Things you should know before getting a dSLR

I was thinking to write about Compact Camera vs dSLR but having hard time to put them together, the draft was sitting there for 2 days now and I just realize that why not I put it in different way.. that to let all of you who intended to get a dSLR to know more….. what is the catch behind getting a dSLR beside the surface benefit you always see … dSLR can produce stunning pictures vs Compact camera.

There are not much of peoples ever thinking to go SLR before dSLR became common and affordable by the consumers. I started to use SLR in the film days.. that is like in 1995 and I can say not much of general consumers will go SLR as they think SLR is for the Pro or serious Amateur. In just not more then 10 years apart, you can see anyone with a dSLR because the price is pretty much affordable and being the conveniences to be offered in digital, everyone can now shoot with dSLR.

Some very frequent expressions I heard / read about from peoples that thinking to get a dSLR are like the following,

– I can take better pictures if I have a dSLR.
– I want to buy a dSLR for travel because travel photo will certainly look much better with dSLR than compact.
– I can take pics that compact camera cannot do with dSLR.
– I need a dSLR to take photographs of my kids.
– If I get a dSLR, I can take photographs like other pro.

So, did you have something similar in your thought when thinking to get a dSLR or you have other of your own “believe”. My opinions on all those are true but do you know what you are signing on by getting a dSLR ? I hopes my sharing here would help you to make some decisions if dSLR is suitable for you.

Using dSLR in full Auto (Green or picture mode)

As far as I can tell, if you intended to take pictures only in full Auto modes with the dSLR, you will almost going to get the same crappy shots you always did with your compact camera. There may be a little bit better then the results from compact camera but I doubt it will be much different. I almost never shoot in full auto with any of my SLR for the past 13 years.. whether with film or digital. This is especially true if you take the picture in a dark place with the flash on.. there are no different from using a compact, you will get the peoples light up with harsh flash and the background is still dark.

What you can do with the kit lens that came with the Camera ?

The lens that normally came together with the entry dSLR will be what we called consumer graded lens.. especially true with Canon. Nikon’s kit normally is little bit better and I am not quite sure with the rest of the brand has, it has been a while I didn’t touch base with dSLR technologies and what other brand offered. The focal length of most kit lenses are ranged from 17mm~80mm to 17mm~100mm with F3.5 ~ F5.6 or F6.3. Don’t expect you will get any Anti-shakes technologies built into those lenses unless your body has a designed in Anti-shakes mechanism. So, the kit lens offered will normally has variable aperture, lower resolution optics, lower contrast and less accurate color reproductions. The retail values for those kit lens is normally around RM300 ~ RM600 depends on what brand and lenses that came with it. ( e.g. I sold my kit lens for only RM200 ). A premium lens with the similar focal range with the kit lens would be probably around RM2K range if it is a constant F4, or RM5K range if a constant F2.8 fast lens. If you want any Optical Anti-shakes in the lens, they will cost you another probably RM1K ~ RM1.5K if they are available. The price range varies with different brand and made. More and more manufactures have released a so call 18mm~200mm, anti shakes lens to capture more consumers that only want 1 single lens to do more… do aware that some limitation came with it and you have to know what the benefit of Fast Lens and the usage of Anti shakes.

Macro Photography

How many of you already knew you cannot take Macro shot with a dSLR’s kit lens ? It is still not too late if you only find out now.. that you CANNOT take macro shots with the package you buy that came with a kit lens… at least not anything that come close with any macro features found on compact camera. If you want to capture macro, you will need either a close-up filter (range of RM100~Rm200), an extension tube (range of RM200 ~ RM500)or a dedicated Macro lens (range of RM1.5k~RM5k).

Zoom range & features of your lens

image source : http://en.wikipedia.org

Normal kit lens will only offers around 5x optical zoom, that is around 17mm ~ 80mm. Since most entry level dSLR has either 4/3 or APS-c sensor size, you will need to multiply them with certain multiplier to get the equivalent focal range… e.g. Canon will have 1.6x factor and Nikon will have 1.5x factor. So, effective Focal range for a Canon with APS-c sensor on a 17mm ~ 80mm will be 27.2mm ~ 128mm. If you want anything more then that.. you have to buy another Tele-zoom lens or Tele-prime lens. An entry level 75mm-300mm will be around RM600 and a premium lens of 70mm-200mm will be around RM2.5k with F4, RM5.5K with F2.8 and extra around another RM1K if you want the Anti-shakes technology to come with it. So, if you thinking of getting a dSLR because you want to capture your kids in the school’s activities, stage shows, sport days.. think about it. You cannot do it with the kit package you get unless you buy another tele lens and let it be which you eventually getting, you will need to spend some money on it. Whether you can do it and getting a pleasant results with the consumer graded lens, that will depends on how much you knew about the theories… or some basic rules of how to prevent hand shakes e.g. min shutter speed = 1 / focal length of the setting and you gain +1 ~ +3 stops if you have anti-shakes.. but yet you need the shutter speeds that is fast enough to freeze the frame you are capturing… etc.

Portraiture with dSLR

have you ever thinking of capturing beautiful portraits with the background blur out, with the subject standing out from the background ? You knew those pictures are taken with a dSLR… if you started to wonder if you need to spend some money before you can do that too. The answer is yes, you could not do those with your kit lens, some of those pictures are taken with portrait lenses or simply using the tele-zoom lens that having larger aperture especially with the F2.8. A dedicated consumer grades portrait lens would be around RM1k where a premium grades will be probably 2 to 3 times of the consumer graded lens. Of cause, a lot of peoples actually able to produces stunning portrait pictures with kit lens or simply buying a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens ( around RM300 ) and will do a great job. This is especially true if you starting to look at Terrence Toh’s gallery. Most of his portraiture’s works are done with a Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens
. So, the good news is, you can buy a cheap consumer grade lens and do beautiful portrait shots. ( A lot of peoples will argue that best portrait lens should be having focal length of 80mm ~ 105mm ~ 135mm ) as a reference, a Canon’s EF 135mm f/2.0L USM Lens will cost around RM5k.

