Northrup Tony. - Tony Northrups Photography Buying Guide: How to Choose a Camera, Lens, Tripod, Flash, & More

By Tony Northrup

Mason Press, Inc.

Published by:

Mason Press Inc.
139 Oswegatchie Rd.
Waterford, CT 06385

Copyright 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 by Tony Northrup

All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-9882634-2-0

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

If you need support related to this book, you can write to the author at tony@northrup.org. For information on all Mason Press publications, visit our website at http://www.masonpress.com .

The trademarks listed in this book are property of their respective owners. Equipment manufacturers retain their full original copyright over photos used in this book.

This book expresses the authors views and opinions, and the contents within should not be treated as fact. The information contained within this book is provided without any express, statutory, or implied warranties. Neither Mason Press, the author, or this books resellers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by this book.

This book uses Mason Press Rapid Publishing process to keep it up-to-date. If a new camera is announced, the author can update the book and have the new content available in newly purchased books within a few hours. This allows you, the reader, to always receive an up-to-date book. With a traditional authoring process, a book is always at least four months out-of-date.

However, you might notice that the Mason Press Rapid Publishing process has several drawbacks. First, the printing quality is not perfect because books are printed individually, after they are ordered. Second, the book is only lightly edited. Therefore, you will see more mistakes than you would with a traditional printing process. If you find any mistakes, please email them to the author at , and hell fix them for the next customer and add your name to the acknowledgements.

Designer: Chelsea Northrup
Technical Reviewers : Justin Eckert, Kevin Girard, You
Editor : You
Proofreader: You

For Ed & Christine Mercado:
Thanks for making me a part of your family!

Introduction

PLEASE READ THIS: In order to update this book as frequently as possible, it is very lightly edited. As a result, youll certainly find typos and mistakes. This book is currently going through a full edit cycle which will fix all typos and grammatical mistakes. If you find a technical error, please email me atand Ill fix it for the next printing, and update everyones ebook.

This book is about making the best pictures you can for however much money youre comfortable spending. If thats $300 (USD), then this chapter has a recommendation for you. If its $10,000, following the advice in this chapter will ensure that every penny is well-spent.

Ive answered thousands of gear questions from readers of my photography techniques book, Stunning Digital Photography. As a result, I have a pretty good idea of what most photographers are looking for. If youre looking for quick gear recommendations so you can get started taking pictures as soon as possible, Ill give you those recommendations right away, without any unnecessary technical talk.

I also know that many photographers are interested in the different features of camera equipment, especially when they want to understand whether the features are worth the extra money. Because we all have different budgets and our own style of photography, theres no one right answer for everyone. For those of you who want to learn more about how your camera gear works, and how different features are used, Ill give you all the in-depth information you need to make wise purchases.

According to the people Ive already helped by answering questions one-on-one, Ive saved my readers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Saving money by carefully choosing your camera gear doesnt make you a cheapskate. In fact, you can spend the money you save on even more camera gear. By spending wisely, youll pick the camera gear that will make the biggest difference in your photography.

I link directly to most of the camera gear I recommend, and Id greatly appreciate it if you used the links in the book to buy your gear. I usually link to Amazon.com, because I get a small portion of what you spend as an Amazon gift certificate. Ill use the gift certificates to buy more camera gear, which Ill use, review, and then add more information to this book. Of course, youll get the updates to the book for free. Oh, and you dont just have to buy camera gear through the linksI get a portion of any sale you make after clicking a link. If youre in the US, it would definitely help me if you visited this guide and clicked a link before buying anything on Amazon.

I do get a bit of money if you make a purchase from Amazon using my links, but youll notice that I often recommend buying used from places such as eBay. Id rather save you some cash whenever possible, and you can trust that my opinions are unbiased. If theres anything in this book you disagree with, please write me a note at tony@northrup.org. As with all of my photography books, Ill update the book based on your comments, and send the update to all my readers.

While I insist on taking all my own photos for Stunning Digital Photography, many of the product photos in this book are provided with permission from the camera equipment manufacturers, including Canon, Nikon, Samsung, Manfrotto, and Sony.

Updating This Book

Please dont be annoyed if my recommendations would be different from yours, or if theres something in the book that outdated or wrong. Instead, write me an email () and tell me how you disagree or what needs to be updated. Ill update the book with your thoughts, so that other readers can benefit, and Ill add your name to the acknowledgements as my way of thanking you for your contribution. Then, Ill send the update out to everyone who has purchased the book for free.

Acknowledgements

This book is FAR too complex for one person to write. First, Id like to thank the thousands of people whove personally asked me about camera gear in the last several yearsyour questions taught me what people need to know. Id also like to thank everyone who told me I was wrong about something gear-related; I am always excited to learn something new.

Unfortunately, I havent kept track of everyones names. However, since the first release of the book, these folks have provided me important corrections, updates, and outside opinions: Kevin Girard, Mickey Whitlock, Jon Howard, Jayaram Krishnan, Yashar Armaghani, Michael Will, Martin Konrad, Gene Krumenacker, Alma Almanza Crdenas, and you, too, if you contact me () with any updates or corrections!

Id also like to thank the equipment manufacturers whove provided me with loaner equipment for testing, including PocketWizard, Phottix, and Adorama.

How this Book is Organized