The Best Beginner Digital SLR |
Page updated: February 2008 |
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For me, the best beginner digital SLR camera must meet two primary criteria:
Luckily, these two go hand in hand: cameras that are easy to use tend to have less extensive features than cameras designed for professional and semi-professional phootgraphers (also called advanced amateurs or pro-sumers). Naturally, cameras with less features also cost less. This leaves the beginning photographer with two alternatives when it comes to acquiring a new digital SLR: |
- Buy a used camera for very little money and get used to how it operates, THEN spend the big bucks on a camera with all the features you want
- Buy an inexpensive modern camera with a limited feature set and - possibly - upgrade to a more advanced model in the future
I'll discuss the pros and cons of each approach in the page that follows.
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Used Digital SLRs
A used camera is great for anyone new to digital SLRs who might be pondering some of these questions:
- Would I really use all those features that are included on a more expensive camera?
- Will I ever want to learn more about the camera or just use it in point-and-shoot mode?
- Will I find that the size and weight of an SLR is too much to lug around and will it sit in the closet all the time?
If your answers to these questions are "no", "point-and-shoot" and "yes" then you don't want your first beginner digital SLR to cost half your paycheck.
The good news for you is that there are plenty of great used cameras currently available since early adopters - like me - are now trading up their old cameras for some of the spiffy features that are only available on modern SLRs.
What new features would you be missing out on by purchasing an old camera (and by old I mean from 2 years ago)?
- Dust Control - new cameras prevent dust from attaching to the camera sensor. Dust shows up as little black specs in every digital photo you take.
- Live View LCD - an LCD that shows you a preview of the photo you're about to take, just like on compact digital cameras
- Extended Dynamic Range - modern SLRs can capture more detail in shadow and highlights
Dust control is probably the most useful new feature, since a sensor that's contaminated with dust can be quite hard to clean.
The other features are nice to have but might not have a dramatic effect on how you take photos with the camera.
If you can live without them for the time being, you can get your hands on a fully functional digital SLR for anywhere between $200 to $400 (whereas even the most inexpensive NEW digital SLR will run you closer to $500).
Some models that I'd recommend you look for include the Canon Rebel XT, Nikon D50, Olympus E-500 and the Pentax K100D or K10D.
Inexpensive / Easy to Use Digital SLRs
The second best option for beginner digital SLR photographers is to start out with a camera with limited features.
Here are some ways in which digital SLR manufacturers "limit" the features available on their cameras:
| LIMITATION | SUMMARY | IMPACT |
| Less Autofocus Points | Some cameras have only 3 focus points while others have 11 | Unless you take photos of REALLY fast-moving subjects, having more autofocus points won't affect the quality of your images |
| Slower Continuous Speed | Some cameras take photos at 6 per second while many capture 3 per second | Only die-hard action photographers need cameras with really fast continuous capture speeds |
| Less Customization | High-end cameras let you tweak all aspects of how the camera's sensor captures an image | The ability to change these settings is important to pros but less of an issue for beginners |
| Worse Low-Light Performance | Less expensive cameras capture images with more digital noise in low light | Unless you expect to be taking a lot of photos in very dim light (i.e. indoors without flash) then you'll never notice this issue |
What beginner digital SLRs fall into this category of inexpensive and easy to use? Glad you asked.
Nikon D40 |
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Release Date | December 2006 |
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| Key Features | 6.1 megapixels, 2.5in. LCD, SD Memory | |
| Avg. Kit Price | $480 | |
| Uniqueness | Helpful LCD | |
| Great For | Learning photography | |
| Level | Beginner | |
| The D40 features an innovative LCD display that actually SHOWS you how changing camera settings affects your images. It's a great tool for photographers who are learning terms like aperture, shutter speed and ISO. The D40 is also the smallest, lightest and cheapest Nikon digital SLR. | ||
Olympus E-410 |
Release Date | June 2007 |
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| Key Features | 10 megapixels, dust control, live view LCD | |
| Avg. Kit Price | $495 | |
| Uniqueness | Very small and light | |
| Great For | Travel | |
| Level | Beginner | |
| The E-410 packs a lot of punch into its compact frame. Even though it's almost the same size as a compact digital camera, it still includes dust control and a live view LCD screen, making the transition from compact to SLR much easier. | ||
Pentax K100D Super |
Release Date | August 2007 |
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| Key Features | 6 megapixels, image stabilization, dust control | |
| Avg. Kit Price | $535 | |
| Uniqueness | Compatible with all Pentax lenses | |
| Great For | Travel and low-light | |
| Level | Beginner | |
| The K100D Super represents several advancements over the older K100D model. While it still has the built-in anti-shake that's available on the K100D, the Super adds a dust control system, an 11-point wide area autofocus and is compatible with EVERY Pentax lens ever made. This makes the K100D Super a great transition camera for anyone with a large collection of Pentax film SLR lenses. | ||
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