We’ve discussed a few alternatives of buying used so far, but now let’s take a look at the gem of all used stores: Your local Goodwill.

Goodwill, Good Stuff

This is another secret some of us photographers use as a resource, and I probably shouldn’t be mentioning it here for the fact I’m going to have competition when I cruise the aisles of my local Goodwill store. But that’s ok.

When I purchased my Nikon D100 back in the summer of 2002, I didn’t have many lenses. In fact, I had none. I had a 50mm f/1.4 lens on the way, and an AF-S 80-200mm in transit, but that didn’t help my current situation–I needed to put a lens on my camera NOW, or I was going to break down and cry like a little girl.

The same day I’m talking to my grandfather, and I mention I got a digital camera. He said something to the effect of, “Hey, I’ve heard of those!” After a few moments of explaining the general digital camera to him, he says to me, “So, you’re going to be hanging out at the thrifty stores, aren’tcha.”

Whah? Huh? Goodwill stores…ehhhhh, yeah, ok whatever.

After getting off the phone, I decided I had nothing to lose (except for my dignity, and since no one knew about my soon-to-be trip to the Goodwill, I was clear). My first visit to the Goodwill was a loss. I didn’t see anything except for a few used disposable cameras (I have no idea why they were there–maybe had a few pictures left on it too take?) and several of those “Get A FREE 35MM Camera!” thingies you see when you receive your credit card statement, and about a few dozen promotional materials fall out. Yes, that kind of 35mm camera.

I decided to embark to another Goodwill which was in a less busy location. As soon as I walked in the front door, I glanced at the glass counter, and I saw the Nikon name on what appeared to be a 50mm lens. I immediately went over to take a closer. Yep, sure enough. It was a 50mm lens. It was an older AI-S 50mm 1.8. Price? Well, you better sit down. $15. The lens was in good condition, not excellent, but it was certainly worth the $15 I immediately whipped out of my wallet and said, “I’ll take that lens, thanks.”

Will you always find a gem like this at a Goodwill store? Probably not. However, that sort of ruins the mystical and mysterious hunt for treasure, now doesn’t it. I can tell you, that you have a much better chance of finding a deal there, than other places. A regular trip every weekend sure isn’t going to kill you, and it could pay off considerably.

Pawn Shops

Now, pawn shops aren’t all what they used to be. Today, pawn shops have a highly inflated price tag on most of their items. You might as well go to a regular camera store and pay the price of a new item because you wouldn’t be paying much more. In some cases, you might be paying less. However, there is a chance you may find a pretty good deal on a lens, tripod, or even a camera. Tripods usually sell for really cheap, and I would definitely recommend looking around your local pawn shop cluster if you’re in a large city, because you will probably find one. And considering if you’re in a small town, you will probably find an even better deal. Why? Because there isn’t the kind of merchandise flowing through and the expertise is not as present as, say, a dealer in New York City or Los Angeles. Most of us may live in larger cities, so don’t expect to get a Manfrotto for $20, but there are other brands which come very close to the high and might tripod brands, and are extremely discounted. Velbon for example. I’ve seen $150-$200 Velbon tripods sell for $35, in mint condition. Did I buy it? Well, long story short, I didn’t know it was this expensive until I remembered the model number, went online, had a heart seizure, then immediately drove back to the pawn shop.

It was gone. You win some…you lose some.

In the next part of Choosing A Digital Camera, we will discuss some of the camera features you should prioritize when purchasing a digital camera. Yes, it may get technical, but I will be there with you every step of the way.

©2005 by Jason Busch (DigitalDingus)

Choosing A Digital Camera (Part 3): Goodwill, Good Stuff

A part of The DigitalDingus Guide To Photography series.

The digital camera being a fantastic and technologically advanced device contains many different applications of its own. Many users of this fabulous device are unaware of quite a few of these functions which can actually do wonders. And it is the duty and right of every person possessing the digital camera to intervene into the depths of knowledge to understand their prized possession and their varying qualities in order to foster the true respect that this device deserves. This article deals with providing information regarding one those qualities - Auto focus and auto exposure!

