1. Compact Point & Shoot
2. Prosumer Point & Shoot
3. Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens
4. DSLR
5. Digital Rangefinder

Compact Point & Shoot

The wallet-sized cameras you see virtually everywhere are commonly referred to as “compact point & shoot” cameras. They’re designed as portable and easy to use gadgets that can be brought everywhere.

A compact point & shoot camera: the Powershot S100 by Canon

These cameras are called “compact” because they are always very small. Targeted at people who want to casually bring a camera to social events, family functions and on vacation, it’s important that they be lightweight and able to slip inside any pocket or purse.

The second part of their name, “point and shoot” refers to these cameras’ simplicity. The average user is not concerned with choosing exposure settings — they simply wish to point the camera at something and immediately take a picture. These cameras default to an automatic mode that can grab a snapshot in almost any situation. That main “auto mode” is usually accompanied by scene-specific presets such as “sports”, “snow”, “beach” and “portrait”.

Prosumer Point & Shoot

Prosumer P&S cameras are sometimes referred to as “bridge” cameras. While they have much in common with their compact counterparts, they also have refined features and controls reminiscent of what’s found in the expensive professional digital cameras.

A small camera with a large sensor: Canon’s Powershot G1 X

On the surface these models appear to be chunky point & shoots. They’re a little bigger than the compact cameras, but can still squeeze into most pants, jackets and luggage. The controls are similar to the compacts’, perhaps with a few more buttons and dials. They may have swivel screens, additional menu options, and a hot shoe for an external flash.

The guts of a prosumer point & shoot are usually very similar to what’s found inside a compact camera^*. What’s gained in upgrading to these chunkier models is far more control and technical latitude. On the mode dial next to the familiar “green box” automatic option will be semi-automatic and full manual operation, yielding control over aperture and shutter speed to the photographer. Other features may include decreased shutter lag, increased frames per second, and RAW capture mode.

^*This is less true in cutting edge models. The prevalence of high quality cameras in smart phones is inspiring manufacturers to beef up the hardware inside prosumer point & shoots in order to differentiate them from the mobile competition. For example, the Canon G1 X possesses a large “almost APS-C” sized sensor for high image quality and low light performance.

Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens

One of the most exciting trends in digital photography is the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. Meant to combine portability and performance, these cameras combine sleek style with powerful components. Lots of new models are hitting the shelves, and companies like Fuji and Olympus are sidestepping DSLR competition to carve out their portion of the market with mirrorless cameras.

Fujufilm X Pro 1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera

The name of these cameras is derived from their lack of a moving mirror, which DSLRs use to reflect light from their lens up into the viewfinder. A mirror induces both clunk and chunk: it makes a loud noise as it flips out of the way each time a frame is snapped, and it necessitates a bulky body design with large lenses.

Digital technology makes it possible to see through the lens without bouncing light off mirrors — a live stream from the image sensor can be piped to an LCD screen or into an electronic viewfinder. The rest of the camera can then be made much smaller, but maintain a physically large sensor which is an important factor in high image quality.

Most mirrorless models support another photog-favorite feature: interchangeable lenses. Most pros lament the built-in retractable lenses of compact cameras, insisting that lens choice is profoundly important… check out “Pro DSLR + Cheapo Lens vs. Cheapo DSLR + Pro Lens” by DigitalRev TV. People are trending towards mirrorless cameras because while they’re small and portable, the photographer still gets to choose the glass.

DSLR

The DSLR is the workhorse of modern amateur and professional photographers. They’re versatile, durable, compatible with many lenses and yield high image quality. They can also be very big and heavy.

The Canon EOS 7D is used by professionals and amateurs.

DSLRs use the same basic design as their film ancestors: the single lens reflex system. Light enters the lens, bounces off a mirror and up into the viewfinder for you to see. Hitting the shutter button makes the viewfinder go black — the mirror flips out of the way so the light can hit the image sensor. The amount of room required for this moving system of parts is what makes the cameras big and bulky.

DSLRs have a great many features. They give the photographer complete control over exposure, and have auto and semi-auto modes which are friendly to novices. They’re compatible with various lighting systems, and can take many different lenses. Their autofocus systems can track fast moving subjects, their motor drive can snap many frames per second, and their large sensors can suck up lots of light for high image quality in low light environments.

There are many grades of DSLR. The smallest and most affordable models are aimed at casual photographers who are looking for better results than a compact camera’s. Mid-range DSLRs are used by serious amateurs, weekend warriors and professionals. And the biggest, heaviest and most expensive models seen in the hands of full-time pros and on the sidelines of sports stadiums have all the features and can survive the elements.

Digital Rangefinder

Rangefinders are a classic camera design loved by street photographers for their simplicity and low profile. They also operate on an interchangeable lens system.

The antithesis of a large and imposing “professional-looking” DSLR, rangefinders are much smaller and low profile. Street photographers praise their ability to go unnoticed in a crowd, making it possible to photograph people’s natural behavior from a close distance.

Rangefinders are synonymous with manual focus. The viewfinder contains a double-image area that blends into one when the photographer has accurately focused the lens. Photographers inexperienced with rangefinders may think of this as a hinderance, but devotees swear by the simplicity of operation found in these cameras. Longtime rangefinder photographers maintain that this design system steps aside and gives way to their creativity.

Currently, there are just a few options in the digital rangefinder market. Everywhere you look, you’ll see red Leica dots. The M8 was their first digital rangefinder and has an APS-C sensor sized sensor like entry-level and midrange DSLRs, while the current M9 has a full frame sensor.

