The most common question that people ask me every often is, “Which camera should I buy?’’
Yes, this question holds a very important place in the life of every photographer as purchasing a gear is one hell of an investment but yeah it lasts you long and is totally worth the money spent if only you use it right. Here are few things to consider before selecting your gear that might hopefully help you to pick the right gear as per your requirements.
Budget
Setting up your budget to buy a camera equipment will help you narrow down immediately the wide range of cameras available. While setting your budget, being realistic is essential as you might not get the best of every feature but definitely something that is pocket friendly and meet your needs.
Field of your Interest
Determine your field of interest: identify the type of photographer you are. This might take a while but is a very important factor. Although many would answer this as “I would like to capture everything” but it is to be understood that photography is a very wide field and ‘everything’ might not be an option depending on your budget. You wish to shoot Landscapes? Portraits? Macro? Architectural? Sports?
It is essential that you identify your specific field of interest as this will prove to be of great help for not only selecting you gear, but also for your future in the field.
Megapixels are NOT everything
One of the features used to sell digital cameras is how many megapixels it has. These days, most new cameras are coming out with at least 10-12 megapixels, it isn’t so crucial. One of the main questions to ask when it comes to megapixels is ‘Will you be printing shots’? If so, how large will you be going with them?
If you’re only printing images at a normal size then anything over 6 or so megapixels will be fine. If you’re going to start blowing your images up you might want to pay the extra money for something at the upper end of what’s on offer today! Decide on the features that you can’t do without; the very important features that you would like to have and would not compromise with.
Do not forget the ‘Extras’
The price of the camera quoted usually includes a few extras like a Memory Cards and a case. There might be more equipment that you would require even for a start-up like spare batteries/recharger, lenses, filters (and other lens attachments), tripods/monopods, external flashes, reflectors and so on. These factors should be considered while setting your budget.
By now you should be down to one gear, the final decision. But through the process make sure that you don’t end up with a total compromise as it is going to stay with you for very long.
The above points might help you narrow down your search to maybe a maximum of 3 gears. Time to look at the comparative features and judging which one fits your requirement better.
After all is said, I would like to conclude by saying that whatever gear you buy, whichever camera you end up with, there will be new gears coming in every now and then but that doesn’t make your camera value any less as it is YOU who makes an image not your gear. It is entirely an artist’s eye, patience and skill that make an image and not his tools. The most precious and essential tool is your eyes. The way you look at the subject is what can make or break an image. Happy clicking!
Here are few cameras ( Crop Sensors with Kit Lens) that I recommend according to your budget category
Basic Cameras for beginners (under INR 25,000)
Canon 1300D
Nikon D3300
Nikon D3200
Medium Range Enthusiast DSLRs (INR.26,000-50,000)
Nikon D3400
Nikon D5200
Nikon D5300
Nikon D5500
Canon 750D
Canon 700D
Nikon D7000
High Range Enthusiast DSLRs (above INR 50,000)
Nikon D7100
Nikon D7200
Canon 70D
Canon 80D
