Choosing your first dSLR

November 25, 2011 @ 10:00AM

Choosing your first dSLR

Your guide to a tricky but important choice...

By Haje Jan Kamps

Whenever a new excuse for buying stuff (Christmas? Birthdays?) rolls around, the retailers are rubbing their money-grabbing little paws in glee, in anticipation of making a killing over the holiday seasons. Be that as it may, fact remains that there is a lot of choice out there, and whether you are buying your first camera, or whether you are out shopping for a friend of family member, you might need a hand.

Welcome to the Pixiq guide to entry-level dSLR cameras: What should you be looking for, what should you be buying, and why? It’s all in our handy shopping guide, right here…

Once you’ve decided to start looking for a dSLR, you might have some reason in mind already. Perhaps you feel as if you’re outgrowing your compact camera, whether that’s creatively or technically. Maybe you’re not really feeling as if you’re challenging yourself enough as a photographer. Either way, you’ve decided to go play with the big boys – welcome aboard!

The first and most important thing you need to know is that there aren’t any really bad digital SLR cameras out there.

In fact I would argue that there aren’t actually any bad digital cameras on the market anymore in general – stick to a respected camera brand, and you’re home free. If we’re looking at compact cameras, you can buy a respectible camera for under $100 – the Nikon Coolpix L20 wil set you back $99 or thereabouts, and is a lot of camera for your hard-earned dollars.

Anyway, we were talking about dSLR cameras. Here are a few things you should be looking at..

Things to think about

Do you already own a SLR camera? If you have already bought into a particular brand of camera, take a good, hard look at your lenses. If you’ve bought a lot of high-end lenses and flashguns etc, swapping from one brand to another might have a lot of hidden costs in them. On the other hand, if you have a lot of old, tattered equipment with scratched lenses, see it as an opportunity: eBay off the lot, and start afresh.

Canon or Nikon? This is a perennial question which I’m not going to go anywhere near. I defy anybody to be able to tell the difference between a camera taken with a Canon or with a Nikon camera. Or a Sony. Or a Panasonic. Or a Sigma. Things have moved on hugely since the raging Canon-Nikon debates of the early 1980s (and they scarcely made all that much sense then). Whichever camera system you buy into, you’re going to live with for a while (probably), so do think about it. You – not your camera equipment – is going to be the bottleneck, so don’t worry too much about what you might have heard form the old graybeards…

Buying into a system? You know best what kind of a photographer you are. If you’re likely to start buying high-end lenses (or ‘fast glass’, as it’s frequently called among seasoned photographers), then you have two choices: Canon or Nikon. There are a lot of other people out there building great DSLR cameras, but once you start talking seriously high-end equipment, it’s one of the two big ones, I’m afraid. On the other hand, if you are a semi-serious hobbyist, don’t discard other camera brands out of hand: Sony, Olympus and Panasonic are building some very capable cameras indeed – with some serious money-saving opportunities, too!

Body or glass? If you have to choose between buying an expensive body and cheap glass or a cheap body and expensive glass, then go for the posh lenses. Every time. Personally, I am still using lenses that I bought nearly 10 years ago, even though I’ve changed my camera bodies half a dozen times since: You can take fantastic photos with an entry-level body and expensive lenses. Putting bargain lenses on a top-level body is, frankly, a complete waste of money. Even better: Buy yourself a nice prime lens, and be amazed at what your camera body can do.

Megapixels? In general, don’t worry about megapixels – most dSLR cameras come with 10 megapixels or more, and that’s enough. Hell, there’s even a prominent group arguing that more pixels aren’t necessarily better, and that 6mpx is all you need, really. I’m inclined to agree – you very rarely use them at full resolution anyway. What I’m trying to say is that Megapixels should be the last thing you look for in a digital camera in general – and a dSLR especially.

So, to summarise:

Don’t worry too much about the brand of your camera body
Buy Canon or Nikon if you anticipate dropping a lot of money on lenses in the long run
Spend your money on lenses, not camera bodies
Oh. and also consider looking into EVIL cameras - they're smaller and lighter than SLR cameras, but you keep the ability to swap lenses, and they can take great-quality photos!

