I am a member of the "Columbus Viewfinders Photography Club" in Columbus, Indiana. When I was ready to get my DSLR I posted on the club's group page that I am ready to buy my DSLR and there were tons of advices that poured in. This article is to consolidate lot of those advices from our club members, my friends and also bring together what I understood from my 3-4 months of research.
Now, this article is not to influence you to buy a certain product, however, I just wish to help a person new to photography get started on the right path. If you already own certain equipments, many photographers stick to the same manufacturer. This article can help someone new to this industry, someone who wants to start fresh.
#1-Getting the most expensive body does not mean you can take better pictures: True, if you have not understood the basics of photography there is no point in spending $2000 for a DSLR to start with.
#2-Invest more into glass than body: Ultimately, the light that reaches your film/sensor is what matters. So minimum resistance is better and you are wondering how to figure this out - now you need to look for the expert’s websites. I have included a list of links below - these are links I researched to find information.
#3 - Get a good UV filter for all lenses: Don't buy the cheap UVs, look for the PRO filters and spend that $50 for a good filter. It protects the lens front element from scratches and coating ware-off and ultimately saves your $1000 lens.
#4 - Try to match filter sizes of the different lenses you are going to buy: The polarizer, neutral density, etc are filters that you use for certain compositions. Now if your lenses have the same filter sizes you can use one set with all your lenses rather than buy polarizer at 52mm, 67mm & 77mm - you can save some money here.
#5 - Choose your lenses: Based on your photography style, find out if the manufacturer makes lenses that will suit your kinda photography. Example if you are only going to shoot landscape, then look for the wide angel, standard and medium telephoto lens. If you are shooting portraits, look for standard, medium telephoto and longer telephoto lenses. And, if you shoot events, you need a fast & long telephoto lens. Once you have figured out the focal lengths you need based on your style, make up your mind on if you want prime or zoom lenses.
With prime lenses, you probably need to plan a ahead on what lens you are going to use for a shoot. Remember you will also probably end up carrying more lenses, which means larger bag and more weight. However, prime lenses can produce better image clarity and sharpness than zoom lenses.
Zoom lenses are handy, because they work multiple focal lengths and no doubt there are many pro quality lenses that can produce sharp and clear photographs. Some of the recent zoom lenses can be calibrated using software to suite your camera body. Remember, moving parts will need some maintenance after considerable amount of usage.
I look for max & min aperture openings, full metal construction barrel and real glass for optics - generally try to avoid lenses that are made of plastic components. Plastic component makes the lens more economical, however reduces durability. Remember, you don't need to buy them all together, but build your wish list. May be you get lucky next birthday, anniversary or Christmas.
#6 - Understand the sensor sizes: In the good old film days we had 35mm, 120mm and APS film sizes. 35 mm size was the most common and literally ruled over other film sizes worldwide. In the same way we are now at a point where we have different size sensors in the digital age - Full Frame, APS frame and 4/3rd frame (in order of sizes, large to smaller). The price of the DSLR camera body is very much dictated by the sensor size.
A full frame sensor is larger, more silicon needed and more difficult to manufacture, thus the full frame cameras are more expensive. Now manufacturers have lenses that a custom designed to produce the best results on these types of sensors. So you probably need to make up your mind what you are going to shoot with - I mean what type of sensors. A lens made for the larger type of sensor will work well on a smaller lens (as long as it fits the body), here you need to understand that the image is going to be cropped because your sensor is smaller, so the image produced will look magnified. However no magnification happens, you are just loosing a small percentage of the image the lens is capable of.
So in the long run, if you plan to turn pro, my suggestion is larger is better. I will sometime in the future write on how these sensor sizes matter and differ.
#7 - Accessories - Tripod, Flash, Media cards, cables, filters, bag, strobes, light stand...: The list of accessories is end less. To start with, you need to look at what basic accessories is required for your style of shooting and can not do without. May be you need a flash & media cards and you can salvage a old tripod from a friend. Or may be you just need a tripod and can reuse old media card. There are plenty of used accessories that can help you started - you local camera sore, or many online stores or EBay can help you get started for a very small budget. When you go for used, think about how long you want to use it, what is the condition, how much is the cost variance. Evaluate if the accessory is for long term and durability is very important - then consider buying new.
