dSLR Camera: How I made my choice?

Its a big investment, and probably if you are buying a dSLR its an investment that you need to think through. Probably, this is the second most expensive thing I have bought with my hard-earned cash (if you think earning your stipend as a lowly grad-student as hard-earned). The first being of-course the sweet MacBook. While buying a Macbook I was sure why I need it, and there are hardly any laptop that goes even close to it, and I knew I need it, its a piece of art, its not technology.

But, buying a dSLR camera, though its been three years of thinking but you start thinking again twice and thrice before finally entering your credit card details on the web and you think it till the last moment until you authorize the purchase, if you are not a professional photographer and have no intensions of minting money with your photography skills. Graduate students are always low on budget and high on ambitions. So finally coming back to the topic of the day how did I choose Nikon d5000?

Earlier, I wanted to buy Nikon d90, but when I compared it with newly released d5000, I found that it has all the features as d5000, as well as the same size of CMOS sensor. One of the few noticeable difference for the amateur photographers being that nikon d90 has a 3" LCD display, whereas d5000 has a 2.7" display. I personally think that a 2.7" display is a good enough size, unless you want to be picky about each little aspect of d5000. But before doing that one should remember that d5000 is almost $500 cheaper and so more affordable. Also the LCD is tilt-able which gives a wide freedom for the photographers for taking pictures. Another good thing about d5000 is that its much lighter and smaller than d90. So clearly, I ruled out d90 on the grounds of d90 being expensive as well as little heavier.

So, what about Canon, is that any better than Nikon? Well, as there is always a rivalry between Mac and windows users, so is it between Nikon and Canon. There is no straight answer for that, depends what you are comfortable with. I had the privilege of handling both the cameras. Though Canon gives you higher specifications at the same price, but the downside with Canon is that, it doesn't feel so good in hand (atleast to me). The body and the lens doesn't seems so well made, where as Nikon feels just great, which is very important when you are taking serious photographs. A lousy handling won't take you far. If you compare the specs, the Canon ISO goes up to 12800 (with boost) and nikon goes up to 6400 which is good enough for any photographs you take. The numbers seems to me a marketing strategy. Higher resolution, higher ISO won't yield much.. People take good pictures with much lower end SLR cameras. And personally I had reasons for choosing NIkon because I knew Nikon lenses much better than Canon lenses, so at the end it depends what kind of lenses are you comfortable with, about which brand you know the most.

Few tips about choosing lenses:
dSLR is an expensive investment and if you are low on budget, I will suggest go for a low end camera and get more lenses, because at the end they matter the most. If you have a 18-55 mm and another 55-200 mm lens, you are good for taking your dream shots. But just don't stick with those kit lenses.. Read more and try to find more specific lenses that suits your photography style.

Few initial doubts:
What is 18-55 mm lens and what it is used for?
Well 18-55 is one lens which are readily available and comes with most camera kits. Its kind of a lens used for taking landscape photographs, and is not very good for portraits because the zoom doesn't fill your subject with your camera's field of view. You need to move really close to the subject and definitely you cannot do that if you want to take close ups of insects and animals.
So use it for landscape photography, again there is no had and fast rule.

What about another popular lens 55-200 mm?
Well this is a really good lens and will be the most used lens during your photography. It is good for taking portraits and also macro photography. But, keep in mind its still a zoom lens and not a dedicated macro lens.

What is the deal with Macro/Micro photography?

If you are interested in macro photography, like me. Be prepared to spend some bucks. Start Saving $$s...:)
Macro or micro photography are the same thing and the terms are used indifferently. The macro lenses are one which can create a 1:1 or 1:2 image of the subject on the image sensor. And easy way to know if your lens supports that is to look at the lens specification. They write Macro specifically on the lens and they are little expensive. If you are buying a Nikon you are looking at almost $800. If you are going for a third party lens like Tamron or Sigma, which are also good unless you are too picky, you are still looking at $500 approximately. I still need to get one.

Accessories you think you might need
Its not true that if you buy everything in the market your pictures will turn out well. So initially be a little patient and get the bare minimum stuff. be familiar with their usage. The most important being a sturdy tripod, a camera bag with good padding for your lenses and last but most important get a UV-protection filter for each lens, you dont want to get scratches on your lens and they are really cheap ($20 max).

Useful Websites:

For lessons and more knowledge:
http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/


For reviews
http://www.kenrockwell.com/


Also,last but not the least, talk to people with similar interest and take atleast one class on photography near you.. There is so much to learn and a good class will be worth it. Know about F numbers, aperture control, shutter speed, ISO, depth of field. They are just technical terms but be familiar with them. Join Flickr...

One most important note, most people think that good pictures can only be taken by using the camera in manual mode. But, I suggest pay more attention to composing your pictures, use the appropriate auto mode, they are pretty good and learn about manual settings slowly,,,But concentrate on composing your image first.

More posts will come as i learn more...In the mean time Happy Clicking.. :)