CalvinFold
Well-known member
An idea struck me that maybe, just maybe, this is possible. Well, at least later this year...
If you wanted to buy a Canon DLSR, with amateur and budget considerations in mind...what would you choose? And what lens?
And let's be super, super clear: I actually don't mind the SX60 I currently use, given what it is. And I don't plan to be a professional photographer, and I fully acknowledge I'm an amateur of the highest order. But I am also a pixel-jockey (Photoshop) and appreciate the quality of what a DSLR can produce.
So we're really talking about a DSLR for someone who knows his limits, knows his skill level, and is looking for a "prosumer" choice (since the old "prosumer" category seems to have vanished). For example, I love the setup of my girlfriend's Nikon D700, a lovely FX camera, but in helping her set it up, it nearly made my head explode from all the options. Far, far more DLSR than I'd ever need.
Conversely, I shoot in Tv mode on the SX60, fiddle with exposure compensation and ISO, etc. So "prosumer" is the best way to describe it...a smart camera that takes-over or second-guesses when I need it to ("idiot mode") and has semi-auto when I want to control some aspects but not others.
What I've learned using my Canon SX60 for a year that I'd like in a DSLR:
If you wanted to buy a Canon DLSR, with amateur and budget considerations in mind...what would you choose? And what lens?
And let's be super, super clear: I actually don't mind the SX60 I currently use, given what it is. And I don't plan to be a professional photographer, and I fully acknowledge I'm an amateur of the highest order. But I am also a pixel-jockey (Photoshop) and appreciate the quality of what a DSLR can produce.
So we're really talking about a DSLR for someone who knows his limits, knows his skill level, and is looking for a "prosumer" choice (since the old "prosumer" category seems to have vanished). For example, I love the setup of my girlfriend's Nikon D700, a lovely FX camera, but in helping her set it up, it nearly made my head explode from all the options. Far, far more DLSR than I'd ever need.
Conversely, I shoot in Tv mode on the SX60, fiddle with exposure compensation and ISO, etc. So "prosumer" is the best way to describe it...a smart camera that takes-over or second-guesses when I need it to ("idiot mode") and has semi-auto when I want to control some aspects but not others.
What I've learned using my Canon SX60 for a year that I'd like in a DSLR:
- I already have a Canon flash, so really is just easier and less expensive to get a Canon DSLR.
- I don't like camera settings buried in awkward menus. Give me lots of exterior buttons, let me program them, let me assign what I want to them.
- I have smaller hands (men's medium) and a not-so-great back and elbows, so a smaller DSLR is more my speed.
- I have to shoot in odd lighting, so low-light performance is a good thing. But to be honest, I suspect any DSLR is better than a bridge camera in this regard.
- Distance is king. I really want a lens that is compact, lightweight, and doesn't weigh any more than necessary. But I still figure I need 300mm or more. I routinely need to reach out 40-50m and often need 100+m distance. Even the 1350mm equivalent on the SX60 isn't quite enough sometimes (though better image quality and less noise on a DSLR will compensate somewhat).
- If I can use a teleconverter with said lens it would be a bonus, even if it mean sacrificing light quality.
- I can't afford a constant-aperture lens, otherwise some of the 200mm plus a teleconverter would be so tempting.
- Since distance is king, I suspect I will be perfectly happy with DX or other crop-sensors.
- A good example: my girlfriend has a Nikon with the NIKKOR 70-300mm lens, which has proven to be a very nice lens and about the limits of what she can carry and use (she tried the NIKKOR 200mm constant-aperture and it was a lovely lens but far too heavy).
- In that vein, the long lens would likely live on this camera, so something that starts at about 70mm seems a good sweet spot for a zoom.
- And yes, cost matters, alot. But I would prefer sticking with a Canon lens unless there is one of quality that works properly with the camera in all respect (focus speed, sensors, etc.)
- BiF capabilities important: burst speed, tracking, focus speed, etc.