Should You Move Up To A Starter Digital SLR Camera?
October 20, 2009
Most of us start off our photographic adventures with a compact camera of some sort. Easy to use, small enough to slip in a bag or even a pocket they are very versatile and mean that we always have a camera with us when we suddenly get the urge to photograph our children. They can also produce some great quality pictures, so how do you know when the time has come to move up and buy a starter digital SLR?
If you love taking photos of your kids and family, but are starting to get frustrated by the limitations of your camera, if you look at a friend’s photos and wonder why your portraits don’t quite have the same glowing quality and the sharpness, then maybe it is a sign that you are outgrowing your trusty point and shoot camera and need something more to allow your photography skills to grow and develop.
An SLR camera gives you far more control over your photography than a compact camera, but the starter versions all come with easy to use basic settings, as well as more versatile settings for the creative photographer. This gives you the chance to experiment and learn when you have plenty of time, but still gives you the option of returning to easy automatic settings when you are immersed in the chaos of a birthday party and don’t have a minute to think!
With an SLR camera you can decide on the lens quality you want. The easiest option to start with is to buy a zoom lens that will take you from wide-angle to telephoto, but if you get more serious about your photography you can purchase other lenses that offer even better quality. For example, if you love photographing flowers a dedicated macro lens will give you whole new avenues of photography to explore. When you are looking at professional photos and admiring the sharpness and clarity of the picture it is the excellent quality of the lens that is responsible for this. The better the lens you have the better your photos can become.
When you are deciding whether to buy an SLR camera or not, bear in mind that you don’t have to give up your compact camera altogether. An SLR is bigger and bulkier to carry and though it is well worth it for the quality it gives you, there may still be times when you just want to slip a compact camera in your pocket and go. But once you see the improvement in your photography that comes with a good SLR, you’ll find it harder to go back to the snapshots of before.
In the end though it comes down to one thing: which camera is more likely to inspire you to take plenty of pictures of your kids, so that you will record all those special moments as they grow?
Mum and Photographer
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