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Natalie Hitchins is news editor of What Digital Camera magazine and a former editor of Digital Photographer. Here she picks the best of the huge array of digital SLR cameras. Click to view Top 5 Digital SLRs.
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Buyers Guide and Overview |
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 The rise of digital technology has prompted a massive resurgence in the popularity of photography as a hobby, so much so that huge numbers are trading in their point and shoot compact for a full blown digital SLR. |
What is an SLR? |
An SLR is identifiable by its sturdy black body, larger lenses and handgrip style design. It’s certainly what you'll commonly see hanging around the neck of any self-respecting professional photographer and is distinguishable from compact cameras in its ability to offer complete manual controls over shooting and compatibility with interchangeable lenses.
The letters SLR stand for "single lens reflex" and refer to the viewing system in which light passes through the lens. It is bounced off a 45 degree mirror, and into an internal prism where it is turned the right way around. The advantage of this system over compact and mid range "prosumer" cameras is that what you see through the viewfinder is exactly what the lens sees, and as a result what the final image will show. Because of this system, most SLRs do not enable you to frame images using LCD screen. This part of the camera only lets you review pictures and navigate menu screen.
Many big-name manufacturers produce digital SLR cameras, and the market leaders are Nikon and Canon. Pentax, Olympus, Sony, Leica, Sigma and Panasonic also offer this type camera, along with late-comer Samsung which has also just entered the fold. |
Lenses and optical systems |
 The most distinguishable feature of an SLR is that its lenses are interchangeable, enabling the user to easily fit individual models for hundreds of different tasks. Each SLR manufacturer uses a different mount for attaching lenses. The most popular mounts are Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K (also used by Samsung), Sigma, Four Thirds (an "open" system adopted by Panasonic, Leica and most notably Olympus), Sony alpha (formerly Minolta) – none of which are compatible with each other.
Although no mount is necessarily better than another, it’s worth remembering that once you invest in cameras and lenses you are locked into that system unless you sell your entire kit and start again, so do choose your system wisely. A key factor for many people when choosing a lens system is ownership of a traditional film SLR. If you own, say, a Nikon 35mm SLR, you may well like to upgrade to one of Nikon's digital models as many existing lenses will still be compatible. However, it's also worth noting that some older lenses will only have limited functionality when used on a digital model. |
Budget and prices |
Digital SLRs cost more than film SLRs and most compact digital cameras, and until recently were exclusively the preserve of people with plenty of cash to spend on their photography. Thanks to increasing numbers of models, and rising consumer interest in SLR photography, prices have dropped dramatically and a new digital SLR can be bought for as little as £400. Prices range from here to many thousands for a top of the range model, but the latest batch of fully featured 10-megapixel SLRs typically cost between £400 and £600.
New users will have to budget for lenses as well as the camera itself and these can easily cost anything from £200 to £1000 each new. For this reason many new buyers chose to buy a ‘lens kit’ with one or two versatile lenses included for around £100 - £200 more than the standard camera-body only price. Although kit lenses are rarely of the same good quality as stand-alone versions, a lens kit is a wise and cost-efficient investment, particularly for those new to digital SLR photography. When shopping around it is vital to remember that the price of an SLR does not include a lens unless it is specifically billed as a lens kit.
Many third party companies such as Tokina, Sigma and Tamron produce lenses for many different SLR mounts. These are usually cheaper than camera manufacturer own lenses. |
Pixels and sensors |
 At the dawn of digital, SLRs offered the highest number of megapixels of all digital cameras and this was a key reason behind their allure. Compact cameras have now caught up and frequently offer as many as 10-megapixels – but these will not be of the same quality as an SLR. Non-SLR cameras have smaller sensors which means that a higher number of pixels are squashed on to a smaller sensor, leading to problems such as increased "noise" (for an explanation of technical photographic terms click here). SLRs have larger, better quality sensors, and this always equates to better pictures.
The current crop of consumer SLRs have set the benchmark at 10-megapixels, although there are a fair few knocking around that have the capacity for six or eight. Although megapixels refer to the physical size of images, tests have shown that many 6-megapixel cameras can produce just high quality A3 images as a 10-megapixel camera. If you do not intend to produce larger prints than this (and lets face it, few of us will ever have need to), pay more attention to the camera’s build and features rather than its pixel power.
Each manufacturer uses a different type of sensor in their SLRs; Canon uses CMOS, Panasonic has LiveMOS, Fuji offers Super CCD and Sigma uses Foveon chips. All have fairly subtle pros and cons but all are capable of producing great results. |
Superior specifications |
The key advantage of an SLR (although it is not unique to this type of camera) is complete manual control over your image. As well as manual focus using rings on the lens, SLRs enable users to manually set the exposure (both aperture and shutter speed) or do so semi-manually using Aperture or Shutter Priority modes. Other aspects of composition such as ISO and white balance can also be individually adjusted, and to a much finer degree than any compact camera boasting some manual control.
Manually controlling a camera takes skill and some experience, so it’s fortunate that all consumer SLRs also enable fully automatic usage and scene modes to help you grow in prowess as you get to know the camera. Today’s models also come with detailed help pages in camera as well as pictorial and written explanations of key features. |
Burst and frame rates |
 Whether you are an aspiring sports photographer, wild about animal photography or plan on chasing the kids around with a camera, it’s vital to be able to fire off a number of images in quick succession.
Even basic SLRs offer a frame rate of 2.5fps (frames per second) but some are much faster. A good buffer memory is important too, and refers to where images are stored before they are saved. The bigger the buffer, the more images you can shoot before the camera pauses to clear the images. RAW files, being bigger, fill the buffer more quickly than JPEGS. |
Final thoughts |
| The quality of digital cameras has moved at break-neck speed since the first commercially available digital SLR hit the market in 1991 costing a whopping $30,000. Consumers, attracted to the sheer convenience of digital, have embraced the medium to such a degree that standards among all contemporary SLRs are excellent. As a result, enthusiasts can afford do be indulgent in their choice of camera. Safe in the knowledge that all SLRs offer top quality imaging with the same basic advantages, you should pick your model on the basis of the features that matter to your indvidual needs and the feel or "handling" of the camera. After all, you’ll doubtless be spending a lot of time with your new SLR between your fingers once you discovered the sheer power behind the technology. |
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