Tag: cameras

Google Photos Is Getting a Gemini Infusion to Power Its Search

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“Exploring new places, going the extra mile. He feasts with his friends, enjoys a good drink, and laughs with his family, quick as a wink. So here’s to you, Julian, a life full of fun, may your battery never die, may your data never be done. You’re a master of tech, a reviewer of renown, a poet, a joker, the life of the town!”

If you want to return to the standard search experience in Google Photos, you can tap on “Switch to classic search.” But you also don’t necessarily need to do that. I just wanted to find some pics of myself, so I started typing in my name into Ask Photos, and it quickly took me to a collection of all the photos of me in my library—no Gemini processing required. If you have named most of the people and pets that routinely crop up in your library, you won’t have to wait for Ask Photos to process the request just to see pictures of them.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu via Google Photos

That said, I asked Yael Marzan, head of product for Google Photos, if Ask Photos would eventually replace the traditional search function completely, and here’s what she said: “We believe Ask Photos is a better way to search, but we need to go slow and responsibly and scale it in a way that makes sense.”

The Ask Photos rollout is much more limited. It’s a Google Labs feature, indicating it’s experimental, and only select users in the US will see the experience starting today. There is a waiting list if you want to request early access. Marzan says the Photos team is leaning heavily on user feedback to improve the experience. She says because this is a generative AI technology, there is more risk, and the reason for this cautious rollout is to see how people use Ask Photos and to make sure it provides “safe, accurate, and non-offensive answers.”

It’s worth noting that the Google blog post about the new feature indicates that humans may review queries to improve Ask Photos, “but only after being disconnected from your Google Account to protect your privacy.” The results are not reviewed by humans unless you provide feedback, “or in rare cases to address abuse or harm.”

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September 5, 2024
The Best 360 Cameras, Tested and Reviewed

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It’s a small world after all, and these cameras can capture all of it at once, giving you a 360-degree view.

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September 1, 2024
The Best Compact Cameras, Tested and Reviewed (2024)

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I was recently thumbing through a photo book at the library and ran across a double-page spread of a crowd surrounding a celebrity taken in 2008. The photo itself wasn’t great, but something jumped out at me—everyone was holding a compact camera. Canon Powershots, Nikon Coolpix, Sony Cybershots, and others I didn’t recognize littered the scene. Fast forward a few years, shoot the same image, and those cameras are now smartphones.

I get it. The phone is always with you and good enough for the selfies and snapshots most people capture. But … shooting with your phone isn’t much fun. I think this is why we’ve seen a huge resurgence in interest in compact cameras. People love “vintage” compact digital cameras, and some laughably bad cameras from the early aughts are selling on eBay for more than they did new, thanks to viral videos. To save you from overspending, I’ve tested and ranked all the compact cameras I could get my hands on—these are the best point-and-shoot cameras I’ve tried.

Check out our many camera buying guides, like the Best Mirrorless Cameras, Best Action Cameras, Best GoPro Hero, Best Instax Cameras, Best Camera Bags, and our step-by-step instructions on How to Choose a Camera.

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What to Look for in a Compact Camera

If you want to upgrade from your smartphone to a dedicated camera, there are three key things to look for:

Size and weight: If it doesn’t fit in your pocket, are you going to carry it around? Part of the appeal of a pocket camera is that, ahem, it actually fits in your pocket. Except for the Fujifilm X100VI, all the cameras in this guide are small and light enough to carry in your pocket.

Image quality: The larger the sensor the better, but also, the better the lens, the sharper and more contrasty your images will be. I’ve mainly suggested fixed-lens cameras for this reason; they typically have faster, sharper lenses.

Extra features: Phones are decent snapshot cameras, but they rarely have good macro lenses, built-in neutral density filters, or fast autofocus. If you’re investing in a pocket camera, look for nice extras like these.

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August 29, 2024
Ricoh GR III and GR IIIx Digital Camera Review: Nearly the Perfect Cameras

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Despite the compact size, the GR III packs a 24.2-MP APS-C sensor, which is why it’s my favorite compact camera. At the time of writing, there is no other camera this small with an APS-C sensor. (There used to be two others in this class, Fujifilm’s x70 and Nikon’s Coolpix A, and both have been discontinued). While sensor size isn’t everything, the GR III’s sensor can deliver remarkably crisp, contrasty, detailed images on par with what I get from my Sony.

