life, love & laundry
How to take great pictures with a $100 camera
So I did not have my beloved DSLR for half of January. At first this really killed me. I was cranky and bitter. But then my sweet sweet son, Teegan, offered to lend me his camera. He has a Canon Powershot A590 (there are newer, probably better, versions of this camera for around $100 now) and, other than one really bad iPhone photo, it is what I used to shoot my pics exclusively for the last 2+ weeks.
It is really a nice little camera! I didn’t really play around with its various modes – I shot exclusively in Aperture mode, no flash, and pretty much focused on taking non-moving-object pictures. There are a few exceptions, like this picture that is one of my favorites:
But it did a really nice job!! It has a nice macro mode, too, and the zoom was nice at times. I am really grateful that he let me use his camera because otherwise I would have had to try to rely on my old Powershot which is just a heap of junk, now, despite sporting higher quality features than Teegan’s camera. Go figure.
Point and shoot cameras are funny. You don’t necessarily get what you pay for. I’ve tried MANY and sometimes the best are those that cost next to nothing and when you spend a fortune, you don’t get much for the money.
I also relied on Lightroom 3 beta, which is currently free. If you take photos and do not post-process, you must download this software. It is totally awesome. I used to think it was only for photos taken in RAW but I learned a lot about Lightroom’s capabilities this month. Also if you are ever taking a lot of white photos (snow, wedding, etc)? Lightroom has Photoshop beat HANDS DOWN on the white balance quick fix!! SO MUCH LOVE for Lightroom.
So there ya go! I won’t be blowing these up for the wall but at least I didn’t miss memories. That said, I am seriously considering saving my money to invest in a second camera body – something used like a d80 or even a d40. Because nikon service is so incredibly slow. And surely this will happen again, right?
3 Comments
Leave a comment
Recent Posts
I’m going to have to download that beta version, I have no idea how to do any post-processing but I want to learn! And I’ve just decided that I need to start watching for a deal on a used or refurb D80 as I can’t stand my plethora of unfocused shots wutg nt D40/50mm combo. So if you find any good resources for getting one, please share with me!
[Reply]
Reply:
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:43 am
craigslist!! Also B&H often has good deals on used bodies and they are probably more reliable than craiglist.
[Reply]
Thanks for the link to Lightroom. I am downloading it as I type. Can’t wait to use it.
[Reply]
I have the old lightroom and I love it. Love it! Except I have no organization but otherwise it rocks for what I need it to do.
if you start shooting more paid stuff def get a second body. You can find cheap ones all over. I know my local has them all the time at great deals (d80/d40/d60).
And I loved my little canon p&s. It is currently stuck in my car and who knows what its got on it!
[Reply]