ANTHRO 330: Advanced Field Methods: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Professor Karen Nakamura

Quick jump to: [Anthropology credit] [Fine Arts credit] [Recommended Film Cameras]

What type of camera will I need?

A major component of the class will involve you taking photographs as part of your photoethnography. So you will need a camera. What type of camera depends on whether you are taking this course for Anthropology credit or Fine Arts credit.

Anthropology credit

If you are taking this course for Anthropology credit, your projects grades are weighted more heavily towards the written ethnography and analysis. While a good camera will help the aesthetic quality of your photographs, it is not critical.

The minimum requirement is that your camera have manually adjustable focus and aperture settings. It does not matter if the camera is digital or film-based.

A digital camera would most probably be less expensive overall. See the instructor for specific recommendations.

If you purchase a film camera, you would need to budget in about $100 for film + developing costs over the semester. You'll be shooting roughly 15 rolls of 24 exposure film, which comes out to be about $150 in film and developing costs. At this rate, it may be cheaper to purchase an inexpensive digital camera.

Fine Arts credit

If you are taking the course for Fine Arts credit, the Aesthetic aspect of your coursework is weighted more heavily than the written/analytical portions. Thus, you should have a camera that can produce good images. Your camera should have the following features in order to take quality photographs:

• 35mm or 50mm prime lens (no zooms; most consumer zooms are too dark (f/4 and above) for indoor candid photography and have too much depth of field for good selective focus)
• Manual focus override or focus lock capability
• Controllable aperture setting ("aperture priority" or "Av" setting)
• "Depth of Field" preview

You won't need a camera for the first two weeks of class, so if you're unsure then don't buy one before you know what you want. A new camera in this range should cost you about $250-300 with lens. It's often cheaper to buy mail-order anyway, so there's really no rush to get one while you're home over the summer, unless you can convince your mom and dad to pay for it. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. You can also buy a used camera for about $50-150 that should do just fine (Asahi Spotmatic; Nikon SLRs; Canon AE-1, etc.).

Note that most point and shoot, APS, and low- and mid-range digital cameras do not have controllable aperture settings. Please also note that there is often an inverse relationship between the price of a photographer's camera and their ability to use it properly. Many many good photographs have come from very inexpensive cameras.

You will need to produce photoessays journals every week. This means you will have to do your ethnography over the weekend, develop and print your film, then write the journal component by Wednesday afternoon. Doing this in the darkroom is certainly not impossible but may be difficult. Please allocate your schedule accordingly. You may find it more reasonable to shoot C-41, develop the film, and print using digital methods using the Anthro A/V workstation.

I do not recommend getting a digital camera for photographers taking this course for Fine Arts credit. Most of the affordable (<$500) consumer digital cameras have poor optics and low-end CCD sensors. Not only do do the <$500 consumer digitals provide worse image quality than a $10 disposable film camera, they are rapidly obsoleting themselves. This year's model is twice as good as last year's, next year's will be twice as good as this year's. It's not a good idea to buy digital unless you meet one of three possible conditions:

1. You shoot enough film (> 100 rolls a year) to justify a pro model;
2. You need to send your digital files immediately to your editor as a photojournalist
3. Your grandma bought you one and you can't return it.

That all being said, this course is doable with a digital camera, although depending on the quality your grade may suffer slightly. Lack of selective focus and aperture/depth of field control will hurt you the most. See below for recommendations.

Recommended Film Cameras

Students can shoot either color slide film or black and white negative film, digitizing it for presentation purposes. I've requisitioned a slide/film scanner for the Ethnographic Lab for student use. If there is enough student interest, I will teach some basic darkroom skills. You should plan on shooting about 15 rolls over the course of the semester, budgeting about $10/roll for the slide film + developing ($3/roll if you go black and white).

Here are some suggestions of cameras that meet the requirements for the course:

• El Cheapos $50-$150 ("I work two jobs and eat pasta with soy sauce every night"):
  • Old beat-up manual focus Pentaxes, Minoltas, Nikons, etc. -- ~$50-150
    -- look for an aperture ring on the lens barrel (should read something like 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8; this indicates that you can set the aperture manually)
    --Make sure the light meter works or get a $30 external meter light-meter
    --After buying the camera, run a roll of cheap film through it and develop it immediately to make sure it works properly. Buy from a place with at least a 7 day return policy. ebay is a source of many good cameras, but make sure you check the seller's feedback rating before bidding. I've had better luck at the many antique shows in the Twin Cities.
• Mid-range $250-$400 ("my parents aren't rich but they're willing to make an investment"):
  • Canon Rebel Ti with EF 50mm f/1.8 or EF 35mm f/2 lens -- ~$350 new
    --don't get the standard zoom that comes with the package. It's much too dark for candid indoor photography (and is a pretty lousy zoom anyway).
  • Pentax ZX-M with 50mm f/2 lens -- $250 new
    -- manual focus and match-LED metering but otherwise a fine performer, replaces the former top-seller, the Pentax K1000.
  • Pentax ZX-30 with 50mm/f1.8 -- $350 new
    -- the autofocus and autoexposure version of the above
• High-end ("Financial aid? What's that?"):
  • Canon EOS 7e with EF 50mm f/1.4 or EF 35mm f/2 -- ~$900
  • Nikon N80 w/ 50mm f/1.4 or 35mm f/2.0 D-AF lens -- ~$900
  • Canon Digital Rebel with 50mm f/1.8 or 28-135mm IS - $1000
• Extravagant ("My parents bought me a Lear Jet to fly to our cottage in the Swiss Alps"):
  • Nikon F5 -- $2200
    -- this camera weighs approximately 3 pounds (without a lens attached!) and can be used as a brick or hammer when needed. Lift weights before purchasing. If you are mugged, hit the perp over the head with the F5, you won't dent the camera but you may get arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. This is the premiere camera for photojournalist wannabes. After about a week of sore shoulders, they sell their F5s and buy F100s, EOS 1vs, or Leicas.
  • Leica M7 with 50mm f/1.0 Noctilux -- $4000
    -- this is the ideal candid field camera: super quiet, unobstrusive, fast. The new Voigtlander Bessa L and R rangefinders are Leica mount compatible, more than half the price, and 80% the quality -- $1500
    -- you can also get most of the same quietness and optical quality in a 1960s era Yashica Electro GSN for $30.... just something to keep in mind
  • Hasselblad 205FCC with Zeiss 90mm lens -- ~$10,000
    This camera sceams two things:
    1) I'm very rich!!!!! Look at me! Pro-photographer extraordinaire!
    2) I'm stupid! Mug me! Shoot me! Steal my camera!

Other useful gadgets: tripod ($30-$600); camera bag ($20-$200; diaper bags work great, especially for candid street photography in rougher neighborhoods); external flash (Vivitar 283, 285HV, etc.).