So I am an amateur, entry-level photography enthusiast who's trying my hands on a budget entry-level DSLR moving on from a point-and-shoot camera, like many of you our there.
When looking out for my first entry-level budget DSLR, I was confused which one's to select from the pool of options available on the internet market.
I read many technology articles, went into the details of how the lenses and camera works and came up with some points which are very important to consider and which play a critical role. Many of us don't realize this and get attracted to the fancy technology features, leaving the core specs behind.
What's actually more important to consider? (The Core Specs)
1. The Sensor:
Yes, sensor is the heart of the camera. Many of us don't even think of the type of sensor the cameras come with. In layman's terms, the sensor is the digital equivalent of a photo film we had in olden days. The sensor captures the light entering the camera (the scenery itself) to later convert it into a digital image (what we see in a screen/computer). The bigger the size of a sensor, the more of the light it can capture falling on it coming through the lens. Many of the budget cameras come with the CMOS type sensor.
Below is the comparison chart of the currently available sensor sizes in the market:
As you see, the iPhone and the point-and-shoot cameras have much smaller sensors compared to the DSLR cameras. Most of the entry-level DSLRs' have the APS-C type sensor, also called as the cropped sensor. High end DSLR cameras come with full-frame size sensors.
Below you can see the price and sensor type-size comparisons between the 4 famous entry-level DSLR models from Canon (T5, T5i, T6 and T6i):
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| comparison taken from www.imaging-resource.com and the prices listed are the body-only prices from amazon.com |
As you see, all the 4 entry-level models have the same APS-C cropped sensor with a same area size of 332.3 square milli-meters.
2. Megapixels:
Do Megapixels really matter? Well, not that much. Some of us might had an experience with a 12 MP camera producing excellent photo than a 20 MP camera. In simple words, don't go for a camera just because it has a high megapixel count. Having a high megapixel count without having the right size sensor to capture it, technically doesn't produce a quality result that you expect. The Megapixel count is usually important when you digitally zoom in your photos to view details.
Other factors like the lighting conditions, proper focus and exposure and the camera settings also play an important role along with the Megapixel count to produce quality images.
Here is a MP comparison of the above 4 camera models:
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| comparison taken from www.imaging-resource.com and the prices listed are the body-only prices from amazon.com |
3. Image Processor:
The image processor processes the RAW image (what the sensor sees) into say JPEG format. Ideally, the processor is irrelevant if you're shooting in RAW (a completely unprocessed image) and the processing happens just before saving the picture into the memory.
Comparing the image processors that come with the above 4 Canon models:
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| the processor comparison is taken from usa.canon.com |
As you see, all the 4 models have a slightly different processor that they come with.
Not going too much technical into the processor architectures, from an amateur point of view, Digic 6 is supposed to be advanced than the Digic 4. Well, keep in mind that this comparison is only with reference to each other. Ideally, considering the current generation of technology advancements and processing, Digic 4 shouldn't be that bad! Speaking frankly, this really doesn't show a huge impact on camera's performance for everyday usage, unless you push it to the camera's processing limits. The processor's main role comes into picture when you are taking multiple successive shots or a high-res video and the camera has to 'quickly' process these images/video.
Comparing the processors with the three-fold increase in the money between the models, Digic 4 or Digic 4+ shouldn't be a bad choice to go with, if you are looking at budget entry-level cameras.
4. Optics/ Lens:
The lens is the 'eye' of the camera. The price quoted above is just the 'body only' camera price, with the price of the lens not included. Ideally, most of the entry-level cameras come with an 18-55mm lens if you purchase the kit.
While many others prefer to buy the body alone and purchase lenses according to their need/choice.
I will give a brief overview of different lens options available and how to choose among them considering your needs.
Before you completely understand lenses, you will need to know a couple of physics terminologies (come on, take out your Grade 10 physics/optics text books)
a) Focal Length: usually represented in millimeters (mm), it is the optical distance between the point where the light rays coming from the lens converge to the point where the sharp image of it is produced on the sensor.
