A complete guide to chose the best dSLR for your photography from TrillionPixel (Premium Photography Guides).
You might have studied the explanations of digital SLR
technology in this chapter because you're pondering which dSLR to buy. Because
technology changes so rapidly, it's unlikely that the camera you buy today will
be your last. On the other hand, even the least expensive dSLR is a major
investment for most of us, particularly when you factor in the cost of the
lenses and accessories you'll purchase. You want to make the right choice the
first time. Digital SLR decision makers often fall into one of five categories:
■ Serious
photographers. These include photo enthusiasts and professionals who may
already own lenses and accessories belonging to a particular system, and who
need to preserve their investments by choosing, if possible, a dSLR that is
compatible with as much of their existing equipment as possible.
■ Professionals.
Pro photographers buy equipment like carpenters buy routers. They want
something that will do the job and is rugged enough to work reliably despite
heavy use and mistreatment. They don't necessarily care about cost if the gear
will do what's needed, because their organizations or clients are ultimately
footing the bill. Compatibility may be a good idea if an organization's
shooters share a pool of specialized equipment, but a pro choosing to switch to
a whole new system probably won't care much if the old stuff has to fall by the
wayside.
■ Well-heeled
enthusiast photographers. Many dSLR buyers exhibit a high turnover rate,
because they buy equipment primarily for the love of having something new and
interesting. Some actually feel that the only way they will be able to take
decent (or better) pictures is to own the very latest gear. I'm happy to let
these folks have their fun, because they are often a good source of mint used
equipment for the rest of us.
■ Serious
newcomers. Many dSLRs are sold to fledgling photographers who are buying their
first digital camera or who have been using a point-and-shoot camera model.
These buyers don't plan on junking everything and buying into a new system anytime
soon, so they are likely to examine all the options and choose the best dSLR
system based on as many factors as possible. Indeed, their caution may be why
they've waited this long to purchase a digital SLR in the first place.
■ Casual newcomers. As prices for dSLRs dropped to the
$600 level, I noticed a new type of buyer emerging, those who might have
purchased a point-and-shoot camera at the same price point in the past, but now
have the notion that a dSLR would be cool to have and/or might provide them
with better photos. Many of these owners aren't serious about photography,
although they might be serious about getting good pictures of their family,
travels, or activities. A large number of them find that a basic dSLR with its
kit lens suits them just fine and never buy another lens or accessory. It could
be said that a dSLR is overkill for these casual buyers, but most will end up
very happy with their purchases, even if they aren't using all the available
features.
Questions to Ask Yourself:
Once you decide which category you fall into, you need to
make a list of your requirements. What kind of pictures will you be taking? How
often will you be able to upgrade? What capabilities do you need? Ask yourself
the following questions to help pin down your real needs.
How Much Resolution Do You Need?
This is an important question because, at the time I
write this, dSLRs are available with resolutions from about 10-12 megapixels to
24 megapixels (and beyond, if you include some exotic types called medium
format cameras). Even more interesting, not all digital SLRs of a particular
resolution produce the same results. It's entirely possible to get better
photos from a 12 megapixel SLR with a sensor that has low noise and more
accurate colors than with a similar 12 megapixel model with an inferior sensor
(even when the differences in lens performance is discounted).
Looking at resolution in general, you'll want more
megapixels for some types of photography. If you want to create prints larger
than 8-10 inches, you'll be happier with a camera having 12-14 megapixels of
resolution or more. If you want to crop out small sections of an image, you may
need a camera with 16-21 megapixels. On the other hand, if your primary
application will be taking pictures for display on a web page, or you need
thumbnail-sized photos for ID cards or for a catalog with small illustrations,
you may get along just fine with the lowest-resolution dSLR camera you can
find. However, keep in mind that your needs may change, and you might later
regret choosing a camera with lower resolution.
Full Frame or Cropped Frame?
Throughout this chapter I've mentioned some of the differences
between full-frame sensors and cropped sensors. Your choice between them can be
one of the most important decisions you make. Even if you're new to the digital
SLR world, from time to time you've heard the term crop factor, and you've
probably also heard the term lens multiplier factor. Both are misleading and
inaccurate terms used to describe the same phenomenon: the fact that some
cameras (generally the most affordable digital SLRs) provide a field of view
that's smaller and narrower than that produced by certain other (usually much
more expensive) cameras, when fitted with exactly the same lens.
Figure A quite clearly shows the phenomenon at work. The
outer rectangle, marked 1X, shows the field of view you might expect with a
28mm lens mounted on a "fullframe" (non-cropped) camera, like the
Nikon D3-series or Canon 1Ds series. The area marked 1.3X shows the field of
view you'd get with that 28mm lens installed on a socalled APS-H form factor
camera, like the Canon 1D series. The area marked 1.5X
 |
Figure A: Crop "factors" provide different fields of view.
|
shows the field of
view you'd get with that 28mm lens installed on an APS-C form factor camera,
which includes virtually all other non-Four Thirds/Micro Four Thirds models.