3 great bargains

So, you’ve decided to leap into the pool of DSLRs, but you want to spend as little money as possible? These three cameras are your best options:

Sony Alpha A290

The Sony Alpha 290 is an absolute bargain, and a great entry into the world of SLR. You get 14.2 mpx (more than enough), RAW image format (which is a must), and an incredibly nifty little feature: In-camera optical ‘SteadyShot’ image stabilisation! This means that any lens you connect to the Sony Alpha camera will be image stabilised – this is a feature you pay tons of money for in the lenses of other camera manufacturers!

The Sony Alpha lenses are compatible with Minolta AF and Konica lenses, so you get a reasonably good choice of glass, and the camera has a pretty wide shutter speed range of 30 seconds to 1/4000th of a second.

On top of all this, the Sony can be picked up with a fabulous kit lens – sure, it’s not the best glass you can buy, but who cares when you’re eager to get started. You can always chuck away (or eBay) the kit lens later, and upgrade to something better, once you know what kind of photos you’re likely to be taking!

You can get the Sony Alpha 230 with a kit lens from Amazon.com for about $470 and from Amazon.co.uk for about £390.

Canon EOS 1100D / Canon Rebel T3

The world of digital cameras has come a very long way indeed. I remember buying my first DSLR in the mid-to-late 1990s, and, well, you’d pay a small fortune for something that wasn’t all that amazing.

These days, though, you’re not needing to spend that much money to pick up a big-brand SLR camera. Obviously, Canon felt Sony and the other budget-DSLR manufacturers breathe down their neck, and they had to respond. And boy, did they respond: The EOS 1100D / Rebel T3 is one heck of a camera. Sure, so they’ve cut a few corners here and there, but, frankly, I don’t give a damn.

Personally, if I were to buy a SLR today, I’d buy one of two cameras: A Canon EOS 5D mk II (which costs a small fortune), or a 1100D / T3. Why? Because the imaging sensor is brilliant, and you can start saving up to buy lenses that will be with you and your camera system for a decade or more. When you finally out-grow the 1100D , eBay it and buy a mid-range camera (like the Canon 600D), or start looking at spending serious money for a serious camera (Canon 5D mk II if you want full-frame coverage, 7D if you don’t) – but none of the money you spent on lenses was a waste: It’ll all still be there, ready for you to snap away.

Of the bargain-snappers, only the 1100D / T3 has a CMOS sensor – which makes a surprising difference in image quality: Not necessarily better, but for some reason the grain on a CMOS sensor at higher ISO is a lot more similar to film than CCD sensors pushed to the limit… All of which means that the 1100D photos ‘feel’ more natural when you look at them.

You can get the Rebel T3 from Amazon.com for about $490 or the Canon 1100D from Amazon.co.uk for about £400 – both with a Canon EF-S 18-55 kit lens.

Nikon D3100

Nikon’s baby camera is the D3100 – and it’s another bloody strong contender to the bargain crown. It comes with a super-advanced light meter – the 3D Matrix metering system borrowed from far more expensive Nikon cameras, which means that the Nikon is definitely the most capable in terms of getting the light measurements right.

The other thing the D3100 gets right is that it has a fabulous 3-inch LCD screen on the back of the camera, which makes a huge difference when you’re checking your photos in the field, to ensure you've captured what you're looking for all right.

Just like the Canon camera, the Nikon is an opportunity to start climbing the ladder – Buy the most expensive lenses you can afford, get some tasty flashguns, and they’ll be with you for a long time indeed.

I have to admit that I’m a Canon man at heart (I’ve used Canon cameras since I stole my dad’s Canon A1 out of the cupboard when I could barely walk. I didn’t break it, luckily), but it’s starting to seem as if Nikon currently have a nicer progression through the cameras – the D3100 is a peach, and the D5000 or D5100 – which is the next step up without being that much more expensive – is a deceptively simple, yet very serious, camera, for serious photographers.

You can pick up a D3100 from Amazon.com for about $640 and from Amazon.co.uk for £440 or so.

So… What should I choose?

If you want to take the step from compact cameras to SLRs, but foresee that you’ll continue being a casual amateur, go for the Sony. It’s a great little camera, a fantastic bargain, and the lenses available are not bad at all.

If you are ambitious in your photography, grab a dice. Throw it. Even numbers are Canon. Odd numbers are Nikon. They’re both absolutely brilliant cameras, and – considering what you get for your money – bargains. The Canon has a slightly better imaging sensor (but you wouldn’t be able to tell until you’re at higher ISO speeds) and the Nikon has a marginally better light meter (which doesn’t make that much difference in real life) and a better screen (which does). Seriously, if you’re having trouble making up your mind, throw the dice. It’ll save you a lot of headache.

