Visual Cohesion – Snakje

Making the decision and digging your pocket

Which SLR camera should I buy?
What is good and value for money?
How do I get the best price?

These are the questions I will be answering in this article.

Which SLR camera?
What your friends have is not what you should get! Everyone has different goal in life where the path you choose will change your life! Sometimes you will be judge for having a camera that is not in trend anymore or a cheap camera, but it isn’t that important when it comes to photography! Especially for someone who is new to this field.

Choosing the right camera is an important step to explore the new world. People with strong egos will normally go for a better SLR cameras on their first purchase, but buying a better camera doesn’t make you a professional photographer nor getting better results. It doesn’t even has to be a Digital SLR camera to start your photography journey!

Photography is a field parallel to art and design where individualization and personal style makes you different. In order to achieve that, you will need to explore as many possibilities as you can. Even if your friends are having a DSLR and you are using an old second hand SLR camera from your dad, you can still feel great! It is because, there are things that DSLR cannot achieve! ..more to come..

There are many brands offering a wide range of DSLR and SLR cameras such as Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus and etc. But which one should I choose?
I will personally recommend Nikon / Canon cameras because they are specialized in optical products. These are the cameras you should buy if you are looking into a good investment. They may cost more than other brands but they will be the brand you will be having in the future! So, why buy them now? I could have bought other brands and switch to them later on?
Not a good idea! When you start investing in extra accessories or lenses for your camera, they will not be compatible with other brands. For example, If you have a Lens for Sony SLR cameras, you will not be able to fit it into a Nikon SLR camera. So, you are pretty much stuck to the 1 specific brand once you started to invest in other camera lenses such as Fisheye, Wide-angle or Macro lenses. (Unless you are rich enough to invest in a whole new set of lenses for another brand)
It is a tough decision between a Canon or Nikon SLR camera because they are both excellent brands. The debate on the better brand can never end! The best way is to look into the benefits, promotions or competitions provided by the brand. For example, Canon launched a Canon EOS photochain competition in Australia, which probably makes them a better choice for the chance to share your photography interest with other Canon community.

I am not claiming that Canon makes better brand because my personal reference is Nikon! I loved Nikon because i started my passion for photography with it and it has been quite successful and lots of fun! There isn’t any major problem with my cameras for Manual SLR Nikon F55 and Nikon D40. The reason I picked Nikon is the recommendation from a professional studio photographer stating that Nikon is specialized in camera equipments and Canon wasn’t as well established at that period.

Now to decide on a manual SLR or DSLR. It is actually pretty simple. What is your photography goal? If you are looking for digital photographs, it will definitely be a DSLR. Having a DSLR enables you to upload images online and preview them just right after you took the shot. You can always retake them if you were not satisfied with them! But if you are looking for more challenge or interested in the essence of photography, I would recommend a manual SLR. Although a manual SLR may look a little outdated, but the quality of the photographs are better than all the entry and intermediate DSLR. They aren’t considered cheaper because the overall cost for film developing may cost more than DSLR in a long run. However, the greatest benefit of owning a manual SLR is the ability to use different films to produce different results. You can even create your own darkroom to develop your own photographs.

In most cases, people will probably go for Digital instead of film. A good DSLR to start with is the Nikon D40, D40x or D60 or Canon EOS 400D, 450D and 1000D. These cameras are the best for beginners because they have more automatic functions and pre-settings you can play around. Especially when you are doing any quick shots with family and friends, these cameras are the best for the job. You will save a lot of time on doing the settings! You will not want your friends and family to wait too long to take a photograph won’t you? If you have extra budget and thinking of getting a better camera, it may and may not serve you correctly. Having spent more on a camera that is more sophisticated without knowing the full potential of the camera is just a waste of money. For general purposes, most DSLR do offer approximate similarity in the outcome of the images. The only obvious problem dealing with these entry DSLRs are when you plan to produce large prints or frequently involved in rough and harsh weather condition or maybe when you are doing a lot of low light photography.( the low light photography here means if you are doing to take still frozen pictures in low lights.) The better range of DSLR will be the Nikon D80, D90, D200, D300 and Canon EOS 500D, 40D and 50D but they are much more expensive, bigger and heavier than the entry level. Unless you are really into photography, or else you will not want to carry something big and heavy around all the time.

