THE RIGHT SLR FOR THE RIGHT PERSONMar 13 '01 (Updated Jan 30 '02) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Never let gut feeling or pushy salesmen make your decision for you. Your purchase is yours and yours only. The first question you should ask yourself when buying a Single Lens Reflex camera is "what is my maximum budget?" The common mistake is to buy the expensive equipment first in the expectation that it will work perfectly out of the box. Like most activities you need to practice before you become good. The budget is also relevent to what format of film you want to use. Medium format is over twice as expensive to process as 35mm film so it should only be considered for serious photography. APS film is very new at the moment. The accessories are rare and expensive. The number of film types like slide as well as black and white are nowhere near as extensive as 35mm. I rarely if ever find myself needing more than the standard 35mm frame size so I would advise against APS. Once you have chosen your maximum spending limit your next consideration is which camera should I choose? There are many good cameras out there but many bad ones. In my opinion the best two 35mm camera makes are Pentax and Nikon as their old manual focus lens can be used on their modern cameras and their old manual focus cameras can take modern lenses. There are also a lot of accessories available second-hand all over the place. Pentax cameras and compatible accessories are cheaper than Nikon and most other makes so are ideal for the budget concious. The weight of the camera is very important. Is it too heavy for days where there is a lot of strenuous walking? A camera that is too heavy will also strain your neck. The camera mist be very capable if it is heavy and if it's weight is to be tolerated. The final consideration is what battery does it take? Avoid if at all possible cameras which use batteries which are hard to source and expensive. Ones which use AA batteries or SR44 silver oxide cells are ideal as they are cheap and easy to find.  |
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