A Cheap Digital SLR That Won't Break the Bank
Last Updated: February 2006
Looking for a cheap digital SLR? Cheap is relative.
Every digital SLR on the market costs over $500, and for the average consumer electronics that cost over $500 aren't exactly "cheap".
You pay a lot for a digital SLR, due in part to the many advantages an SLR has over a compact camera.
Elements of a Cheap Digital SLR
Plastic parts? Confusing menus? Dials that don't turn?
While these might be the hallmarks of other things that are "cheap" they are not typical on a digital SLR.
Here are a few reasons why some digital SLRs don't cost as much:
- Less megapixels - the less megapixels, the lower the price
- Slower speeds - you pay less for a less responsive camera
- Less features - you can't manually tweak every setting on a cheap digital SLR
Does this mean that a cheap digital SLR is going to fall apart on you in a couple of months?
It shouldn't! After all, you're still paying a lot of money for it.
It just means that the SLR is not quite as advanced as some of the competition, or does not measure up to the exacting standards of professional photographers.
If you decide that a cheap digital SLR has all of the features that you could ever want (and then some) then you'll save a lot of money when you don't buy top-of-the-line.
The Cheapest Digital SLR
OK all you penny pinchers, here we go!
If your bottom line really is price, here's your camera: the Pentax *ist DL.
On February 1, 2006 Pentax dropped the price on this camera $200, beating out all similar digital SLR cameras in its class.
This makes the *ist DL the first digital SLR camera to be offered for less than $600.
The previous price barrier was $1,000 and that was broken by the original Canon Digital Rebel.
Since Pentax is now seeing additional competition from Sony (coming soon) this will probably be the first of many price drops to come.
For the time being, the Pentax *ist DL is the cheapest digital SLR you can buy.
Digital SLR Prices
Right after the Pentax, the next cheap digital SLR cameras are the Minolta Maxxum 5D and the Nikon D50.
These two cameras are good alternatives to the Pentax, but run about $100 more.
They were previously tied for the title of cheapest digital SLR, but that all changed when Pentax made their price adjustment.
If you're still not sure why digital SLR camera prices vary so much, take a look at the 3 levels of digital SLR camera prices.
