This is a letter I sent to a friend looking for advice on buying a DSLR for the first time. He doesn’t have much experience with cameras but wants to make one buy and get something good. This might help anyone in a similar position:

Check out DPReview if you want a new camera. It is really detailed and will tell you every single thing about the cameras. It also has a side by side comparison if you want to compare different cameras.

The big two DSLR manufacturers are Nikon and Canon. Other manufacturers have good cameras (some may argue that they are better) like Pentax, Olympus, Sony, Panasonic and lately Samsung but Nikon & Canon are still untouchable due in no small part to their huge market share . The lens and other accessories for them are easy to find. I won’t get into the technical stuff as most of the features are quite similar between brands and will mean nothing to someone owning a DSLR for the first time. You will have to do more detailed research to find out how things such sensor size, autofocus points, exposure bracketing, burst speed, ISO range, etc., will be of importance to you.

Here are some simple but very useful features you should think about when buying a DSLR:

1. Dust Removal is included in most newer models. Important for a DSLR as changing lenses causes dust to build up on the sensor and will eventually show up in your photos. My Nikon D40 doesn’t have the feature and I am having a hard time getting the dust out which shows up especially in photos of the sky. I have tried several cleaning methods to no avail.
2. Size and Brightness of the LCD screen should be at least 2.5″ so you won’t struggle to read the display,  especially if you have reached that 40 year old barrier…like me.
3. Compatible Lenses: not every nikon lens will fit every nikon camera, the same is true for the others. The drawback with Nikon D40, D40x and D60 is that only a narrow range of lens will work on them. See this article on my website to help you understand.
4. Live View: This is an added bonus coming out with newer cameras that allows you to take pictures with the LCD screen (without having to look through the viewfinder). This is handy for taking pictures in crowds or if you want to take photos without anyone realizing your camera is focused on them.

5. Kit Lens: make sure it comes with a good lens from wide angle to short zoom (anywhere between 18-55mm at least). the lower thesmaller figure (18 in this case), the wider the viewing angle of the lens and the more the larger number (55 in this case), the longer the zoom. A good kit lens is extremely necessary if you don’t have the cash to spend on expensive add-on lenses right away.

6. Face Detection: shuts off the LCD screen when your face goes up to the viewfinder so you are not blinded by the bright LCD at nights. I suffer with this problem using my D40 at nights because it lacks this feature.

8. Vibration Reduction: extremely important especially for amateurs to reduce blurs in the photos, even if your hand shakes. Some cameras employ VR in the camera (which is the better option) and others place it inside the lens. If you buy a camera without VR (Canon calls it Image Stabilisation or IS), ensure it is included in the kit lens.

7. Price…of course (needs no comment). I shop at Right Price Camera. They have some really good prices.
For other more technical advice check out DPreview and you may also look at these links:
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/discovering-the-great-dslr-features/200187 and
http://alatest.com/digital_slr_cameras/c-248/
Check out Ken Rockwell’s Reviews of Nikon and Canon cameras at the bottom of his home page. Ken is considered an expert on digital cameras.
Finally, check out what I’ve done with my photos at my photography site Amateur Photoblogger or check out what else I have to say at my blog http://dejagib.com/blog.

Hope this helps you.

Dejagib.

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