Which Camera Should You Get?

Only you can answer that. There are many, many digital cameras and often the case is they’re not better or worse than others, but different. Are you a discerning photographer who must travel light? Maybe a mirrorless camera or digital rangefinder will work. Do you want the best results from the best lenses and not mind carrying heavy equipment? Check out DSLRs. On the other hand, maybe you just want to stick something in your pocket to snap photos and not be bothered with the finer points of photography… take a look at the compact options. Think about your photographic style and make a list of the things you photograph. Come to terms with what you personally need in a camera, and match your needs up to what’s available.

Canon Equipment Eligible for Rebates

The following Canon photography equipment is rebated for the length of the promotional period.

How to Get Double Rebates

The double rebate amount is applied when you purchase one of these items in conjuction with one of the following EOS HD DSLR cameras:

• EOS 1D Mark IV
• EOS 5D Mark II (body only)
• EOS 5D Mark II kit with 24-105mm lens
• EOS 7D (body only)
• EOS 7D kit with 28-135mm lens
• EOS 7D kit with 18-135mm lens
• EOS 60D (body only)
• EOS 60D kit with 18-135mm lens

The promotion lasts from Oct. 24^th, 2010 – Jan. 8^th, 2011. Again, both the camera and lens/flash purchase must appear on the same receipt in order to be eligible for the double rebate. Double savings only apply to the rebated items.

Well I like helping people so I answered his questions, but we ended up talking for 25 minutes and I missed a lot of good light! On the ride home it occurred to me that if I had written an article about buying a digital camera, I could have just handed him a business card and invited him to e-mail me with any follow-up questions. Plus I could help a lot more people make good digital camera buying choices. So, here is that article!

Table of Contents

1. Questions to Ask Yourself
2. Establishing Your Camera Budget
3. Digital Camera Price Summary
4. Figuring Out Your Photography Needs
5. Still Life vs. Moving Subjects
6. Indoor and Outdoor, Day and Night
7. Definitions to Know
8. Sensor Size
9. Megapixels
10. Which Brand?
11. Types of Cameras
1. Compact Point & Shoot Cameras
2. Prosumer Point & Shoot Cameras
3. Compact Mirrorless DSLRs
4. Entry Level & Midrange DSLRs
5. Prosumer DSLRs
6. High End DSLRs
7. High End Full Frame DSLRs
8. Professional “Flagship” DSLRs
12. Lenses and Accessories
13. Case Study: Food Blogger & Travel Photographer
14. Case Study: Travel Photographer & a Tourist in My Own City
15. Case Study: Pro Photographer Compliments Kit with Compact DSLR
16. Where to Buy a Digital Camera

Questions to Ask Yourself

As with any purchasing decision, the correct choice is the one that meets your budget and solves your problems. There is no perfect digital camera; buying the right one requires that you ask yourself a series of questions that will guide you to the right choice for your budget and your intended style of photography. So here are the two main questions to ask yourself:

• How much are you willing to spend?
• What do you plan on photographing?

Establishing Your Camera Budget

The first question is pretty straightforward — establish a budget. If you have a conservative budget and are not familiar with camera buying though, you might discover that the right camera is more expensive that you thought. Perhaps establish an upper limit or a range after looking at a few different sample camera prices.

If you are tempted to buy a camera that doesn’t exactly fit your needs but is inexpensive, consider what future costs that might incur. If you are unhappy with your camera and it collects dust, then you have wasted 100% of the small amount of money you did spend. And if you decide to get the better camera after all, then you have now purchased two cameras and exceeded your budget by even more so.

You might be able to sell the cheap camera on the used market, but this will take one of two common routes:

1. You’ll sell it at or close to its fair value on the used market, and you’ll spend time and effort locating a buyer, negotiating the price and shipping the camera.
2. You’ll take the easy route and sell it to a retail camera store. They need to make a profit too, so the best you’ll get is under the used market value, about 70-75% and usually in the form of store credit. If you want cash you’ll probably get even less.

I bought cheap lenses when I first started out. To date I have sold off every single one of them and bought the nice lenses that I really wanted. My advice is to save money by making the right choices and compromises all around, not by trying to cram the wrong gear into the wrong budget.

Speaking of lenses, if you choose to buy a DSLR you will inevitably wonder which lens is right for you. This question warrants another feature-length article all for itself. I think having a good lens is more important than just getting the best/most expensive camera body… bodies come and go, break and go out of date, but lenses last a long time. The lenses that come with most DSLRs are by no means duds, but there are also endless other choices. Consider saving part of your budget for a lens, and don’t miss the “Lenses and Accessories” section below.

Digital Camera Price Summary

Here is an approximation of what different types of digital cameras go for:

• Compact Point & Shoot — $100 to $400.
• Advanced/Prosumer Point & Shoot — $500.
• Compact Mirrorless DSLR — $500 to $700.
• Entry level and midrange DSLR — $700 to $900.
• Prosumer DSLR — $1,100 to $1,500.
• High End DSLR– $1,500+.
• High End Full Frame DSLR — $2,000 to $2,500.
• High Speed Professional DSLR — $4,500 to $5,500.
• High Resolution Professional DSLR — $6,000+.

Figuring Out Your Photography Needs

The second question is supremely important — what kind of photographer will you be? There is no perfect camera. Some cameras excel at many things, some are very specialized, and some are very limited.

