Buying a Digital SLR Camera and Lens System
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Store to see cameras mentioned here.
In the past 3 years or so, since digital SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras began to come down in price so that the photo enthusiast who had been buying advanced digicams could afford them, more photographers have been making the jump to SLR models. Digital SLR cameras offer the top image quality for serious photographers. Those who are more advanced shooters or who have deeper pockets are interested in such models as the Canon 30D, 40Dor 5D and the Nikon D80 or D200 or other mid-range models. There are also several good lower-priced models to choose from made by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus and Pentax, and most models can be purchased with a kit lens or two.
Digital SLRs have the following advantages:
1. You are actually seeing through the lens so basically, what you see is what you get.
The viewfinders are larger and brighter so you can really see what you are shooting.
2. Faster startup and shot-to-shot times, shooting up to 5 frames per second in high-speed
mode.
3. Low noise, resulting in cleaner images in low-light situations where it is necessary
to use higher ISO values.
4. High-quality interchangeable lenses from wide-angle to telephoto to suit your shooting
needs.
5. External flash units are available for better photos. They can be mounted on the camera’s
hot shoe and can be bounced off the ceiling or walls to avoid washing out your subjects
and harsh shadows created by on-board flashes.
6. Most have a large number of buttons and dials that allow very fast adjustments of settings
including Exposure Compensation, Metering modes, White Balance, Aperture and Shutter speed,
ISO, Flash settings, and other functions without using menus, which makes it much faster
and easier to change settings to suit the shooting conditions.
7. Digital SLRs focus and shoot extremely fast under most conditions so you won't miss the
shot and many have a special focus mode for moving subjects.
Considerations:
Digital SLR cameras
are larger and heavier than compact digicams. If you like to keep a camera in your pocket
or purse,
then an SLR may
seem overly large, but you can always have
a 2nd inexpensive "take-anywhere" pocket camera. The size is actually easy to get
used to after a short time and any inconvenience is more than made up for by the superior
image quality. This is especially true if you are shooting with a longer zoom lens which
generally produces a better image than shooting distant subjects with a compact digital camera,
sharper and much more detailed images are the rule.
Even though an SLR may have fewer or the same number of megapixels as a compact point-and-shoot
digicam, the actual resolution is much higher because they have larger sensors. For example,
a 6 megapixel SLR will produce a more detailed image than an 8 megapixel compact digicam,
and will allow you to print larger images that look great. Due to the larger sensors, SLRs
have less “noise” at high ISO settings than compact digital cameras with the same number
of megapixels. And keep in mind that reviewers have noticed little difference in prints up
to 11 x 14" from models with 8 and 10 megapixels. That is not necessarily true with
compact digital cameras where higher megapixels often causes much higher noise levels OR
the deterioration of the images due to high in-camera noise suppression. The camera manufacturers
keep adding more megapixels to the same small sized sensors and few if any of these high
megapixel cameras produce better image quality than the preceding models with fewer megapixels.
Camera and Lens System
When you purchase your digital SLR, keep in mind that you are purchasing a system which will include not only the camera, but lenses and external flash units and other accessories that you might be interested in later on. Therefore you should do research on the whole system including any lenses that you might be interested in purchasing later. Often quality lenses cost more than the camera especially if they are stabilized or professional quality. You might start out with the kit lens which is generally a shorter focal length of less than 100 mm and soon find that you need more reach for distant subjects such as wildlife or scenery. Or you may want to add a wide-angle lens for shooting buildings and landscapes. You should, therefore, be aware of which lenses are available and what the prices are in the various systems from different manufacturers.
For example, I met one gal who had purchased an inexpensive Olympus SLR with 2 lenses and she decided she needed a longer telephoto lens but the longer lenses for that camera were really expensive unless she went with a 3rd party model.
Lens Availability, Price, and Quality
Look at differences in price for the lenses you are interested in. You can check all the available Canon lenses here and the available Nikon (Nikkor) lenses here Then go to B & H to check prices.
If you are interested in Sony or Olympus models, you can go to their sites to check lenses also.
Canon has a large assortment of lenses available and many are moderately priced. Read this great article on Canon lenses!
Image stabilized
lenses should be considered if you don’t want to use a tripod most of the time to avoid
blurring from camera shake at longer focal lengths. (Some cameras such as
the Sony Alpha now offer anti-shake technology in the camera, making any lens stabilized,
although this is a little less effective than stabilization in the lens itself.)
So keep in mind, when shopping for a digital SLR, to consider not only the camera body, but
look at the whole system of lenses and accessories. Look for a manufacturer that offers a
wide range of lenses at prices you can afford, flash units, and other accessories you might
be interested in later on. If you decided to upgrade your camera body in the future, you
will be able to use the same lenses and flash from major manufacturers. You can also purchase
3rd party lenses and accessories from vendors such as Sigma, Tamron and Tokina for Canon
and other brand cameras. A few of the new models from Sigma and Tamron even have stabilization!
Digital SLR manufacturers
Digital SLR models are manufactured by several companies. Currently, Canon is leading the market, with Nikon in 2nd place. Others include Sony, Pentax, Sigma, Samsung, Olympus and Fuji.
My Recommendations:
It depends on what
your needs are, but generally I recommend the Canon
Digital Rebel XTi
Current Canon EOS models:
Canon
Digital Rebel XTi
Canon EOS 40D, mid-priced
model, at $1300 body only and $1500 with 28 - 135 lens, other kits available
Canon
EOS 5D, body only
If you already have a collection of Nikon-mount lenses, you might want to go with a Nikon SLR, or if the features appeal to you, start out with one.
