DSLR Camera Buying Decisions

Deciding on your first DSLR Camera or even upgrading later is of course fun, but it could be a challenge. The options are many and the lists of features are long. Just how do you decide on what camera to buy? The primary decision is the brand you will settle on… Nikon VS Canon DSLR, One of the Four Thirds brands?

Your first DSLR Camera decision is definitely the most important because it locks
you into the brand. From here on you should invest in lenses that will fit with your DLSR Camera choice.

If this is your subsequent DSLR Camera investment, your brand decision was probably made some time ago and you are now invested in lenses. Your choices will be limited to a model within the brand choice.

Near everyone spends a lot of time carefully studying the Camera’s features and get cought up in the obvious features such as the sensor’s MP ratings. There are a lot of other, perhaps more important considerations that require looking at. Most of such considerations go beyond the Camera body.

We all have one objective… to take good photographs and to do this you need to look beyond the camera body. You need to balance your investment in Lenses, investment in your own skills and in the DSLR world, photo editing is an essential part of the process. These extraneous issues are more important that the money you invest in the camera body.

The first is the lenses you will be using:

• Light weight vs. ruggedness of Camera and lens.
• Lens Compatibility is an issue to keep in mind. Canon Lenses are (almost 100%|nearly fully} compatible across the Canon Range. Nikon lens compatibility varies. Different Nikkor lenses are only compatible with some of the Nikon Cameras. Pentax, Sony, Minolta and others that have embraced the 4 thirds system and have lens compatibility across brands, but they also need thoughtful studying.
• Within a short time you will most likely spend much more money on glass than the {camera body|DSLR body.
• These days it is easy to upgrade your camera body. If you take care of your DSLR and keep the packaging you can sell the camera on EBay for very close to the price you paid for it.
• The major advantage of DSLR’s is the interchangeable lenses to suit the photo subject. If you are not going to invest in lenses, why go for a DSLR Camera? There are great, conveniently sized and compact point-and-shoot cameras that will serve you just as well.
• DLSR Cameras today are all top class and all will give you 90% or more of the capability to take world class shots.
• Camera body technology gets renewed regularly and more powerful models with more features get released in as little as six month cycles.
• Lenses are much more long lasting and will be with you for much longer than the camera body.
• The same is not true for lenses. Lens quality varies differ greatly by comparison and it is worth investing more research and money studying the lenses appropriate for your photography objectives.

My advice is always to invest your time and money on your lens choices. Your lens choices will give you more return on your investment. It is not the end of the world to go for a lesser featured camera .The lenses will outlast the camera every time and you are likely to upgrade.

The second issue, beyond the camera body has to do with skill level.

Taking great shots takes more than the kit, even lenses. Very few people spend time and money on learning to operate their sophisticated equipment. sadly you cannot buy skills like you can equipment. You can buy books, but if you do not invest in the training time it is money wasted. Fortunately experimenting on the guidance of a good course is time and money well spent once you commit yourself and it is one of the most rewarding things you can do.

Another area where people typically under-invest is in Photo Editing software and the skills to use it.
This is where you can become very creative and make the most of your photographs. Spending money on software is less exciting than shiny Camera kit, but it does make an enormous difference to the end product… Great photographs!

In summary, when considering a DSLR Camera purchase, look wider. Good photography in my view is 20% camera body, 20% lens choices, 20% photography skills. 20% post processing and 20% luck. The mix is different for everyone