• Will you be photographing still subjects such as landscapes, sitting portraits, architecture, and urban cityscapes?
• Will you be photographing anything that moves, such as children, athletes, pets, wildlife and vehicles?
• What time of day and/or night will you be photographing?
• Will you be shooting indoors or outdoors?

Still Life and Landscapes vs. Moving Subjects

This is the difference between taking your time to compose an image versus anticipating and reacting to a fleeting moment. With a landscape, a cityscape and most other non-moving subjects you have the opportunity to set yourself up and use aids such as a tripod to make a sharp image. But a moving subject makes different demands of you and your camera: you need a camera with minimal shutter lag and the capability to stop action.

Shutter lag is the time between when you press the shutter button and when the camera begins the exposure. For some compact point & shoot cameras this lag time is more than half a second, and in some, even more than a second. Shutter lag makes you miss shots. In comparison, many DSLR cameras have a shutter lag of a small fraction of a second, and with professional sports cameras it’s just mere milliseconds. When you are shooting a moving subject, half a second is an eternity.

A camera that will be used to photograph moving subjects also needs to be capable of a fast shutter speed. If your camera’s shutter is not fast enough to freeze the action, the subject will come out blurry. This is not to be confused with Image Stabilization or Vibration Reduction. IS and VR technology prevent blur caused by an unsteady camera but are limited to making sharp images of still subjects. IS and VR are not capable of freezing a moving subject, only a fast shutter speed can do that. By fast, I’m talking speeds such as 1/250 of a second, 1/500 of a second, and faster.

Indoor and Outdoor, Day and Night

For most cameras getting a good image outdoors in bright daylight is simple. The sun is extremely bright which means lots of light goes into the camera and hits the sensor. This allows the camera to use a fast shutter speed to minimize blur, and you can get a sharp, well-exposed picture. Low light environments on the other hand will test a camera’s limits. Nighttime and indoor photos are where many poor cameras are put to shame.

The flash on compact point & shoot cameras is turned on by default because without it, most of them cannot take acceptable photos in low light. Go find some snapshots of friends and family in a bar or a club or someone’s home. Notice how you can see the people OK, but the background is either very dark or completely black. This is because the only light the camera picked up was the bright light from its flash. The ambient light in the background was probably too dim.

A small on-camera flash will light up a small subject close to the camera, but there are many other low light environments where the flash will do no good. Consider photographing a mountain range right after sunset with a deep blue twilight sky, or a city skyline lit up at night. A camera’s flash is useless in these situations — it is not anywhere near powerful enough to light up such large and distant subjects. It might illuminate the ground five feet in front of you, but that’s all.

Have you ever been at a concert and seen thousands of flashes go off when the performer takes the stage? Waste of batteries. If those cheap little flashes were even remotely capable of traveling hundreds of feet and lighting up the subject, then why is the lighting crew spending thousands of dollars on expensive, powerful professional lighting equipment? All those photos feature is a dark blurry background behind the illuminated head of the person sitting in the next seat up.

There are two ways to make photos in low light without flash:

1. Use a tripod and do a long exposure.
2. Shoot at a high ISO.

If your subject is still, a long exposure will work fine. But if your subject is moving, or you don’t want to carry a tripod, a camera with good low light capabilities will allow you to choose a high ISO sensitivity to suck up as much available light in the shortest amount of time possible, which in turn lets you utilize a faster shutter speed in order to eliminate the blur that results from moving subjects and/or a photographer’s unsteady hands.

Definitions to Know

The following are definitions of digital camera-related terms that you should know.

LCD

Liquid Crystal Display — the screen on the back of the camera.

Image Stabilization

Technology that reduces blur by making adjustments to counteract movement of the camera, e.g. a camera that shifts position as a result of the photographer’s shaky hands. IS cannot counteract blur from a moving subject.

ISO

A number and setting reflecting the sensor’s sensitivity to light. Larger numbers reflect higher sensitivity. Commonly used for photographing hand-held in low light environments.

Frames Per Second

The maximum number of images a camera can capture over a duration of one second. Sports cameras typically have a high FPS.

Macro

A macro lens can focus on objects that are very close to the lens, and take close-up life-size photos of small subjects.

Megapixels

Used to express the resolution of the sensor, i.e. how many pixels are present. 1 megapixel = one million pixels. Increasing megapixels can lead to more detail in a photo, however cramming too many megapixels on too small a sensor may also result in poor image quality.

Noise

Variations in brightness and color resulting from high ISO sensitivity. Generally thought of as a major contributor to poor image quality.

RAW

A digital file often equated to a film negative. Contains the unmodified light information recorded by the sensor. Requires special software to convert to an image file format like JPEG, and requires the photographer to perform any and all color adjustments, sharpening, noise reduction and so forth.

Shutter Lag

The amount of time between when you press the shutter button and when the camera begins the exposure.

Speedlight

Speedlight and Speedlite are the brand names used by Nikon and Canon for their external flash units. These attach to the top of a camera and are larger, more powerful and more flexible than built-in flashes.

Telephoto

A telephoto lens produces a field of view that brings distant subjects close.

Vibration Reduction

Same as Image Stabilization

Wide Angle

A wide angle lens has a very large field of view that can fit a lot of information into the frame such as large subjects or many people. Wide angle lenses also emphasize distance between near and far subjects.

Zoom Lens

A lens that can change its focal length, for example going from wide angle to a close-up telephoto field of view. Digital zoom uses software to crop the photo and enhance the field of view, while optical zoom does so by using elements inside the lens. Generally, optical zoom results in superior image quality.