The original GR III launched in 2019 with the equivalent of a 28-mm lens. Ricoh followed this up in 2021 with the GR IIIx, which is almost the same save for the 40-mm equivalent lens. They’re both fantastic. I happen to love 40-mm lenses so I’ve spent more time with the GR IIIx, but for most people who want an all-around capable pocket camera, I’d suggest the 28-mm version is more versatile.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

Ricoh GR IIIx

Both lenses are capable of tack-sharp images with an impressive, soft bokeh you don’t usually get with a camera and sensor of this size. There’s also a nice macro mode that adds a bit of versatility to an already impressive package. That said, if you want a zoom, this is not the camera for you (that’d be the Sony RX100 VII).

Three things set the Ricoh GR III above the compact camera pack. The first is the APS-C sensor. The second is the size. This camera can go everywhere with you and it doesn’t get in the way. I often find, no matter how discreet I try to be, pulling out a full-size camera with a decent (read: large) lens on the front, and everyone in a scene notices and subtly changes. The GR III, on the other hand, is small enough that you can pull it out without attracting attention or ruining a scene (it also doesn’t make you look like a rich tourist when traveling).

The third reason I, and legions of other photographers, love this camera is all the little extras. I mentioned the macro mode, but there’s also a useful built-in neutral density filter for shooting longer exposure images without overexposing (think blurring flowing water, for example). The other mode I love is snap focus.

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August 19, 2024
Insta360 Go 3S Review: Tiny, Fun, and 4K Footage

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Insta360’s Go 3 was an incredibly fun action camera. It could morph from a more traditional GoPro-like camera to a unique, pendant-style wearable. It made shots possible that you just couldn’t get with more traditional GoPro-style cameras.

This year, the company released the Go 3S. The updated camera adds support for 4K video, higher bit rates for smoother video, and improved battery life.

Sensor Improvements

Externally the Go 3S is difficult to distinguish from the Go 3. They’re the same size, the rear flip-up screen is unchanged, and the USB-C port is in the same spot. The main visible difference is the lens guard, which is bigger and thicker. I like this change because it makes it much easier to pull the lens portion out of the Action Pod, as Insta360 calls the body portion of the design.

The only other minor external changes I found are the more-textured, easier-to-grip edges for the camera lens portion and the power and Q buttons on the side. Otherwise, all the significant changes in the Go 3S are inside the camera.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

The headline feature of the Insta360 Go 3S is undoubtedly the 4K video. I said in my review of the Go 3 that “I never once noticed the 2.7K footage from the Go 3 being 2.7K, which is to say, unless you shoot side-by-side with a [4K camera], most people would never be able to tell the image quality difference.” I stand by that. But when you are putting 2.7K side by side with 4K in the same video, you can tell the difference. For instance, I always found it difficult to mix footage from the Go 3 with footage from my GoPro, which I often shoot in 5.3K. This is where the real appeal of the new Go 3S lies. The 4K footage does objectively look better (though again, you need to put it side by side to see it). More importantly, it mixes naturally with 4K footage from other cameras like the GoPro Hero 12 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) or the Insta360 Ace Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends).

What impressed me most about video from the Go 3S wasn’t so much the additional sharpness, which is there, but the lack of pixelation, particularly in motion shots. Where the Go 3 tended to get quite pixelated in motion shots (e.g., while riding a bike), the Go 3S does not. This improvement is likely due more to the Go 3S’s higher bit rate (120 Mbps versus 80 Mbps) than the 4K video, but either way it’s a welcome improvement.

That said, there is still a good bit of pixelation at higher frame rates, so I recommend avoiding them. Shooting at 120 fps isn’t too bad, but the 200 fps mode is often unusable. (The quality of the footage depends a lot on lighting, but even in pretty good light, 200 fps is too much for this sensor and lens to handle well).

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August 3, 2024
Analog Photography: The Beginner’s Guide to Film Cameras (2024)

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We’ll start with color film, which comes in two flavors, positive and negative.

