You want DSLR?

Good man…or woman. When I got a real life job with a real life salary after graduating from the renowned educational institution known as Dixie State College I quickly went out and bought a car, a ginormous TV and a DSLR camera. Almost five years later I am quite content with all my purchases but can say with honesty that the only item I never regretted buying was my DSLR camera.

I purchased it because I was secretly in love with photography and wanted to take some awesome pictures of my new born nephew. It was only a matter of months before I’d take several photos that screamed awesome and I knew that the best decision of my life had been made (yes I know I’m still single).

So how do you pick out a good DSLR? Whoa man, this is where the nitpicky stuff really matters. For starters I recommend nothing less than 8 megapixels (which by now I’m not sure if they even offer anything less than that) because of a conversation I had with a lady in a camera shop years ago (this is posted in the compact camera section as well).

The lady who pretended (and probably did) know a lot told me “If you want to get anything published, the industry standard requires your photo to be 8 megapixels.” So just to be safe, if by chance you get that photo of big foot or the mayor conspiring with communists you want to make sure that you can publish it for millions. I haven’t ever bothered to verify that information but I have verified the fact that if you want to enlarge your photos, more megapixels is better.

At this point you want to match your commitment and skill in photography to your budget. The better you are the better camera you’ll need. However if you are just beginning I recommend buying something that has your minimal required features. Look at cameras that are getting ready to be phased out by newer more advanced models. Why is this? Well because cameras take photographs and that’s about it. Why buy the top of the line if you are A) just a hobbyist and B) Not very good at it. You shouldn’t be paying extra for features you won’t be using. When you finally feel you need to upgrade your camera for a better one then the next one with the features you want will be much more affordable.

If you want to follow the upgrade plan it is again advisable to pick a vendor and stick with them. The reason is because you’ll be purchasing lenses and accessories, which can become very expensive. These add-ons are almost always compatible with subsequent generations and like products.

This leads to another excellent attribute when looking to buy a DSLR camera. Lens cost. When I was shopping for my camera I was strongly considering the Olympus E-volt. It had performed better than most cameras in many categories but had one fundamental flaw: Its lenses were ridiculously expensive…and German sounding. Plus it was a very new camera so finding used lenses would not be possible for the price conscious shopper – which was me. A camera is no good without lenses, so keep in mind how much accessories are for your camera.

Ultimately I went with the Canon Rebel XT. A month after I purchased it the jerks at Canon decided to release the next generation (the XTI), thus dropping the price of my camera by several hundreds of dollars. However I have been completely satisfied with my camera, which is now about 4 generations behind. It takes excellent photos, gives me the control I want and when I finally want to upgrade I’ll have several lenses and accessories already in place.

Picking a DSLR can be an incredibly complex decision because they all have so many pros and cons, unless you want to pay $5k, then you get what you want and are completely happy (really what you would be doing is “buying happiness”, which is completely possible).

To aid you in picking out your camera I STRONGLY recommend DPReview.com. This website will give you all the stats, specs, and professional reviews on the cameras you are considering buying you want. You can even get involved in forums to get the opinions of fellow photographers.

When it comes down to purchasing your camera I recommend buying locally. It is cheaper to order off the internet, sure, but when you purchase locally you have a quick point of contact to resolve problems which may creep up. Above all I give one important piece of advice: NEVER PURCHASE FROM ANY CAMERA WEBSITE THAT IS BASED OUT OF NEW JERSEY AND BROOKLYN! These are bait and switch sites, they’ll sell you a gray market camera (not compatible in the US usually) and then load you up with accessories and problems. I’ve read tons of reviews of people getting screwed on these sites. In fact I was really close to buying my camera from one of them. If the price of the camera is so low, pause and wonder how are they making money? Most retailers don’t mark up the price of their cameras too much due to vendor restrictions, that’s why they push for accessories. This is something I learned while bartering with Bestbuy to purchase my camera.

If you want to review online store ratings then go here. Otherwise, if you feel confident in your choice of Brooklyn camera shop feel free to pay for it with money given to you buy a Nigerian prince.