Help me choose a DSLR

wintersun wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

RFCN2 wrote:


Now here is the rub. The best pictures of Grand Teton park were taken with my almost two year old Motorola Droid one morning when I was out bike riding. The light was just right and the pictures were taken on that camera because I had it with me in my pocket. Nikon back in coach.

that is one of the reasons that I don't recommend a DSLR, now that ILCs have "exploded" on the scenes. my Nex 7 has the same size sensor as my Nikon with more pixels, half the weight and the size but same picture quality.
Years back I had a tiny Pentax SLR with an assortment of lenses that took 110 film. A friend had one and didn't like the picture quality and my question to her is would she rather have a picture that was not "perfect" or no picture at all.
bumpy

People look at the pictures on a 4 inch screen and judge the quality. I want a picture that at a bare minimum I can blow up to 20x30 inches for a print. I also want the ability to take pictures in dim light or indoors and this is where P&S cameras and smartphones are not up to the job.

I carry a Lumix point and shoot camera that is OK up to ISO 800 and use it for snapshots where I simply want a record of something, like a plant I am going to ID later or similar purpose. It is a little bit thicker than a smartphone but it has a zoom lens and much larger sensor for less noise in the picture.

I disagree completely about the need for prime fixed focal length lenses. With digital cameras one of the biggest differences compared to film cameras is the need to keep the sensor clean of dust. The more often the lenses are changed the more often the sensor will need to be cleaned. Also modern zoom lenses are very good and some are outstanding in terms of image quality provided.

There is also the benefit of having one zoom lens like the Nikon 24-120mm or Canon 24-105mm zoom lens in place of 4-5 prime lenses. And many zoom lenses have optical stabilization so slower shutter speeds can often be used an not have image blurring from movement of the camera.

A small bit of advice. The DSLR type cameras are much easier to hold steady and focus and shoot than the mirrorless type that need to be held away from your face while taking a picture, and the mirrorless are more difficult to use in bright sunlight. My wife has an Olympus Pen camera that is a great camera but she has learned to use very high shutter speeds to get sharp pictures.