Some advice for Beginners like me thinking about a DSLR!

Dear All,

As I have recently bought my first digital SLR, thanks in a large part to this forum. I just wanted to add a couple of thoughts especially for people thinking about buying their first DSLR.

1. Do your research. This site is a great place to start, plus other sites like http://www.steves-digicams.com/, http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm and http://www.dpreview.com

2. Try before you buy. I did my research and decided on the Nikon D70s. Went into the shop to buy it and it just didn't feel quite right. I tried the Canon 350D, Rebel XT and it is smaller, lighter and kitted better in by hands. So definitely try, and if possible take your own memory card in a take some shots with both cameras and take them home and look at them there.

3. If you have never bought an SLR before, there is a book that was recommended on this forum, called "Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera" by Bryan Peterson. I have this and think it is a great first time book. Talks you through the basic elements to photography and examples all the way along the way...invaluable.

4. Buy a large memory card, say 1GB or even larger. I have started taking pictures and at high JPEG resolution you get about 200 photos, but in RAW that reduces significantly.

5. Definitely buy a second battery. The Canon one takes alot of pictures before it runs down, but always have a fully charged backup.

6. Play around with the camera, you can always delete the photos if they are no good. The book mentioned above gives some good exercises.

7. If you have any questions or queries about photography come to this forum, it's a great place to get info from. I am a complete beginner, and have learned a huge amount from reading and posting some reviews.

I hope this is of some help, even if a little. And I would just like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the people on this forum that have helped me.

2 weeks till I go to Thailand and Cambodia with my new 350D ... can't wait!!

All The Best

Mark
:D

Outstanding advice.

I just wanted to add that the try it before you buy it saved me from buying a camera that I would have hated. I had done all of my online research (checking price, specs etc.) and checked for reviews here and on a few other sites and had it narrowed down to the Rebel XT or the 20D. I liked the 20D better for the obvious reasons (a little higher end - more bells and whistles) but I liked the price of the XT much better and since I'm just a beginner myself I was leaning toward the XT. A local camera store had both in stock so I asked if I could check them out. I knew the instant I picked the 20D up that I was spending the extra money. The hand grip on the XT was way too small for comfort for me, I just didn't like the way it felt in my hand.

Getting my hands on them saved me from having to return one camera and buy another.

If you are buying online don't forget to check the dealer reviews on this site as well. They steered me toward the site I finally bought from and away from a few others that I was considering.