Choosing a SLR

In My previous post tried to highlight what are the basic differences between a compact and a Digital SLR, the advantages of both. Now it’s up to you to decide if you are a photo enthusiast and that you are ready to take photography as a hobby or you need a camera just to capture your life moments.

For people of the later kind cost of the camera will be very important criteria while choosing a camera so naturally they will fall for Point and shoot. Although these days so many camera companies are coming up with a start-up models at very low prices. But the catch with SLRs is it is not a onetime investment, as your appetite for the quality grows you might want to experiment new lenses which is again a costly affair.

For those who are ready for SLR experience below is what I think a good buying guide. Now I am a start-up like most of you all; so trying to point out things which I considered while choosing my first SLR.

Accessories:

Unlike Point and shoot it is not enough just to buy a camera, there are other mandatory accessories-

    

   ·         Lens(es)          

  

   ·         Memory                

    ·         Battery/Power supply/additional battery    

      

  

·         Camera bag  

Minimum one Lens is required for camera to work. If you know your requirements and the lenses required for the same; that is additional accessory.

Check minimum and maximum memory supported by the camera you wish to buy. All cameras support the standard SD cards ranging from 1GB to 64GB memory. Since SLR is more into still images I suggest class 4 is most adequate. I used the same 2GB card which I bought for my Canon Powershot into my first SLR Canon 600D/T3i.

Most of the distributers sell new SLRs along with the supported battery. If not standard  batteries are available in market ranging from 10 to 50 bucks.

A camera bag is one of the important accessory for an SLR since it is bulky, has more number of accessories and most important Costly. You will not handle an SLR in the same way you used to handle a compact camera.

Brand:

When you decide to buy an SLR and start inquiring about the brand you friends use everyone will be religious about the particular brand they own. In my opinion the brand is not that important, in terms of quality all the leading manufacturers will match. When you compare two cameras in the same range (entry-level, advanced amateur, etc.) the differences in terms of quality or features are very small.

                                                              

Cost:

Don’t buy a too cheap camera. Look for optimum priced camera and accessories. Choose a camera model which is not too old, a model released at least a year before will be available for a good price, just Google it. Now a days it’s a fashion for the camera makers to come up with a new model every year however they have very little differences from the one released previous year. Look for features like maximum resolution, size, live shoot mode, image stabilization, auto focus etc. Invest in a system which will last you for at least about 5 to 8 years since you are investing a good deal of money.

To summarize, there is no thumb rule for buying a camera, however you need to find an optimum configuration which will make the transition from a compact camera to its high Q counterpart as easy as possible. Please feedback your responses here on my blog.

Don’t forget to check out my pictures page...http://understandingslr.blogspot.com/#!/p/an-evening-in-san-josein-pictures.html