Positive Film vs. Negative Film

Positive film records the image as you saw it when you pushed the shutter. It produces rich, saturated colors and tends to have strong contrast. It’s much less forgiving in my experience. You need to get the exposure right and there’s not much you can do about it after the fact if you don’t. I tend to avoid high-contrast scenes with positive film (or use graduated neutral-density filters to reduce contrast). Positive film is usually mounted as slides when you have it professionally developed.

Negative film records the opposite of what you saw. In black and white, everything is reversed, blacks are white, and whites are black so that when you shine light through it to print, the black areas hold back the light, making them lighter in the print, and light areas let more light through, rendering them dark in the print. The same is true of color negative film, but it tends to look more like a yellow-orange mess as a negative. Negative color film often has a softer look than color positive, with lower contrast, and higher dynamic range.

Which should you use? I suggest experimenting to see which you like the best. Below are a few film recommendations based on the type of images you want to make.

Best Film for Landscapes

Best Overall

Fujifilm Fujichrome Velvia 50

Fujifilm’s Fujichrome Velvia 50 is ridiculously expensive at $30 per roll, but I’ve still yet to find any other color-positive film that looks as good as Velvia. Its color saturation is legendary (tending toward the red/magenta), and its neutral gray balance means you almost never get weird colors in shadows and highlights. The price means I don’t shoot it very often, but when I’m heading out into the wilderness, this is what I bring.

Runner-Up

Kodak Professional Ektachrome E100 Color Transparency Film

Kodak’s E100 is a new film for me, but I’ve shot a few rolls now, and I can say that it is very different from Velvia. There’s none of the Velvia warmth; colors are rather neutral with a mild green cast to the highlights. If you’re looking to shoot landscapes with a different look than the past 50 years of Velvia-influenced images, this is the film I’d recommend.

Budget Pick

Kodak Professional Ektar 100 Color Negative Film

This is another new one for me; I have shot only two rolls of this color-negative film, but so far, my overwhelming impression is that this is film stock that replicates what you get with a digital camera. Grain is very fine, and colors are extremely close to what my Sony digital sensor records: natural-looking color tending toward the cooler side. I’ll confess I didn’t like it the first time I saw the results, but it’s growing on me, and the price is difficult to beat.

Best Film for Portraits

Kodak Professional Portra 160 Color Negative Film

Portrait films need to handle skin tones well. My favorite, Fujifilm’s 160 Pro, has been discontinued, which leaves the ever-popular Kodak alternative. At $14 a roll, this is probably the best value in film, period. Porta 160 is a great film for portraits, rendering skin pretty much as it is most of the time. If you need something faster for shooting in low light, there’s also a 400-speed version and even an 800-speed version. I find that one to have too much grain for color portraits, but if that’s the look you want, it’s available.

Best Black-and-White Films

There’s a seemingly endless array of black-and-white films out there, including reissued versions of some of the most popular films from previous decades. This is a very biased list since “best” in this case is purely subjective. Again, experiment to figure out which you like.

Best Overall

Kodak Professional Tri-X 400 Black and White Negative Film

Tri-X was launched in the 1940s and has been in continuous production ever since. It’s gone through a few changes over the years, the latest being a reengineering in 2011 that reduced the grain (which is when it got the TX designation). A favorite of photographers as diverse as Sebastiao Salgado, Vivian Mayer, and Gary Winogrand, Tri-X is beloved for its versatility, with just the right amount of grain and contrast that give images a certain look and texture that nothing else matches. There are rich black shadows, great contrast, and enough grain without being too much. Tri-X is also dead simple to process if you do it yourself. If I could only shoot one film, this would be it.

Runner-Up

Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White Negative Film

Another versatile film, Ilford’s HP5 has a wide exposure latitude, meaning it’ll do well in mixed and difficult lighting. It has less overall contrast than Tri-X, giving it a smoother look. It also pushes very well, without becoming overly grainy like Tri-X tends to when you push it. If you want a good all-around film with a smooth, even tonality, this is a good pick.

Best for Low Light

Kodak Professional T-Max P3200 Black and White Negative Film

Let’s get something out of the way first. Kodak calls this a “multispeed” film; there’s no need to shoot it at 3200. I like to shoot it at 800 and process it at 1600. It took me a few years to realize what I was doing there was making my T-Max look more like Tri-X, but the point is, the T-Max 3200 is more versatile than the speed implies. That said, I tend to reach for this when shooting in the evenings or out at night.

