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111 votes

A camera that takes real photos without manipulation like old analog cameras

Is there any model of digital cameras in the market in 2021 that takes photo like analog cameras without manipulation and artificial improvements? This seems to be a fairly common belief held by ...
OnBreak.'s user avatar
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102 votes
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Took my first ever 4k picture; Why is it so disappointing?

4K might be the next big thing in video, but for still photography that's just 8 megapixels, which is quite low for most cameras, and I think around the resolution of the iPhone. I have a Nikon D5300 ...
PGnome's user avatar
  • 1,059
65 votes

Why are SLR mechanisms still prevalent among high-end digital cameras?

Is there any significant benefit to having an SLR mechanism in a digital camera? Particularly in terms of a benefit that's large enough to make up for the liability of adding a mechanical part ...
inkista's user avatar
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56 votes
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Why are SLR mechanisms still prevalent among high-end digital cameras?

And with a digital camera, you don't need a hinged mirror as you can show the user exactly what light will be captured by just routing the sensor output to an LCD display. This is the reason for the ...
Caleb's user avatar
  • 31.7k
54 votes

What's the best way to store over 400 GB of digital photos?

The general reccomendation is a 3-2-1 Backup strategy, meaning you have 3 copies: 2 local, 1 offsite. Here's one way: Get a NAS appliance (like a Drobo) to protect against a single disk crash (or ...
rrauenza's user avatar
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47 votes

Took my first ever 4k picture; Why is it so disappointing?

Most cameras already have a resolution going far beyond 4K. Assuming you mean Ultra HD (3840x2160) opposed to "true" DCI 4K (4096x2160) you get a resolution of about 8MP (DCI 4K would be about 8.8MP). ...
Xudonax's user avatar
  • 571
42 votes

Is it true that the best images from all digital cameras can be obtained at ISO 200?

There is an ISO which is not necessarily 200 that is the native sensitivity of the silicon from which the sensor is made. That sensitivity depends on the sensor itself, so will vary between cameras, ...
Itai's user avatar
  • 103k
38 votes
Accepted

Can you use a phone as grey/white card?

No, it won't work. The gray card works by reflecting ambient light (here "ambient" is used to include whatever flash, gels, etc. you're lighting your scene with other than the phone). You know it's ...
L. Scott Johnson's user avatar
30 votes

Why are SLR mechanisms still prevalent among high-end digital cameras?

Don't forget a major drawback that EVF's require power to compose, and are much harder on batteries if you spend a lot of time with the screen on. Also, as previously mentioned, because of delays, it ...
Flash's user avatar
  • 459
29 votes
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Does the number of shots differ dramatically between an amateur and a pro?

I used to be a pro, so I can answer this: This is absolutely normal; it is even very good! I consider 30 good pics out of 400 a very good result! The most important point is IMHO that you go over ...
user23573's user avatar
  • 852
27 votes

How important is a good quality camera for good photography?

As with many things, the end quality depends on the weakest link. Because most cameras are quite good, even cheap ones (even from mobile phones), the weakest link is mostly the person behind the ...
Michel Keijzers's user avatar
24 votes

Does the number of shots differ dramatically between an amateur and a pro?

One thing to consider is what style of photographer you fashion yourself as. Some schools take more pictures than others and see different success rates. Are you shooting sports? You have no control ...
Ivan's user avatar
  • 483
24 votes
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Is it true that the best images from all digital cameras can be obtained at ISO 200?

The information your friend gave you was essentially correct for most digital cameras, particularly compact digital cameras with very small sensors, made about 15-20 years ago. Digital imaging sensors ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
24 votes

My mentor says to set image to Fine instead of RAW — how is this different from JPG?

you don't have to reproduce the algorithms that the camera is running to render your photo on the small display on the camera. This all depends on how much you value what is shown on the camera's LCD ...
Philip Kendall's user avatar
  • 21.8k
23 votes

A camera that takes real photos without manipulation like old analog cameras

All photos undergo manipulation. A documentary type photo is one that closely matches what most people see, but it's not unprocessed. In the analog/film world, different films will give different ...
user10216038's user avatar
  • 2,231
22 votes

What's the best way to store over 400 GB of digital photos?

