With the launch of multiple DSLRs including today’s Nikon D3X, camera manufacturers are ready and waiting for you to buy their wares. But should you?
DSLRs are perceived by beginners as the pick-up trucks of the camera world. Why buy something with high wheels and a tailgate when you are perfectly happy with a comfortable minivan or sedan. But DSLRs aren’t quite they heavy duty machines we make them out to be. Point-and-shoots, while small and comfortable, are severely limited in terms of shooting ability. Manufacturers stuff all sorts of image improving features into these things including red-eye reduction, night mode, and even child mode for fast-moving rugrats. But these are crutches designed to reduce the effect of slow image sensors and wonky lenses that have to fold in on themselves to stay compact.
Can your point and shoot do that?
That said, if you or someone you’re shopping for has found a camera to love, stick with it. If it takes good shots in the environments you’re traditionally shooting in – bars, living rooms, motel rooms on the outside of town – then you’re golden. Don’t buy a DSLR.
First, the cons. DSLRs are expensive and they’re big. For vacation shots, I’d carry a Kodak point and shoot any day if I knew I wouldn’t be dealing with odd lighting and weird shooting situations. In fact, I’d recommend bringing a point and shoot on vacations unless you’re a photo buff. Nothing says “I’m not a fun person” like carrying around a prosumer camera on the beach.
So Why, When, and Where should you get a DSLR? If you are having a new baby and want to get some spectacular shots of the wee one, get a DSLR. If you’re working out of a home office and sell things online, get a lightbox and a DSLR. If you have any interest in printing photographs you’ve taken in a larger format, get a DSLR. If you have more than a passing interest in photography, get a DSLR. Most other reasons – a zoom lens, faster shutter time, more megapixels – don’t really stack up. There are plenty of point and shoot and prosumer cameras out there with plenty of zoom and, as I mentioned before, these point and shoots compensate for slow shutter speeds with plenty of tricks.
So what if you fall into any of the other categories? What should you buy? I’ve consistently recommended the Canon Rebel in its latest incarnation as the entry-level DSLR of choice. The kit uses Canon’s popular EF lens mount, it takes great photos in almost any light, and it’s just complex enough to whet your appetite for trying more and more interesting techniques. This latest model costs $799 (or less) with the standard Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, a solid beginner lens. If you want to stop there, feel free. Getting other lenses is purely optional because this lens is more than adequate in most cases (although Canon’s famously cheap 50mm f/1.8 would be a good $70 investment). I’ve used other DSLRs in this space but I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Canon thus far and most of my friends shoot Canon. They make a strong, good camera with plenty of room to grow.
This brings us to the biggest DSLR myth: that you need a fishing vest to hold all the garbage you have to buy. You don’t. DSLRs come with perfectly capable lenses and once you figure a few things out you can buy a UV protector, maybe a nice flash, and a nice prime lens for portraits. But this is a long way down the road for most of us and not an absolutely necessity by any means.
See how much fun he’s having?
Where should you buy it? Best Buy or a trusted photography shop like B&H Photo. If you find a “deal” online, be wary. These deals usually involve just the body and sometimes the sellers will add in batteries, chargers, and straps as “extras,” jacking the price back up or beyond the the MSRP. Check Google’s listings to make sure a seller is legit.
So there you have it. If this looks like an advertorial for Canon, it isn’t. The Pentax K2000 and Nikon D80 are also excellent choices. I’m essentially giving you the same advice I’d give anyone else asking which DSLR to buy. Perhaps some of our shutterbug readers can comment on other entry levels in comments?
just bought that canon last week and i love it. you can get it really cheap – but everything i read is from the bait & switch companies described in the article. amazon actually has it really cheap – 639.00.
takes great pictures and lots of upgrades available if you desire them.
For those looking to jump into an entry-level DSLR, there have been some great deals lately on DSLR kits (Camera + Lens) at some top retailers.
For example, right now, you can get the EOS Rebel XS 10.2 MP DSLR for just $459.99 shipped at Amazon.com. Link: http://www.techdealdigger.com/deals/canon-eos-rebel-xs-101-mp-459-at-amazon/5054
I’ve also seen the EOS Rebel XSi mentioned in this article for as low as $577 with free shipping (that’s over $100 less than the prices shown above). The deal is expired, but here’s the link: http://www.techdealdigger.com/deals/canon-eos-rebel-xsi-577-at-dell-home–home-office/5308
If you’re looking for one of these cameras, you should go to one of the deal sites like SlickDeals or TechDealDigger and set up an email alert so that you get notified when one of these things goes on special.
Pretty much spot on, but I’d replace the Nikon D80 with the D90 — D80 is EOL now. You can get great deals at Costco, for example. Alos, good point about the deals — really there’s no flexibility on pricing, so if you see one of these things $400 cheaper than anyone else, there’s a gimmick, and you will likely lose money. A 18-55 kit lens is a nice range, but Nikon makes a killer 18-200mm VR DX kit lens that pretty much covers all the ranges you need. VR means it works well in bad light (indoors, at the Thanksgiving table, for example), which is typically a major weakness for all-around zoom lenses.
As an owner of the Nikon 18-200 VR lens, I can tell you it’s far from being a “killer lens”. It’s big and heavy, the quality of the photos is good but not great (compared to my other 50mm f/1.8 Nikon lens), and although the VR function is helpful, it does NOT really allow you to take photos in low light situations (even inside a relatively lit room). So, it’s definitely a useful lens because of its wide zoom range, but far from perfect.
I have also seen some good deals at Costco. Digital SLR cameras are more popular than ever and this really spells it out! Great article.
Kevin
http://www.kidsdesk.net
I use the rebel a ton and recommend it for anyone wanting to get an entry level DSLR. I also recommend looking at sites like http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ They usually have really good deals, the service is great and their used department always has pretty good specials.