Any final tips?

Buy a cheap camera body, then invest in some lovely lenses. You know it makes sense...

I know I’ve repeated this several times in this article, but if you’re new to SLRs, I would advise to buy the entry-level model from a manufacturer. Start taking photos – you won’t out-grow your camera body for a while, trust me on that, but you might out-grow your lenses. Start by buying a ‘Nifty Fifty‘ (a 50mm prime lens). Most manufacturers have a f/1.8 which is good and a f/1.4 which is great…

Once you have one of those, start thinking about the type of photography you do. If you want to start shooting macro, you’ll need to start looking into a macro lens. If you want to photograph gigs or wildlife, you’ll want a fast tele-zoom (I can’t recommend Sigma’s 70-200mm f/2.8 DSM lens highly enough – it’s a bargain for what you’re getting). If you’re more into in-door or landscape photography, you want to go wider – but only you know exactly what you want.

Buying cheap lenses is false economy – unless you don’t really know what you want to take photos of. If you’re just experimenting, flailing around a little (as we all are, at first), stick with your prime and your kit lens for a while. If you find yourself at the wide end of your kit lens most of the time, perhaps it’s a sign you need to spend a bit of cash on a wider lens. If you’re constantly at full zoom… well, you figure it out.

If you’re worried about spending hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars (or pounds, should you be on my side of the pond) on glass, go ahead and rent the lens you’re considering for a few weeks. Does it do everything you want it to? Is it too heavy? Does it feel right? Is it fast enough? If you’re not happy, rent a different lens, and keep searching. When you find the right lens(es) for you, you’ll know it – and that’s the right time to start shelling out the big bucks.

Seriously: Buy glass first. Worry about camera bodies later. By the time you have bought some serious lenses, you’ll know what you need from a camera (wide angle? Full-frame sensor. Sports? Fast, high-frames-per-second camera. Walking a lot? Buy a capable, but light-weight camera body… Etc)… But it’s a supremely silly thing to do to spend a lot of money on a camera body until you know what you really want/need.

So, Haje, what do you use?

I love my Canon 450D. Its cheap as chips, but does the trick! I’ve had a lot of cool cameras in my time – I worked as a freelance photographer for a while, and bought all the cool gear. At one point, I drove around in a £1,300 car with £49,000 worth of camera equipment in the boot. I think it’s pretty safe to say that I’m a gadget nut, and a camera aficionado to boot.

… Which is why it might surprise you that my main camera is a Canon EOS 550D. It’s not the newest camera on the market anymore. It never was the best. But it does everything I need from a camera: It’s plastic, so it’s reasonably light weight. It’s relatively sturdy. It uses SD cards (which plug straight into my MacBook Pro – it’s a small thing, but I like it).

The five-fifty takes all my lenses (I have loads, but the ones I’ve used in the past 6 months are a Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4.0, a Canon 50mm f/1.4, a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8, and my Lensbaby G3 lens), and it doesn’t look too conspicuous. It’s also cheap enough that I’m not too crazy worried about it getting stolen or dropping it. All in all: Perfect for my uses. And it's one cheapest camera you can buy with a Canon badge on it.

This article was first published in 2007, but has been updated with the most relevant information every year since. It was most recently updated at the end of 2011.

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Comments

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hello!
I´ve just started with a Nikon D90 and I´m pretty happy, I have a wonderfull Nikkor 60mm micro lens!

dheeraj

1 month ago

how is the d 90 performance is it good am a beginner so is it sufficient for me

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hello, Pentax? Aside from the fact they’re producing some excellent glass (the limited primes are top notch), the Pentax line is able to mount some pretty spectacular lenses going back a lot of decades including screw mount and medium format. Many of these lenses can be found for very little cost on sites like Craig’s List. Add the price to performance ratio on the camera bodies, and Pentax has a heck of compelling argument as well. People look entry dSLR might do well to check the reviews on the Pentax K-x. The world isn’t just Canon and Nikon.

