How to choose a mirror camera - simple tips for beginners

Literally a few years ago, high-quality photographic equipment was the lot of photographers, and today it has every third. How to choose a mirror camera to fill your album with bright and colorful pictures, and not get confused in the difficulties of using it?

What are the parameters for choosing a SLR camera?

How to choose a good SLR camera, if you are completely new to photographic equipment? There are a number of parameters that should be taken into consideration and on which both the price of photographic equipment and the quality of the images depend. How to understand the characteristics of the camera, and what they affect in use, let's talk in detail.

Resolution of the SLR camera matrix

Considering the options, which mirror camera to choose, the first parameter, which is worth paying attention to is the resolution of the matrix. In fact, this is the size of the photo, and in order to learn it, you do not need to scroll through the instructions and especially dig into the menu items - often it is written on the body of the device itself as the number of megapixels or specified in the documents.

If you plan to print photos on banners, the number of megapixels should be large (16 or more), for home photography this parameter is not of great importance, but for beautiful photos in high resolution do not take a mirror camera with a resolution of the matrix of less than 12 megapixels.

How many frames is the SLR camera designed?

If in your plans to engage in photography professionally, the more reportage shooting, this parameter is of great importance to you - in fact, it shows how many times the shutter can work. Good photographic equipment is not cheap, and it will be extremely disappointing if in half a year of active photography the shutter will become unusable. Therefore, when deciding which mirror camera to choose, it is necessary to know the resource of its shutter.

Mirror cameras amateur level have a resource of about 50-100 thousand frames, semi-professional - from 100 to 150 thousand. The resource of professional SLR photographic equipment can reach a million frames. This parameter in the documents to the camera is often not specified, it needs to be specified from the manufacturer.

Can I shoot a video on a SLR camera?

Professionals most likely will not need such a function, lovers are eager to get the most from buying, so when deciding how to choose a SLR camera, many prefer a technique with video recording function. This is a very useful option if you want to capture bright moments, events, holidays on the video, especially if the children are growing up in the family.

Shooting video on a high-quality SLR camera in HD or FullHD format is in most new amateur class mirror devices, less common in semiprofessional equipment. The video recording function on a professional SLR camera is more of an exception than a rule.

Full-frame SLR cameras

This term refers to a good professional technique. Its name is due to the same frame size with a film camera - 35 mm. Due to the large size of the matrix, it receives more light, which allows you to make high-quality and clear pictures, even in low light conditions.

Considering SLR cameras and deciding which is better to choose, it is worth considering the disadvantages of full-frame cameras - from budget lenses, unfortunately, will have to be abandoned. With such high-end photo equipment, high-speed fixed-objective lenses and wide-angle lenses work very well.

The opposite of full-frame cameras are the crumbs - most of the mirrors are amateur, semi-professional and professional class. The lack of cropping is the first higher level of noise in the pictures. But if you shoot in normal light conditions, especially street or professional studio shooting, you probably will not notice the difference between the pictures with a full-frame camera and a crochet.

Types of lenses for SLR cameras

No less important issue on the topic, how to choose a SLR camera, is the choice of the lens . The quality and class of optics should correspond to the class of the apparatus - there is no sense in buying a professional "carcass", if the optics are of the amateur level, and vice versa. The characteristics of lenses for SLR cameras include the following criteria:

Let's consider in detail the most widespread among photographers and fans types of lenses, their characteristics and spheres of application.

  1. The standard lens. Better known as Kit, supplied with a new camera. This is a lens of a beginning level, and most people get acquainted with the art of photography. The focal length is 18-55 mm, the diaphragm is 1 / 3.5 - 1 / 5.6. The lens is considered universal, suitable for shooting as portraits (though, the depth of field will not be large), so landscapes or shooting in motion.
  2. Standard lens Fix. The focal length is invariable, 50 mm or 35 mm. Thanks to models with high aperture, such lenses are very popular and ideal for portrait photography.
  3. Macro lenses. Used for subject shooting or for shooting small objects from a short distance. Some of them can be used for shooting portraits.
  4. Long focal lens (TV) - is mainly used for shooting wildlife from a long distance, when it is impossible to approach the object closely. The focal length of such an objective is in the range from 100 mm to 300 mm.
  5. Wide-angle fish eye lens. Thanks to the convex lens, it has a very wide viewing angle, it's easy to make beautiful panoramic landscapes or architectural photos. Such lenses are often preferred by wedding photographers for original creative photographs, and also used when shooting interiors.

