First of all, you have to decide what you are going to shoot. Everyone has different tasks, and you need to understand that the best camera simply doesn’t exist. Why? Firstly, it isn’t the camera that shoots, but the photographer. Secondly, the field of application of the camera may be different and the requirements for the equipment, accordingly, may also differ significantly.
For amateur photography, you don’t need an expensive camera. In most cases even a smartphone is enough — modern devices have developed tremendously in recent years in terms of photo quality. If you want to reach some creative heights, it is better to buy a camera — a DSLR or a system camera. It is better to give preference to easy-to-use, compact and inexpensive models because such cameras are simply more convenient for everyday shooting.
Rules for Choosing Your DSLR
For professional shooting, the technical requirements are completely different. Lightness and compactness recede into the background, and such things as maximum image resolution, the ability to get a high-quality picture in any light, focusing speed, and accuracy are becoming priorities. There are many tasks for which a camera is needed. Moreover, not a simple one, but a full-frame one. A smartphone is not suitable for these tasks.
- Camera size and weight are more important than megapixels. If a large and heavy DSLR is bought for a fragile girl, she will either drop it and break it, or she will curse the day the DSLR was presented to her. And exactly the opposite, if a man buys a small and light camera for himself, he will also drop it. The male hand has a larger grip and the larger camera will lie in the hand like a glove. Neither a girl with a large camera nor a man with a small one will be able to enjoy shooting and take good pictures — this is inconvenient.
- There is never a lot of money to buy a DSLR. It is necessary to divide the available amount into two parts. One part of the money — for the purchase of the camera itself, and the other part — for the purchase of the lens. Accept that once you buy a DSLR camera, you will continue to buy new optics.
- If you decide to continue reading, but there is still not enough money, it is better to sacrifice the functionality of the camera for the sake of optics, or postpone the purchase. There is no point in buying a DSLR with bad optics! It is better to buy a point-and-shoot camera two or three times cheaper and get the same quality photos as on a DSLR with poor optics.
Canon or Nikon?
There is no difference between Canon and Nikon cameras! Of course, there is a difference in the menu settings and controls, and the zoom on the optics rotates in different ways. But for a photographer, this is a matter of taste and habit. The quality of pictures, except for the optical system, cannot be affected in any way by Canon and Nikon cameras. In other words, you can choose for yourself both Nikon and Canon without regard to the opinion of the professionals.
The only problem that you may face later is the price difference between similar lenses in terms of performance. Nikon lenses cost 10-20% more than similar lenses in Canon, but these are professional optics, and you may not need them right away.
What Lens Should You Buy to Start with?
Always start with a lens with a fixed focal length of 50 mm with an aperture of f/1.8! There are many reasons for this, both optical-technical and financial. Just believe — this is so and this is a dogma. For more information on these lenses in Canon and Nikon, you can read user reviews. With very little money, you will get pretty good results.
Then, if you don’t give up photography, you will have different lenses. You will want to have different lenses to have more opportunities to shoot in different genres, but the basic fifty should be the first. Pictures taken with this lens will almost always be sharp and with a blurred background, whether shooting in the kitchen or outdoors.
Bottom Line
If you just need to take good pictures, opt for a model that is not the newest. All this modern functionality has almost no effect on the picture quality, and you can shoot real masterpieces on any simplest DSLR complete with a 50 f/1.8 lens.