Sensor Size

Every camera must have a medium which records the light. Until recently film did this job, and before that, photographic plates. Now the most popular kind of camera is the digital camera. In place of the film, digital cameras have a sensor. The size of this sensor has a direct impact on the camera’s performance.

Cheaper cameras have small sensors and expensive camera have large sensors. Here are different sensor sizes commonly found in digital cameras in order of size:

• Compact point & shoot cameras usually have a very small sensor. The sizes vary, but most are the size of a fingernail or smaller.
• Four Thirds System — Found in many Olympus, Leica and Panasonic cameras including Olympus’ new Digital PEN camera line.
• APS-C — Mainly found in entry level, midrange, prosumer and some high-end cameras by Canon and Nikon. Also used in Sony’s NEX line of compact mirrorless DSLRs. Slightly smaller than 35mm film. Nikon calls this format “DX”.
• APS-H — Found in Canon’s 1D sports cameras. Slightly smaller than full frame, slightly larger than APS-C.
• Full Frame — Found in many high-end, professional and high resolution DSLRs including those by Canon and Nikon, as well as Leica’s M9 digital rangefinder. Roughly the same size as 35mm film. Nikon calls this format “FX”.
• Medium Format — Similar to the size of medium format film, used in highly expensive high resolution digital backs from Kodak, Hasselblad and Leica.

It is generally said that smaller sensors have negative implications on image quality, while larger sensors improve a camera’s light gathering ability and result in higher quality images. For example, given a dimly lit environment photographed hand-held at high sensitivity without the aid of a flash, a compact camera may produce an image plagued by digital noise, poor color and sharpness while an APS-C or full frame camera would do a much better job collecting the available light to produce a cleaner, sharper image.

DSLRs which use interchangeable lenses and have a sensor that is not full frame, i.e. smaller than 35mm film, have a crop factor. Since the sensor covers a smaller area of the image circle cast by the lens at any given focal length, the field of view is different. For example, Canon APS-C sensors have a 1.6x crop factor. Using a 24mm lens on an APS-C Canon DSLR results in a field of view that looks more like what you’d traditionally get from a 38mm lens (24 × 1.6 = 38.4). Meanwhile since a “full frame” camera has a sensor roughly the same size as traditional film, a 24mm lens on a full frame DSLR yields what is traditionally known as a 24mm field of view on film.

This is why the kit lenses that come with entry level APS-C DSLRs start at 18mm. A 24mm wide angle lens is not very wide on a camera such as this, but 18mm yields a pretty wide field of view. 18 × 1.6 = 28.8.

Canon APS-C cameras have a 1.6x crop factor. Nikon APS-C cameras have a 1.5x crop factor. The Four Thirds System has a 2x crop factor. Canon APS-H cameras have a 1.3x crop factor. Full frame cameras have no crop factor.

Megapixels

Megapixels are by far the biggest selling point in the digital camera industry, and that is unfortunate. Marketing experts have deceived the general public into believing that More Megapixels = Better Photos when that is simply not true.

More megapixels do not automatically lead to better photos. Yes, a camera with a great deal of megapixels on a well-designed sensor can produce high quality, high resolution photos, but such a camera is also large and very expensive. On the other hand a compact camera with a tiny little sensor, onto which have been crammed entirely too many megapixels for the sake of an impressive number on a sticker in the store, is certainly capable of producing terrible photos that lack sharpness, have poor color, and feature too much digital noise.

Canon’s G series of prosumer point & shoots jumped from 12.1 megapixels in 2007 to 14.7 megapixels in 2008. But then in 2009 and 2010 they dropped down to 10 megapixels in order to make a sensor with better noise-handling capabilities which results in better low light photos. I think this was a great decision.

Since 2007 Nikon has released quite a few new high end and professional DSLRs, but stuck with a 12 megapixel sensor for most of them. Instead of bumping megapixels they focused on image quality and the result is that professional Nikon DSLRs now have a reputation for producing outstanding low light images.

Bottom line: do not simply buy the camera with the most megapixels. Instead look for an overall package of features that can help you make higher quality images. 6 to 8 megapixels are perfectly adequate for making 8×10 prints. Here are a few things I value more than high megapixel numbers:

• Manual and semi-manual exposure settings which give me precise control over the exposure.
• Low noise at high ISO, which leads to cleaner images taken hand-held in low light.
• A button and menu layout that lets me quickly choose settings, instead of having to hunt for options buried under many different menus.

Which Brand

If you plan to buy a DSLR I suggest either Canon or Nikon. They are both the clear industry leaders, and both make fine cameras and lenses. Since most other people use one of these two, it’s easier to try new equipment by trading with your friends and borrowing each other’s gear.

I don’t recommend any particular brand of point & shoot cameras. I don’t use them often, and they don’t have interchangeable parts which means trading lenses is not an issue. Perhaps the only issue would be borrowing a spare memory card from a friend, in which case pick a camera that takes the common SD or SDHC card format. In the past I have used Polaroid, Fujifilm and Sony Cybershot. Currently I choose Canon, simply because I have Canon DSLRs and want to stick with the brand.

In short, compact point & shoot cameras do fine in bright light outdoors and take mediocre flash photos. DSLR cameras are capable of taking better low light images and photographing moving subjects.

Types of Cameras

This section will describe many of the common choices in digital cameras. This is by no means a complete list — for example I’m not going to include medium format and digital rangefinders because they are extremely expensive, specialized tools, and usually a photographer already knows exactly why they need such a camera.

