What Digital SLR
What Digital SLR
Beginner Level
“What is this DSLR thing about then?”
DSLRs are a great way to be in control of your photography and to get involved more seriously. They offer interchangeable lenses (really a must if you mean business) and allow for full manual control over your shooting. To start with, I’d really recommed three brands here - Nikon, Canon and Olympus.
Nikon’s budget offering for the beginner is the D40 - an excellent low-cost 6-megapixel digital SLR that is compact yet quite capable. Still, if you’d like something newer with a few more megapixels then the Nikon D40X, or its recent replacement the D60, come into play. These two are great introductions to the world of Digital SLR Photography and will provide you with lots of features to play with. There isn’t much to choose between the D40X and the D60 as they’re both based on the same body and have the same 10-megapixel sensor - main improvements in the D60 are the introduction of a dust reduction system, an eye sensor to control display, and an AF-S silent motor kit lens.
Canon’s model range starts with the EOS 1000D, which is cheap as chips yet packed with features. It has everything you’d need of a Digital SLR including 10 megapixel sensor, 7-point AutoFocus system and even LiveView. One step up in the Canon range is the EOS 450D which has upgrades such as a couple of extra megapixels, larger screen, spot metering and better continuous shooting mode, all fitted in roughtly the same size body. Both of these are really excellent cameras that carry the Canon quality stamp and give you access to an excellent range of lenses.
Lastly I have to mention Olympus’ excellent E-420. This new E-System model boasts extreme user-friendliness in an amazingly light and compact take-anywhere form. It is really a great little camera that you need to pick up and play with to appreciate.
How to choose the perfect Digital SLR for you? Well there is no such thing as a perfect anything, but the models above do get pretty close. The choice between the top brands is really personal and down to what lenses you’re going to use as much as the look and feel of the camera.
Tags: camera buying guide, Digital Cameras, what digital camera, what digital slr