What Digital SLR Features Do You Really Need?
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Spending Your Own Money: What Digital SLR Features Do You Really Need? By Joe Kashi Trying to determine which digital SLR cameras have the best image quality and the best value can feel almost impossible. The similarities seem to outweigh the differences and purchase price may not be your best guide. Making a sensible purchase decision may seem overwhelming. What features are actually useful in making good images? I’ll mostly discuss the camera bodies themselves because, in addition to the camera manufacturer’s own lenses, there are several excellent third party lens manufacturers that make lenses for many different camera brands and lenses mounts. These vendors include Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina. Often, their consumer and semi-pro lenses are as good or better than the camera maker’s own lens lines. What Features Do You Need? In most cases, there’s little difference between upper entry level and semi-pro dSLR camera bodies in terms of their imaging quality and electronic features. Instead, the less expensive entry level dSLR cameras are usually built from plastic, perhaps with some metal framework internally. They’re not as rugged nor expected to last as long under heavy use. These are basically d(isposable)SLR cameras. That’s not all bad - you’ve saved enough buying a lower end dSLR camera that you can invest now in sharper lenses that you can use later when you buy an upgraded model. The mechanical features of a dSLR camera can be very important and these are real differences that you should consider - how important are they to your style of photography and are they worth the extra cost? For example, a wedding or candid photographer will prefer a camera with a quiet shutter that operates quickly. A sports photographer needs a very high “frame rate”, that is, how many images can be made each second. A photojournalist may require a camera that excels under very low light conditions. An outdoor photographer here in Alaska really should consider a camera that’s sealed and weather-resistant. Be very careful in deciding upon your initial purchase. You are not just buying a single camera but a system that includes one or two camera bodies and, usually, several lenses. With the exception of the Panasonic/Olympus 4/3 systems, lenses are not interchangeable between different manufacturers’s camera bodies. Once you’ve bought a Nikon, or a Canon or a Pentax and several lenses, it requires a mighty effort to change to another camera body brand because you’ll also need to purchase an entirely new set of lenses. Weather Resistance: Except for the 10 Megapixel (MP) Pentax K200D, I’m not aware of any other current entry level dSLR camera that’s dust, weather or water resistant, something that’s probably very useful in our Alaskan weather. Only a few semi-pro models are dust and weather-resistant and again these are primarily from Pentax, including their new 14.6MP K7 ($1,138 body only) and the 14.6MP K20D ($748 with body and rather good 18-55mm AL II kit lens). Although the K20D was introduced in mid-2008, it remains in the Pentax catalogue as a lower-priced semi-pro alternative to the new K7. Overall image quality is about the same. Contaminants can enter a camera system through an unprotected lens and Pentax currently makes two lines of weather and dust resistant lenses, the inexpensive entry level WR series and the pricy semi-pro DA* series. Neither Olympus’s 12MP E30 nor Canon’s 50D 15MP semi-pro models are weather resistant. Nikon’s 12MP D300/D300s are weather-resistant but these bodies cost upwards of $1,650, well more than double the cost of a comparable Pentax K20D. Build Quality: Semi-pro models often have a metal shell rather than a plastic body and are capable of taking five or more images per second, an impressive-sounding specification that’s of little use to anyone other than a sports or wildlife photographer. Ordinary entry level dSLR cameras are usually capable of taking up to three frames per second. I don’t consider that difference to be of much value to the typical user. The shutter of a semi-pro camera might be rated for up to 100,000 to 150,000 exposures before failure. Again, that sounds pretty impressive and it is, if you work for National Geographic. In an era of rapid technical advances in digital photography, is it worth an extra $300 to $800 for a camera that will be obsolete in three years or less, long before you crank out those 100,000 exposures? Even my oldest and most heavily used current digital camera, a Kodak P880, has made less than 4,500 exposures. Adding up every decent camera that I’ve owned over the last 5 years, I haven’t made a total of 15,000 exposures with all of them and I probably take far more photos than most people. You’ll also want to ensure that any dSLR camera system includes some form of optical or mechanical image stabilization. Pentax, Sony and Olympus build it directly into their bodies so that any mounted lens is automatically stabilized. Canon and Nikon build stabilization separately into each lens. Either system works well but overall system costs may vary. Image stabilization is very important. Changing lenses sometimes results in seriously annoying visible dust on a sensor, whose electrical charge causes any dust to cling tightly. Almost all new dSLR cameras now include some form of dust control or dust removal but their effectiveness varies quite a bit. Check user reviews at Amazon or other sites to see whether typical users regularly encounter difficult dust problems with the camera system that you’re considering. I can only say that I have had little difficulty with dust on the Pentax K20D and K10D cameras that I own, but I am very careful when I change lenses. Resolution: The reasonable upper limit for dSLR cameras using an APS-C or generally comparable 4/3 large sensor seems to be between 12MP and 14MP, beyond which image quality actually drops. Nikon, Sony, Olympus, and Pentax continue to practice megapixel sanity, with both their entry level and semi-pro bodies using 12-14MP mid-range APS-C sensors. Canon on the other hand has just announced a new 18MP model with an APS-C sensor, the 7D. There’s a lot of concern that this is just too many megapixels for optimum quality on an APS-C sized sensor. Although the Canon 7D’s feature set and overall quality are very good, the rather smaller 12MP Micro Four-Thirds sensors used on Panasonic and Olympus cameras seem to produce images that are comparably good. Video: Many new upper entry level and semi-pro dSLR models include some form of high definition video. This may interest many photographers but video capability varies greatly from camera to camera, so check professional and user reviews if video is important in your dSLR. Personally, I find that a decent super-zoom camera such as the Kodak z1012 provides more than adequate high definition video for around $250. A superzoom camera may be a better option for photographers who are primarily interested in video, particularly highly zoomed video. On the other hand, new full-frame cameras that include video, particularly the Canon 5D Mark II are capable of professional quality high definition video at price that’s lower than comparable pro video-only equipment. Design and Controls: How well a camera works for you is really an individual preference. Semi-pro cameras like the Nikon D300s or the Pentax K7 have more than enough buttons, controls, options and settings to overwhelm a novice photographer. A decent upper entry level dSLR like the 12 MP Nikon D5000, the 15MP Canon T1i or the new 18MP T2i, the 12MP Olympus E620, or the new 12MP Pentax K-X will be much easier for a novice photographer yet also be capable of making excellent photographs. .