Filed under: Buying Advice, photography | Tags: camera, focal length, glass, lens, lenses, megapixel, photograph, photography, SLR, wikipedia
In Part one, I listed a few options that a person can take when buying an SLR.
With this informal guide I’m assuming you already know what ‘SLR’ means, If you don’t then let this link explain. Wikipedia is great isn’t it?:)
The reason for starting this guide is because having bought an DSLR recently (not my first one mind), I thought it would be a good chance to reflect on what I went through because while I am happy with what I bought, I received a lot of information which I thought was unnecessary and useless for what I asked. I also doubted myself after having bought one because of such information. This might say more about me because I might be a weak minded fool but I think there is something to be said when groups of people are informing you of other things to buy, going against what I wanted. I then noticed other people who were looking for help and I felt they were going through the same process so this is to be of some use and help to others.
Okay so for the moment, we’re going to give the camera store a miss, this is also something I would do. I would only use a store as a way to handle any gear I was interested in buying. We live in the Information Age, we should all be web savvy enough to find better prices and better information.
No doubt you’ll have a photography friend you already know and is successful with what he or she photographs. So why not pick their brains? The answer is because what works for them might not really work for you if you ask first about a DSLR, instead ask about their lenses, its where their investment lies. The glass in the long term is more important but strangely camera bodies receive more attention in press and advertising, maybe because the characteristics of a DSLR are more marketable than the abilities of a lens, I think their appeal will grow on you once you’ve outgrown the kit lens.
I wouldn’t focus on the SLR yet, you’ll get to that point naturally because they’ll ask what would you like to do with your camera once its in your hands? It is the lenses that will allow you to shoot wide-angle (14mm) for landscapes or telephoto (300mm) for bird watching so focus on those first.
This is a very simple way of looking at this for the moment but my point is that you should be able to come out of the conversation with a better idea of what you would like to be shooting with regard to camera lenses but also come out knowing a bit more about photography in general because of what the glass can offer you without needing to buy into a particular brand just yet because it isn’t necessary.
