Choosing the right digital camera for memories that matter the most

Smartphone cameras can’t capture those first-rate images everyone wants when it’s a big occasion, a dream vacation or one of life’s special moments you’re photographing

In Partnership WithHKT PREMIER

Reading Time:4 minutes

Kit Chan specialises in capturing life’s special moments. Photo: CTKKIT Photography

Published: 9:33am, 3 Jul 2018Updated: 9:33am, 3 Jul 2018

Never before has so much been photographed by so many. According to estimates from Keypoint Intelligence/InfoTrends, some 1.3 trillion images are expected to be taken worldwide in 2018, 87 per cent of them captured on smartphones.

This obsession with visually recording the minutiae of every day is even enshrined in our language (ergo the phrase: “Pics, or it didn’t happen”).

For those images quickly shared, and soon forgotten, a smartphone probably will do the job. When memories matter – a milestone occasion, or a dream vacation – nothing can surpass a fit-for-purpose camera. To keep those memories alive long after your current device has passed its use-by date, we asked some experts about the latest digital camera equipment they would use.

Nature and wildlife writer/photographer Martin Williams (www.drmartinwilliams.com and www.hkoutdoors.com) recommends the Olympus O-MD E-M1 Mark 2, which came out last year (or this year’s model, the O-MD E-M10 Mark 3), as an excellent choice for a wide range of outdoor photography. “It’s an outstanding camera with great build quality, and the camera and lenses are more compact and lighter than with typical camera systems,” he explains.

A mobile phone can’t take pictures like this, of a rainstorm over Victoria Harbour, taken using a modern digital camera. Photo: Martin Williams

Perhaps couple with the PRO range of Olympus lenses, like the 12-40 zoom – delivering more zoom range and greater versatility in a range of lighting conditions than a smartphone, Williams continues. The 300mm f4 telephoto lens is a boon for photographing birds and other wildlife, “and has stabilisation capabilities so amazing you can even achieve handheld video shots (less need for the hassle of carrying a tripod), with a 1.4x teleconverter helping when you need even more power,” he says. An excellent, though less specialised lens is the 40-150 zoom, Williams adds.