Things You Should Know Before Buying DSLR Camera
I am new to Photography and would like to buy my first Camera. What camera should I buy?
This is one of the most commonly asked question for beginners and rightfully so. With so many different models and types of camera out there in the market today, it can get confusing not only for the beginners but sometimes gets the best of even the more advanced photographers.
Before you look into buying your first camera, you need to understand that it’s not the Camera that takes best photos. It’s the photographer. So keep away from forums where people brag about their most expensive gears.
First thing you need to ask yourself is. What is your budget?
If you know how much you can spend, you will get a rough idea as to which camera models and companies to look into. For anyone starting fresh, you will be looking for Entry Level DSLRs. There are a lot of camera manufacturers out there and all have wide range of camera models from entry level to pro-level. The most common companies are Canon and Nikon. These companies have been manufacturing cameras for a long long time and they both excel in what they have to offer.
My suggestion in choosing a manufacturer is to first find out what your photography friends (who you will tend to hang out with more often) own. If your friends own Nikon then go with Nikon and if your friends own Canon then go with Canon. The reason I am saying this is because if more of you use the same Camera manufacturer then it will be quicker to learn how to use your camera and you can also share lenses and other gears.
It is also advisable to go to a camera shop and request the shop assistant if you can have a look and different models and see which one feels good and comfortable in your hands. If you end up shooting a lot, then getting the right camera body that fits your hand is also important.
When you are considering how much to spend on a body and lens, you will also have to take into account the additional cost for buying a camera bag, lens filters to protect your lens from scratches, extra battery if you travel a lot, extra memory card, cleaning kit and sometimes extended warranty too.
What type of photography are you into?
Once you know which camera models fit your budget, you will have to ask yourself what type of photography you will most likely do. This will help you decide what lens to buy with your new camera body. Lot of cameras come with Kit Lenses and if you are under tight budget, kit lens will be your best friend until you save up enough to upgrade to a better lens. But don’t underestimate the Kit Lens. If you know how to use them, they are capable of producing just as good photos as other high end lenses under given conditions.
Under, what type of photography you will be doing, you will also have to ask yourself questions like, will I be shooting landscapes or people or plants and flowers etc? Will I shooting a lot in low light or fast action like sports and journalism or will it be simply to capture family moments?
Entry level DSLRs are generally all purpose cameras. This means that they can its functions will be limited but at the same time will be able to handle a lot of situations pretty well. Depending on the model, their capability to handle certain complex and difficult situation will be different. The higher you go on the model number, the better the features become and the more easily your camera can handle these situations with ease. This in turn will means spending that extra bit of cash to get a little bit more image processing power in your camera. IF you look at different models even in the latest camera release, you will find that even now, these cameras don’t have all functions and features that are exceptional. Some cameras have high ISO tolerance while some can shoot photos are lightning speed and some can capture images in huge mega pixels etc. At the end, you have to choose what type of photography you are into and choose the model.
Words of Advice:
– Try to avoid meaningless competition of who is carrying what camera body and try and pay more attention in improving your skills in taking better pictures.
– Don’t get caught up with megapixel wars. These days all new cameras out in the market have enough megapixels to allow you to print large images. Even your phones these days have enough megapixels to print an image about A3 in size. That is bigger than any image you will even end up printing.
– Invest in better glass rather than body. Body will eventually have to be upgraded and they lose their value but good lenses hold their value for a long time.
Article made possible with the help of Vivek Basnet.
