Ideas for First DSLR Camera

[MaxH]

Hi, i've had a bridge camera for a while and now looking for a DSLR but dont know much about them apart from you can change the lenses and they are a lot more expensive.


so i was wondering if anyone had any ideas for a first time DSLR and lenses to go with it.

the type of thing i mainly take pictures of is landscapes.

and also be able to tell me more about DSLRs

[RahulT]

Originally Posted by MaxH

Hi, i've had a bridge camera for a while and now looking for a DSLR but dont know much about them apart from you can change the lenses and they are a lot more expensive.


so i was wondering if anyone had any ideas for a first time DSLR and lenses to go with it.

the type of thing i mainly take pictures of is landscapes.

and also be able to tell me more about DSLRs

I don't know if you are obsessed with any particular brand or not but if CANON is what you have on your mind then I think you should read this tread for entry level camera.I had same confusion while choosing my First DSLR

[inkista]

Originally Posted by MaxH

Hi, i've had a bridge camera for a while and now looking for a DSLR but dont know much about them apart from you can change the lenses and they are a lot more expensive.

Well, at least everything you know about dSLR cameras is true.

so i was wondering if anyone had any ideas for a first time DSLR and lenses to go with it. ...the type of thing i mainly take pictures of is landscapes.... and also be able to tell me more about DSLRs...

Most people will go for an entry-level dSLR, with an 18-55 kit lens to begin. A large number of these folks will eventually add on a telephoto zoom (typically a 55-200ish lens) and a fast prime (35/1.8 or 50/1.8). Mostly because of cost.

The single most-limiting factor with dSLR gear is budget, so the first thing you really want to do is figure out how much you want/can afford to spend on dSLR gear, and over what time frame. If you only have a single lump sum to cover both the camera body and the lenses, then assume that half to two-thirds of that money is going to be for the glass.

However.

For landscape photography, a P&S camera can actually do a pretty good job. So, again, think to yourself what it is you want out of a camera 'upgrade' to another system.

dSLRs are typically better because they are more responsive and the systems are more vesatile than compact cameras. Power on and shutter release have no perceptible delay. You can time things exactly. The sensors inside dSLRs are also typically larger than those inside P&S cameras, which gives you a wider dynamic range and cleaner high iso noise performance.

The interchangeable lenses means that you can choose a lens specifically for the job you want to shoot.

In all of this, only the dynamic range (and possibly high resolution) of the larger sensor and the lenses may actually be of interest to you as a landscape shooter. And there are other options aside from dSLR. Unless you think you might be interested in a lot of other types of photography in the future, you may want to consider a fixed-lens large-sensor camera (like the Canon G1X or Fujifilm X100), or a mirrorless compact (Sony NEX, micro four-thirds) system instead of a dSLR. Since landscapes tend to wait for you and a tripod, and not require super-fast/super-accurate autofocus or fast lenses or high iso settings.

You may also want to simply try some new techniques with the P&S camera that you have. A tripod, and using the timer with a low iso setting and a smaller aperture can make a big difference with landscape photography, even with a simple P&S camera.

[Doug Pardee]

Like inkista said, you should be able to get nice landscapes out of most modern point-and-shoot cameras. Even the most inexpensive cameras work pretty well in daylight conditions on subjects that aren't moving around. Probably the biggest limitation is that most digicams don't go to a really wide-angle setting, but there are some that do go fairly wide, and you might be better off buying one of those instead of putting out a lot of money for a DSLR system.

[bigben6]

wow thats a broad question....

If your shooting landscape in decent light any kit lens will meet your needs. I might even say go used.... and either cannon or nikon would fit the bill, landscapes IMO are more dependent on composition than gear. You just dont need crazy ISO ability or super fast glass generally speaking...

Are you sure you NEED and SLR to get your desired results? What do you feel you are limited by with your current gear? Can you post some pictures you were un happy with and tell us why, it may help us help you even if that does NOT mean a new camera...