Five Reasons NOT To Buy a Digital SLR Camera

"I'm buying a camera to replace my broken compact model, which I had for 10 years. My friend says I should get a DSLR, but the price tag is making me hesitate. What is the advantage of a DSLR over the point-and-shoot that I'm familiar with?"

Should I Buy a Digital SLR?

If you love taking photos, you may wonder if there's something more powerful than the ubiquitous point-and-shoot compact digital camera. There is, but it's not for everyone. Here is a brief introduction to DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras and why you (probably) should not buy one...

Unlike a compact digital camera, a digital SLR allows you to preview the exact scene that you are going to shoot. A digital SLR uses mirrors and prisms to direct the light coming in through the lens to the viewfinder. In compact digital cameras, you preview an image recorded by the camera's sensor. DSLRs also use interchangeable lenses to help you get the exact focus and effects that you want. Digital SLRs give you much greater control over the composition of your photos.

Additionally, the sensor in a DSLR camera can be 25 times larger than the one in a compact digital camera. Without getting into the technicalities of photonics, a larger sensor means a sharper image even with the same number of pixels.

Popular compact digital cameras like the Canon Powershot, Sony Cybershot, Panasonic Lumix, and Fujitsu Finepix series are great for taking casual snapshots of friends, scenery, and other subjects while you are on the go. But professional photographers and serious amateurs turn to digital SLRs to get the perfect shot.
Ready, Fire, Aim!

But before you rush out to buy a DSLR, here are five things to consider:

1. Cost: Not only is a digital SLR considerably more expensive than a compact, you also need lenses, filters, a strap, lights, and a bag to carry all your stuff in. Budget at least an extra $1000 for a quality DSLR.

2. Bulk: Digital SLRs are much bigger and heavier than pocket-sized compact digital cameras. No way can you stuff one of these in your pocket and take off for a hike or bike ride. After an hour on the trail, you'll get tired of that thing banging against your hip or chest .

3. Complexity: More control is a plus of digital SLRs, but you have to spend time to master the skills of composition, lighting, etc. You'll also spend time changing lenses and composing shots. If you don't know an f-stop from a bus stop, you should not tread here. (Yes, there's probably an AUTO setting on the DSLR, but then why bother?)

4. Maintenance: Compact digital cameras are relatively maintenance-free, but digital SLRs require regular meticulous cleaning of lenses, sensors, viewfinder and other components. Also, they can be more fragile and expensive to repair.

5. Prints: if you only print small (up to 5x7 inch) photos, the benefit of a DSLR's sharper sensor is lost. For larger prints, the photonics kicks in and gives the DSLR the advantage.

For serious hobbyists or professional photographers, spending thousands of dollars on a digital SLR and its accessories is either a pleasure or a necessity. But most shutterbugs will find a high-end point-and-shoot compact digital camera is all they really need.

Which type of camera do you prefer, and why? Post your comment below...

Nice topic to discuss other than share trading.
Good analysis about DSLR and point and shoot but,

bottom part of this directly form a website and you ask comments about the post, apparently asking us to comment some other website. this is not. You shoud have mentioned URL

askbobrankin.com/five_reasons_not_to_buy_a_digital_slr_camera.html

RealViewer wrote:Nice topic to discuss other than share trading.
Good analysis about DSLR and point and shoot but,

bottom part of this directly form a website and you ask comments about the post, apparently asking us to comment some other website. this is not. You shoud have mentioned URL

askbobrankin.com/five_reasons_not_to_buy_a_digital_slr_camera.html

Realviewer .Thanks for the filler. Actually what i wanted was get some feed back from our existing members who really loves or really doing it professionally .

P.S
Only the people who are doing this knows how addictive this new digital art really is .

There is a very clear difference of the photos taken from a compact and a dslr. Specially the clarity, colors and this blur effect of the background when you focus on something.. Even with small size photos you can clearly see the difference.True you need more knowledge to handle a dslr properly and they guarantee only 100k shots because the mechanical shutter mechanism tends to wear off with the number of shots. But generally you can go beyond that and its more fun than a compact. So if you're into photography, buy a dslr and if ur into just keeping some memories, a compact would do.

[quote="Meta Trader"]

RealViewer wrote:Nice topic to discuss other than share trading.
Good analysis about DSLR and point and shoot but,

P.S
Only the people who are doing this knows how addictive this new digital art really is .

I am not a professional photographer. I work with many in this field.

I tell you that once you use the Semi-professional camera or professional camera, you will never use the point and shoot unless you are traveling light. Just do a comparison, study the pro's and con's of each model / brand and settle for a CANNON.

DSLR's are for those who want to stand out and focus on the subject!

You can take good photos for your use if you have a good fixed lens or optical zoom lensed Digital camera with at lease 7Mpixel chip.

If you want to learn about how images are created due to varying light, aperture size, speed of shutter and ISO etc., do experiments and gain skills for mastering photography to produce excellent images .... then you have to have a SLR.

A good Digital SLR with some removable lenses is priced over 1 lak.

For me Nikon is the choice, Cannon is also gaining (gained) respect.
If someone is interested in a Nikon , do not go for D3000. Its image capturing is poorer than others in the brand.

Most of us use cameras to capture important moments in our life but after looking at them for a couple of more times, they would be sitting somewhere in a hard disk.
For such occasions anything fitted with 1.3 M pixels or above that is good enough but those who do professional works need more flexibility with other settings and for them the DSLR is the one.
For someone like me a phone with a camera would do the trick.

