Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate the great
Thanks. I've been looking at Canon, Nikon, etc on Amazon. Yikes. I can pay for a trip to NY for what one of these cameras cost.
After looking at the prices, I noticed that while you can get a decent consumer camera for less than $100, you can't get a semi-pro one for less than $400. Why is that?
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With an SLR, the Higher Price is due to a few things you get which you can't with a Compact Consumer Camera.
* Better Sensor - The Sensor in the SRL is usially of a much Higher quality and is bigger to boot. This means that Megapixel for Megapixel you can get harper, better more detailed results. The Larger Sensor also allows you to take better photos in Low light, i.e. the Photos tend to be less grainey as you can shoote at lower ISO speed to get better pictures overall.
* Durable - The Body of most SLR's tend to be much more Durable (the More expensive even more so) and Have more manual controls to allow you to make more granular changes when taking the photo as opposed to depending on the cameras programing for everything. I've had my SLR for over 5 Years, and have dropped it numerous times, on Stone, Brick, etc and have shot a few hundred thousand photos with it, without having to get it repaired or serviced. I've not been extraordinary carefully with it and have used it in pretty rough condition at times but its held up. None of my Point and shoots have lasted anywhere as long.
* Lenses - The biggest advantage is the ability to switch Lenses, allowing you to get and use higher quality lenses as and when you want. Also, Most lenses for SLR's even the basic Kit lenses you get with the lower end models, are miles ahead of the quality of most Consumer Level cameras. Also, If you don't want to invest in Expensive lenses, you can just choose to borrow or rent a better lens / special purpose lens for an event and the return it. On a point and shoot, if you want better glass, you need to spend the money upfront.
* More control - An SLR usually gives you much more control over the over all picture, allowing you to manually adjust nearly everything from the Shutter speed, Aperture, ISO, Focusing, etc allowing you to take shots which are next to impossible with a consumer cam. An SLR really shines in more difficult shooting conditions like Low light, High speed sports, etc.
SLR's will also allow you to shoot RAW which is the saw image the sensor saw, and not the final processed image you get with a JPEG. as such You can do a lot of Fine tuning in Post to get better details, or to save your self when you screw up (Learned from painful experience). WHile a few higher end compact allow you to shoot RAW, its still mainly a feature you get in SLR's
* Modularity - SLR's are pretty modular, allowing you to add extras depending on your needs. As mentioned you can swap lenses, but you can also add more powerful flashes, eyepieces, Battery grips for More Power, Wireless transmitters, computer controls, etc. While Not everyone will need all of these, everybody who wants or gets one has one or two they really need.
When I got My SLR, I'd always used Compacts and mainly got the SLR as I needed it for a Job where I needed the Low light performance and the Speed. Later on after using it for a while I begin the appreciate the Quality, the Durability and the Ability to swap lenses as needed. While I currently only own two lenses, between those two I cover 95% or my requirement and for the other 5% I can usually Beg, Borrow or steal a lens or another camera.