Developing Film

There used to be a film development lab on every street corner. Or at least in those little kiosks in parking lots, but those days are gone. That said, there are plenty of professional labs out there with mail-order businesses and quick turnaround times. Most of them will be happy to scan your negatives as well, though this does add to the cost.

There are hundreds of good labs out there, and your best bet is to go to the photography store nearest you and talk to them. Building a relationship at your local photo shop will help you get better results, because they’ll know what you like and what you don’t and can help you push and pull and communicate with the lab as needed. That said, many camera stores have outsourced their development to big online services (the store nearest me sends film off to Nation’s lab), so make sure you ask where they’re developing.

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June 16, 2024
18 Best Camera Bags, Slings, Straps, and Backpacks (2024)

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We’ve tested a lot of camera bags. Here are others we really like but have been eclipsed by our top picks.

Long Weekend Morro Convertible Backpack for $150: I strongly considered replacing our top backpack pick, Brevite’s The Jumper, with the Morro. They’re very similar in style and organization, with the Morro offering an extra pouch and, in my view, a nicer design (especially in the moss color). This is still an excellent backpack that doesn’t scream camera bag, and you get front and side access to your gear (make sure you add the Camera Cube bundle, which adds an extra $70 to your purchase). It’s lightweight, can fit a 16-inch laptop, and is made of water-resistant materials with a two-layer waterproof coating. My only gripe is the camera cube is an awkward fit, jutting out a bit at the openings. If the company altered it slightly, this would be my favorite camera backpack at the sub-$200 price.

Nanuk Backpack N-PVD 30L for $300: If you carry around a drone, this is a nice backpack with a compartment at the very top that can easily fit your drone kit. It’s a well-padded and structured bag that comes in several sizes (I tried the 30-liter version), and you can fit a tripod in the side pocket and hold it securely with a strap. There’s an easy-to-reach side pocket for quick camera access, but I don’t love how you access the main compartment. It’s on the rear of the bag, and the shoulder straps and waist straps constantly get in the way, which is just a bit annoying. Once inside though, there are padded sleeves for laptops and tablets and zippered pouches for extras. The main area is cavernous, so you’ll have to do some Tetris with the included Velcro dividers to lay everything out neatly.

Clever Supply Camera Sling for $224: I love the look of this waxed canvas bag and its flourishes of full-grain leather. It’s a classic and classy design that makes me happy whenever I head out the door with my camera in tow. It’s comfy and easy to adjust the shoulder strap, and there are three grab handles on the top and sides so you have a lot of carrying options. It can fit my Nikon Z 6, two small lenses, and a compact tablet. (Smaller than 11 inches; it didn’t fit the OnePlus Pad.) There’s a zippered pouch inside to store storage cards and a zippered pocket on the exterior for cables. My main gripe is that opening the main compartment sometimes requires two hands—the zipper gets stuck on the corner so I need my other hand to keep the bag in place. I wish the front pocket also had more give; when the bag is full, it feels too tight to put anything in there.

Peak Design Everyday Backpack for $280: This is the slightly bigger and more feature-packed version of the Everyday Zip we recommend above. Instead of a zipper that goes all the way around, you have two zippers for each side and a flap at the top that you can use Peak Design’s MagLatch system to cinch up if you don’t need the extra space up top. There are various pouches for organization throughout, as well as side pockets that can hold a compact tripod. I tried the 20-liter model, but if you have a lot of gear, you may want to spring for the 30-liter.

Peak Design Everyday Sling for $160: The Everyday Sling has long been one of my personal favorites for everyday carry or heading out for a day of shooting. It comes with flexible dividers you can adjust or remove, depending on how much organization or storage space you need. It comes in 3-, 6-, and 10-liter sizes. The 10-liter version has room for a 13-inch MacBook Pro, a charger, and my FujiFilm X-Pro 2 camera. If you need room for additional lenses or a larger camera body, you might want to forgo the MacBook; it can get a little tight in there. —Jaina Grey

Hex Backloader Backpack for $200: I usually prefer bags with side access, but I’ve been quite happy with the Hex Backloader. Yes, you need to take it off your back to access all your gear, but an access point at the very top makes it easy to quickly pull out the camera. The main compartment in the back is really spacious and is outfitted with tons of Velcro dividers, so you have lots of room for customization. There are organizational mesh pouches and pockets galore, a padded section in the front that can fit a 15-inch laptop, straps on one side for a tripod, and a pouch on the other for a bottle. It’s super comfy to carry around, sternum strap and all.

