The photographer's everything
— the camera.
The photographer chooses the
subject from many possibilities,
capturing it in just the right light and
shadow, at the perfect angle, and in
the ideal frame. These elements come
together for only an instant, so the
photographer must work carefully but
quickly.
A camera gives permanent life to
these fleeting instants, capturing not
only the objective facts but also the
meaning and subjective emotions
associated with them. For nearly
two centuries, photographers have
worked to preserve the objective
and subjective with greater accuracy
and fidelity, and camera makers have
crafted more and more sophisticated
instruments with which to accomplish
these objectives.
Two elements of
photographic expression
In recent years, it's become more
and more difficult to choose a digital
camera from the many available
options. But no matter how complex
cameras become, the essence of
photography remains the same:
capturing the image as it exists in the
photographer's imagination.
The two parts of the camera essential
to this task are the lens and the
image sensor.
In the era of film, photographers
made fine adjustments to their
cameras and played with the
difference between films, aiming
for different colors and levels of
exposure and graininess as the
mood suited them. In the digital era,
however, although the consistency
of cameras has increased, their
individuality has tended to diminish,
making the photographer's choice of
instrument more difficult.
The sensor and the lens make
the photograph
The image sensor is the key to
taking a more individualistic digital
photograph. To choose the best
camera, a photographer must
understand the differences between
the image sensors available, selecting
the one that offers the greatest
precision and best image quality.
Then, armed with the image sensor
that matches his or her photographic
vision, a photographer may select
and deploy a variety of lenses that
complement the sensor. The camera
system that best empowers the
dedicated photographer's ideal
approach today is the Sigma digital
single-lens reflex camera.
A new camera for a new era
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