Ryanpg

2 months ago

Pentax? ABSOLUTELY! If you're into experiencing a lot of nice glass for very cheap - go with Pentax. I've found several very nice primes, and a couple zooms at thrift stores for under $20, and since Pentax is backwards compatible with every lens they've ever made, they all work great.

So if you're not loyal to a particular brand (or you don't care to impress the "professionals" with a logo), and you love experimenting with great lenses - on the cheap - go Pentax.

Oh, final note on the topic of old glass on a new DSLR, as mentioned in other comments, all current Pentax DSLRs have in-body stabilization, so that $15 F1.5 24mm prime you got - is hand hold-able at slower shutter speeds.

P.S. - I've fallen in love with manual focus lenses, and manual mode shooting. I got a decent split focus screen, I keep a nice prime mounted and usually don't even consider mounting an all-purpose or kit lens. Revives my fond memories of first experiencing photography.

Ryanpg

2 months ago

Oh, one more final, final, final thought... I thought it might be informative to note, I sold my entire Canon system (based around a 7D body) and upgraded to a Pentax K20D for less than half the price.

Sometimes "fanboism" can be attributed to cognitive dissonance. Like, "I spent all this money on this crappy Pentax camera system when I really wanted a Canikon. So... it's not crappy. It's good! Yeah." But I do think it was an upgrade in lots of ways - better weatherproofing, more solid "feel" more available (used) glass, SD over CF card.

I hope reading about my experience and opinion might help a beginner look past the Canikon options.

:-D

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hello, Olympus? – Only for the hobbyist?
Olympus is known for it’s excellent glass technology.
Totally agree with John Caven – the photography world goes way beyond Canon and Nikon. The Olympus E-3 is an excellent camera for the professional photographer.

Anonymous

2 years ago

I’ve got Sony A300 as my first DSLR for 3 reasons (2 of them you mention in your excellent article):
1. In-camera optical ‘SteadyShot’ image stabilization
2. Ability to use old Minolta glass
3. Quick-view – when transitioning from a point-and-shot camera where you mainly use the screen for photo composition.
What’s neat about the way Sony implemented this feature is that using the screen does not slow auto-focus since it continues to use the fast phase detection auto focus mechanism.
An important thing to mention regarding Sony DSLRs is that Sony bought Minolta’s whole DSLR operation so actually much of the technology in their cameras are Minolta’s technology.

Anonymous

2 years ago

To add to the olympus fanboyism:
You can get the Olympus E520 with 2 kit lenses (14-42, 40-150) for 521$ from amazon. What’s so special?

The camera gets “Highly recommended” from dpreview (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse520/page32.asp).
The 14-42 gets “Recommended” and the 40-150 hasn’t been reviewed yet (though I have no complaints about it, in fact, I love the way it produces bokeh).

Add to this that your average Olympus camera & lens is half as big and half as heavy, compared to the traditional dslrs and my choice was made.

And just look at this lens http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/olympus_25_2p8_o20/ . How awesome is that?

John Cavan

2 months ago

Oh, come on Haje, am I going to have to write another Pentax article for you where I explain how amazing the dynamic range and low-light performance, coupled with the stellar pancake primes, that Pentax has done with their dSLR family? :)

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hello, mobile phone cameras? I’ve got an old Nokia 6070 with a shit camera that only takes blurry photos in a maximum resolution of 640×480. But don’t I deserve love, too?!

Just kidding. I’m all about the Canon 450D. I wouldn’t know the first thing about buying lenses for it — but I did manage to flush the lens cap down the loo one time in a drunken accident. Still takes nice photos, though.

Jonatan Curkovic

10 months ago

I want to buy this camera Sony Alpha SLT-A33. I like to know what is your opinion of this camera.

nijoy

7 months ago

hi,i am going to buy my first dslr . i want to buy canon 550D or nikon D90. i dnt no....

Rhonda

5 days ago

Hi! I currently have a Rebel xti. I also have a Tamron 300mm F3.5-5.6 lens. I have been increasingly more and more frustrated with my photos and I am ready to upgrade my camera.My main issue with my photos has been dark images when taking indoor shots. My camera is also constantly saying "busy" and I have missed SO many shots waiting for this busy message to disappear. I am also starting to have an error message in which my flash will not pop up and I will have to turn camera off and back on. Anyway...I have been looking at cameras and I am confused on which one to upgrade to. What do you think between the Nikon d7000 or the Canon 7D?? Thanks for your input!

