Community Newsletter: Q&A: Newbie to dSLR: Taking the next step beyond point-and-shoot cameras

Re: digital SLR for newbies

In reply to: Newbie to dSLR: Taking the next step beyond point-and-shoot cameras by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Photographers are often just as rabid in their support for the brand of camera they use and derision for the other brands as any Apple vs Windows debate, so take it with big grains of salt when a Canon user sneers at Nikon cameras or vice versa.

All of the big-name traditional camera makers -- Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus, etc -- make excellent DSLRs and other companies previously known for electronics also make excellent DSLRs -- Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc, etc.

Some of the digital photography magazines have buyer's guides, but I find they're more useful for their descriptions of what a feature is and how it's used or if it's useful, than their rankings. The buyer's guides will help you figure out what features you need, what features you'd like, and which ones you can ignore because you'll never use them.

I've been a pro photographer for 20+ years. Each time I've bought new cameras, there were features available on some that weren't on others and it would be great to be able to pick and choose from a list and assemble a dream camera. However, you'll probably have to settle for whichever one has more of the features you need that any other camera has. Check to see when it was first released as it might soon be due for an upgrade or replacement. When it is, you can either buy the improved one or look for a reduced price on the "suddenly obsolete" one.

Lens choice depends on what you plan to photograph, but I recommend a zoom instead of the 50mm "normal" lens. (I'm using focal lengths for 35mm film cameras in this.) A 35-70 or 28-70 is very useful, gives good results, isn't heavy, and doesn't cost a fortune. What you get both longer and shorter than those ranges depends on what you shoot. There are some impressive zooms with very long ranges from short to long that can replace many lenses in your camera bag, but they're big, heavy, and pricey. For those times when you would only take the body and one or two lenses, owning that kind of wonder-zoom requires that you have "all" (so to speak) of your lenses mounted on the camera, even when you want to travel light.

If it's allowed here, I'd like to recommend a terrific book on photography. It's "Photography for the Joy of It" by Freeman Patterson. (Not to be confused with Kodak's "The Joy of Photography".) It's a marvellous book about how to "see" a photo before you shoot it and how to get that pre-visualized image on film or on a memory card. It never fails to inspire my photography whenever I read it. (Patterson has other books that are also good, but that's the best one to start with.) Whether you're a complete newbie or a pro, it's a great book.

I used to tell new photographers that film is cheap, in other words shoot a lot and learn from your results. Pixels are even cheaper, so get in the habit of shooting different angles, or with a different lens, or different shutter speed or whatever. Break the snapshooter's habit of quickly taking only one shot of a subject and moving on. When you look at all your shots of each subject, compare them critically and see what worked, what didn't -- and why.

You'll be fine regardless of which of the major camera brands you pick, but do try to ignore the brand arguments by people who should spend more time shooting pics than fighting about brands. If all of your friends use one brand, then unless you really love a particular camera model of another brand, then consider getting the same brand as them so you can borrow lenses to try out for the subjects you shoot. Otherwise, buy what's best for you. The Nikon/Canon, Coke/Pepsi, Windows/Mac debates are almost always ridiculous and unhelpful.

Jeff