In each section I will list some sample cameras along with a quick description and links to current pricing at B&H and Amazon. This is also by no means a complete list, nor are my brief descriptions anywhere near a complete rundown of each camera’s capabilities. There are many, many digital cameras. I am simply listing what to me seem to be the some of the most popular cameras in each category and providing a brief overview of each one.

For the DSLRs I’m going to stick with just Canon and Nikon. There are other brands such as Sony, Pentax, and Olympus. Canon and Nikon are the industry leaders though, and by far the most common choices. If I were to try and list every camera in every class, this article would go on forever… as if it isn’t long enough already!

Some cameras come with a general purpose lens referred to as a “kit lens”. Some of the cameras below are pictured with their kit lens. Some are pictured with other lenses which are sold separately. For the entry level, midrange and prosumer cameras I’ve linked to pages that include the kit lens since many people purchasing these models may not already have lenses. The links to the high end and professional models go to the camera body only, since many photographers purchasing these cameras already own lenses. If you want to add or remove a lens, it should take just a few clicks on the retailer’s website.

This does not apply to point & shoot cameras because they do not have interchangeable lenses.

A compact point & shoot is a small sensor camera that is easy to carry and simple to operate. The emphasis is on fully automatic and scene-optimized modes such as sports, portrait, beach, snow, etc… Shutter lag is often high, making photographing moving subjects frustrating. High ISO image quality is usually poor due to the small sensor size and high megapixel counts. Compact point & shoots do their best work outdoors in bright daylight, and when photographing small subjects or groups of people indoors with flash.

• Compact Point & Shoots at B&H
• Compact Point & Shoots at Amazon

Prosumer point & shoot cameras aim for a middleground between the size advantage of a compact point & shoot camera and the features of a larger camera. They’re small but not ultra-compact, generally have good image quality, and offer more advanced features such as manual and semi-manual controls and the ability to use external flashes and other accessories. These cameras do not accept interchangeable lenses.

• Canon PowerShot G12 — Released September 2010, available around $500. Features include a 10 megapixel sensor, 720p HD video, optical image stabilization, manual controls, 5x optical zoom, 28mm equivalent wide angle lens, able to shoot both JPG and RAW files.
• Canon PowerShot G12 at B&H
• Canon PowerShot G12 at Amazon
• Nikon Coolpix P7000 — Nikon’s first entry in the prosumer p&s line, announced September 2010 and available around $450. Features include a 10 megapixel sensor, 3″ LCD, 7.1x optical zoom, manual controls, 35mm equivalent wide angle lens, 1.3 frames per second, 720p HD video, able to shoot both JPG and RAW files.
• Nikon Coolpix P7000 at B&H
• Nikon Coolpix P7000 at Amazon

Compact mirrorless DSLRs are a new class of digital camera that attempts to combine small size and high image quality. These cameras have larger sensors than point & shoots and take interchangeable lenses like a DSLR. They do not have optical viewfinders, only an LCD on the back with which to compose your photos. This eliminates the need for a system of mirrors to redirect the light from the lens up into the viewfinder, which allows the camera to be designed much smaller. Some models permit for an add-on electronic viewfinder.

• Olympus PEN E-P1 — One of the first compact DSLRs, announced by Olympus in June 2009 and available for about $500. Features a 12.3 megapixel Four Thirds sensor, up to 3 frames per second, Hd video, and a hot shoe for attaching a flash (has no built-in flash). 2 native lenses are available, and the camera is compatible with other lenses through the use of adapters.
• Olympus PEN E-P1 at B&H (body only)
• Olympus PEN E-P1 at Amazon (with 14-24mm lens)
• Olympus PEN E-P2 — Has many of the same features as the E-P1, including the same sensor. Additions include the capability to attach an electronic viewfinder, new art filters for in-camera post processing effects, and improved autofocus for moving subjects.
• Olympus PEN E-P2 at B&H
• Olympus E-P2 at Amazon
• Olympus E-PL1 — Announced in February 2010, available around $600. Olympus’ latest mirrorless DSLR. Features include a 12.3 megapixel Four Thirds sensor, 2.7″ LCD, 720p video, art filters for in-camera post processing effects, in-body image stabilization, 3 frames per second. Compatible with Digital PEN system lenses, and others through the use of adapters.
• Olympus E-PL1 at B&H
• Olympus E-PL1 at Amazon
• Sony NEX-3 — Announced May 2010, available with 18-55 kit lens around $600. Features include a 14.2 megapixel APS-C sensor, up to 7 frames per second, up to 12800 ISO, auto HDR and panoramas, 3″ tilt LCD, 720p video. Compatible with E-series lenses, and some others through the use of adapters.
• Sony NEX-3 at B&H
• Sony NEX-3 at Amazon
• Sony NEX-5 — Announced May 2010, available with 18-55mm kit lens around $700. Has many of the same features of the NEX-3 including the same sensor. Extra features include 1080p video and a more durable magnesium alloy body construction.
• Sony NEX-5 at B&H
• Sony NEX-5 at Amazon

An entry-level or midrange DSLR is a major step up front the point & shoot world. DSLRs have larger sensors capable of capturing better low ambient light images, usually do not suffer from exceedingly long shutter lag, and can utilize motion-stopping shutter speeds. The DSLR feature with the most impact on your photos is interchangeable lenses — aside from the standard “kit lens” that comes with the camera, you can use all sorts of specialized lenses to make many different types of images. Current models in this range are:

