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  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    Jan 2010
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    New Buyer Confusion

    I am sure these types of questions get asked all the time, i have looked in the FAQs already, but I am confused about which SLR to buy.

    For background, I am looking to get into one simply to take better looking pictures of the family and such. We have gotten by with a cheap camera for a long time but after seeing the pictures that were taken by others with their SLRs, it just makes sense to upgrade seeing as how much better the quality is. I have spoken to these friends and they have Canons with 15 mps. Our main goals would be to have a camera with faster shutter speed as we are constantly missing "good photos" of our children as they move before the picture is taken.

    After looking at various cameras online, and being thoroughly confused, i wanted to see if someone could give me some common sense advice. We are not professional photographers. How many mp do we need? What else should we look for?

    Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    Senior Member OldClicker's Avatar
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    Re: New Buyer Confusion

    All modern DSLRs are capable of high quality images with insignificant shutter lag. Set a budget and look at the features of those within that budget and see which feel good and operate intuatively to you. Lenses are the more important (and expensive) part of the system, so consider what brand lenses do your friends have that you might borrow? Is video important? How about Live View? Any camera with 8 or more MP will do what you need.

    Another thing - it isn't magic. You cannot buy quality images. Along with the greater flexibility of the DSLR comes the need to understand what is required to get that good image.

    TF
    -----------------
    I am no better than you. I critique to teach myself to see.
    -----------------
    Feel free to edit my photos or do anything else that will help me learn.
    -----------------
    Sony/Minolta - way more gear than talent.

  3. #3
    Be serious Franglais's Avatar
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    Re: New Buyer Confusion

    Quote Originally Posted by tron
    ...Our main goals would be to have a camera with faster shutter speed as we are constantly missing "good photos" of our children as they move before the picture is taken.
    You are missing good photos of your children with your point-and-shoot because of the time the camera takes to focus etc. before firing. DSLR's have more sophisticated focussing mechanisms and almost always fire immediately so you can get the shot - provided you are using the viewfinder. If you're using the LCD screen on the back of the camera to frame the picture (Live View) then focussing is slow like on a point-and-shoot.

    DSLR's can do a faster shutter speed than a point-and-shoot but this allows you to freeze action (example: outdoor sports).

    6Mpix is enough for most people, if you print the whole frame no bigger than 8x10 inches. You can buy a camera with more Mpix but you probably won't see the difference on a whole-frame 8x10.

    Indoors it's useful to have a camera that can work in low levels of light i.e. it has a maximum sensitivity of 1600 ISO or more, without too much noise (looks like film grain). Pretty much all DSLR's on the maket today can do this.

    Most DSLR's have a built-in flash for really dark conditions. This is better than nothing but for better results get an external flash that sits on top of the camera and allows you to light the subject head-on for action shots or bounce the light off ceiling or walls for a more natural shot.

    If I were you I would do like your friends and buy a Canon DSLR. That way you can help one another out if there's something you don't understand.
    Charles

    Nikon D800, D7200, Sony RX100m3
    Not buying any more gear this year. I hope

  4. #4
    Senior Member OldClicker's Avatar
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    Re: New Buyer Confusion

    Quote Originally Posted by Franglais
    You are missing good photos of your children with your point-and-shoot because of the time the camera takes to focus etc. before firing. DSLR's have more sophisticated focussing mechanisms and almost always fire immediately so you can get the shot - provided you are using the viewfinder. If you're using the LCD screen on the back of the camera to frame the picture (Live View) then focussing is slow like on a point-and-shoot.
    The Live View used by Sony uses the same fast focus system as when using the viewfinder. If you intend to use the LCD, this would be something to consider. - TF
    -----------------
    I am no better than you. I critique to teach myself to see.
    -----------------
    Feel free to edit my photos or do anything else that will help me learn.
    -----------------
    Sony/Minolta - way more gear than talent.

  5. #5
    Junior Member
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    Jan 2010
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    2

    Re: New Buyer Confusion

    Quote Originally Posted by Franglais
    6Mpix is enough for most people, if you print the whole frame no bigger than 8x10 inches. You can buy a camera with more Mpix but you probably won't see the difference on a whole-frame 8x10.
    Thanks for the responses. I think the Mpix issue was the thing that concerned me the most, it is re-assuring that we can do something around 6.

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