Dennis Hunter

2 months ago

Why does it seem like you have assiduously avoided even mentioning Pentax in this article? I mean, you mentioned Sigma as a viable choice for an entry level camera despite the fact that Sigma doesn't really offer an entry-level body. You mention Olympus despite the fact that all indications are that Olympus will only maintain a single pro-spec entry in the DSLR category.

Here's why this omission matters: because the audience to which this article is targeted may not have heard of Pentax--even while the company, by both objective and subjective measures, makes good cameras.

To be frank, I wonder why so many authors of "which-entry-level-camera-to-buy" articles bother with specific Canon and Nikon recommendations anyway. The visibility of those brands make identifying their entry-level camera bodies pretty simple. What would be more helpful would be to provide people with information about alternatives to what they hear about from everyone else.

Perhaps there was some good reason for your omission of Pentax, but I can only imagine what that might be. Outside of brand-loyalist trash-talk I've not seen a review or other rigorous evaluation of Pentax cameras that would support the idea that they weren't worthy of consideration (and yes, I own several Pentax bodies myself). In fact, someone doubting Pentax might want to check out the DXO Mark sensor rating, or the DPReview score for the Pentax K-5.

Aws

1 month ago

Excellent guide!! Thank you very much for posting. It is going to be very helpful.

Canon EOS Rebel T3i

is one of choich

http://cannon-eos-rebel-t3i.blogspot.com

Tim

3 weeks ago

Thanks for this article. It confirms my most recent and serious search for getting into an interchangeable lens camera.

Your article cuts through all the technical details to the same thing I've realized. Get a decent body (sensor size first, IMO), that gets you started, and buy with lenses in mind.

I'm buying a used NEX 3 with one lens because it's affordable with a 23.4 x 15.6 mm Exmor APS HD CMOS Sensor , after that I'll buy Canon lenses which can be adapted to the Nex via an adapter.

(http://conurus.com/sony)

That way I can carry my lenses with me to the next camera body (hopefully with a full frame sensor;-).

I've been a "serious amateur" for quite a while. Most of that time I've been wanting to upgrade:-?

Now that affordable mirrorless, large sensor cameras and lens adapters are growing I'm taking the plunge:-)

Thanks for helping me with my greatest sticking point, the big (long term) picture...lenses.

Tim

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hearty agreement with:

Shop for a lens first!

Then buy the most basic body you can live with to fit the lens.

And the best advise I’ve ever been given about photography equipment: Pay cash! Even if you have to pay cash for an inexpensive point-and-shoot until you can save up enough to pay cash for higher-end gear, don’t go into debt for it.

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hey, I bought my 40D with credit card. There’s no problem at all. But..there’s a but. I earn some money every month from my 40D. One third of the money I use to pay my camera instalments, one third goes to my pocket another one third I would save it for new glasses in future. I survive though it is only a part time job. Make sure every click you make worth some dollars..or worth keeping.

Anonymous

2 years ago

hey! i bought myself a Nikon D60 a month or two ago and I love it, except they’ve discontinued the model now..
i did however think about body rather than lense while buying it and now that i actually think about it, i could have gotten a way better lense >.<
i feel smart :)

Anonymous

2 years ago

My vote gores for the Nikon D3000. We have used Nikons for many years strating with the D70 and moving on thru D200, D300, D700 and D3. This small Nikon is way better than the D70 and D200 of just 3 years ago!

Anonymous

2 years ago

I have a question.
I am using Nikon FM10 film slr.
Can I use my film slr lens on Nikon Dslr (D3000 or D5000)?

Girish.

Anonymous

2 years ago

“On the other hand, if you are a semi-serious hobbyist, don’t discard other camera brands out of hand: Sony, Olympus and Panasonic are building some very capable cameras indeed” Kudos deserved for recognising there are brands other than the big two but Sony have a pro spec camera the A900, plenty of pros swear by Olympus, oh and there is the brand with years of backwards compatible lenses, Pentax too.
Otherwise good advice

Anonymous

2 years ago

i’m using a camera that older than yours..canon 400D… :) with middle range line-up lenses like 10-22mm f3.5-5.6 usm, 28-135 f3.5-5.6 is usm and 70-200mm f4 L usm…and the famous “cheap as chip” lense, 50mm f.18II… :D

Anonymous

2 years ago

I find info about slr camera and your blog have very good content and infomation about that Thank you.

