Camera Dilemma
I often get asked by people all sorts of questions relating to photography, and one recent question by a keen shutterbug, who is interested in taking a course with us, wanted to know about which camera do get… Now I’m no expert on cameras, but here’s my quick guide for her and you if you are thinking of buying a DSLR:
Question: ” I don’t have a DSLR camera yet. – which would obviously restrict me at the course. I’ve been thinking of buying one but not sure what is good for beginners. I’ve been recommended Nikon by a photographer as he said it lasts longer and is and is more durable. I am thinking about either getting a D3100 or a D5100 – not sure which one would be best for a beginner – I don’t want to over complicate things as I’m pretty new to it all.
Which one would you recommend? I’m leaning more towards D5100 at the moment as the guy in Jessops told me once I have learnt the basics D3100 will hold me back. But if it is very complex and confuse me I will just stick with the D3100 – I know it doesn’t have video capabilities but I dot really need that right now.
So the minefield in front of me, where to start, and how to avoid the pitfalls, and how not get the wrath of the camera geeks everywhere.
These are my views, and thoughts process that run through my head when i am buying a camera or new tech:
deciding on which camp you’re in may not be the best starting one, but lets tackle it full on. The age-old argument of Canon vs Nikon is and always will rage on, both have their merits and negatives. But I have never heard the argument that Nikon lasts longer than canon. There are a lot of camera manufactures out there which make good solid cameras ist just that Canon and Nikon seem to be the front-runners, don’t forget Sigma, Fuji, Pentax and Sony Alpha. In my personal view, i feel Nikon is more user-friendly than Canons which makes it easier for a hobbyist or armature to pick up and run with it.
Few of the key questions you need to ask is:
1. How much do I want to spend? biggest question of all, set your budget and try and stick to it. remember when verging onto DSLR shopping be carefull, as newbies always make the mistake of seeing the cheaper price for a camera online, buy it and realise its just the body only. When it comes to DSLRs they are sold differently than compacts, they are sold as bundles with usually the cheap lens, or sold as Body only, putting the emphasis on you to buy the lens, and accessories. PS, remember your peripherals, flash gun, batteries, memory cards and bag
2. What am I using it for? Seems to be an obvious question, but work it out. if you want a small DSLR for family snaps, holidays, days out, do you need to spend £1000′s on an “everyday camera”. We use a 550d as the family camera, however, i am on the verge of buying a compact as, for an everyday camera i find it to bulky and to functional. if you are a keen hobbyist, and shoot wildlife then you will need a robust and fast camera.
3. What do I want the camera to do for me? strange…hmm yes, but seriously, when you buy a camera, what do you want it to-do, do you want it to be able to cope with all sorts of use, do you want to be able to have some pre selected settings on their for quick use or are you a gung-ho, im gonna shoot on Manual for everything even my holiday snaps?
4. It’s all about the megapixel? Depends who yo talk too and again, depends on what you want todo with the outputs. Now the megapixel conspiracy squad will tell you that the bigger the pixels the better the camera, and will try to sell you a high res camera, again think about what you need. In this day and age, 90% of all pictures taken by everyone who has a camera stays on the computer, phone or some other portable device. A camera with 5-7 megapixel, will do the job of printing to sizes beyond A3 and up to A2. So think about how much money you ae spending on pixels you will never really use. Also think about upgrades, a camera with a higher pixel count 14 megapixel plus, will need more storage space, and a computer with a faster processor.
Keeping those points in your head, will hopefully make it easier to choose, remember camera manufactures will change their camera line up every 6 months to a year, and expect you to upgrade at least every three years. Hope it helps, it’s not a scientific look at it, or an expert reviewers perspective, it’s the way I think about my kit purchases.
Have fun stay safe and enjoy the world of shutterbugging!and we look forward to seeing you at one of our training sessions, clich here for more info
I wont give a review of the D5100 or D3100 as i am not in the position todo so, but Bing or Google D5100 reviews and you see what others think. a very usefull resource for indepndant reviews of all known cameras