Shimoda Explore V2 25 Backpack for $373: I like this backpack, but it’s a touch too expensive. It’s supremely comfortable to carry, thanks to its extensive padding, and the whole thing is water-resistant to keep your gear safe. I was able to stuff it with a surprising number of items despite its relatively slim size (all of which you can access from the rear), including a tripod in its side deployable pocket that you can cinch tight with a strap. There’s side access to the camera, tons of pockets for organization (I love the little pouch on the arm straps), and a padded sleeve for a 13-inch laptop.

Wotancraft Scout Daily Camera Bag 9L for $299: If you’re after a stylish messenger, I’ve always liked the designs from Wotancraft, and the Scout is no different. It’s made of durable Cordura with some cowhide leather thrown in for the straps on the flap. The main compartment is spacious and separated by sturdy dividers, along with a padded laptop pouch that can barely fit a 13-inch MacBook Air. Two pouches in the front can loosely carry some small items, but there’s not much in the way of organization here. There is a luggage pass-through and a rear zippered pocket, but no side pockets and no easy way to attach a tripod.

Ona The Bowery Compact Messenger Bag for $209: I’ve owned this bag (the black waxed canvas version) for seven years, and it remains in great shape. It’s attractive and perfect for short outings, with plenty of padding and a divider to keep your gear protected. You’ll only be able to fit a camera and one extra lens. There’s a pouch on the back I’ve used to stow a Nintendo Switch or a Kindle, and I shove my cables, batteries, and SD cards in the pouch on the front. Unfortunately, the two side pockets are too tight to fit anything bigger than a pen or a microfiber cloth. One perk? You can quickly detach the strap to turn the Bowery into a camera cube for a bigger backpack. It comes in an array of colors and materials.

Tenba DNA 16 DSLR Backpack for $230: You can access your camera from the front of this bag, and the compartment cooly folds out, like a drawer. There’s enough space to fit a big camera and a few lenses, but don’t forget the padded laptop compartment in the back, a roll-top you can expand, and another zippered area for additional items. You can comfortably put a water bottle and a tripod into each side pocket. I took it with me on a trip to DC, and the front looks a bit scuffed up already, but it’s an otherwise fine bag.

Manfrotto Pro Light Frontloader Backpack for $234: Unzip the main front compartment and you can access all your camera gear neatly sectioned apart by the included Velcro divider system. This 25-liter bag is roomy, but that also makes it quite puffy on your back—you might bump into folks in crowds if you’re not careful. There’s side access for the camera, which is nice, but it’s an otherwise dreary-looking pack.

Tenba Fulton V2 16L Backpack for $140: I prefer bags that have some way to quickly grab the camera, and that’s why the Fulton V2 isn’t higher above: The only way to pull out the camera is by taking the bag off and unzipping the back compartment. (Technically, you can access this compartment from the roll top, but that requires undoing a lot of Velcro.) Otherwise, it’s a nice, small bag that can fit a good amount of gear, with an expandable roll top to store lunch or spare clothes, a stretchable mesh side pocket for bottles, and a canvas side pocket that can fit small tripods. Tenba says this can fit a 16-inch laptop in the padded compartment on the front, but I could only squeeze in a 13-incher. It’s water-resistant and comfy to tote around.

Lowepro PhotoSport Outdoor Backpack III 15L for $155: This pack looks good on the trail and can only fit a small DSLR or mirrorless in its removable cube (with side access!). It’ll mesh well with your other hiking gear, and there’s a good amount of room for snacks and anything else you’d want on short hikes (including a 2-liter hydration bladder). It’s made of 75 percent recycled fabrics.

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June 15, 2024
Lux vs. Lumens and Explaining Other Lighting Gear Terms as You Shop (2024)

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Planning your lighting for a photo or video shoot can be complicated, and the terminology used to measure light in lighting equipment can make things even more confusing. When shopping online, most lights list “lumens” or “lux” among their technical specs, though sometimes “lumens” is written as “luminous flux.” You might even get tripped up on luminance versus illuminance. It’s a lot. So let’s break it all down.

