Monday, November 21, 2011

Should I buy a DSLR to get started?

Question

I'm really interested in getting into serious or even professional photography. I've read some articles about fundamental concepts like aperture, exposure, ISO sensitivity, etc., and I want to get the feeling of how changing different setting affects the resulting picture.

My point-and-shot camera has a manual mode but it seems like no matter what kind of settings I select, I always get worse results then if I shoot in auto mode.

Some people claim that manual mode on point-and-shoots is a joke. Should get a "real camera"?

Answer

You might want to try borrowing or renting a camera first. Even the cheapest DSLR will cost several hundred dollars, which can be a lot of money if you aren't sure it is right for you.

That being said, DSLRs now are a lot better than they were in pure auto mode, which can make it pretty easy to jump right in. I went from a P&S to a DSLR not all that long ago and really enjoyed it pretty much right away.

One big consideration when thinking about switching to a DSLR is the pure size of the camera. You will no longer have something you can stick in a pocket or throw in a bag. They are much bigger, much heavier and much more fragile. They are also a lot more expensive to buy, repair and upgrade.

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