DSLR camera features and specs might seem overwhelming to you. However, it’s still important that you consider quite a few crucial things before you get one just to make sure the camera meets your requirements well, and you don’t regret later.
Camera Type
As you will primarily use the camera for e-commerce purposes, getting any camera will not do much good. Different cameras have their own field of expertise to provide great stills and videos.
If it’s for e-commerce websites like Amazon or eBay, getting a compact camera will suffice your business needs. But, when you are to look for a camera to take photos of different products to put on different e-commerce platforms, an interchangeable lens camera would be an ideal choice.
However, if the camera will also be used for your personal use such as family photography, traveling, taking pictures of events or occasions, etc. a mirrorless interchangeable lens or DSLR camera will serve these purposes well. You can conveniently switch between the lenses as per the tasks required.
Sensor
This is where the most beginner or entry-level photographers make the wrong decision. Your camera sensor is far more important than megapixel count. Don’t get caught up in the ‘megapixel myth’ when you are about to buy a DSLR camera.
Most cameras come with APS-C sensors or a full-frame. DSLRs with APS-C sensors are smaller in size than full-frame ones. The central portion of the camera lens is crucial here. Cameras with this sensor are also much cheaper.
Full-frame sensors, on the other hand, are found in most professional and high-end DSLR cameras. Camera enthusiasts prefer using full-frame cameras to be able to get the most out of the lens. It also helps to keep the focal length pretty much the same as the lenses of 35mm cameras.
Although full-frame cameras are more expensive, you can take high-quality images and videos with great detail, sharpness, and tonality. The noise in low light is also quite less compared to the other sensor. You get larger pixels along with pleasing bokeh and shallow depth from a full-frame camera.
So, if budget isn’t an issue, the suggestion would be to get a full-frame camera. Otherwise, an APS-C or crop sensor camera isn’t that bad choice for product photography.
Image Quality
As I have mentioned earlier, the sensor is the most important thing to consider while buying a camera. DSLRs in the market come with enough MP to meet people’s needs for most cases.
Apart from that, another thing to determine the image quality is noise reduction capacity of the camera. Even though cameras take excellent quality images when there is enough light, especially outdoors. In low light, the thing is totally opposite. Average cameras struggle to capture images in low light without noise.
Although most product photographs are taken in the studio setting with enough lights, there might be situations when the scenario isn’t in your favor. In that case, a camera with good low lighting photography ability will be very useful.
The low light performance of cameras depends on the sensor size. If the sensor is bigger, the camera will not struggle to take less noisy shots in low light. Also, the ISO setting has to do with the performance in such conditions. Higher ISO settings will make the lens more sensitive to lights and will deliver less noise in images.
If you have enough artificial light setup, you will be able to click good quality product images. If this isn’t the case, make sure the camera lens performs equally well in low light.
High ISO sensitivity can improve your low light photography. ISO level more than 1600 is considered quite decent to make the images look more natural without using flash.
Focus Points and Auto Focus
Most professionals prefer manual focus when it comes to product photography. However, there will be a time when you need the autofocus to function well if you don’t have much time in hand and need a quick snap of the products. Focusing manually on each product sounds overwhelming and time-consuming.
This is especially crucial for professional photographers who work for an hourly based rate. Clients don’t want to spend much time to minimize photography cost. In such cases, a DSLR camera with good autofocus capability can provide great value to your work.
Most cameras do a decent job of maintaining autofocus on still subjects. If you want to invest in a better one, make sure the gear also performs great with moving subjects as well.
Video Recording
If you are also concerned about the video recording performance of the camera that you are about to get, pay close attention to its frame rates. Higher frame rates will get you nice and crisp looking videos. Do also consider having an external microphone to get better audio recording control.