The Search for the Best Digital SLR Camera

By Bob Dale

Digital SLR cameras are becoming very popular. According to a 2007 IDC report, there were about 7.5 million digital cameras sold. Canon and Nikon cameras dominated the digital SLR market, with Olympus and Sony taking up a large portion of the leftover market-share. In fact, Canon and Nikon accounted for approximately 80% of the total digital SLR camera sales, Sony and Olympus accounted for about 12%, with Panasonic and Pentax also having significant digital SLR camera sales.

Further in the IDC report, Nikon emerged as a strong competition to Canon, thanks to Nikon introducing digital SLR cameras like the Nikon D40x and the Nikon D300. In fact, the IDC report states that Nikon replaced Canon as the number one digital SLR camera brand in Japan in 2007. "Nikon has always been a strong preference among professional photographers" says Minneapolis photographer Bob Dale.

Digital SLR, also known as dSLR, describes a camera with a digital single lens reflex. Single lens reflex describes the path light that travels through the lens to a mirror, which forwards the light to a viewfinder.

In more complex terms, the light gets to a pentaprism by coming through the lens and bouncing off a mirror that is at a 90-degree angle. As complex as it sounds, there is simply a mirror in front of the shutter. When you take a picture, the mirror lifts up so that the same light can then go through the shutter as it opens.

If you're looking to buy a digital SLR camera, you'll have plenty of choices. The most popular brands today are Canon, Nikon, Panasonic and Pentax. It's not a coincidence that these manufacturers are also the top manufacturers of 35mm film SLR cameras.

Canon has long been known for the quality of its cameras. Currently, the Canon EOS line of cameras is among the best lines of digital SLR cameras on the market. It consistently earns high praise from consumers for being simple, having plenty of options, and providing great pictures.

With the Canon EOS line of digital SLR cameras, you will typically get about 10.1 megapixels of resolution. This is true of the Canon Digital Rebel series as well.

If you take a look at digital SLR camera reviews, you'll see that the Canon cameras are typically at or near the top of the ratings charts. Product tester reviews and user reviews alike give Canon digital SLR cameras high marks.

Nikon is another respected manufacturer of digital SLR cameras. The recent Nikon D series of digital SLR cameras has carried on the strong reputation for Nikon cameras as being among the best in the world.

At the top of the Nikon D series is the Nikon D300 digital SLR. It features a large LCD screen to show you what your picture will look like before you take it and what your picture looks like after you take it. But the price of the Nikon D300 is currently running at about $1,700. If you are looking for professional quality digital photography, this digital SLR camera is a good choice.

For those who don't need all of the professional features of the Nikon D300, the Nikon D40 is an excellent, budget alternative with a price of $450 to $650. You will get great shots with this 6.1 megapixel digital SLR camera. It features a compact design for people on the go. "It's a super choice for doing travel photography" says professional digital photographer Bob Dale.

Still there's the Nikon Coolpix P5100, one of the top rated digital SLR cameras in the point-and-shoot category. This camera has both automatic and manual control (zoom, focus and exposure), making it ideal for casual photographers. It has a 2.5-inch LCD display that you can use when setting up your shots instead of the viewfinder. This digital SLR camera retails between $200 and $300.

Panasonic Lumix DMC digital SLR cameras tend to combine high quality pictures with affordable prices. Through 2007, Panasonic had released more than 60 digital SLR cameras under the Lumix DMC line, with the most recent ones all having a resolution of at least 10.1 megapixels and a 12.5x optical zoom.

Another feature that makes the Panasonic digital SLR cameras popular is that they are typically very portable. But what really sets them apart, is that the newest models are typically not much over $400.

Pentax digital SLR cameras are well-regarded in the photography community. Pentax has been a respected name in SLR photography since the 35mm camera. Pentax continues its tradition of earning respect in the digital SLR community.

You can purchase Pentax digital SLR cameras for either casual photography or professional photography. The Pentax K lined of digital SLR cameras and the Pentax Optio line of digital SLR cameras both get good reviews. With these Pentax lines, you will get good digital photos and you can expect the standard sets of features found on modern digital SLR cameras.

There isn't any shortage of digital SLR cameras to date. In fact, you can find a quality digital SLR camera in any price range. It all depends on the features you need and how much you're willing to pay for a camera.

A few of the other things you'll want to keep in mind when comparing digital SLR options are battery life, battery cost, camera warranty, and storage media options. But mainly, you will want to get a memory card that can hold 1,000 or more high resolution photos. After you invest a great deal of money in a camera, you will want to be sure you won't run out of storage space when you're out shooting photos and you visualize that perfect picture.

About the Author:

Expert digital photographer Bob Dale reveals digital photography tips and camera tips on discovering the right digial slr camera. You can see many of his photography tips at http://photo.dalestudios.com/