Anonymous

2 years ago

Wow! What an insightful and informative article. Huge thanks, this is really helpful!

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hiya,
Superb article thank-you so much. I’m just about to leap into the world of SLR primarily as I want to start producing some pieces of photo-realism. Any further tips on what I should look for in a camera with this in mind? I have a hunch megapixels might come into it a little more in light of all the zooming and resizing I might be doing as well as maybe the light meter for combining images from different photos effectively..? I’ve seen the Sony A230 and DCR HX1 as well as the Canon Powershot SX20 IS and SX1 IS all priced at £299 in my local shop. Which of these do you think might suit my purposes?
Thanks again
Kind regards,
Jim

Anonymous

2 years ago

“I have a question.
I am using Nikon FM10 film slr.
Can I use my film slr lens on Nikon Dslr (D3000 or D5000)?

Girish.”

I can’t say this with 100% certainty, but I’m fairly sure you can.

Anonymous

2 years ago

Thank you for posting.. Your blogs are very helpful!

Anonymous

2 years ago

How come the site has not even considered Olympus, Panasonic and Pentax at all?
Are they not cameras?

For your information, among all the kit lenses that come with the DSLR, the Zuiko Digital are the best. Olympus is known for their expertise in glass.

Whats more? Olympus and Pentax comes with in body IS (Image Stabilisation) which the Canon and Nikon are not even considering. If you need a steady shot with Nikon or Canon, you will have to buy lens that supports them – that also means burning your pocket.
This is not the case with Olympus. They have started giving inbody IS 2 years back with the E510 which is a still a hot selling entry level DSLR!
Proven dust reduction System – Another trait of Olympus. They have the best reduction system in the market, which can know from the review from any site!

There are more points to it.

I agree with others that the DSLR market today, goes beyond the Canons and Nikons!

Anonymous

2 years ago

Really appreciate this article…I couldn’t decide on whether to go for the D3000 with the VR Kit or 1000D.

After reading this article, it seems like both will serve my purpose of upgrading to a Digital SLR Camera.

Cheers!

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hey Guys. Live in the Middle East and looked high and low for a new Nikon D40 but they had discontinued it before I entered the world of photography. Got a helluva deal on the Sony Alpha 200. It’s a brilliant entry level camera. Quiet performer but now I’m looking to advance to the next level with new glass. I primarily like to shoot landscapes and portraits. Occasional travel as well. Would appreciate recommendations for lenses that are great and value for money.

Anonymous

2 years ago

@ girish

yes you can, nikon uses the f-mount which would mount most, if not all, it’s lenses since 1959.

Anonymous

2 years ago

hello,

it is said that most of the people just ignore Sigma cameras. And IMHO they deliver the best image quality with foveon sensors… the cameras are not for amateurs though as in most cases have to be used in manual mode but the quality of the picture! so far the only dSLR that can compete is canon 5D…

Anonymous

2 years ago

Nobody is saying that you can’t get pro results with cameras that aren’t Nikons or Canons. Some of the other brands have really good cameras and it’s still the photographer that’s the most important. But as far as the amount of lenses and accessories go the other brands are way behind. If you just want to take great pictures a lot of cameras will do. If you already know you’ll be upgrading and spending more money on photography equipment I’d stick with Canon or Nikon.

Anonymous

2 years ago

The Canon VS Nikon

My advise is that if you are going to buy high end pro camera then either Canon or Nikon both have great cameras but if you are going to buy a an amateur camera less than 1000 euro then my advise is to go for the Canon brand. Canon gives equal attention to Pros and enthusiast and comes out with great point and shot cameras when Nikon bring out to the market a lot of point and shot rubbish.

The choice is yours.

I have tried both brands different models and even though I started with Nikon and became a fanatic Nikon brand supported after I finish Film Academy and I new what I should expect from a good camera then was Nikon who disappointed me in several occasions. Instead Canon make me change my mind because even the point and shot digital Canon I bought for my nephew was taking astonishing pictures.