Just a comment about the camera that you have chosen, You should mention the Sony Alpha 200 that comes with the 18-70mm lens and image stabilization built into the camera. This makes it more like a point and shoot and takes great pictures as well. Retails for around $500.
I picked up a Sony A200 10mp with kit 70mm and 300mm lens, printer, DSLR for dummies book, Blurb discount all for $549. Oh and I got $30 cashback from Live Cashback.
The photos from the A200 are stunning. Some pics I rattled off the day I got it and I’ve never used an SLR camera: http://loughers.smugmug.com.
Keep in mind that Digital Rebels have very small pentamirror viewfinder, which makes it complicated to compose the picture. Canon 50D, slightly more expensive model, has good Pentaprism viewfinder with higher magnification, and also incredible 900k-pixel LCD screen.
Those looking at Nikon D90, beware: it has only 1 cross-type focus point (compare that to 9 points on Canon cameras), and its video mode has very pronounced “jelly” effect, according to luminous-landscape.com.
I’ve heard good things about Sony. Nice photos, Al.
Hi John,
I really like the Pentax K200D as an entry level camera. It takes AA rechargables or Duracells, can use the cheap Pentax lens out there and takes good honest pictures. I use its older brother the K100D day in day out and it is is as good as new.
Guys, check out really artistic photos on nityadominic.blogspot.com
DSLR beginners should also look into the Nikon D60. Costco beat every Black Friday price I could find. They also sell D90 and Rebels.
John,
Good piece, but personally I would have liked to see an article like this compare DSLRs with higher end P&S, like the DX3 or G10, not to speak of the Micro 4/3 platform, which perhaps gets the best out of both worlds.
Are DSLRs having their price point drop because of what could be seen as increased competition within the prosumer niche? Seems to me the low cost P&S market is destined to get gobbled up into phones/mobile computers soon enough.
@Ged: It was a toss up between the K200D and A200. I don’t believe the other cameras are in the $500 range. I was going to go with the K200D and even had it in my cart on Amazon but then by chance saw the deal at CC for the Sony that had the extra 300mm lense. Now, I know that the kit lenses for Sony aren’t the best but I think having a zoom lens is essential for the beginner because you can get much better pictures especially more candid pics if you have kids and certainly better DOF. Also image stablisation is important (both in the K200D and A200 body) and not in the lens like some of the other cameras.
@John: thanks!
“Digital” is misspelled on the home page headline.
For my landscape and street photography (hobby) I am working with a 5 year old Canon 20D SLR – Still a good camera. Back then I got some great lenses that are worth a multiple as the camera was. The lenses hold their value and for the more serious work. The only problem is that high quality, fast lenses are a honk to carry around. I was just on a trip to Asia and seriously considered laving the big kit at home. I also have a G9 which is a great little camera that has surprising video capabilities too. I am probably going to update my SLR to a new Canon 5D which seems to be a great camera.
The new Panasonic G1 ‘Micro Four Thirds Format’ Camera could become my always carry around SLR replacement. Here is a nice hands-on review: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/panasonic-g1.shtml
And here is an interesting article about the new Nikon high-end that’s just coming out and how Nikon might have miss judged the market once more: http://www.bythom.com/nikond3xcomments.htm
I found Ken Rockwell’s web site very useful (and inspiring) when deciding whether to make the jump to a DSLR last month. http://www.kenrockwell.com.
Great advice.
The only thing I would change would be to recommend getting a camera body and a decent fast zoom – usually the Tamron 28-75/2.8. Available for both Canon and Nikon, it has a reasonable price ($350-$400) and you won’t outgrow it in a month like most kit lenses.
Sean
http://SeanRed.com
http://SeanAzul.com
No one talked about Auto Focus here yet, but I found this a big deal with my Nikon. I bought a D100 a few years back and the AutoFocus on it just SUCKS – particularly indoors and similar low light situations.
Love the Nikon but for this one fatal flaw – which is the reason many pros will say they switched to Canon at the start of the digital camera age.
At least they’re coming down in price. A basic DSLR cost the same as my Sony P150 compact that I bought a few years back.
Nikon D3X is a pretty dope camera. No surprise why Nikon and Canon are kings of the dslr market.
If your going to test out your ranking power on for the nikon d3x you might want to work on the landings site (crunchgear.com)’s onsite optimization – having the keywords in h1 and h2s would go along way in bringing this from 13 to 5 or 6 on the google search for nikon d3x
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=2uK&q=nikon+d3x&start=10&sa=N
redorb
cant wait to get this on boxing day
Useful article – I am looking into a fairly entry level DSLR myself for Christmas (actually, might wait it out for the sales).
I’m a huge Sony fan and the A200 looks nice. But I also have a Canon SLR so will look at that option too.
I’ve been shooting upwards of 10,000 images a year for the last 8 plus years and upgrading my digital cameras (I shoot travel photography and carry 2 cameras so that I can have different lenses available immediately) every year or two.
If you are serious about the quality of your images you need to shoot RAW which is one of the biggest reasons to go with a DSLR.
Do you think DSLR cameras are worth the price? I found this site that gives some info on them. Just trying to decide whether to buy a DSLR or point and shoot. Thanks for any advice. Also, what do you think the best DSLR camera is? This site lists some, but looking for other opinions. Thoughts? Thanks
http://www.dslrcamerareviews.com
Oh, DSLRs are totally worth the price. I’m not sure why he suggests buying anything from Best Buy, I have better luck going through Amazon for basically everything. But yea, DSLRs are really the way to go, especially considering how affordable they are these days. Maybe you want to look into Nikon’s D40? Anyway, check this place out for some more stuff:
http://www.timeforadslr.com/