Flash photography

You want to take a picture with the flash on.. but without harsh shadows or red eyes ? Well, be prepare to spend another minimum RM600 to get a dedicated external flash. You can do away by using some diffuser with the on board flash but don’t expect too much. With some basic understanding about using flash, you can creates beautiful flash photography without worrying about the red eyes and harsh shadows. That alone is a long topic and I am not going to touch here. Anyway, you will soon to realize that the on board flash has its limitation and you will starting thinking to buy an external flash. Of cause, there are some peoples that can just live with it and not spending any other money for it.

Travel with dSLR

So, do you still thinking of getting a dSLR after reading all these ? If you still thinking you are ready for that.. then read on for some more of the fun things you automatically signed on with getting dSLR. We are now, getting to the most interesting part if spending money is not the interesting part yet. Remember your original intention when you wanted to get a dSLR ? That you want to capture more beautiful pictures with it. So, how do you do that after you buy one ? Any idea what the answer would be ?… You must first bring it out with you.. before you can use it.. right ? With the addition of this and that.. you need different lenses for different shots, different accessories for different scenarios.. do you think you will be able to travel light with all the things you have ? If you don’t bring all of your stuffs.. then you will regret.

Let set a simple examples, that you want to go for a day hiking trip and you decided to travel light. As you are hiking, you saw some pretties bugs or flowers, .. and started to yell… I should have brought along my Macro lens. Suddenly, you start yelling, if only I have my tele lens with me now… when you see some monkeys on the trees… as you continue to hike, you came to a nice waterfall, Your friends will expects you to take good shots of those because you are using dSLR.. and then you started to tell them you cannot take because you left those accessories at home… why ? You will need your CPL or ND filters, and then you will needs your tripod before you can take that. Let say what if you did bring all of those.. you will need to spend at least 15 ~ 30mins for each location shot and with proper settings. Do everyone will have the same patient waiting for you and oh.. did I mentioned that you are carrying addition probably 5Kgs ~ 10Kgs extra with your different lenses, accessories and a sturdy tripod ( not your everyday RM30 tripod )

Now, use your imagination.. the same scenario happen when you go for your 10 days Europe trip, or your 2 weeks honeymoon in any countries of your choice.. are you going to bring all your equipment, accessories and still enjoying your vacation ? and if you don’t bring them, what are you going to miss and what is the point for you to get the dSLR in the first place if your original intention is to get one for that purpose ? If you are not good in imagination.. let me do some helps, imagine yourself with the camera, accessories, bags for 12 hours a day for the entire duration of your trip. ( Don’t forget to factors in your chargers, batteries and etc ). But having say that, if your trip is a photography trip, then you will going to bring all of those and you won’t regret with the load you are carrying.

More on different scenarios for you to think

– Are you going to bring that ugly big camera bag after you carefully suits up for a romantic night in a nice, decent restaurant ? Or do you hang the big camera with you on your romantic dinner with another hand carrying your 3Kg tripod ?

– Do you know, peoples tend to respect you and give way to you to take pictures when you are with dSLR in let says a wedding ceremony or certain events ? … and do you know in the opposite, peoples are also more concern when you take photographs in shopping malls, museums, outlets with a SLR ? This may sound strange but you would probably been asked not not take photographs when you are using a SLR but other that using a small compact camera have not been asked to do the same.

– If you are going to a water park or theme park, are you going to be the one that taking pictures and taking cares of your bags when everyone else going for the fun ? And if you only bring the camera kit itself.. do you able to take all the action shots with everyone on the rides or in the middle of the pool ? if not ? why do you want to bring it in the first place ?\

– Oh.. when you have a digital SLR, your friends and relatives will starting to ask you to take photographs for their birthday parties, their weddings for free because they say, its digital.. and its free. How many of them realized how much you spend in getting those.. and by signing on for such free jobs, you are pretty soon find you are going to parties, wedding days, wedding dinners for working and not enjoying…and some time, it is the matter of families’ commitment and you cannot say no.

Ok, I think this is long enough as a single article and you probably felt boring reading until here since it is more like I am complaining about the troublesome of having a dSLR.. Don’t get me wrong, I still like shooting with dSLR and carrying a 10Kg bags on my back for certain trip because the rewards can be something that you cannot measure with anything especially you are looking at the pictures that you felt worth all the hassle and you glads you didn’t left those things in the car or at home. What I trying to shares here is to those that thinking of getting a dSLR.. please realize what it is and what it is not.. what it can do and what it cannot do.. and be careful of what you are signing on if you are not entirely understand it.

Last but not least, don’t expect the out of dSLR pictures will be great if you don’t understand any simple basic of painting with light and you know nothing about the digital darkroom. Do more studies of what is dSLR about, join forums or as simply as joining some of their monthly gathering, photography outing to get your hands on those equipment without needing to buy it first to find out you don’t like it or having the pressure of the sales person asking if you going to buy or not.

Following are couple of more popular photography communities in Malaysia that you can join. (There are more like cari, lowyat & myPdacafe that i didn’t included since they are not purely photography forums)

(in Alpha-numeric order)
– http://www.fotokrazy.com
– http://www.lensamalaysia.com
– http://www.photokaki.com
– http://www.photomalaysia.com
– http://www.rojakstudio.com

Thank you to have the patient to finish the reading /blurblur