can u use photoshop for digital camera's and can the pic's look professional or do u need those nikon cameras?

Question

do i need an expensive camera to get professional looking photographs like the photographers have or can i use my regular digital camera to get the same results?...and what photoshop program is best?

Answer 1

In the film days the quality of a picture depended on the quality of the lens and how flat the camera held the film. Everything else was immaterial. Professional SLRs simply made things more reliable and accurate. What really made the picture quality was in fact the film and there was a lot to choose from. And what always makes an image is how creative the photogrqpher is.

In the digital world it's a bit different. The quality of the lens is still critical but there's no film any more. Now the other part of the quality equation is the quality and the resolution of the sensor and until someone starts to build a camera with a replaceable sensor, your choice of camera model is really important.

That's not to say you must have a professional SLR to produce award winning photos. I did manage to create awesome images using a point and shoot camera for a couple of years as I made the transition from shooting film for thirty years to digital. However I also lost a hell of a lot of potentially incredible shots and I went through tremendous frustration sometimes trying to get a shot because the functionality of the camera was limited.

If you're just interested in landscapes and the odd group shot just about any 5MP+ point and shoot will make you happy in terms of quality. If you're into candid photography like at parties, a high end point and shoot would make you happy, they tend to respond faster and have more capabilities in terms of exposure. If you're into very demanding work, the only solution is an SLR but demanding work means capturing images like a tiny bug, a distant fast moving sporting event, a complex scene with many differing light levels, stuff like that. If you crop a lot you want a high resolution sensor, if you never crop 5MP will do.

Ultimately your choice of camera is dependent on the kinds of things you photograph and the challenges associated with those subjects. And secondly the choice boils down to what you do with the images when you have them. If you're only printing 4 x 6 prints you certainly don't need a high resolution. If you're into printing poster sized prints you better have a very high resolution and a very flexible camera body.

In terms of software, Photoshop is the best on the market. The consumer version is Photoshop Elements and it does an incredible job on your images for very litle cost. however it's not simple to learn, be prepared for quite a learning curve. The professional version is Photoshop CS which costs a bundle and is even harder to learn but performs miracles on image files. Your choice here is again what you plan to do with your images and also the characteristics of your camera. If your camera has limited capabilities you'll spend a lot of time in the software to make up for the deficiencies of the camera and then later a little time to be a bit creative too. If youre camera produces print ready images all you'll do with the software is use it to crop or be a bit more creative. If you're just going to crop and be a little creative the consumer version is all you need. If you want to adjust individual hues, subtle contrasts, things like that, you'll need Photoshop CS. Also,. JPG files use eight bit colour so if you want to go sixteen bit (usually TIFF images) to have greater control over colour quality you need the professional version and in that case also a high end SLR camera. The consumer version of Photoshop only handles eight bit colour files.

I spent thirty years doing film, specifically slides. So I had to learn to get the image right in the camera because you couldn't edit a slide or even adjust it in a darkroom. The image simply had to be right. I've applied the same principle to my digital work. Why? The more you edit an image, the more of the original quality you lose. To the average person on the street they'd never notice any difference, but someone in the business will. So it depends on who you feel you need to please as to how much you're willing to edit.

I have all of the above. I have a high end digital point and shoot that I use sometimes for non critical work and I have a Nikon SLR and a few lenses for the really critical stuff. I also use Photoshop to correct the odd goof and/or to crop and enhance some images. But certainly with the SLR I tend to get really outstanding results that rarely need editing which means that my images are usually bang on right off the memory card.

Ultimately the question comes down to what a professional image is worth to you. To me it's worth $10,000 which buys a high end computer, high end software, a high end digital SLR with a few lenses and a high end point and shoot. To some a professional image is worth about $1,500 which buys a high end point and shoot, a typical computer and the software that came with the camera. And to most of the population they're not interested in a professional image, all they want is a "nice" picture, for them a digital image is worth a few hundred dollars which buys a simple inexpensive digital point and shoot and no computer at all because they print their images immediately at a kiosk.

So that's the range of options you have for an image. I hope that helps a little.

Answer 2

You can use any digital camera. But the lens, exposure system, and versatility of the system help getting that perfect picture easier.

To be honest. Photoshop (by consensus, the best program) is cheating. Yes, we all use it, but sometimes it's used not to correct faults, but to create the picture. It's like Elenor Rigby who keeps her face in a jar by the door.

If you shoot at a low ISO and do an excellent job of composition, then you've got a great start.

By the way, Photoshop is very expensive, if you're not getting reimbursed by your employer or making money with your photography. For most people, there are plenty of inexpensive alternatives out there,but that's just IMHO.
Photoshop Elements does 90-95% of what most photographers need.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/sw.htm#photoshop

Something to think about.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

Answer 3

Chris is spot on. It is important to shoot raw and who ever told you that Canon was better for B&W was surely joking. Why not, however, try a Nikon F4/F5. They really are cheap and with the addition of some chemicals at home you can develop your own genuine b&w film. You don't need a dark room. Add a film scanner for proofs and send your final shots off for a drum scan. The quality far outstrips digital and the total cost up front would be about $600. It then is a pay as you process from there on. I shoot a D200, D3, F4, F5 and Hasselblad m/f and my preference is real b&w. All the best Tom

Answer 4

You can use any camera and use software to retouch.But it takes a lot of time if you've never used the software.Paint Shop Pro is good and so is Photoshop.

I've had 3 digital cameras..a Sony,Kodak easyshare and now a Nikon D40....the Sony and Kodak Id have to retouch...the Nikon...I never have to unless I want to crop it or add something to the pic. I LOVE my camera......
Ive done weddings with the Nikon and never retouched a picture...perfect everytime and easy to use.If you dont know much about cameras and decide to buy one buy from a store like Best Buy,Circuit City etc...and let the salesman set the settings.I asked lots of questions...probably took me 4 hours to decide on the Nikon.If you plan on using it for weddings or wanting professional photos and such I recommend the 200mm lens and the flash.

Answer 5

Photoshop is plenty to give you good results. In fact Photoshop Elements is all you really need. Most pros don't even use all Photoshop can do and it takes a long time to learn it as well. It's a very complicated program. You need to get better acquainted with what the camera can do and how to use it.

Answer 6

Go here http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/tags/cameraphone or http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/tags/coolpix4600 or http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/tags/4600
to see some shots taken with a cameraphone or with a Nikon Coolpix 4600, which cost me about $150 a couple of years ago.

I use Photoshop Elements 5.0, which is a $99 program, and I have not wished I had "the real thing" yet.

For instance... If you go to http://www.flickr.com/cameras/canon/powershot_sd1000/ and just scroll down the page, you will be very impressed with what the general public is doing with this little $200-225 camera. You can also search for any camera you are interested in.

Answer 7

photoshop is a very powerful program. As long as the picture you started out with is good, if you retouch it with photoshop, it will be great. And there are many free tutorials out there to teach you about photoshop and retouching photos. So no, you do not need one of those expensive nikons

Answer 8

Its not the camera its the photographer.

As long as you use 100ISO or lower your pictures will come out amazing. But having a SLR does help quite a lot in framing shots.

Answer 9

no need for some high tech new camera.use your usual camera and connect it to the computer and use any applications like picasa may be.