One stop newbie guide for buying a DSLR

Update : Only after publishing this post did it hit me. Its been a year since I own a DSLR. It has been quite an eventful journey so far. (status) Thank you folks for being so wonderful and supportive.

Recently a friend of mine asked me to help his friend buy a DSLR. To be frank, it left me scratching my head as I was at a loss as to what to tell him. Then I realized that the posts that have been published in antzFxWay are indeed a great place to start, if read in the right order. Once I sent him the mail, I figured it could help more people. So here is the post from where you can start your research.

	A Beginners Guide to Buying a DSLR (from a Beginner) I wanted to make a transition from P&S to DSLR. So I asked Google, my all-knowing ever-faithful friend, “What should I do?”. The keeper-of-all-knowledge promptly dumped thousands of camera reviews in front of me to choose from. “Oh my!” - I pinched myself.
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Realizations of a DSLR newbie

Image by Piotr Bizior

It’s been almost 10 months since I bought my first DSLR. The days so far were both beautiful and challenging as well as immensely educational.

The time I spent juggling with my camera have given me some insight into the intricacies of this business. Given below are a few realizations I had in the last few days.

1. What you see is not what you get.

2. To get what you see you need to understand light. That takes a lot time, effort and patience.

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Half A dozen Stupid things people will do after buying their first DSLR

It is astonishing to see that newbies buying their first DSLR (including me), even after spending so much time on their research, have hit on a sequence of spending behaviours that is not exactly helping them in the long run. Here is a rundown of half a dozen of such things they we regret on later.

1. Extra battery

The battery pack that comes with the camera is an excellent unit that lasts for a reasonable amount of shots. I have used my fully charged battery on Nikon D90 for approximately 600 shots on a span of a week. Although it would make sense to buy extra battery if you are into professional business, as a newbie you will seldom find yourself actually needing any unless you trek for weeks on end in the jungles.

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A Beginners Guide to Buying a DSLR (from a Beginner)

I wanted to make a transition from P&S to DSLR. So I asked Google, my all-knowing ever-faithful friend, “What should I do?”. The keeper-of-all-knowledge promptly dumped thousands of camera reviews in front of me to choose from. “Oh my!” - I pinched myself.

When I started searching for a DSLR buy, I didn’t know anything except comparing spec sheets of different camera models; and of course how a DSLR looked! Quickly something became clear to me. Either I have to read reviews written on countless camera models by scores of people or I can ask a learned friend.

I chose the latter. For me, it was Urvesh. If you don’t have anyone, don’t worry, you can start your research from this post

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Photography – Reliable DSLR/Lens/Flash Review Sites

Trust is a little hard to come by – especially in online sector. I spent the last two weeks in search for a “good’ DSLR. With a little (read: a lot of) help from one of our guest authors, I finally managed to buy one. During that search, I chanced upon a couple of sites that are trustworthy. This post is meant to recognise their hard work and dedication.

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Half A dozen Stupid things people will do after buying their first DSLR

It is astonishing to see that newbies buying their first DSLR (including me) have hit on a sequence of spending behaviours that is not exactly helping them. Here is a rundown of half a dozen of such things they spend their money on.

1. Extra battery

The battery pack that comes with the camera is an excellent unit that lasts for a reasonable amount of shots. I have used my fully charged battery on Nikon D90 for approximately 600shots on a span of a week. Although it would make sense to buy extra battery if you are into professional business, as a newbie you will seldom find yourself actually needing any extras.

2. Extra card

A 2GB card can hold approximately 250 RAW pics. (based on Nikon D90) That would generally be sufficient for a day’s casual shoot. Rather than buy extra card, buy a card with higher capacity like 8GB or so such that you don’t have to juggle cards regularly.

3. Filter

Although there are no scientific proof as to the effectiveness of using a lens filter as a protective shield in front your lens, common sense decrees that it would do more harm if not of a higher quality glass. Because you run the risk of scratching the lens from the filter’s broken pieces.
I have been using my 18-250mm for the last 6 months without a filter and everything is okay till now.

4. Cheap tripod

There is an article bythom which aptly describes how people will be spending their money on tripods. And I think it is quite true. I invested in a cheap tripod thinking I will upgrade once I know the quirks of using it. But every time I use it to capture a delicate moment, I end up cursing it because of its poor build. Invest in a good support system because you will never know when once-a-life-time opportunity presents itself and your tripod mucks it up.

5. Extra lens

Although Kit lens that comes with the body is good piece of glass, it is almost impossible to hold back and not buy more lens than you need. For a newbie, I believe it will take some time to identify his style and interest. So it is better to hold on until there is more clarity. I own a zoon lens (Tamron 18-250mm) and I am contemplating the buy of a 50mm because I am very much interested in profiling.

6. After spending a fortune on gear, we safely leave the camera at home!

Everyone does this! Your DLSR is not a delicate instrument that is to be left safely at home, but rather accompany you everywhere. Because you never know when you need. I have already regretted leaving my camera at home because that would be the time I will be presented with something quite extra-ordinary.