap,” as they expect a DSLR to bend to their automatic mode conveniences. Sure, DSLRs can shoot in auto modes, but that’s like owning a Ferrari and never taking it out of first gear. DSLR advantages: great image quality, good low light performance, versatile (with a lens collection), dedicated manual controls, accommodates a hot shot flash (and all the extra goodies that go along with that functionality), fast frame rates, every thing a working photographer is looking for. The disadvantages: big, heavy, not convenient, expensive, require multiple lenses to be flexible.

Let’s Beat the Dead Horse

Ok, class, what is the saying we’ve all heard a thousand times just this year alone? “The best camera is always the one you have with you.” Too true, that’s why everyone has heard this. Why do you think cell phone pictures exponentially outnumber all other camera type photographs? The top camera for images posted on the website Flickr is the iPhone 4S (at the time of this article). It’s simply that it’s the camera that was in their pocket when they desired a photograph. That’s it. It wasn’t a torturous, lengthy deliberation on which camera they should use for this photo, as the answer is already made for them. You can only take a photograph with the camera gear at your immediate disposal. So the math is pretty easy on this one. The smaller and lighter a camera is, the more likely you are to carry it on you, or at least have tucked away in your car or nearby spot. A $10,000 camera setup is no good if it is safely nestled in it’s gear bag back at your house.

No one can blame you for not carrying a basketball-sized, 6 lb., DSLR camera setup with you all over the place. I don’t even do that. If it weren’t for the concern of theft, I’d probably leave one in my car, but thanks to our fine society, that’s out of the question. The only time I will consciously have a DSLR on me are times when I know I’m going out for a photo adventure, with the rest of the time my DSLRs tucked-in and sleeping at home.

A lot of the times, we are left with the simple desire to document an event, an emotion, whatever gives you the itch to want to freeze that moment for the visual archives. Image quality is always a welcome ability (a DSLR), but sometimes… well… it just doesn’t carry the same importance of the convenience to quickly pull a device out of your pocket (a compact). For this reason alone, most photographers, even pros, pack at least one compact around with them. They are smart guys, they know damn well they are not going to pack a big, heavy rig all over as if it were their wallet. Would you like an OK quality image at the convenience of your pocket, or no image at all because it’s not worth the workout to pack a DSLR? Let’s not even get into the statistics of how much more apt you are to drop, forget/lose, or otherwise damage a DSLR if you took it everywhere with you.

Today’s Compacts

The game has changed, the camera manufacturers have got smart (or at listened the the photographic community, either one…), and they understood the “camera you have on you” principle. What do you provide a photographer who wants convenience in a fully controllable package? A versatile perspective (single, zooming lens), small and lightweight (easy on the britches), and manual controls (a photographer’s camera). Boom, the fully manual, fully controllable, compact camera. The middle of the road IS nice. It’s a good compromise. It’ll never be a replacement for serious, working photographers, but dang, it’ll do a nice job for all those casual photos I want to snap.

The beginner workshop students will be allowed to use fully manual compacts in substitution of a DSRL, because they will be capable of fully controlling the camera and how it captures light. A reminder that the class is structured around the basics of photography and how to capture light, but it will cover topics and vocabulary exclusive to DSLR equipment.

What Category of Photographer Are You?

What type of photographer are you? It’ll drive what kind of camera(s) you should look at owning. Here’s an helpful way to solve the riddle. You like photography. Well… how much, how often, where at, and in what scenarios do you find yourself wanting to take photographs? Let’s face it, price/investment is also a large factor here. Of course there are countless levels of things to evaluate, but here a couple that might be a decent gauge, and maybe you fit in or around one of these. It’ll at least get you thinking.

If you are completely new to photography, you don’t even know quite sure if you like it, don’t invest a terrible amount of money. You can always upgrade down the road if you get a really bad shutterbug bite.
You like to simply walk around and take photos of yourself, friends, and random objects while you are causally hanging out, stick to a compact (regardless it’s price, your lighter pants will thank you).
Looking at getting serious in any capacity of photography – landscapes, portraits, product, etc, and quality is of very high importance, you are starting to specialize. DSLR is your answer.
You are looking at taking-on clients. This is a no-brainer. If you are asking clients to invest in you, you better make sure you take the first step down investment alley. Provide the photo quality people are expecting when they pay you money. DSLR for you, bud.
The more serious you are about photography, the more you are going out on a mission to take great photos, the more you’ll want to look into the DSLR market.
The casual, once in a while, take a camera out on a whim for a quickie… you are more of a compact.

The Investment Scale

Compact doesn’t necessarily mean inexpensive, and DSLR doesn’t really mean super expensive. There are high and low ends to each market, but DSLRs have a much spendier top end.

Fully manual compacts can run $200 – $800. Bottom of page has a list of recommend fully manual compacts (at the time of this article).
DSLR camera bodies can run from $500 – $10,000+, with most hovering around the $1000 – $1700 range.
DSLR lenses range from $50 – $25,000+, most landing in the $300 – $2000 range.

Notice I Keep Saying “Compact?”

In my mind, the words “point ‘n shoot” just have a bad connotation. I think, “computer driven.” In other words, you don’t have a damn thing to do with the making of the picture. The more you learn about photography, the more this makes sense. This is why I’ll continue to refer to these full manual point ‘n shoot cameras as “compacts.” It somehow puts them in their own category of camera, and doesn’t translate to “mindless picture taking.” You’ve got your hands on the wheel and you are driving that puppy, it just happens to be small, compact, and convenient. You control aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and some even have their own dedicated buttons!

Don’t Forget Accessories

At the time of writing this article, the accessory market is still heavily dominated with DSLR equipment and ways to improve, tweak, and alter your photographic methods. This makes sense, as it’s the much more serious photo market. DSLR owners are investing, heavily, so what’s one more tool, right? Capabilities are endless. This kind of leads the obvious answer to my next statements, but… if you are starting to get to a point where you want your compact to do some pretty amazing things, well… compacts were built on the principle of convenience, not the ability to shock and awe God with photographic prowess. This is a sigh that your desire for photographic ability has hit the investment/growth crossroads. Invest in better, more expensive, more capable equipment to accommodate your growing skills, or plateau-out. Either decision is totally acceptable, especially if you are not making any money with photography, it’s hard to bite the bullet and drop all kinds of money on high-end stuff if it’s just a hobby. The more you shoot, the more you’ll understand your own path, and everyone’s is different. So walk the one you that makes you happy.

Every Photographer Should Own a Compact

That’s right. Hey, guy who owns every DSLR camera and lens available, you’ll want one too. Thank me later.

Of course, if you are looking at going into the DSLR market headfirst right out of the gates, and you are on a budget… by all means, invest in priority equipment. Please don’t confuse my argument that out of sheer convenience, every photographer should own a compact. Don’t confuse convenience with financial and photography goal-oriented objectives.

Get Full Manual Functionality, Regardless

Ok, so you get the whole idea of only being able to take pictures with the camera you have on you. You might even concede, like I have (I’ve dumped more money than I’d like to disclose on high-end DSLR gear), that you will not be toting your NASA engineered marvel of photographic science with you everywhere. Yet you are a photographer, and you take pictures. You need a camera with you.

“Full manual compact cameras,” does not mean “more expensive.” There is a camera on the list below that you can score for just over $200 (which by the way are the sames price as a lot of your regular, non-manual P’nS go for). Even if you decide at the present time you don’t want to shoot manual mode, it’ll be there waiting for you when you want to give it a shot and twist the dial to ‘M’.

10 Recommended Fully manual capable compact cameras for use with the beginner workshop: