You might find yourself inclined to use your cell phone’s onboard camera as an alternative at times when you’re caught without your street style camera. (Hey, we understand; we’ve been there too.) You’ll kick yourself later if you don’t take the picture, and a cell phone camera is usually better than no camera at all. If you do plan to use your camera phone in a pinch, we recommend using a device that has at least a 5 megapixel resolution and be sure to temper your expectations on image quality. Cell phone cameras are best used “only in an emergency.”
In the $200 to $500 range, you will be able to get a higher quality point-and-shoot. We consider this to be a waste of money considering what you can get for just a little bit more.
Which leads us to the next tier . . .
Category 2–Micro four-thirds
Micro four-thirds cameras are in between full-fledged dSLRs and point-and-shoots. Technology is heading in this direction, making cameras smaller and lighter, while allowing them to use the interchangeable lenses and high-end sensors of dSLRs. Micro four-thirds cameras get their name from their 4:3 aspect ratio. What that means to you is that the images from theses cameras will be more of a boxy square shape than those from other cameras that have a 3:2 aspect ratio and produce the rectangular shape you’re probably familiar with. The aspect ratio is not a major issue for street style photography, because you can crop images to any format you wish during the editing process. Micro four-thirds cameras are relatively new and will be changing rapidly compared to point-and-shoot compact cameras and dSLRs. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider one—some of the photos in this book were taken using this type of camera. Its manageable size makes it easy to carry in your bag every day, and it gives you the best quality possible in its price range.
Category 3 — dSLR
In the $500 to $2,300 price range, you begin to find the crop-sensor dSLR (aka Advanced Photo System type C or APS-C format for short). The acronym “dSLR” stands for digital single lens reflex. (The word reflex here is misleading, because it actually refers to the reflected image through the camera’s mirror prism, not a reflex action.) This kind of camera can be used with different lenses, giving you different results when shooting in specific conditions. Being able to swap out lenses is definitely useful, but the main reason to upgrade to a dSLR camera is the increase in image quality. A camera of this grade coupled with an appropriate lens will give you a dramatic increase in the resolution of your photos, the color and contrast, and also the lighting conditions that you can reasonably shoot under. These are the reasons it might be worth it to avoid the $200 to $500 range and save up for a more expensive camera—a $600 dSLR has a great quality-to-price ratio.
Most professional photographers use dSLR (digital single lens reflex) cameras. Because these cameras use an internal mirror to reflect light onto the sensor within the camera body, they cannot be made as small as the compacts and micro four-thirds format cameras. They are the most versatile cameras, though, since you can switch lenses. They also produce the highest quality photos, since their larger size affords them a larger sensor that registers more light and more detail and at higher resolutions. The downside, of course, is their cost. The camera bodies are expensive, and lenses are purchased separately. High-end, full-frame dSLRs cost thousands of dollars. There are dSLRs with smaller sensors (APS-C format), however, and these cameras generally start at between $500 and $600. Digital camera prices have been steady in the last few years, since the technology has reached a plateau. Until the next major leap in technology, it is unlikely that the cost of dSLRs will fluctuate wildly. (Camera lenses for popular formats and brands retain their value even more, since they are usually still compatible to the newest models of camera body—the lens format hasn’t changed in decades.)