Canon's non-full-frame cameras, like the 60D and 7D, have a form factor of
1.6X, which is virtually identical and also called by the APS-C nomenclature.
All FourThirds/Micro Four Thirds cameras use a 2X crop factor, represented by
the innermost rectangle. You can see from the illustration that the 1X
rendition provides a wider, more expansive view, while each of the inner fields
of view is, in comparison, cropped.
The cropping effect is produced because the
"cropped" sensors are smaller than the sensors of the full-frame
cameras. These sensors do not measure 24mm-36mm; instead, they spec out at
roughly 23.6- 15.8 mm, or about 66.7 percent of the area of a full frame
sensor, as shown by the red boxes in the figure. You can calculate the relative
field of view by dividing the focal length of the lens by .667. Thus, a 100mm
lens mounted on an APS-C camera has the same field of view as a 150mm lens on a
full-frame camera. We humans tend to perform multiplication operations in our
heads more easily than division, so such field of view comparisons are usually
calculated using the reciprocal of .667—1.5—so we can multiply instead. (100 /
.667=150; 100 x 1.5=150.)
This translation is generally useful only if you're accustomed
to using full-frame cameras (usually of the film variety) and want to know how
a familiar lens will perform on a digital camera. I strongly prefer crop factor
over lens multiplier, because nothing is being multiplied; a 100mm lens doesn't
"become" a 150mm lens—the depth-of-field and lens aperture remain the
same. Only the field of view is cropped. But crop factor isn't much better, as
it implies that the 24-36mm frame is "full" and anything else is
"less." I get e-mails all the time from photographers who point out
that they own full-frame cameras with 36mm-48mm sensors (like the Mamiya 645ZD
or Hasselblad H3D-39 medium format digitals). By their reckoning, the
"half-size" sensors found in full-frame cameras are
"cropped." Probably a better term is field of view conversion factor,
but nobody actually uses that one.
If you're accustomed to using full-frame film cameras, you
might find it helpful to use the crop factor "multiplier" to
translate a lens' real focal length into the full-frame equivalent, even
though, as I said, nothing is actually being multiplied.
How Often Do You Want to Upgrade?
Photography is one field populated by large numbers of
technomaniacs who simply must have the latest and best equipment at all times.
The digital photography realm rarely disappoints these gadget nuts, because
newer, more sophisticated models are introduced every few months. If remaining
on the bleeding edge of technology is essential to you, a digital SLR can't be
a long-term investment. You'll have to count on buying a new camera every 18
months to two years, because that's how often the average vendor takes to
replace a current model with a newer one. Some upgrades are minor ones.
Fortunately, the typical dSLR replacement cycle is a much
longer schedule than you'll find in the digital point-and-shoot world, where a
particular top of the line camera may be replaced every six months or more
often. Digital SLRs typically are replaced no more often than every 12 to 18
months—12 months for the entry-level models, and 18 months or longer for the
intermediate and advanced models.
TRADE IN—OR KEEP?
Typically, come upgrade time, your old dSLR will be worth
more as a hand-me-down to another user than as a trade-in. That's why I'm
already looking forward to using my current favorite dSLR as a second or third
camera body when I do upgrade to the next generation. An extra body can come in
handy. When I leave town on trips, I generally take one extra body simply as a
backup. Still, I end up using the backup more than I expected when I mount,
say, a telephoto zoom on my "main" camera and a wide-angle zoom on my
backup so I don't have to switch lenses as often.
On the other hand, perhaps you're not on a never-ending
quest for a shiny new gadget. You just want great pictures. Once you acquire a
camera that does the job, you're not likely to upgrade until you discover there
are certain pictures you can't take because of limitations in your current
equipment. You'll be happy with a camera that does the job for you at a price
you can afford. If your desires are large but your pocketbook is limited, you
may want to scale back your purchase to make those inevitable frequent upgrades
feasible.
Is a Compact SLR Important to You?
Compared to point-and-shoot digital cameras, all dSLRs
are a bit on the chunky side. However, some are more compact than others,
particularly the Four Thirds models from Olympus and Panasonic. A few,
particularly pro models with large battery packs and vertical grips, border on
the huge. Before you lay down a large hunk of change for a digital camera, play
with it to make sure it's a size that you'll be comfortable lugging around with
you. The difference in weight alone can be significant if you're walking around
all day with a camera strap around your neck. If you're the sort of
photographer who would have been happy with a small, lightweight, virtually
silent Leica rangefinder camera (which nevertheless produced superb pictures),
you might also prefer a smaller dSLR. Heck, you might even want the Leica M9, a
non-dSLR that looks and handles like a rangefinder film camera, but produces 18
MP digital images (and will set you back $7,000, plus more for lenses).
In that vein, don't forget to take into account the size
of the lenses you'll be using, too. My favorite digital SLR has a 28mm-200mm
zoom lens that was touted, on introduction, as the smallest in the world. I'm
very happy I have that compact lens with such an extensive zoom range, because
for many photo outings it's all I need, and I can avoid carrying around a
weighty camera bag and a half dozen other lenses. I actually went to Europe
several years ago carrying only that 28-200mm lens and a 17-24mm wide-angle
zoom, and two dSLR bodies. My entire kit fit into a compact shoulder bag that
was easy to tote with me everywhere I went.