One thing to note: You’ve probably seen light bulbs with output measured in watts; LED bulbs often say something like “60W equivalent.” However, watts are a measure of how much power a light bulb uses, not how much light it puts out. This metric is a holdover from when incandescent lights were commonplace and used significantly more energy than today’s LEDs. However, as more energy-efficient lights have grown in popularity, it’s no longer useful to use watts as a shorthand for how much light a bulb puts out (it wasn’t super useful to begin with). This is why you’ll see terms like lumens or lux on professional lighting gear.

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What Is Lumens?

The first term you should get to know is lumens. The amount of visible light that a source puts out is referred to as luminous flux and the lumen is a unit of measurement for that raw output. You can think of this as how “distance” refers to how far apart two places are, while “kilometers” is the unit used to measure that distance. Lumens in the kilometers in that analogy.

This can be a little confusing because companies will list “luminous flux” without naming the unit of measurement. For example, one of our favorite lights for shooting professional videos, the Godox SL-60W, lists its luminous flux as 4,500 in its description. Using our metaphor above, this is like saying “Distance: 4,500” without listing what unit that number refers to.

That said, while they’re not interchangeable, if you see “luminous flux” listed on a product spec sheet, it’s probably referring to lumens. However, this does make it important to double-check that you’re comparing comparable numbers when shopping for lights from different manufacturers.

You might also see this metric as “luminance,” which is another, less common way to refer to a light source’s output. And, like “luminous flux,” it’s a general term for the concept, not a unit of measurement. However, this is distinct from illuminance, which refers to reflected light, not the light coming directly from a source. And yes, it’s confusing.

What Is Lux?

How much light a source puts out is only part of the story. After all, the sun puts out enough energy to melt … basically everything. Fortunately, the sun has a good sense of personal space and stays far enough away from the Earth to not destroy us all. For similar, less catastrophic reasons, factoring in how far away your light source sits affects the kind of light you’ll need.

Lux is defined as one lumen per square meter, though the math can get tricky because we’re dealing with surface areas in three dimensions. Don’t worry, you don’t need to sweat it too much. Most professional lighting will simply list their output in lux (as well as lumens), and specify a distance. For example, the Aputure Amaran P60X is rated for 5,070 lux at 1 meter.

This means a subject 1 meter from the light source will effectively perceive a little more than 5,000 lumens of light on them. If they’re farther away, less of the light from the source will hit them, and thus the subject will appear dimmer. This is helpful when shopping for a light because you might not need the brightest lights in the world. You only need to ensure the subject is the right distance away from the light source.

The Inverse Square Law (and Other Math)

Figuring out the right distance for a light source isn’t exactly intuitive, because of two major factors: The first is the inverse square law, one of those weird quirks of the universe that we have to deal with. Put very simply (mathematicians, please don’t yell at me), every time you double the distance between the subject and the light source, you quadruple how much light is needed to light them the same way.

In other words, it means that every time you move twice as far away from a light source, only one-fourth of the light from that source will hit your subject. So, using the Amaran P60X above as an example, if it’s rated for 5,070 lux at 1 meter, then the subject will experience around 1,267 lux at 2 meters. Some lights will specify their lux at shorter distances, like 0.5 meters, which makes it crucial to make sure you’re comparing equivalent specs when looking at lights from different manufacturers.

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June 13, 2024
How to Choose a Camera (2024): Sensors, Megapixels, Terms
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The first thing to know about buying a digital camera in 2024 is that it’s virtually impossible to buy a bad one. You probably have a great camera in your hand right now. For many people, a smartphone will be camera enough, but if you want a camera separate from your phone, read on.

The current crop of digital cameras is almost universally fantastic. Everything on the market is capable of capturing great images, provided you learn how to use your camera and understand the basics of photography: composition, light, and timing. That said, you don’t want a technically good camera—you want the right camera for you.

The right camera for you depends on what you want to photograph, how you want to use it, where you’re going to shoot, and a myriad of other questions that only you can answer. To help you out, I’ll walk through the basics of every major component of a camera you’ll want to know about, breaking down jargon and explaining things on a practical level.

