Festival Photography - Free and Easy

I managed to attract a lot of attention last weekend with my Samsung GX10 Digital SLR. Street Festivals are a great way to get some vivid colourful photos and there are always plenty of performers willing to strike a pose .With this in mind I popped along to Leeds Pride with a couple of friends. So why the attention? It seemed that anyone and everyone would take a quick glance at the camera, notice it had a speedlite and lens hood attached and instantly assume I was working as a professional photographer. When I told them the images would go on my blog or a Facebook photo gallery, they still seemed equally as keen to hang around while I sorted my light meter.

Back to the point, festival photography can really boost a portfolio with colour and diversity, not to mention it’s usually free and can be quite fun. Street Performers will often create an interesting image with striking movement, or simply posing, while stall vendors can offer a slice of life digital portrait unlike anything you’d find anywhere else. Of course, there are plenty of opportunities for live music photography (a personal favourite of mine) should the festival feature any open air stages.

Anybody can take a shot from the crowd with a camera phone, but getting into the pit is usually a different story. At local open air festivals you often find little to no security leading up to the local band stages so get creative, crouch down low and start building that rock star image portfolio. If security guards do happen to be blocking any stage access, they are more often than not a emotive bunch and like the stall vendors, another great opportunity for some reportage photography.

Last but not least is the colour. Festivals are more often than not a vibrant source of life and colour, especially in the summer months. With a bright blue sky you get the full effects of strong light bringing the most out of your subjects and depend on your choice of digital compact camera or digital SLR, playing with the manual settings here will really open up the possibilities of what you can achieve with a portfolio of digital pictures. But what if the weather turns? I hear you say. Simple, just use the grey skies to your advantage and try using digital picture editing software with good effects to make a creative piece.

Summer doesn’t last long in Britain so lets make the most of it, and we’d love to see your pictures here on Camera Wars!

Sony Digital SLR brings an affordable contender to the full frame market.

For many the idea of a Full Frame sensor in a digital SLR may seem like common sense, but for anyone who doesn't understand the benefits it's quite simple. A full frame sensor is roughly twice the size as that found in 'lower end' SLRs. If both cameras had the same resolution this means a bigger area for each 'pixel' to capture the light, which in turn means better quality at higher speed settings, for example when shooting in dark locations. Until recently this benefit was only available in the higher end Canon and Nikon Digital SLR cameras, but now Sony has entered the ring with what it hopes will be the new entry standard to full frames. So what are the benefits? To start with, Sony's A900 Digital SLR is cheaper than it's nearest competition (The Canon 5D MkII and the Nikon D700 respectively), and it features the largest resolution in it's class (a whopping 24 Megapixels). However it's a case of quality over quantity in the world of Digital SLR cameras and while the Sony A900 appears to do a fantastic job of keeping up in the features department with built in anti shake and a 5fps burst mode (holding down the shutter will allow you to take five shots a second in succession) a direct comparison in this months Digital Camera Magazine states that it delivers excellent results, however feels "crude and noisy" and rates the Canon 5D Mk II Digital SLR as the better of the three.

In summary, the A900 Sony Digital SLR delivers warm, rich colours and a high resolution, at a great price for those new to the market, however at high speed settings (that some would argue are the whole point of full frame digital SLRs) the Canon and Nikon Cameras appear have the advantage.

Welcome to Camera Wars ...

Ever find that choosing a new camera isn't as easy as it use to be? On the one hand you have salesmen offering you more and more megapixels than you can shake a stick at, but then the pictures look a bit blurry because of the cheap lens, on the other you have the professional (usually a friend) telling you so much jargon to consider that you think they're speaking a foreign language! Oh, and let's not forget your brand new camera phone with its instant upload abilities.

Camera Wars is here for you. We show you pictures, you choose the one you think is best, and we tell you which cameras people have been choosing. We understand that not everybody wants to be a professional. Sometimes durability around kids can be more important then capturing the perfect sunset, and the community driven nature of Camera Wars means you get an all round opinion, and you get to see REAL results from REAL people, not just advertising mock ups or professional jobs.

Of course, for anybody that wants to know more, we'll be publishing regular articles on photography, how to get the most out of your camera, and why sometimes it's worth paying that little bit more (or in some cases not!). In the future you can expect to see us blowing the lid off the megapixel myth, explaining the difference in memory card type and speeds, and how to optimise your digital picture files depending on whether you're making a collage for your mum or showing the world how you party on Facebook.

The site will launch soon but you can start the debate and ask us questions on our Twitter page.