Chinwi wrote:You can take good photos for your use if you have a good fixed lens or optical zoom lensed Digital camera with at lease 7Mpixel chip.

If you want to learn about how images are created due to varying light, aperture size, speed of shutter and ISO etc., do experiments and gain skills for mastering photography to produce excellent images .... then you have to have a SLR.

A good Digital SLR with some removable lenses is priced over 1 lak.

For me Nikon is the choice, Canon is also gaining (gained) respect.
If someone is interested in a Nikon , do not go for D3000. Its image capturing is poorer than others in the brand.

Market Share of Digital Cameras-2010:

CANON 19%
SONY 18%
NIKKON 12%

This is a latest article on Canon's Technical Features and mention by specialists-


Featuring one of Marvel Comics’ first super heroes, Captain America: The First Avenger leaped into action on movie screens this summer. To capture some of the film’s intense action sequences, the filmmakers relied on the popular EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR cameras from Canon.

Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II camera provides full 1920 x 1080 HD video recording at user-selectable frame rates, including 24p (23.976 fps), the standard for motion-picture films. This, combined with the high-resolution image-capture capabilities of the camera’s 21.1-megapixel 36 x 24 mm full-frame CMOS sensor, enables filmmakers to intercut 5D Mark II sequences with 35mm film footage.

“The challenge with a lot of action photography is getting the camera in the right position,” noted second unit director of photography Jonathan Taylor. “I’m always looking to get the camera in impossible places because these kinds of shots make action sequences much more exciting. Most 35mm motion-picture cameras and even the leading digital cinematography cameras are just too big to get into interesting positions. I don’t want my ability to get a shot restricted by the bulk of the camera. This is why the Canon 5D Mark II camera is such a wonderful piece of equipment. It has a small footprint that enables you to find really good angles and shoot interesting positions. You can also hide it really well. For me it was an action, crash camera, and much more.”

Taylor used the 5D Mark II cameras to film point-of-view (POV) shots and other “action cuts” involving car chases, crashes and explosions for several sequences in Captain America: The First Avenger. One scene, depicting a car chase that included a taxicab crashing into a truck, was intensified by Taylor’s use of the cameras mounted on the fenders of the two colliding vehicles. He wrapped both cameras in heavy-duty black foil wrap, which he then spray-painted to match the colors of each vehicle. The result was a fast-impact shot that vividly enhances the audience’s involvement in a perilous scenario.

“It’s a very quick cut – only about 12 to 15 frames – but when audiences see a shot like that it really brings them into the action,” Taylor explained. “This was a pretty impressive shot that you would never get with any other camera but the 5D Mark II. Another great thing about those cameras is that they are small enough to be invisible to the film cameras simultaneously taking the master shot of the crash.”

Taylor also placed 5D Mark II cameras inside a taxicab to capture POV footage of it rolling after crashing into the truck. “You see what the guy inside the cab sees, which is glass breaking, the sky rushing past, and then the ground,” he noted. Additional 5D Mark II cameras mounted inside other vehicles not involved in the chase provided other drivers’ POV’s of the action zooming past them.

“The thing with action is, the more angles you get, the faster the cuts you can use, and the more energy you get into a sequence,” Taylor added. “A series of fast cuts really moves a sequence along and helps involve the audience. Plus, it’s always good to give the editors lots of material, which is why I used the Canon camera wherever I could get extra angles that are interesting.”

Interesting angles to heighten excitement and give the film’s editors more options for cutting included Canon 5D Mark II close-up POV’s of Captain America operating the switches on his speeding motorcycle. Taylor explains that these kinds of shots would usually be photographed on a stationary motorcycle against a green screen, with a moving background digitally composited into the picture in postproduction. Instead, the compact size of the camera enabled Taylor to shoot these POV shots on the motorcycle while it was actually in motion. “It was much more realistic and enhanced the action better than a stationary shot,” said Taylor.

Yet another dramatic perspective was achieved by mounting a 5D Mark II inside a Pelican case strapped to a fire hydrant. “I put this really wide Canon EF lens on it and got a great shot of the taxi hitting the hydrant really close, which you’d not normally get with another camera simply because of its bulk,” he said.

“Canon EF lenses perform very well,” Taylor noted. “A lot of rental houses can provide you with big lenses for your Canon digital SLR, but that defeats the purpose when you’re trying to hide the camera. In these cases, I only use Canon EF lenses. I think the lenses are very sharp and good in the context of what we use them for, which is quick cuts. They are very compact and the camera itself is incredibly strong. Both withstood an awful lot of abuse.”

http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/camera/canon-dslr-cameras-capture-the-action-for-captain-america-the-first-avenger/

canon Mark 2, few EF lenses .............
One dream in my life.

there is no question as to the quality of photos of a compact and a DSLR.
if you want to take photos to just take casual snaps and to upload to FB then a compact would do. It's much easier on the go too.

I just love the photos produced by DSLRs. I guess Nikon D3100 is the popular entre level at the moment.

If you want beautiful photos compared to the compact, you don't need extra lenses other than the 18-55 since you never had more zoom in the compact anyway.

For me, I bought a mid range compact (Sony W220 i think) which was excellent but I lost it last year. Next one is a DSLR but yet to buy since I use my friends' on occasions to experiment.
At the moment, the 8MP cam on the phone (on par with digi cams) is more than enough to suit my needs