I have 2 tripods and don't think either is durable for my D700 with a heavy lens. I bought the first one for $30 to use with my P&S, then I realized that tripod may not guarantee to hold up my film SLR. I then spent another $60 to get a stronger one to hold my film SLR. When I put my D700 with the Nikon 70-200mm lens on it, the thinnest legs started to wobble. So you could end up buying the same accessory multiple times - save the money and invest into the right accessory. Same with media cards, if you plan to shoot at hi-resolution (or RAW) then your cards are going to fill up fast, so invest for a larger capacity. However, you do not want to start with 4 8GB cards. The price of storage only drops. I first bought (2 cards) 4 GB pro-media cards for $72 in Oct 2008, in Dec 2008 I find deals where 8GB pro-media cards are $9.99 after MIR - that is almost $1 per GB. So get what is absolutely necessary and add the remaining to your wish list, you want to give a chance for friends and family to make you happy.
#8 - What's your friends circle using? If you have a circle of friends with interest in photography, look at what they are using. What are the results of their hard work? What did lens did they use? How did they end up with the exposure? Are they interested to share equipments - like lens, camera body, flash, filters, cables, tripod, etc. If you think that you do not want to share your equipment, then forget asking them to share, say thanks for letting you look at their equipment and move on.
#9 - Trial the camera & lens: Go to the store and try the body & lens - this will help answer many questions. Look for how it feels, is it too heavy, do you feel comfortable with the adjustment rings on the lens, are the controls/buttons placed where you can quickly reach, do you like how the menu is organized, do you understand the user manual, can you adjust the viewfinder diaptor to suit your glasses/contact-lens. Many stores let you borrow equipment or rent out equipment. Before you end up scratching the bottom of the account, make sure you are making the right investment.
#10 - Prioritizing and budgeting: Now put all knowledge you gained together and make a list of camera body, lens and other equipments you have in mind - the wish list. Categorize them based on brand, your shooting style and price. Now you prioritize them with 1, 3, 7 & 10.
- Priority 10 is you need it or you will die and you have the money saved for it.
- Priority 7 is you need it, but will not kill yourself and can find some money for it.
- Priority 3 is you like to have it, but not necessary, can do without and may end up breaking the bank.
- Priority 1 is wow it makes me look like a rich pro photographer.
Beyond the above 10 points: There is one feature that needs very serious consideration when looking for a DSLR - it is sensor dust removal. Dust on the sensor will show up in your image which could turn out bloody - I mean you pulling on your hair and bleeding your scalp. Imagine you are switching between a wide angel to a tele-photo lens on a busy street with many vehicle passing by and a light breeze blowing up dust. Think about eveything you need to do here - take off the rear lens cap, remove the lens from camera, put the lens somewhere safe, pick up the new lens and lock on to the camera. In the time you lock on the lens to the camera, you definitly will have some dust particles blown on to your rear element of the lens or sensor. You bet it's frustrating to look at a great picture and someone ask "what is this spec?". The most common solution is to use a software to remove dust/specs in your image - I do not recommend this. May be becuase I fear my image is altered with out my control or I may have to buy expensive software. So, my suggestion is to getting a camera that can shake - shake the dust off. Most recent DSLRs have dust removal feature now and make sure you get one such camera, keep some hair on your head.
Conclusion:
It really comes down to the person behind the lens to create that balanced equation to get a great picture. So, practice is key. I wish you the best and enjoy the art of photography.
Links:
Digital Photo Review - http://www.dpreview.com
Ken Rockwell - http://www.kenrockwell.com
Fred Miranda - http://www.fredmiranda.com
Thom Hogan Nikon Field guide - http://www.bythom.com
Imaging Resources - http://www.imaging-resource.com
Kim Komando's Photography Tips - http://www.komando.com/tips/categories.aspx?cat=35
Lens Review - http://www.lens-reviews.com
Motley Pixels Lens Review - http://www.motleypixel.com
Photo Net - http://www.photo.net
Lens Specs and Reviews - http://www.photodo.com
Stores where customer reviews:
Adorama - http://www.adorama.com
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com
Other related sites:
Equipment Lady - http://www.equipmentlady.com
Paul van Walree - http://www.vanwalree.com/optics.html
Rolands Nikon Lens Database - http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/
Nikon Digital - http://www.nikondigital.org
Scott Kelby - http://www.scottkelby.com
Photo Attorney - http://www.photoattorney.com
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