Current Nikon models:
Nikon
D40x
Nikon
D80
Nikon
D200
Other SLRs:
Sony
Alpha 100
Olympus Evolt E510
with 2 zoom lenses and anti-dust technology (to be available soon)
Pentax
K10D with Shake Reduction and 18-55mm lens, $859
Pentax
K110D
Please visit my Camera
Store to
see cameras mentioned here.
Lens recommendations
You obviously need a lens to go with your new SLR. You might want to start with a normal-range lens such as the kit lens that is available with most models. Or you might want to purchase the body only and choose a better quality general purpose or different focal-length lens instead of the kit lens if your budget permits. Normally kit lenses are not very high quality, with a couple of exceptions, so you might want to research lens quality online before making your purchase. I chose not to get the 18 – 55 mm kit lens with my Canon 20D, opting instead for the higher-rated, stabilized 17-85 IS f/4 – 5.6 lens. There are better general purpose lenses than that one for more $$, but it is a good quality lens. The “L” (Luxury) lenses are top of the line Canon lenses and the quality is amazing.
Lenses come not only in specified focal lengths, but are also have specified apertures or f-stops that refer to the “speed” of the lens. A lens with a wide aperture such as f/2.8 or less is referred to as a “fast” lens because it can let in more light resulting in faster shutter speeds. Many lenses have slower maximum apertures such as f/4 or 4.5. They are mainstream lenses and are good for outdoor photography with pretty good available light or indoors using flash. They are physically smaller, lighter weight and usually less expensive than fast lenses.
Keep in mind that you get what you pay for with lenses! If possible, purchase lenses with good reviews or "L" Canon lenses. Don’t get a nice digital SLR and stick a cheapo no-name telephoto lens on it; you would probably get better results using a point-and-shoot with a big stabilized zoom! If you purchase a Canon 400D or 40D, consider the 70 - 300 IS lens. It is the best inexpensive long focal-length zoom lens Canon offers and has good reviews and the price isn’t bad, around $550. That’s about the same price as the 17 – 85 IS, which is a good “walk-about” all-purpose lens. A popular lens that costs about twice as much is the Canon 14 – 105 L lens. Also consider “prime” lenses, which have a single, fixed focal length such as 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 100 mm, etc. These lenses are generally a little sharper than zoom lenses and sometimes they are cheaper and faster lenses.
Although there are a few good 3rd party lenses for Canon and Nikon, such as Sigma, Tamron and Tokina, they are not generally as good as Canon and Nikon lenses and most don’t have built-in stabilization.
If you can get the camera body and kit lens for about the same price as the body only, that would be worth having as most kit lenses only retail for about $100 sold separately. If you have to pay $100 extra with kit lens, consider purchasing another lens instead or in addition.
Digital SLR accessories
Memory Cards
Most SLRs use Compact Flash cards but some smaller ones use SD cards. Your camera will produce big files, especially if you shoot Raw, so get yourself a handful of memory cards in the 1 – 4 Gb range. I have three 1 Gb cards, three 2 Gb cards and a 4 Gb card. I believe in not putting all your eggs in one basket! I can get approximately 107 eight megapixel Raw images on a 1 Gb card.
Also pay close attention to the SPEED of the card. Make sure you get at least a 50X speed card, such as the Kingston Elite Pro. Cards come in several higher speeds such as 66, 80, and 120X. AVOID cards that show no rating or less than 50! Consider Sandisk Ultra II cards as they are inexpensive, reliable and fast.
Most photographers don’t use small cases for their SLRs. Instead, invest in a camera bag than can hold all your gear; camera, lenses, flash, lens hoods, batteries, cards, etc. These come in several formats from Tamrac and Lowepro, among others; backpacks, shoulder bags, rolling bags, and combo bags that can be shoulder/backpack/waist bags.
External Flash Units
The advantage of a flash unit is that they can be pointed upward or even backward to provide bounced flash that illuminates the subject with soft, diffused light rather than harsh, direct, “in your face” light that can whitewash your subject and cause harsh shadows behind the subject. They can also be used off the camera on a bracket or in another location.
Filters
Many
people like to use a UV Haze filter
over their expensive lenses to prevent scratches or damage to the surface of the lens and
for
easy dust cleaning. If you want to purchase
a filter, get a good brand such as a Hoya Pro 1 (Multicoated) filter to avoid lessening
the quality of the images. Polarizing filters are also popular for reducing reflections
and deepening blue skies, like polarizing sunglasses.
Lens Cleaning
Be sure to purchase a microfiber cleaning cloth and some lens cleaning solution. Never drop the solution directly on the lens. Put one or two drops on the cloth and clean the lens or filter.
Sensor dust cleaning
You are not likely to have a problem with dust on the sensor if you change lenses inside a home or vehicle or in any other clean environment. If you change lenses outside or often, then you might find dust on your sensor. Read my sensor cleaning article for information. I have started using the Sensor Klear pen with good results.
Image Editing Software
This is an important
tool for digital photographers. It is essential if you shoot Raw as
they have to be processed from raw data files into image files, i.e. tiff or jpeg. If you
purchase a Canon camera, the package will include image processing and viewing software. However,
a better all-around choice is Adobe Photoshop CS3 or
Adobe
Photoshop Elements
Not using an image editing application to process your images is like having a Porsche and never driving over 35 mph!