• Canon Digital Rebel XS — Canon’s smallest and most basic DSLR camera available around $499, released in August 2008. Features include a 10 megapixel APS-C sensor, 2.5″ LCD, up to 3 frames per second. Not capable of recording video. Compatible with EF and EF-S lenses.
• Canon Rebel XS at B&H
• Canon Rebel XS at Amazon
• Canon Digital Rebel T2i — Midrange DSLR camera available around $899, available in February 2010. Features include a 18 megapixel APS-C sensor, shoots full 1080p video as well as 720p, up to 3.7 frames per second. Compatible with EF and EF-S lenses.
• Canon Rebel T2i at B&H
• Canon Rebel T2i at Amazon
• Nikon D3100 — Nikon’s most basic DSLR camera available around $650, announced in August 2010. Features include a 14 megapixel APS-C sensor, 3″ LCD, up to 3 frames per second. Compatible with Nikon F-mount lenses. Lenses must be AF-S or AF-I in order to use autofocus.
• Nikon D3100 at B&H
• Nikon D3100 at Amazon
• Nikon D5000 — Midrange DSLR available around $750, announced April 2009. Features include a 12.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, 2.7″ tilt & swivel LCD, up to 720p video, up to 4 frames per second. Compatible with Nikon F-mount lenses. Lenses must be AF-S or AF-I in order to use autofocus.
• Nikon D5000 at B&H
• Nikon D5000 at Amazon

A prosumer DSLR is a camera aimed at advanced amateurs who want a little more camera. The bodies are built larger and sturdier (although not weather sealed). Many of these shoot more frames per second than an entry level camera, which is a desirable feature for sports shooting (as well as anything other subject that moves quickly). Some current prosumer DSLRs are:

• Canon 60D — Latest member of Canon’s prosumer line available around $1,400 or $1,100 without a lens, announced August 2010. Features include a 17.0 megapixel APS-C sensor, 3″ articulating LCD, up to 5.3 frames per second, full HD video. Compatible with EF and EF-S lenses.
• Canon 60D at B&H
• Canon 60D at Amazon
• Nikon D90 — Prosumer model from Nikon available around $1,200 or $900 without a lens, announced August 2008. Features include a 12.2 megapixel APS-C sensor, 720p video, 3″ LCD, up to 4.5 frames per second. Compatible with Nikon F-mount lenses.
• Nikon D90 at B&H
• Nikon D90 at Amazon
• Nikon D7000 — New class of higher-end prosumer DSLR from Nikon available around $1,500, announced September 2010. Features include a 16.2 megapixel APS-C sensor, full 1080p video, 3″ LCD, up to 6 frames per second, weather-proofed magnesium alloy body. Compatible with Nikon F-mount lenses.
• Nikon D7000 at B&H
• Nikon D7000 at Amazon

High-end DSLRs are cameras with more professional features and build, often used by professional and semi-professional photographers who want a camera that performs well will last, but don’t have a need for the absolute top-of-the-line (expensive) pro models. Both Canon and Nikon’s offerings in this category are considered to be their flagship APS-C sensor cameras.

• Canon 7D — Announced September 2009, camera body available around $1,600. Features include an 18 megapixel APS-C sensor, up to 8 frames per second, 3″ LCD, 19 point autofocus system, able to control Canon Speedlite flashes wirelessly, magnesium alloy weather sealed body, up to 1080p video. Compatible with EF and EF-S lenses.
• Canon 7D at B&H (body only)
• Canon 7D at Amazon (body only)
• Nikon D300s — Announced July 2009, camera body available around $1,450. Features include a 12.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, able to wirelessly control Nikon flashes, 3″ screen, 7 frames per second (8 fps with the MB-D10 battery grip), up to 1080p video. Compatible with Nikon F-mount lenses.
• Nikon D300s at B&H (body only)
• Nikon D300s at Amazon (body only)

A high-end full frame DSLR has many of the same characteristics as the previously discussed high end cameras, but also a full frame sensor. This means the silicon sensor that captures light is the same size as 35mm film, which is larger than what’s found in other cameras. Larger sensors are associated with excellent image quality and low light performance. A bigger sensor is a more expensive sensor, so these cameras have a higher price tag.

Note, Oct. 2010: both the Canon 5D Mark II and Nikon D700 have been on the market for a long time. That means two things: 1) the prices have fallen on these excellent cameras, and 2) they could be replaced with newer models very soon.

• Canon 5D Mark II — Announced September 2008, camera body available around $2,500. Features include a 21 megapixel full frame sensor, 3.9 frames per second, 3″ LCD, Standard Definition and Full HD video recording. Compatible with EF lenses. Not compatible with EF-S lenses.
• Canon 5D Mark II at B&H (body only)
• Canon 5D Mark II at Amazon (body only)
• Nikon D700 — Announced July 2008, camera body available around $2,100. Features include a 12.1 megapixel FX full frame sensor, up to 5 frames per second (8 with the MB-D10 battery grip), 3″ LCD, magnesium alloy weather sealed body. Compatible with Nikon F-mount lenses.
• Nikon D700 at B&H (body only)
• Nikon D700 at Amazon (body only)

Flagship DSLRs are the top-of-the-line, most expensive, high performing cameras from each manufacturer. They are big and heavy. Professional photographers who depend on (and beat up) their equipment to earn a livelihood often turn to the flagship models. They are uncommon among advanced amateurs and a lot of semi-pros, but not unheard of either. There are certainly non-professional photographers with the means who choose to use this type of gear as well.