George

Anonymous

2 years ago

Hello!

im decided to buy a canon 1000d, ive done a lot of research and i am still wondering if i should buy the kit lens or just the body and buy right now some better ones like EF 28-135 IS or the EF-S 17-85/4-5.6.

what do you think?

go for the kit or start right know doing some real damage? :D

thanks A LOT

Anonymous

2 years ago

I need help! I don’t know what camera I should get! Friends tell me to get Nikon D40. Some tell me to get a Canon. But then I saw the Pentax K-X. My first choice was the Nikon D3000. But someone told me to get Pentax K-X since it has a in-body autofocus motor. I don’t want to spend a lot of money for lenses like up there. (Nikon) Pentax can do video, and looks pretty good. Can someone please give me some kind of feedback? My email is dhpinoy@gmail.com thanks for the help!

Anonymous

2 years ago

I’ve been wanting to get a DSLR, but I couldn’t find someone to talk to who didn’t have any biases or who didn’t talk down to me. I can’t thank you enough for this article!

Anonymous

2 years ago

Great post! I’m an amateur photographer with a Canon Powershot and want to upgrade soon to a dslr. I’ve done a lot of research and have asked so many people on what camera I should get. I’m going to stick with Canon and this post has definitely been helpful. Has anyone heard of the site Fotobabble.com? It’s a site where you can create “Talking Photos” in three steps: upload your photo, record your voice and share with friends on Twitter or Facebook. I’ve been using the site for my photography and recording a description about my photo. It’s fun, free, and easy to create these fotobabbles and share them with your friends and family. Here is a fotobabble I created with a photo I took when I was in Florida a few months ago. http://www.fotobabble.com/m/Sk5JU05EMTJZSFU9

Anonymous

2 years ago

Excellent guide!! Thank you very much for posting. It is going to be very helpful.

Anonymous

1 year ago

Great read.
Well, now it is indeed over a month ago that you posted this, so, I read the follow up article about Pentax and Olympus cameras – nice oversight ;)

I purchased a D60 a bit over one year ago. I am quite happy with it. I collected my thoughts about this specific model here:
http://www.photonopticum.com/Photography_matters/files/bd97ed671ec359658...

I think, Nikon migrated totally to the D5000 now?

Anonymous

1 year ago

I am looking for an entry level dslr, ungrading from my Canon SD750 point-and-shoot. I don’t want to spend more than $500 total for body and lens. Any good leads? E.g. buy a used body and a new lens… can that happen for $500? Thanks!

Anonymous

1 year ago

Sam, that should be entirely possible – try eBay!

Anonymous

1 year ago

Great work guys,

Shout out to all the guys!!

Hey guys checkout the unboxing of my new Sony A230 with twin kit lense at

http://spotlogger.blogspot.com/

Your input on the unboxing will be much appreciated as well :)

Anonymous

1 year ago

Haje, many thanks – this summary was well organizaed and precisely the type of advice I was looking for!

P.S.: BTW, I went with the Canon 1000D

Anonymous

1 year ago

These are all infomative posts.Let me give you simple points to remember in choosing for a DLSR.In finding the digital camera that will best suits you, these guidelines can really help a lot.But the best thing is to choose the digital camera that you will never had a hard time trying to learn how to use all its features.You should always be familiar with all of your digital camera’s capabilities so you will be enjoying all the benefits it can give you.

Anonymous

1 year ago

I’ve started research and I’m so confused. I need the most easy to learn DSLR digital camera. I want to be able to take pics of fast moving objects like my grandkids but easy to learn. Help!

Anonymous

1 year ago

hello,

I was wondering which camera should i get if i can’t afford to buy an external lens for at least a year. Should i spend a little more money now and get the nikon 5000? or will the 3000 suffice. I am a beginner photographer

thank you
KK

Anonymous

1 year ago

Hi Friends,
Reading the comments i now got bit confused.
I have cannon 500D with kit lens 18-55mm and a tele-poto 70-300mm lens.
Am thinking to switch to Nikon D90 with 18-200 lens or 18-105 lens.
Do any one has suggestions am not thinking of money and ready to take loss or 300$.
But my question is will it be worth enough by changing brands?
Reason is for taking the 15MP advantage or Cannon 500D i need to invest extra in better optics (say high end lens).
What made me to think so nikon would be better is it has 11 point, bigger sensor (but low pixel) and takes better colour rich photos.
If any one has suggestions please advise.

Anonymous

1 year ago

I was thinking of buying the nikon d3000, but i just wanted to ask first, what is the best camera to use for live gigs,something that will be able to capture photos in dull lighting? :)