Perhaps I'm a bit old-school in this way, but I personally avoid storing my stuff on "somebody else's computer" (a.k.a. the "cloud"). I would just buy (at least) two external drives of sufficient ...
twalberg's user avatar
  • 5,138
20 votes

Why are flash pulses so short?

That is a true statement, but it misses the big point. (As the shutter would see it), it would simply become continuous light, like any incandescent light bulb (always On for the full shutter ...
WayneF's user avatar
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20 votes
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Why are flash pulses so short?

Why? Fundamentally, it's because of the way flashes work. Flashtubes generate light by discharging a capacitor through a xenon-filled tube. The resulting electric arc produces bright white light. But ...
Caleb's user avatar
  • 31.7k
19 votes

Took my first ever 4k picture; Why is it so disappointing?

Whoever told you about 4K probably mislead you. At least, you have the resolution right. You see, 4K at 3840x2160 is a resolution term used for video, signifying almost 4000 pixels in width. The ...
Itai's user avatar
  • 103k
19 votes

Why doesn't digital Large-Format exist?

It depends on how you define camera. In a sense, digital large format does exist, just not exactly in the way we might expect. There are commercial products called 'Digital Scanning Backs' that fit ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
18 votes

Why are SLR mechanisms still prevalent among high-end digital cameras?

Another disadvantage of using the sensor to generate a near real time preview in lieu of an optical viewfinder is the requirement to keep the sensor energized continuously. In addition to the ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
18 votes
Accepted

What is considered High ISO?

Being a man of science, I did some scholar-googling and came across some articles. Too long, didn't read: None of the scientific articles I found give a clear definition of "high ISO". However, they ...
flolilo's user avatar
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18 votes
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Hasselblad cameras used in Space Shuttle, analog or digital?

The cameras used in 1992 and 1994 are all 70mm analog film cameras. 70mm refers to the film size, not the focal length of the lens. Hasselblad did not make digital backs or digital cameras until much ...
Mike Sowsun's user avatar
  • 12.2k
17 votes

Help for a film shooter: how to cope with the paradox of choice?

There's no one way. Personally I find digital frees me to defer choices until after the shot. Not only that but I can "discover" new interpretations of a scene with different crops, different toning,...
StephenG - Help Ukraine's user avatar
17 votes

A camera that takes real photos without manipulation like old analog cameras

The mere act of making an image is a departure from reality, regardless of the recording medium. My answer to Which raw settings should I stick to or avoid to keep my photo "natural"? is ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
16 votes

How important is a good quality camera for good photography?

Gear doesn't matter... until it does. While it is true that better gear won't make you a better photographer, it is equally true that any photographer is limited by the capabilities of the gear being ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
14 votes
Accepted

My mentor says to set image to Fine instead of RAW — how is this different from JPG?

JPEG, as you know, is a lossy compression format. One feature of the format is different quality levels, which correspond to greater or lesser amounts of information discarded to save space. See Is ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k
13 votes
Accepted

Is this lightning image a natural phenomena or a digital camera artifact?

Cameras design utilizes several different shutter designs. The DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) typically use a focal plane shutter design. Such a shutter is favored when the camera supports ...
Alan Marcus's user avatar
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13 votes
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Dust on Sensor After Many Cleanings DSLR

Unless you are working in a NASA grade "clean" room, no matter what method you use you will almost never get every single dust spot. Even if you do, by the time you put a lens back on the camera, more ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
13 votes

What equipment did film photographers obsess over?

Oh, goodness — everything. Film, camera, lenses, lighting, style, fashions and trends, whether or not photography is art, everything we see today. But the "forums" were... more literal forums — people ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k

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