#44 - 5 tips to buy a camera for food photography

How do you buy a camera that is right for you? 

How do you decide it is right for you?

How do you make sure it fits your needs?

With so many camera options out there in the market, here are 5 important factors to consider so that choosing the right camera becomes easier for you. Cameras are a big and heavy investment and sometimes the most expensive camera might not be the best one for you. 

Selecting the right camera for yourself is a combination of technical specifications, your professional requirements and your artistic style. 

1. Budget 

Just like any other investment in life, camera choices also depend on your budget. Cameras are a big investment but also a piece of gear that you don’t change everyday. You might add new lenses and make a whole, complete, robust gear collection but if you’re not looking to change your camera body frequently then a decent investment is justified.

Whether you are pursuing photography as a professional or as a hobby, budget has a huge part in deciding which camera you opt for. If it is a hobby, an entry-level or mid-level camera might work for you but if your aim is to shoot for clients then moving towards a higher-end model might be a good idea. If you’re or going to take up photography professionally, it is a good idea to invest in a camera body that will last you a few years. 

Checking at least 3-4 camera models of the brand you are interested in, going through the specifications and seeing if they fit your budget would be good practice. Usually the highest/ most expensive is an overkill for food photography. The 2nd best model might be a more reasonable choice practically and economically. 

2. Latest Technology : Mirrorless vs. DSLR  

The technology you need in your new camera depends on the bulk of the kind of photography you do and intend to do. Mirrorless cameras are the hottest technology in the market but it is very important to evaluate if they are the right choice for you.

Mirrorless cameras are great for videos but DSLRs may have an edge for still-life photography. It is essential to gauge what your photography goals are, what you want to focus on and what is important to you? Camera body weight? Flexibility with lenses? Shooting in low light? Choosing a DSLR vs. Mirrorless is a very personal choice. 

It’s not about choosing a hot-shot technology just because it is a buzzword but really understanding whether it works for you. If you’re debating whether to go for mirrorless or not, do your homework before taking the plunge. It is easier to get a good mid-range DSLR camera with competitive features but the cheaper versions of a mirrorless might not yield equally good results. Higher-end mirrorless and higher-end DSLRS are more comparable in the results they achieve. 

3. Full frame/crop sensor 

The next criteria that also dictates the price & performance of a camera is the sensor size.  We all want high quality photos, right? Well, it is the sensor in a DSLR  camera that actually helps to capture light and details to provide the quality of photos in a camera. Bigger sensor means more light, more details and better quality. 

Cameras that have a good, standard size sensor are full-frame cameras. The advantage is in the photo quality they offer & the dynamic range that gives full control over light. You can shoot in a range of exposures from high contrast to low light situations and still produce high quality photos because of the sensor size. A full frame camera has a large sensor. 

On the other hand, most entry level cameras are crop-sensor, which means smaller sensor size. It is not as high quality as a full frame camera & it also introduces a crop factor in photos. Each camera brand has a different crop factor and so, the experience of using a lens is not 100% true to its actual focal length in a crop-sensor camera. 

That being said, we can still make the most of it based on our skills. Honestly, if budget is a constraint, crop sensor models are a great option, especially if you are a hobbyist and not bringing in revenue from your photography. You can always upgrade to a full-frame when circumstances allow.

4. Lenses and gear

Lenses are the third consideration for choosing a camera. If you’re just putting a gear collection together, then you’ve a lot more flexibility. You can buy a camera and lenses that fit but if you already have a camera and lenses, then you’re looking to change your camera, ideally, you would like to still use your lenses. Just like cameras are expensive, so are lenses. 

If you already have a set of lenses then do look for camera options that will work for what you currently own. Whether you’re moving from one brand to another or you’re moving from a crop-sensor to full-frame within the same brand, you must always check if your lenses still work.

5. Features that match your professional and artistic style –

There are camera features that are particularly important to us. For example, if you shoot in the evenings, you need a camera with good low-light shooting capabilities. If you shoot a lot hand held, then you most definitely need more auto-focus points or good auto-focus features. If you shoot more videos, then you want a camera that gives 4K or Ultra HD quality videos. 

It really comes down to your professional goals and photography style.

I particularly pay attention to 2 features in a camera. First, camera resolution and second, recycle time. Both of these are based on my professional commitments and personal shooting style.

Camera resolution is important when working with clients and need to print large size hoardings and posters, which is a huge requirement of my commercial work.The other aspect I really look into is the camera recycle time. Recycle time is the amount of time a camera needs to fire a flash then reset and then fire another flash and it’s important for me because I heavily use flash for my work. Being able to capture high speed movement or action is what recycle time allows. 

These are 5 factors for choosing your next camera but remember that you can be a master photographer with whatever camera you own, even if it is a phone camera. At no point feel that because you don’t have the latest and greatest your photo is no good. That’s not true. You take photos and not your camera.  

Our gear is only as good as we are.