Which firm of SLR cameras is better?

In fact, not many manufacturers produce good photographic equipment, especially if it's a professional device. So, how to choose a mirror camera by manufacturer?

  1. Canon EOS.
  2. Nikon.
  3. Sony Alpha.
  4. Pentax.

The best full-frame SLR cameras are the companies Canon EOS and Nikon, which produce high-quality professional photo equipment. Modern models are equipped with anti-shock protection, protection from dust, moisture, water, sand, which makes the camera literally unshrinkable.

How to choose a specular professional camera?

Professional camera - a full-frame camera with a modern type of matrix, high-speed shooting and ergonomic design. In order not to make a mistake in the question of how to choose a high-quality mirror full-frame camera, read the rating:

  1. CANON EOS 1DX - recognized as the world's best SLR camera. The size of the matrix is ​​18.1 megapixels, the delay of operation is only 36 milliseconds, the shooting speed reaches 14 frames per second. The model is ideal for professional reportage shooting.
  2. NIKON D4S - a new model with a matrix size of 16.2 megapixels, shooting speed of up to 11 frames per second. It features a special tenacity of autofocus, sharpness and color reproduction, it is used in photography in motion.
  3. CANON EOS 5D MARK III - the most popular professional SLR camera. The model is high-quality and reliable with high quality images. On the speed of shooting inferior to the above (6 frames per second), is used for photo sessions, events, studio shooting.
  4. NIKON DF - thanks to its light weight (only 700 grams) is considered the best camera for travelers. Retro design is a special highlight of this device.
  5. CANON EOS 6D - the most budgetary professional full-frame camera, thanks to an affordable price is very popular. Field of application - portraits, landscapes, studio photography. Inferior to the above 5D in the resolution of the matrix and the speed of shooting.

How to choose a mirror semi-professional camera?

If you are already getting close to simple amateur cameras, and you want to go deeper into the art of photography, semi-professional camera-crocks are an ideal option for you. How to choose a mirror camera for a beginner photographer, who has a good resource for improvement? Let's see the rating.

  1. CANON EOS 7D - the camera differs from professional equipment only in that it is not full-frame. Its important advantage is the high quality of video shooting, it was even used as a movie camera for filming movies.
  2. NIKON D300S . It differs by fast and tenacious autofocus, it is equipped with a good video-detector. The size of the matrix is ​​12.3 megapixels. A big advantage of the camera is its low weight. The disadvantage is the high level of noise.
  3. Nikon D5500 . The first Nikon camera with a touch screen. It is characterized by a special detail of shadows, a clear balance of white. A big advantage is the built-in WI FI for remote shooting.
  4. Canon EOS 70D . The camera is ideal for shooting in any lighting conditions, day and night. The camera has a good stereo microphone, which allows you to get high-quality sound when recording video.

Which mirror camera for amateur?

Entering the market for new SLR camera models at an affordable price of many motivates to try themselves in the art of photography, and the question of how to choose a good SLR camera for an amateur is now very relevant. In order not to be disappointed in the acquisition, it is worth not saving on the firm and taking a good proven brand. As a good camera proved to be such models of the amateur class:

These cameras are affordable, and complete with a good high-aperture lens they will please you with colorful, bright and high-quality images. A camera of this class will help you master the basics of the art of photography, learn to see camera angles, choose lenses, practice with models.

What mirror camera to choose for a family?

When choosing a camera for a family, you should immediately understand for yourself what you expect. Take a camera full-frame or more budgetary crop - the choice depends on your request. If in your plans, take photos of bright moments of family life, make up your portfolio and in the future take up photography, you should choose a camera of semi-professional or even professional level.

Most families get a mirror camera just for bright and high-quality family photo albums. And for such purposes, the ideals of the following cameras: