been a EXPLOSIVE amount of new photographers in the last 3 years. It’s unreal! And the reason for this is because starter DSLR cameras are at an all time low. When I bought my Canon Rebel xti back in 2006, it was $1200 and came “fully equipped” with the cheapest tripod known to man, a traveling case and a lens “extender”. You photogs out there may be wondering what a “lens extender” is. Well, it’s a little lens that attaches on to the end of any lens and does absolutely nothing. It makes the lens LOOK bigger but doesn’t have any purpose. I got suckered into buying so much CRAP when I first ventured into the world of Digital SLR cameras.
I didn’t know what I was doing. I bought a DSLR because I knew it was a NICE camera. I mean, if the “lenses come off” that means it’s NICE and I’m going to have the BEST pictures out of all of my friends! Right?! Wrong. I shot my Canon Rebel on AUTO for TWO YEARS and I thought my images were magnificent… and they weren’t. They weren’t HORRIBLE but that little camera that I paid $1200 for was capable of SO MUCH MORE! I took it to Rome, The Bahamas, Florence Italy, etc. The whole time, I thought I was hott stuff with this fancy camera but really, I had NO IDEA how to use it. I would shoot aimlessly, just hoping for a good shot. Ohhhhh how I wish someone older and wiser had sat me down and said “Sweetheart, you paid over a thousand dollars for a camera that has the capability to expose manually… and you don’t even know what that means”. I had no clue. I just wanted GOOD PICTURES and I thought that if I bought a fancy camera, I would get amazing results.
Digital SLR cameras are expensive because they are high tech! They are MADE for exposing manually and switching lenses. When I was shooting with my Rebel on “auto”, I was literally only using about 5% of what that camera was capable of doing. I PAID BIG BUCKS to have a nice camera and yet, I had no clue WHY it was a nice camera. So! I want to explain a little about Digital SLRs for those of you that are looking into getting one for Christmas for either a family member or for yourself.
A Digital SLR is for you if……..
- You are interested in gaining more knowledge about photography. Ex: learn about shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc.
- You are willing to really learn the art of photography and ENJOY it.
- You want high quality images and are interested in the technical side of photography
- You’re a parent with some photography background and want a GREAT family camera to capture shots of your kids!
- Photography is a hobby and you enjoy shooting and learning how to improve your skills
- You’re interested in eventually becoming a professional photographer
- You want a fast, consistent way to capture high quality images
- You want a camera you can throw in your bag and take ANYWHERE
- You want GREAT shots of your kids but don’t have time to learn and practice photography basics
- You have no photography background and have no interested in learning about the technical side of photography
- Just want an affordable camera that captures decent images
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
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