Table of Contents

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What Kind of Photos Do You Want to Take?

The first step in finding the best camera for you is knowing what you want to do with it, at least somewhat. For example, if you know you’re going to be taking pictures of your kids’ sports games, you’ll want to pay special attention to how good the autofocus is, and how fast it can capture images (measured in frames per second, or fps). If you know you’re going to also want to make videos, make sure you get something with high-quality video features, like 4K 100 fps for slow motion content and something to eliminate or minimize rolling shutter. If you love astrophotography, you’ll want to pay special attention to how noisy a sensor might be.

While every camera made today is capable of great images, some are better than others at certain niche tasks like the examples above. Knowing the type of images you want to create will help you narrow down your search. If you’re new to photography and don’t know what you’re going to end up liking, that’s okay—don’t worry about high-end niche features like superfast autofocus. Focus instead on entry-level cameras designed for the generalist, which will save you some money as well. Put that money into high-quality lenses.

Glossary of Camera Terms
- ISO: ISO dates back to the film days when it was a standardized way of indicating how sensitive a film was to light. It was adopted in digital to maintain similar brightness levels as people were used to in film photography. So setting your digital camera to 100 ISO should give you roughly the same base levels of brightness as 100 film speed. ISO ranges from around 50 to six-digit numbers on some cameras. The lowest ISO on your camera is sometimes called the “base ISO.” This will have the least noise. As you move up in ISO number, the noise increases, but so does the sensitivity to light. The less light you have, the higher the ISO you’ll want to use.
- Aperture: The size of the opening inside your lens. The wider the aperture, the more light will enter the lens. Small apertures are sometimes called “fast,” as in an f/1.2 lens is fast. Narrow apertures (f/8 or f/16) mean less light enters the lens. Aperture affects depth of field (how much of the picture is in focus), so the wider the aperture, the less of the image that will be in focus, and you will create the popular “bokeh” blur effect.
- Shutter Speed: This previously referred to the mirror lifting up to expose the film or digital sensor to light. With mirrorless cameras, it has lost that meaning, but still refers to how long the sensor is exposed to light. It’s written in fractions of a second, like 1/125s, up to whole seconds, depending on your camera. The longer the shutter is open, the more light is let in. This means that anything moving while the shutter is open will become blurry—for example, water flowing over rocks takes on a smooth appearance.
- Exposure: Exposure is how light or dark your image is. If your image is too dark, the photo is called underexposed. If it’s too bright, it’s overexposed. Exposure is controlled by using the previous three tools—ISO, aperture, and shutter speed—balanced to get the exposure you want.
- White Balance: This refers to the color of light. Your eyes are good at adjusting to different lights, but your camera is not. This is why sometimes your night shots have a very yellow-orange cast to them. White balance can be used to get around this by telling the camera the temperature of the light you’re shooting under. Many people use the auto setting for white balance, which is generally pretty good. I prefer always shooting at 5,500 degrees Kelvin (sunlight) and adjusting white balance as needed in software.
- Exposure Compensation: This is a means of telling your camera to under or overexpose the image. It’s useful in automated shooting modes. It’s measured in “stops” of light (it’s working like an extra aperture), with positive numbers generating a brighter image and negative numbers giving you a darker image.
- RAW: This is a generic name for a type of image file that is just, well, raw data. You need RAW processing software like Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, or Darktable to view RAW images, but RAW files can be edited much more extensively than JPEGs. I strongly recommend shooting in RAW. It gives you greater editing control over your photos.
- Aspect Ratio: This is the ratio of the width to the height. It’s usually 3:2, occasionally 4:3, and sometimes 16:9. Some cameras allow you to choose between these and perhaps more. Just remember that if you plan to print at a specific size, you may have to crop depending on the aspect ratio. I generally shoot at 3:2, which means if I want to print at 8 X 10, I’ll have to enlarge to 8 X 12 and then crop a bit.
- Focal Length: This is the length of the lens (technically the distance in millimeters between the lens and the film or sensor). This determines the field of view and zoom amount, and will affect how much distortion is in the image.
- Depth of Field: DoF is how much of the image is in focus. You can put the point of focus anywhere, but regardless of where you put it, a certain amount of the image both behind and in front of that point will also be in focus. This is the depth of field. A better term would be depth of focus, but it’s called field. The depth of field is influenced by the interplay of the aperture, the focal length of the lens, and the position of the subjects within the scene.
- Bokeh: “Bokeh” is a word for the overuse of extreme depth of field. Just kidding. It’s a Japanese word to describe the blur quality of the out-of-focus portions of an image. You might hear a photographer say an image has “smooth bokeh.” Just nod and back away slowly. Kidding, really. This means that the blurry portion of the image is nice and smooth, without harsh circles or a jittery sense of blur. Got it? OK, now run.
Point-and-Shoot vs. Interchangeable Lens

