How To Get The Best Digital SLR Camera...For YOU

STEP1

People often ask : what is the best digital SLR camera?
My answer is always the same:
The best digital SLR camera is one that helps you take photos that you love.
All digital SLRs on the market today are very similar, and they all take great photos.
Comparing digital SLR cameras is a lot like comparing apples to apples. Faced with a large pile of apples, how do you pick the best one for you?
You can pick from a variety of apples because you know exactly what you like (i.e. crunchy, tart, green, no spots).
Finding the best digital SLR camera is not really different.

Discover Your Inner Photographer

Let's start with a self-assessment.
This one won't help you quit smoking or discover your true calling in life, but it should help you pick out the best digital SLR camera for you.
The question you have to ask yourself is: What do I love to photograph?
Think of this exercise as finding your photographic sign. Once you know your sign, it will be easier for you to find a digital SLR you're compatible with.
In the next section, I'm going to list of a variety of photographic styles. See if one of them appeals to you more than the others.

Photography Styles

Action and Sports You may not think you're an action photographer. If your joy in life is photographing children and pets, you are! They never stop moving around, and they rarely sit still for a photo.

Portraits Faces are fascinating to you. When you go on vacation you are more inclined to take photos of the locals than the scenery. There is something about the human face and the expressiveness of the eyes that is captivating.

Landscapes Landscape photographers are somewhat opposite to portrait photographers. While the portrait person likes to interact with people, the landscaper is more at home in the beauty of nature without another single person for miles.

Macro The devil is in the details - and you want to try to find it. Macro photography is for those who love the small things in life, and pay enough attention to their surroundings to notice all of the tiny details.

Night/Low Light You enjoy prowling around in the dark or are fascinated by the way night-time can change a city. That, or you really enjoy taking photos inside dim galleries and museums.

Travel/Outdoor You want your camera to go EVERYWHERE with you. Whether it's hiking, biking, or jumping out of an airplane, the best digital SLR camera for you will be small and light.

Indoor You are most inclined to pull out a camera when your small child is reaching for his favorite toy. You take photos of birthday parties, dinners, and other events that occur inside a house.

Spontaneous You want to be able to react on a moment's notice, and know that speed is essential to capturing the photo of a lifetime. You have a habit of waiting until the last moment to bring out the camera.

Planned/Studio No photo you take is without some form of preparation. Whether it's a child's portrait or a still life of your favorite flower, you like to get everything set up so that the light, color and mood are just right.

Pick Your Style

Before you go any further, pick your photographic style.
It's OK to choose 2 or 3 styles, so long as you remember which ones they are.
Write them down somewhere so you won't forget them.
Once you start comparing digital SLR cameras, it's easy to lose track of why you needed the camera in the first place.
When you just focus on the features that help you take the photos you love, it reduces the number of features you have to evaluate.

Your Next Step — Learn Digital SLR Jargon

In Step Two you'll find out how a digital SLR camera works and how it's different from a compact camera. You'll also learn all of the latest digital SLR camera tech jargon, explained in plain English.
A solid foundation in this terminology will help you match camera features to the photographic style you just selected.
End result?
You'll find the best digital SLR camera, and not just the best camera for anyone.
Nope, this will be the best digital SLR camera for you.

STEP 2
If you've been wondering "what is a digital SLR?" I'm not all that surprised.
Many consumers are much more familiar with compact digital cameras, since these models have flooded the marketplace.
Like cell phones, it's hard to walk down the street these days without seeing someone snapping a photo. Digital SLR cameras are far less common, and up until 2005 were really only used by professionals.
The good news is that the price of digital SLRs keeps falling and many are competitive now with the high-end compact cameras. This also means that many new consumers are hearing about these cameras and aren't quite sure what they can do.
So what is a digital SLR? Let's find out.

SLR Defined

SLR is an acronym: it stands for Single Lens Reflex.
Now you know what SLR stands for but that doesn't really help answer the question, does it? Let's define further:

• With an SLR camera, you see exactly what the lens sees
• You can change the lens on a digital SLR
• Digital SLRs have large image sensors that produce high-quality photos
• An SLR has a near-zero lag time, and is ideal for action photography

Bottom line? Digital SLR cameras are versatile.
You can take photos of everything from sleeping kittens to race cars and you'll never be limited by your camera.
With an SLR in your hands you can rest assured that you'll only miss great photo opportunities because you weren't prepared, not because your camera was too slow.

The Anatomy of a Digital SLR

To properly answer "what is a digital SLR?" you have to understand a bit about the mechanics of an SLR camera.
In order to avoid getting overly technical I've simplified this diagram and am highlighting the key elements.
If you really want to dredge into the specifics, you can do that at Wikipedia.

1. Light passes through the lens and strikes a mirror (green)
2. The mirror reflects the light up to a focusing screen
3. Light passes through the focusing screen and enters a block of glass called a pentaprism (orange)
4. The pentaprism reflects the image so that you can see it in the viewfinder
5. When you take a photo, the mirror flips up and a shutter (blue) opens that exposes the digital sensor (red) to light

This is a great example of what-you-see-is-what-you-get. By using the viewfinder you can precisely compose your image and adjust the focus.
Is ithe image that you see in the viewfinder 100% accurate? In most cases it isn't.
If you read digital SLR camera reviews, you may hear a lot about viewfinder "coverage" and "brightness".
Many digital SLR viewfinders only show you 95% of the image that will be captured by the sensor - this is what "coverage" refers to. Unless you are extremely precise when it comes to your photographs you won't notice the 5% difference.
Digital SLR viewfinders also vary in brightness, which is another way of saying how clear the image appears. "Bright" viewfinders make it easier to use manual focus, since you can clearly see the details of your subject.