Exploring the information in slight more details it can be stated that auto exposure cameras are provided with a fixed focus lens or manual focus lens. These cameras are the simplest to set exposure. To obtain the correct exposure for a particular subject of photography, the only thing that needs to be done is to simply lock the exposure by pressing the shutter down halfway on the digital cameras upon a reference object that is about one fifth gray and also illuminated by the aid of the same source of light as subject of photography. After locking the exposure, the photographer has to recompose the frame and shoot the picture. Auto exposure and auto focus cameras are to some degree harder for setting the exposure, because they contain the exposure lock that is generally tied to focus-lock. However, the users or photographers using these auto exposure and auto focus cameras can still make adjustments for the correct exposure and correct focus using the digital cameras and make the photographs perfect! Again, the exposure can be adjusted by locking on an 18% reference that is illuminated by the aid of the same source of light as subject of photography. The users have to only ensure that the distance to this so-called reference is the same as the distance to the subject of photography that actually sets the focus.

Now discussing the auto focus and auto exposure lock (AE/AF) a bit more in detail. The shutter release button on a digital camera has more function than just snap a cool picture. The users have to grab a technique where he or she has to depress this shutter release button half way down thereby locking both the auto exposure and auto focus. This enables the users or photographers to have more control on exposure in difficult lighting situations while using the digital camera. Moreover, this entire process also helps him or her to determine where the camera focuses. Like if the photographer intends to set the exposure before composing the final shot of the photograph then he or she can move the digital camera slightly so that only the subject to be photographed is visible prominently in the auto focus frame in the viewfinder. As a next step he or she can depress the shutter-release button down half way to set focus and exposure and then recompose the picture and finally completely depress the button in order to capture and freeze the moment of time! It is to be noted here that the auto focus and auto exposure lock (AE/AF) is available in all photography modes of the digital cameras that are nowadays available for the general people.

Not much remains to be discussed about this particular topic of auto focus/auto exposure and a brief discussion as above is enough to reveal a bounty of information regarding this fantastic feature of the digital cameras. At the end of this discussion it can be expected that both the novice and expert photographers and user of the digital camera would benefit from whatever has been revealed and the effort to bring out the human mind from the dark oblivion about auto focus and auto exposure lock would be a success in the magic light of the digital camera!

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.

There are really great advantages in digital photography:

You can shoot till you drop

Taking digital images on your camera has no implication other then you have captured the image. Then you can review each image on the small screen on the back of your camera. You can shoot as many pictures of the same scene as you like - store them in memory - delete the ones that you do not like and print the one(s) you like.

Each image is a winner

Alternatively you can put an image up on a computer screen or email it to all you friends - can black mail be this easy?

Print at home or in a lab

You can print your image at home on a photo printer - turn your image into a greeting card, calendar, or a whole other list of photo memorabilia. Or hand over the job to the professionals.

So what digital camera should I buy?

A question we are often asked is ‘what sort of camera should I buy’? There are literally hundreds of different models available from a large number of well known manufacturers.

This is a difficult question, which might be answered in a complex way. Rather, here we have tried to emphasise the salient points and assist you in your decision.

Key components of the camera, which will influence your buying decision will include:
What do I want to use the camera for? How big an image can I print? Does the camera have a zoom? What size and weight is the camera?

How big an image can I print?

If your objective is to take a camera on holiday, take it onto the beach and up a mountain and to print memorable images of your time on 6 x 4 inch prints, then do not spend a lot of money on your camera. A small compact camera with an image resolution of 2 or 3 Mega Pixels will be adequate for your needs and should you drop the camera or get sand in its workings then you will be pleased that you did not spend too much money.
More serious photographers will want to make bigger pints or selectively enlarge. They will want a higher image resolution and will benefit from a zoom lens.
So - what is this MegaPixel thing? Well it is the image size - quality - taken by the camera. The higher the number - the better the quality and the larger the prints which can be made.

Does the camera have a zoom?

In past times zoom lenses were regarded as second best because of their distortion and fogging. This is no longer the case - zoom lenses are truly brilliant. 3 x zooms are common and 6 x zooms feature on the more expensive cameras. So you can have a single lens which covers both wide angle views and provides a short telephoto. All very usefully packaged in a lightweight camera.

Beware of Digital Zoom. This is a technique, which zooms in on a portion of the image by processing the picture and interpolating the image between pixels - a technique which always produces inferior results.

What is the size and weight of the camera?

Digital cameras do not have to be bulky or heavy. Indeed there are some very small models available, which will fit inside a handbag. However the more sophisticated gear tends to be bulkier - and heavier. Professional models with interchangeable lenses and external flash guns will require their own hold all.

Making the Right Selection

There is a fantastic range of digital cameras available on the market. Nonetheless manufacturers focus on their customers and target specific models at certain sectors of the market. The table below summarises the information, which we have discussed.

Basic camera

A fixed lens camera priced at less than