If you need a compact digital SLR, check out the size and
weight of the lenses you are likely to use at the same time you examine the
heft of the camera body itself.
Do You Want to Share Lenses and Accessories?
Do you already own an old film camera with lots of lenses
and other accessories? You may be able to justify a digital camera built around
a camera body similar to the one used by your film camera. The list of
compatible gadgets that can be shared is long, ranging from electronic flash
units through filters, close-up attachments, tripods, and so forth. I have a huge
stockpile of glass filters and accessories that fit my existing cameras. I'm
able to use some of them using step-up and step-down rings in common sizes.
Make sure that the adapter rings don't cause vignetting
of the corners of your image (common with wide-angle lenses) and that your
filters have both front and back filter threads so you can stack them. (Some
filters, particularly polarizers, may not have a front thread.) You'll pay
extra for "thin" adapter rings that keep your filters from projecting
out too much in front of your lens, but the premium will be worth it. As an
alternative, you may be able to simply zoom in a bit to eliminate those
vignetted corners.
What Other Features Do You Need?
Once you've chosen your "must have" features
for your digital camera, you can also work on those bonus features that are
nice to have, but not essential. All digital SLRs share a long list of common
features, such as Manual, Aperture-priority, and Shutter-priority exposure
modes. All have great autofocus capabilities. Many (but not all) have built-in
flash units that couple with the exposure system, and which can control
external, offcamera flash units as well (especially useful when using multiple
units). Beyond this standard laundry list, you'll find capabilities available
in one dSLR that are not found in others. You'll have to decide just how
important they are to you as you weigh which system to buy. Here are some of
the features that vary the most from camera to camera.
■ Movie making. The trend today is towards full 1920 x
1080 HDTV movie-making capabilities. However, a few non-video-capable models
linger on the market. And not all of the current cameras have the same
movie-friendly capabilities. If video shooting is important to you, make sure
your camera has the ability to plug in a microphone, preferably a stereo
microphone. In-camera editing features let you trim clips that run too long,
easing the editing process later.
■ Burst mode capabilities. If you shoot lots of sports,
you'll want the ability to shoot as many frames per second as possible for as
long as possible. Some cameras shoot more frames per second, and others have
larger buffers to let you capture more shots in one burst. For example, one
model grabs 4 fps for 32 JPEG images in one burst, or 11 RAW images. Another
camera from the same vendor ups the ante to 5 fps, but can capture only 23 JPEG
images in one blast. If you've got deep pockets, one top-of-the-line action
dSLR blazes through sports photography at a 10 fps clip for 100 or more images.
■ Image stabilization/dust removal. Some dSLRs may have
vibration reduction built into the camera. Other vendors ask you to buy
image-stabilized lenses, or may not have that capability at all. If you want to
hand-hold your camera at low shutter speeds, or need to take rock-steady
telephoto shots without a tripod, regardless of shutter speed, you'll want to
consider this capability. Cameras that have internal anti-shake capabilities
often use the ability to move the sensor quickly to provide an anti-dust
removal system. You'll also find dust cleaning capabilities in virtually all
digital cameras these days. But some work better than others, as I'll explain
in Chapter 5.
■ Higher and lower ISO ratings. Some cameras offer sensitivities
as low as ISO 50 and as high as ISO 6400 and beyond (ISO 104,600 is not out of
the question). The need for these depends on what kind of photos you intend to
take, and how good the results are at the ISO extremes.
■ Playback/review features. You'll find used digital SLRs
only a few years old with back-panel LCDs as small as 1.8 inches diagonally,
but virtually every new model has a 2.5-inch or larger LCD. All same-sized LCDs
are not created equal. Some have more pixels and finer detail, and may be
brighter and easier to view in direct sunlight or from an angle. Some systems
let you zoom in 3X to 4X on your LCD image, while others offer 10X or more
zoom. If reviewing your images in the field is critical, take a close look at
how a camera's LCD panel performs.
■ Maximum shutter speed. Some cameras top out at 1/4,000th
second; others go as high as 1/16,000th second. In real life, you'll rarely
need such brief shutter speeds to freeze action. It's more likely that the high
speeds will come in handy when you want to use wider lens openings at your
lowest ISO setting. For example, if you want to use f/2.8 on a bright beach or
snow scene in full daylight, if your camera's lowest ISO setting is ISO 200,
you'll probably need to use a shutter speed of 1/8,000th second. If you don't
have such fast shutter speeds, you'd better hope you have a neutral-density
filter or two handy. In practice, however, such high shutter speeds aren't
really needed; the fastest shutter speed I use regularly is 1/2,000th second,
and I don't recall ever using my camera's 1/8,000th second setting, other than
to test it.
I hope after reading this article, you will find your dream dSLR.