A Lens For Every Occasion

In addition to the pentaprism viewfinder, one of the key features of any digital SLR camera is the ability to change lenses.
Most people think that the camera alone is responsible for capturing an image, but this isn't the case.
The lens that's attached to it can play a huge role in the color, contrast and clarity of every single photo that you take.
Owners of digital SLR cameras can buy lenses that match their photography style, since a landscape photographer should not use the same lens as a wildlife photographer.
The ability to swap lenses at any time adds to the versatility of a digital SLR camera, and means that even if your photography needs change in a couple years, you won't have to buy a new camera, you'll just need a different lens.

What's Next

Hopefully you're starting to feel more comfortable about this whole digital SLR camera thing.
If close friends pop the question "what is a digital SLR?" you'll be able to respond in an educated fashion (just throw out the term "pentaprism" and watch their eyes go wide).
Let's take it a step further.
I am a digital SLR enthusiast - this web site probably gives that away. I think that there are many advantages of digital SLR cameras.
But I also know that there are many features of compact digital cameras that aren't available on digital SLRs.
These two articles present both sides of the coin so that you can make an informed camera-buying decision:

• The Advantage of Digital SLR Cameras
• The Difference Between SLR and Digital Compact Cameras

If you already feel quite confident that a digital SLR is the right camera for you, and have been following along with the step-by-step guide to buying a digital SLR, it's time for Step 2 - Part II: defining digital SLR terms.
A clear understanding of digital SLR jargon will help you decide which camera features you must have — and which ones you can live without.

STEP 3

Are you ready to get started on some digital SLR camera comparisons?
Before you jump in, it helps if you have some idea of what you love to photograph and what some of the camera jargon - like megapixels, ISO, live view and image stabilization - means.
Why? Because this knowledge will make your digital SLR camera comparisons 100 times easier.
Here's a pop quiz to help you out:

1. Are you an action or portrait photographer?
2. What are dust control and live view?

If you're not sure about question one, then take some time to think about what you love to photograph. If it's question two that has you stumped, then take a quick refresher course in digital SLR terminology.
If you know the answer to both, then keep reading to discover the easiest way to make your digital SLR camera comparisons.

The Digital SLR Matching Game

Let's play a matching game.
It's fun, and the goal is to save you time. If this works, you won't have to compare every digital SLR camera on the market, just a few.
Let's begin with your favorite photographic style:

• Action and Sports
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Macro
• Night/Low Light
• Travel/Outdoor
• Indoor
• Spontaneous
• Planned/Studio

Do you remember the one you identified with? Did you write it down?
If not, go back to Step 1 right now and decide which one best describes your photography style. Don't worry, I'll wait.
Got your photographic style? Good.
In the following table, the photographic styles are on the left, and the most important camera features to look for are on the right.
Find your style, and you'll see just what features you need in your digital SLR camera.
This process should make your digital SLR camera comparisons significantly easier.

Action and Sports	High continuous speed Large buffer Fast multi-point autofocus
Portrait	Image stabilization Live view LCD Color control (especially flesh tones)
Landscape	Image stabilization Extended dynamic range Dust control Color control (especially earth tones)
Macro	Image stabilization Live view LCD Compatible with macro lenses
Night/Low Light	Image stabilization Low noise at high ISO settings Image noise reduction for slow shutter speeds Remote shutter release
Travel/Outdoor	Image stabilization Small size and low weight Extended dynamic range
Indoor	Image stabilization Low noise at high ISO settings Lots of external flash options
Spontaneous	Fast multi-point autofocus
Planned/Studio	Live view LCD Compatible with lighting accessories

Any digital SLR camera is compatible with more than one photography style.

Find a camera that matches your primary photographic need first, and then see how well it works for other photography styles.

Example: if you enjoy action and sports photography, consider the best digital SLR for action. This camera will also take beautiful landscapes and portraits, but if you purchase a slower camera you might be disappointed with your action and sports shots.

Start Your Digital SLR Camera Comparisons

Now you can really begin your digital SLR camera comparisons.
You're not only informed about your photographic style, you also know exactly what features to look for.
There are three ways that you can tackle this step:

1 - Compare By Features

If you go this route, you need to select the one camera feature that's most important to you.
Maybe it's the speed of the camera, or how much it costs.
Whatever the defining feature may be, there is probably a digital SLR out there that will match your needs.

• Megapixels - if you're positive you want to print at large sizes, then you need a camera with a lot of megapixels.
• Cost - don't have Donald Trump's income? You might be looking for an inexpensive digital SLR.
• Ratings - find out what others think and which digital SLR gets the highest ratings by users.
• Size - when you don't want to lug around a brick all day, a small-sized digital SLR is ideal.
• Special Features - looking for a DSLR that captures video? This is one of many several special features.

2 - Find the Best

This approach to digital SLR camera comparisons is for those who only want the best.
Let me say this first: the best is relative.
The cameras that I present in this section are my choices as the best digital SLRs in each category. No panel of judges was involved.
I justify my "best of" camera choices in detail, so you can see how I reached my conclusions.
If this approach is helpful to you, then find out what's the best digital SLR camera.

3 - Read a Guide

This technique is for those who like details.
Rather than finding out what I think are the best cameras, or deciding ahead of time which feature is most important, you'd like to find out the specifics of each digital SLR camera.
That's what the in-depth digital SLR camera guides on this site are all about.
They'll walk you through all of the camera features, and identify the pros and cons of each one. You'll get to see plenty of photo samples taken by the camera along the way.
Once you're finished with a digital SLR camera guide, you'll have a much better sense of whether or not the camera is the best digital SLR for you.

Source : http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/best-digital-slr-camera.html