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

If you want to step up from a camera phone, I’d suggest skipping over point-and-shoot cameras and going to an interchangeable lens system. The reason is that most point-and-shoot cameras are only moderately better than a phone. Some aren’t even as good as your phone. You do get a zoom lens in many cases, which is a step up, but it’s not much of a step, especially for the price.
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June 12, 2024
Logitech Mevo Core Review: Dead Simple Multi-Cam Streaming

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Streaming video can be a big business, if a bit painful. Whether you’re playing games, making crafts, or just hanging out in a hot tub, one of the biggest streaming challenges can be finding a camera system that works for your needs. That’s what Logitech had in mind when creating the Mevo Core multi-cam system, and it’s an impressively simple solution to a modern problem.

The Mevo Core is an unassuming cube-style camera that uses a Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens system. The four sides flanking the lens each have a ¼-inch 20-thread mount, allowing you to mount it by the top, bottom, or sides. On the rear, there are two USB-C ports for charging or connecting as a wired webcam, a 3.5-mm audio output, an HDMI port, and a microSD card slot tucked behind a protective cover.

The whole system is designed to be adaptable to a wide range of shooting situations. The camera can capture 4K video locally, and stream up to 1080p video over Wi-Fi 6E, and it even has an internal rechargeable battery that can record or stream for up to six hours on a single charge. It’s a fascinating camera system that walks the line between streaming webcam and more professional mirrorless cameras used for shooting video. But it’s the software that steals the show.

A Studio, Made Simple

The Mevo Core cameras are designed to be used in multi-cam setups—where you have multiple cameras around you for various angles—and to approximate one if you only have one camera. The Mevo Multicam app is the key that makes the whole system work. This app allows you to connect multiple cameras and feed them all to a single output for livestreaming.

Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft

The Mevo Core cameras are shockingly easy to pair with the app. Open the app and it will automatically detect the camera and walk you through adding the camera to your Wi-Fi network. Once they’re on the network, you can connect them to the app with the touch of a button.

Once your cameras are connected, you can tap the source to swap the live output to that camera angle. In addition to the Mevo Core cameras, you can also add Mevo Start cameras, or, with a Mevo Pro subscription, you can connect any smartphone camera as another video source.

On top of this, the Mevo Multicam app lets you add picture-in-picture presets as well as graphic assets like full-screen overlays, lower-thirds, and over-the-shoulder images. The result is a makeshift live studio that can run on equipment you can easily fit into a messenger bag.

Streamers typically have to rely on apps like OBS and StreamLabs to manage video streams, and while those apps are certainly more robust, there’s a simplicity to the Mevo Multicam system that makes it incredibly easy to manage multiple camera angles while live. The app can show you all the camera feeds at once and let you quickly tap one to swap angles, adjust each one’s audio input levels, and add graphics with a tap. If that was all this system did, I’d be impressed, but then Logitech added something I would’ve wanted years ago if I’d thought to ask.

Turning One Camera Into Many

The 4K sensor inside the Mevo Core is solid and captures decent picture quality, but its better utilized as a 1080p streaming webcam. So why the extra resolution? Well, because when you shoot with more resolution than you need, it gives you the flexibility to crop in on the image without sacrificing picture quality. It’s partly why some of our favorite cinema cameras use 6K sensors for shooting 4K content.

Usually, that’s a postproduction process, but the Mevo Multicam app makes it easy to use that flexibility for live productions. In the app, you can tap on parts of the frame to crop in on the subject and send just a portion of the videofeed to the output. This is a technique I’ve used myself when editing video essays, but this camera system brings it to live performances. You can use a wide shot, then crop into a medium shot to emphasize a line.

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May 28, 2024