• Canon 1D Mark IV — Canon’s professional sports camera. Announced October 2009, body available around $4,900. Features include a 16.1 megapixel APS-H sensor, new 45 point autofocus system, up to 12,800 ISO expandable up to 102,400, magnesium alloy weather sealed body, 3″ LCD, up to 10 frames per second, 1080p video. Compatible with EF lenses. Not compatible with EF-S lenses.
• Canon 1D Mark IV at B&H (body only)
• Canon 1D Mark IV at Amazon (body only)
• Canon 1Ds Mark III — Canon’s professional full frame, high resolution camera. Announced August 2007, body available around $6,100. Features include a 21.1 megapixel full frame sensor, up to 5 frames per second, up to ISO 1600 expandable to 3200, 3″ LCD, weather sealed against moisture. Compatible with EF lenses. Not compatible with EF-S lenses.

  Note, Oct. 2010: The 1Ds III has been on the market for over 3 years ago and will probably be replaced soon.

• Canon 1Ds Mark III at B&H (body only)
• Canon 1Ds Mark III at Amazon (body only)
• Nikon D3s — A professional high-speed full frame camera announced in October 2009, body available around $5,200. Features include a 12.1 megapixel FX full frame sensor, full weather sealing, 9 frames per second, up to ISO 12800 expandable up to 102400. Compatible with Nikon F-mount lenses.
• Nikon D3s at B&H (body only)
• Nikon D3s at Amazon (body only)
• Nikon D3x — Nikon’s professional high resolution DSLR announced in December 2008, available around $7,500. Features include a 24.5 megapixel full frame FX sensor for high resolution and details, 3″ lcd, up to 5 frames per second. Compatible with Nikon F mount lenses.
• Nikon D3x at B&H (body only)
• Nikon D3x at Amazon (body only)

Lenses and Accessories

Choosing a good camera body isn’t the whole story. Lenses have an equal if not greater impact on image quality as the camera body. Many photographers recommend that you take your digital camera budget and divide it up… spend part of it on a good camera body and part of it on a nice lens. This is sound advice because if you buy the best camera money can buy and stick a terrible lens on it, those thousands of dollars worth of professional features can still churn out bad images.

This article will not cover lenses and other accessories in depth. That’s a story for another day. If you do not already have lenses or don’t know much about them, the 18-55mm kit lenses that come with entry level and midrange DSLRs are a good general purpose tool for getting started. They’re also cheap, and don’t add much to the purchase price. I’d say just shoot as much as possible and get to know yourself as a photographer. This will eventually lead to upgrading your lens to something that fits your style.

Kit lenses for high end cameras are another story though. For example, the EF 24-105mm lens that comes with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a $1,000 lens and adds a considerable amount to the purchase price as opposed to just buying the camera body alone. In cases like that, you should definitely read up on lenses and figure out what you want to get ahead of time.

Case Study: Food Blogger and Traveler

Nicole from Great Eats with Petes wanted a small-ish camera to photograph food in the kitchen as well as scenes from various trips and vacations. This established the following criteria for her:

• Capable of shooting sharp, close-up images of food.
• Able to function in challenging lighting environments encountered in her travels.

She chose a Canon Digital Rebel T2i for its low light capabilities and interchangeable lenses. The T2i produces clean photos all the way up to 3200 ISO, which is so sensitive that you can easily shoot hand-held images in dim light with the right lens. As for lenses, her choice of glass is very different depending on whether she’s in the kitchen or on the road.

When cooking she uses the EF 100mm f/2.8 USM macro lens in order to get very close-up, detailed shots of her food. If it’s daytime these images are lit with window light, and when it’s dark she uses bounce flash from a Canon 580EX II Speedlite. When traveling she usually prefers a combination of the 18-55mm Image Stabilized kit lens and the EF 50mm f/1.8 II.

By choosing a midrange DSLR and the right lenses Nicole was able to get a camera that is flexible enough to satisfy the requirements of both food and travel photography, and excels whether she’s using advanced flash techniques, or wants photos lit by nothing more than whatever light happens to be present. She didn’t need ultra-fast frames per second nor the rugged, weather-sealed construction of a pro camera body, which made an affordable midrange camera like the Digital Rebel series the right camera at a nice price.

Photos by Great Eats with Petes.

Case Study: Travel Photographer & a Tourist in My Own City

When it comes to what to photograph I don’t discriminate. I’ll photograph anything that looks interesting. I bring a camera everywhere I travel, and frequently go out to find new and interesting places to see at home in New York City. The ultimate goal is to make and publish images that inspire people to go to new places, see new things and expand their horizons.

Most of what I photograph tends to be landscapes, cityscapes, urban scenes and abstracts. I’ll shoot sports if I happen upon them. I think things often look best at night, lit up.

I wanted a camera with superior image quality, especially in low light. I don’t need fast frames per second. I chose the Canon EOS 5D for its full frame sensor and reputation for excelling in low light.

The reason I went with Canon is because everyone in my family, and nearly all my friends who have cameras, use Canon. At the time I also liked Canon’s selection of fast prime lenses more than what Nikon had to offer, although these days Nikon is quickly closing that gap.

I might be tough on my equipment but I also don’t need the weather sealing of a pro body, which saves some money. The 5D is a good compromise of ruggedness, high image quality and a reasonable price tag. If you’re interested, I have also written a complete list of what’s in my bag.

When the 5D bites the dust I’ll probably get a 5DII, or a 5DIII if one exists at that point in time.

