Gear question of the week!!

So, you've decided you want to take a step up and make the lead from point and shoot to a Digital SLR (DSLR). Ok, now what..?

Now, i'm going to take a guess and say you're not looking for a camera body for professional reasons, so this is geared at someone newer to the market, and this is simply how I personally would conduct my search.


My first step would be to see if anywhere local carries them, and start there.

If you want to keep it to something you've held before (and for a first camera i would highly recommend this), then start out by seeing what you've got available locally.

The first real step is to decide canon or nikon. Now, you can start an entire war on which is better , but frankly, for all practical purposes between similar models there is no difference in image quality. Yes some models between the brands offer a mix of features that the others don't, but these are more personal preference than anything.

If only one brand is offered locally, then start there.

The next step is to pick a price range. As a start, in addition to the camera body, you'll also need a charger for the camera/battery, a download cable, a memory card, and a lens to get you started. Most camera kits come with all of this, or all but the memory card. For those starting out, picking a kit is often the best way to get started as it will also come with manuals and most/all of what you need.

So you have a price point picked out, now what?
I'd start online for this step, but the local store works as well. Check out all of the cameras that fit into this price range, and put the list together. Check out the fetures that each offers and see what you do/dont want/need (this can cheapen things up as well as narrow your search).

Some of this may not matter/you might not know what any of the tech specs mean, in which case ask some questions or dont worry about it.

Some things to consider, are you going to be making huge prints? (is so some thought on mega pixel is a good idea), are you going to be doing a lot of night/low light shooting (if so check reviews on image noise), sports or other high speed shooting? you'll want to find something with a higher frames per second shooting rate.

The next step, and personally i think the single most important one outside of price, is to go handle them and see what feels good, fits, and what does not.

Some cameras have controls in different locations, menus are setup in their own ways (personally i prefer the way nikon does their menus and is the main reason i shoot with them). See which brand offers the menus/controls that you like the feel of, and how each camera feels. yes they do feel and handle differently.

Quality wise, if you are just going to print up to say 11x14 or just over that, ALL of the DSLRs out now will do more than you could ever ask for from them. Even some of the older 4mp cameras will print photos if you are smart fairly large (i've gone to 18x30 with a 4.1mp camera and had the prints look amazing).

Check reviews of the models you are looking at and compare them. The single best site out there for this is Dpreview.com and is your best friend when shopping for a camera.

With the models out now, pick one that feels good to you, and you are comfortable shooting with. They can all do more than most of us will ever be able to get out of them.