What is good and value for money?
For the Nikon Brand,
the best value for money entry level DSLR are the D40 and D40X. The major difference between both the camera is the megapixel and the price. D40 comes with 6 Megapixels and the D40X comes with 10 Megapixel. The price of the D40 dropped tremendously over the years and it is now out of production, if you will like to spend less on a DSLR, a second hand D40 will be an alternative, but remember to check the product for defects before paying for it. the D40X is a great camera with better megapixel
and faster continuous shooting speed of 3.0fps. But the difference in price is quickly noticeable. I would recommend you to check how many megapixel you will need before placing your investment on a D40X. I cannot deny that it is a much better camera than D40 but may not be as value for money as the D40. The D40 is a good camera for it’s price and functions.

For Canon Brands,
The Canon EOS, 400D, 450D and 1000D are all entry level DSLR. The Canon EOS 450D have the highest Megapixel of 12 compare to the others with only 10. I will not be recommending the EOS 400D because of some major disadvantage it has compared to the other 2 models. The Canon EOS 400D is the cheapest in range but the major drawbacks are the lack of Live view, shorter battery life, and some other features. I will recommend getting the Canon EOS 450D because of the Live View function that enable you to see what you are shooting through the LCD instead of putting your eye to the viewfinder. The extra megapixel on the EOS 450D makes it a better camera for the price! However you will like to check with your local stores and inquire before taking my advise for Canon cameras because I am a Nikon person!

How do I get the best price?
After choosing the camera of your dream, it is now time to look for the best price. Finding the best deal can save you some money for other camera accessories such as the very important UV filters to protect your camera lens!
But how do I get the best deal?
How to get discounts from the sales person?

RULE NO.1 : Do not buy from large shops because they will never be able to match the lower prices.
First of all, you must understand the basic function of a camera store. Big and small camera stores do make a huge difference in pricing their items. Both these shops keep a specific amount of stock in their inventory.
It is very obvious that bigger camera store tends to sell their items at higher price. It is not due to the higher rental and labour cost but because they generate more potential buyers from walk-in customers compared to smaller stores. With the larger demand population, there are no possible reasons for them to sell at lower price.

RULE NO.2 : Try to bargain further by creating a good comfortable communication with the sales person. Be friendly!
Not only that the camera shops are gaining profit from your purchases. Most stores allocate commissions for the sales of each camera. By knowing the % of commission the sales person will be getting, you will be able to bargain further. The value may vary for different countries, but I heard from a camera sales person that they are profiting approximately 0.2% commission from the sales.

RULE NO.3 : Always know the price of the things you are buying. Check out several stores to find out the stores with the lowest price and ask if the sales person can match the price or give better prices or any free gifts are better than nothing!
With the easy access of the internet, there are no reasons for you to not compare the price worldwide before going to any camera shops. You should always know the price of the item you are buying before heading to the store. It is because not all promotions in stores will give you a better deal! There is this major electronic store having a big television advertisement on HUGE discount, BEST prices, LIMITED time only. These are all promotions that “cheats” people. When I checked out the store recently, the prices after what they claim “HUGE” discount couldn’t even match a quotation I got from another store! Ridiculous but true.

RULE NO.4 : Never be too desperate or you will be paying more than what you should get! and sometimes waiting for promotion period is also a good choice.
Price tags in stores are always left there to profit from people who are desperate. The sales person will always take out a calculator when you sound your interest in a certain item in the store. Then the miracle happens, ” I will give you 10% discount off the price from the shelves” this is just another marketing technique. Most electronic stores uses this technique and will normally be able to give you at least 5% off the shelve price. (Unless they already did it for some offer and promotion)

For more information or review on digital cameras, here is a link to a great and trustworthy website.