One of my favorite things on DigitalRevTV is the cheap camera challenge. This is a segment on the famous photography based youtube channel which airs the efforts of professional and experienced photographers using cheap gear to take great pictures. One of the most astounding examples was the episode featuring Lara Jade having a fashion shoot on the streets of Hong Kong with a 0.3 megapixel kid’s camera, which had a persistently weak battery! You can check it out on the link below.
When I began my amateur photography sojourn, while I was not moping and checking out prices of DSLRs on e-commerce sites, I was actually taking pictures on a diminutive 8 MP compact camera from Nikon, the L21. And while I am no master photo-‘take outer’ (A colloquial term used often here for photographer), some of those shots were nothing short of … amazing.
And then we get stories with headlines like this.
With such a headline featuring on my Facebook feed, this was beyond click bait; this was a gold mine of a story. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3168011/Bride-s-fury-40-Argos-camera-s-focus-honeymoon-pictures.html
So the story goes that a honeymooning couple from Birmingham finds that their camera is woefully inadequate to cover their experiences in Brazil. Of course this was realized after 300 shots were taken and the pictures viewed on an adequately sized monitor.
Well, do we have a sample of the 300 pictures of the trip? The couple was kind enough to share the following.
And we are off to a flying start.
Never take a picture against the light. Never.
Well, at least the monkeys are in sharp focus. Being an action shot, perhaps a compact camera would have had difficulty in fast focusing. Is that a banana I see?
Life’s a blur. If not a beach.
Nothing much here. Perhaps a crop to emphasize the image quality (Or lack of it).
Illuminati Confirmed. One can argue the background is far more interesting.
Keep digging (?). We got to find the subject of this picture.
I did believe that some of the photos could have been taken in a manner that would have led to better images or with a better understanding of the camera in question. But to give credit, the bride “insisted she made sure the settings were correct before using the camera, which a product description claims ‘boasts 18MP quality to take clear images’”, so maybe she knew what she was doing? Maybe?
What about the camera itself? Surely, www.dpreview.com , the best camera review site in my mind would have an entry about this camera?
There is none.
Shoot. Ok no matter; let’s check out other review sites. The first review of the camera that was not from any e-commerce or electronic store site was, well, a site I haven’t even heard of. http://vsbee.com/cameras/reviews/Polaroid_IE826-camera-review
And to cut to the chase, I will summarize their sugar coated summary of their review of this camera.
Do. Not. Buy. This. Camera. (Unless one wants to see how good / bad in photography they really are. Like me. And also if someone gifts you this, please accept it with a bow. Bend at the waist. Lower. Lower now. There you go.)
It would seem that this camera does have an issue (okay, judging by the review; a plethora of issues) and seems to be reinforcing the point of “You get what you pay for”.
I was expecting to come to the defense of this camera whole heartedly. Well, now not so much. Perhaps if the user did spend some more time researching her purchase decision, they may have had a better camera to work with. Granted, by taking examples like the ‘Cheap Camera Challenge’ great photographs have been taken by overcoming the limitations of one’s tools.
That being said, here are a few thoughts / takeaways of mine.
1) Use Flash when you can / must. The backlit and late evening pictures could have been salvaged using it. Unfortunately, this could have further led to increase in image noise and artifact capture especially with a compact camera like this with a flash so close to the lens itself.
2) I am not sure why Polaroid would justify a camera with a poor lens. The review even goes so far to say “Polaroid IE826’s Lens is horrible over all.” This must have been a major factor in the lackluster capture of the images as opposed to the human error factor I was expecting. If we are to factor human error, perhaps holding still / using a tripod the user would have got better shots.
3) Research! Research! Research! It’s an important event (This couple’s honeymoon memories will remain that, memories) and it’s your hard earned money. Do commit to research before you purchase your tools, be it a camera or otherwise. At 40 pounds this camera was sold at a rate cheaper than my cheapest Android phone. (That’s saying a lot!) . You may even want to take a backup camera! (I actually highly recommend that you do have a backup, be it a camera or a decent camera phone)
Bloody research your damn purchase before you buy it! Be convinced! Be Bloody Convinced! It took me sometimes an entire week of research before purchasing some of my cameras (Months in the case of my DSLR)
4) Review! Review! Review! This might sound like ‘chimping’ after each photograph but ok at least you can review your images at the end of the day, right? Why wait to view 300 pictures after a flight to Birmingham and then realize, oh feck!?
Going back to the article itself, some the comments themselves are pure comic gems
- A calculator would have took (sic) better pictures!! Perhaps invest in a better camera and hold it still when taking pictures!??
- When they told her,I bet she just ‘ snapped ‘.
- Problem In Chair, Not In Camera. RTFM.
Okay now for the more in-depth ones.
- That model has a sizeable TFT view screen, so how could you not know there was a problem long before transferring shots to a computer? [This is actually a point I will agree upon]
- Try holding it still when taking the pictures. [ Mind blowing ]
- I think that if I’d invested so much in a honeymoon,I would have bought a better camera. £40 isn’t really going to cut it, is it? [ Maybe, maybe not ]
- Polaroid is a joke of its former self, its (sic) the same with Kodak. Now Polaroid has been reduced to selling badge engineered TV’s and cameras. What a shame.[Lately, this seems to be the case going by the literature available, however I have not gotten my hands on a Polaroid device yet so in my mind, the jury is still out on this. But truth be told , that is probably why these things are hardly seen even here in India ]
Sigh. Perhaps in the hand of a more experienced photographer, the end result would have been a whole lot different. The User’s probable inexperience and the choice of camera turned out to be a double whammy.
Sooooooooo, who wants to take up the Cheap Camera Challenge Honeymoon Special? Don’t look at me!
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