going on 12 month trip and not sure weather to invest in a DSLR camera.
hi there, im going on 12 month trip and not sure weather to invest in a DSLR camera. i have a good quality 8MP cannon camera at the moment. im concerned that a large camera will be a pain to travel with, but i want the good quality pic's!! can anyone suggest a small SLR?
Reply to this If cost is not really an issue I would look into the new crop of micro 4/3rds cameras, like the Olympus Pen series, and the Panasonic GF1. They are interchangeable lens cameras that are not much bigger than a (large) compact. I haven't personally used one but it looks like from the reviews that the image quality is comparable to a DSLR.
You could probably get away with two lenses to cover most situations - 14-45mm & 45-200mm which I believe are the kit lenses.
Reply to this One problem with micro 4/3rds is the lack of lenses and, they are still very expensive for what you get. A good setup for micro 4/3rds will cost you as much, or maybe even more, than a decent entry level DSLR.
Things to think about when purchasing a DSLR,
A) Whatever brand you start with, you will most likely be stuck with. This is because, once you've invested in lenses, you will want those lenses to carry over to the next camera you buy. There's no point in starting with Canon, getting some lenses, and then buying a Nikon and having to replace all your lenses.
B) The quality of the lens will dictate the quality of the picture in many cases. Unless you have unlimited funds and can shoot for top end cameras, the lenses will be where the real quality is. I always recommend, as the forum moderator, to spend more of your money on a good lens and less on the camera body. I have found that you can get just as good a picture on a Nikon old D40 with a good lens as a brand new D90.
Think about some of the entry level cameras offered by Canon and Nikon and maybe even some of the older ones. If you're in the US there are some great companies that sell trustworthy used and reconditioned cameras. Check out
Adorama
Mike T.
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