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| the focal length is the 'image distance' but not 'object distance' |
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| wide-angle lens (distance between lens and sensor is less) |
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| telephoto lens (distance between lens and sensor is more) |
Focal length tells us the angle of the view. Lower lengths (say 10mm, 15mm etc) gives a wide-angle view of the scenery, while the increased lengths gives narrower view. See the image below:
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| image taken from nikonusa.com |
As you see, increase in focal length literally means a zoomed-in photo.
So depending on your need, you need to choose the lens.
If you are into landscape/interior photography, where you ideally wish to see the entire wide landscape in your single picture, you will probably need the wide-angle lens (lower focal lengths- 10 mm, 15 mm, 18 mm, etc).
If you are into wildlife/sports/astro photography, you will probably need a telephoto zoom in lens to zoom at the subject (those with higher focal lengths- 200 mm, 250 mm, 300 mm etc).
There are lot of lens options available in the market that may suit your need.
Ideally, the basic camera kit might come with an 18-55 mm lens, that should suit your everyday general need. But if you wish to, you may purchase some exclusive wide-angle lens like an 10-18 mm lens or a telephoto zoom in lens like a 70-300 mm lens.
If you wish to have a combination of both, you may go with a 18-250 mm lens.
b) Aperture: The aperture size is the opening of the 'eye' of your lens. The larger the aperture, the bigger is the lens eye opening and hence allows more light to fall on your camera sensor. The aperture is listed in terms of a f-number. When you see the description of the lens, you see something like for example f/3.5-6.3, which means the aperture can vary from a maximum f/3.5 to a minimum f/6.3.
What does that mean?
The lower the f/# , the bigger the eye opening of the lens and vice-versa.
(For all the mathematics geeks out here, f# is calculated by dividing the focal length by the diameter of the aperture)
Below is a comparison between the max. aperture and the relative light-gathering ability of the lens:
The bigger the aperture opening, the blurrier the background (below image-left).
Smaller the aperture eye opening, the sharper the background (below image-right).
The size of the aperture also affects the shutter speed.
Bigger the aperture opening, more light is entering the lens and hence shorter shutter speeds.
Smaller the aperture opening, less light is entering through the lens and longer shutter speeds.
b) Image Stabilization/Vibration Compensation: When you try taking pictures from your DSLR without using a tripod, you might end up shaking your camera when holding it in your hands (even without you noticing it). This results in not so sharp images. Image stabilization is a technology that detects this small movements and offsets it. Most of the entry-level DSLRs in Canon/Nikon don't have this technology built-in their cameras. So you end up buying the lenses that has this IS/VR technology in them, where the lens itself detects and compensates the vibration/small movements and you end up paying more for such lenses.
Some of the DSLRs like the Pentax K-70 has a camera built-in image stabilization technology and in that case, you need not worry about the lens.
The image stabilization technology plays an important role especially when shooting in low light or with smaller aperture opening, where the shutter speeds are longer.
Then why are the camera models priced so high?
Well, in the example comparison shown above, all the 4 models of Canon (T5. T5i, T6, T6i) end up having the same core specifications- the same sensor type, sensor size, resolution and with a slight variation in the image processor, but if you compare their prices, there is at least a $100 or more difference between each. So why is this huge difference?
I'll have to admit that its for the "fancy features" that come with the Camera.
If you look at the following comparison between the models, taken from the canon website itself:
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| comparison taken from https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/compare?models=34688,32250,38906,36681 |
As you see, most of the core specs remain the same between the models.
But if you look at the "fancy features" offered by the models, the cheaper model like the T5 doesn't come with some built-in features like Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth, GPS, touch-screen, tilt-screen, etc. While the comparatively high-end model comes with all these features.
Think for yourself, if you are someone who cares about having a camera screen that is a tilt-swivel which rotates in any direction, or if it doesn't really matter as long as it shows a quick preview of the picture; if you are a technology enthusiast connecting your camera to your smartphone via Wi-Fi or NFC to remotely control and take pictures; if you gonna use Wi-Fi to connect your camera to your printer and print pictures wireless.
So decide for yourself, if you are ready to spend $300 or so more for these fancy features, or if you just want a 'camera' with the core specs still being the same!
Good luck and happy photographing!
