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3 things you absolutely must know before you buy a DSLR camera

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Posted by Patrick on Jan 27, 2008 in Cameras

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I bought my first DSLR back in April of last year, and have been absolutely loving it ever since. It was hard a decision, and I spent a lot of time researching what to buy, but when I eventually purchased my Nikon D80, I was quite pleased with myself. For my needs as an amateur photographer, the D80 has in large part, met most of my needs. With the D80, I have been able to take some amazing pictures, and even today I’m still amazed at the level of detail I can see in some of my photographs. There are a few things though, that I know now, that I wish I had know then. Luckily for you, I’m here to share them with you…

Do your research

Buying a DSLR is a hell of a financial commitment, so you’d better make this initial purchase really count. To really make this investment pay off, you’re really going to have decide what system you are going to shoot with. I’m not here to recommend what system to shoot with, you are going to have great results whether you shoot with Canon or Sony, Nikon or Pentax, but I am recommending that you try your best to really commit to whatever system you do decide to go with.

As it turns out, your real investment will be your lenses, and not your camera body, and with that in mind your research should include what type of photography you actually might be focused on, what type of lenses will be required for your needs, and what system includes those lenses, at what cost, and at what quality, and how do those lenses compare to the competitor’s.

The second crucial factor in this decision will be image stabilization. Image stabilization comes in several different varieties but in effect is a rapidly advancing technology that helps counter camera shake that would otherwise lead to unsharp photographs. Image stabiliazation can be built into lenses, as found in Canon and Nikon, or can be built into the camera body, which seems to be the trend for the rest of the camera manufacturers. One implementation isn’t neccessarily better than the other, but having built in image stabilization on the camera body can lead to a significant cost reduction on future lens purchases, so long as your potential camera system’s lens library includes the lenses that you need.

Finally, make sure you’re not buying your product at the end of its product cycle. Nothing creates greater buyer’s remorse than buying a brand new high tech device, only to see it replaced by a newer one the next week. On camera bodies, a typical product cycle is 12-18 months. Find out when your potential purchase was released, and if its been over a year, seriously consider waiting for the next upgrade to that camera model. It will probably give you a lot more camera for the same amount of money.

Buy up

Having done all your research, and finally settled on a camera system, and finally the camera body itself, take a moment and consider the idea of buying up. In some camera systems this may or may not be possible, but if there’s anyway you can possibly come up with additional funds (even if this requires more time and/or pawning your wife’s belongings) you might be rewarded by moving up a camera model. I had seriously considered purchasing a Nikon D40 for my first DSLR, but at the last minute I decided to move up to the Nikon D80, and I’m so glad that I did.

It’s inevitable that shortly after purchasing your first DSLR you are going to become keenly aware of it’s limitations, and you’ll frequently find the next camera model up resolves or improves those limitations. I know that first time buyers may have a hard time visualizing this, because even an entry level DSLR like a Sony A200, Nikon D40, or the new Canon 450D are such a step above whatever camera you may currently have, but trust me, in no time at all, you are going to be wanting even more.

Cash, and lots of it

The last thing you absolutely need to know before embarking on your DSLR journey is that you are unknowingly about to spend a lot of money, and I’m not just talking about your camera purchase. I’m talking about the seemingly never ending small and large purchases that will become all but inevitable once you head down this path.

Oh it will start harmlessly enough, a camera bag, some memory cards, a Ritz camera store tripod, and maybe even (gasp!) a camera cleaning kit. But if you are anything like me, a series of much larger purchases are coming. There will be an additional lens purchase, then maybe you buy Adobe Lightroom to help you manage and process your growing photo collection, then you’ll have learned the limits of your $40 dollar tripod, and so a much more expensive tripod gets purchased, then magically a new computer is needed, more lenses, lens filters, better camera bag, battery grip, external flash, more software, external hard drive, a new printer too, monitor calibrator, wacom tablet, and then a year’s gone by, and lo and behold there’s a new camera body to purchase, and, well you get the idea. Somehow a $800 dollar purchase has turned into much, much more, and mark my words this is going to happen.

Nobody told me that pursuing DSLR photography as a hobby would end up being so ridiculously expensive. It wouldn’t have changed my mind, and I’m sure it won’t change yours, but you can’t say you haven’t been warned.

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