Photos by Tom Harrison, Totally Sweet Photos.

Case Study: Pro Photographer Compliments Kit with Compact DSLR

Philadelphia area wedding photographer Lee Shelly thinks the E-PL1 compact mirrorless DSLR is a fun camera. Here’s why in his own words:

1. I wanted a small, lightweight, almost-pocket camera to take as a walkabout. My requirements were that it have an interchangeable lens system, that it be a larger sensor than a typical P&S camera and that it have the ability to be both fully automatic, so the wife could use it, and fully manual.
2. I needed something that was nearly silent to use in wedding ceremony situations where a noisy D700 would echo throughout churches and ruin the mood.

From the beginning, I was impressed by this little gem. It is by no means a sports/action camera as the AF is slow, but as a landscape, street, general purpose camera, it’s very good. The IQ outperforms the P&S’s thanks to the larger sensor and better optics. The size is great… it even fits in a coat pocket with the kit lens on. It’s unassuming, so people on the street aren’t intimidated when you point it their way.

The lack of a viewfinder is annoying, but one is available to add on. The high ISO performance is still weak compared to the full frame D700, but is far better than the P&S’s I’ve used. The RAW files are nice, but don’t seem to have quite the same dynamic range adjustibility that the Nikon RAW’s do. I don’t shoot JPG in my current workflow, which eliminates the multitude of ‘scene’ modes. Some of those are pretty cool, but I can recreate them in Lightroom.

The EPL-1 features a single dial on top to switch modes between the usual ASMP (Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual and Program Auto) as well as video. The remaining adjustments are made via the back button array. These took a little getting used to, but are fairly quick to operate once you learn them. I understand the more expensive EP-2 has 2 dials and is less menu driven…that’d be nice. It’s also slightly larger tho. The top also has a hotshoe. I haven’t used any flash on it yet. There is, however, a popup flash for those instances where flash is a must. It’s pretty powerful in an indoors setting, but creates the usual on-cam-popup flash look.

One of the other bonuses is the ability to use other glass. I purchased a M4/3 to F-mount adapter and can now use all my Nikon lenses (yes, even the g-series). It’s a little awkward using the large 24-70 or 80-200 lenses, but it’s fun using the 50mm f/1.8. The Sigma 10-20 also gives me a nice wide option.

As this is a Micro 4/3 sensor, there is a 2:1 crop factor. Effectively narrowing the FoV and creating the effect of doubling the focal length. This means that a 50mm on the Olympus has the same FoV as a 100mm does on a full frame 35mm. This puts a premium on wideness. The kit lens is a 14-42…making it the same FoV as a 28-82mm on a full 35mm camera. It does mean that you are only using the sweet spot of the lens. The fact that they are cramming 12.1mp onto a sensor 1/2 the size of the D700′s is the cause for the poorer high-ISO performance.

All-in-all, I’m very pleased with the Olympus PEN. It performs as advertised and makes it more likely that I’ll have my camera with me. It’s also provided me with a camera on which I can teach my 11 year old son since I want him learning full manual control. Meanwhile it gives my wife, who couldn’t care less about the controls, a fully automatic P&S.

Photos by Lee Shelly.

Where to Buy a Digital Camera

There are plenty of places that sell digital cameras: consumer electronics chains, local camera stores, even some drug store chains. I think I might have bought a cheap point & shoot in Toys ‘R Us once.

If you have a local camera store and want to support them, then by all means. Being a New Yorker, my local camera store is the enormous B&H superstore which is where I’ve bought the majority of my photography equipment. Their website is also extensive, and they ship all over the world.

A great thing to note about B&H is their return policy. Many photographers will note this as one of B&H’s strong points, and I’ve experienced it firsthand, twice. On separate occasions, my brand new EF 100mm f/2 and EF 135mm f/2 lenses would lock up. When I was sure this was a lens defect and not an issue with dirty electronic contacts or anything, I brought each lens back to B&H with the receipt and they exchanged them for new copies with barely a question.

I have also bought a few lenses and plenty of other goods from Amazon.com. I’ve included Amazon, B&H or both links alongside much of the equipment mentioned in this article.

Cameras

• Canon EOS 5D — Full frame DSLR with excellent image quality. Modern high ISO monsters may be able to literally see in the dark, but I bought this camera a few years back for its then industry-leading low light capabilities and it still shines. With low FPS and poor autofocus it’s not really a sports camera, but I’ve been known to make it work from time to time. I will use this camera until it crumbles from my hands into a pile of magnesium alloy dust.

  The original 5D “classic” has since been replaced by the EOS 5D Mark II which continues the 5D tradition of excellent image quality. I’ve rented one whenever I shot a paid job, you read my thoughts on the 5D Mark II.

• Canon SD880 IS — A really nice compact point & shoot with a wide angle lens. No longer available.
• Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP — Purchased solely for snorkeling on vacation and other such underwater photography. Image quality and other features don’t stand out, but it’s cheap and it’s waterproof up to 10 feet.

Lenses

• Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L — Fast, wide angle prime lens. I have the older “Mark I” version. The current lens is the mark II.
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM — A fast prime lens with a normal field of view on a full frame camera, this lens does great in low light and is easy to bring everywhere due to its small size and weight.
• Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II — An absolute monster of a portrait lens. The f/1.2 max aperture is as wide and fast as Canon makes, allowing for extreme low light shooting with very thin depth of field. Produces mesmerizing background blur. Very heavy, not something I bring everywhere. Focuses extremely slow.
• Canon EF 100mm f/2 USM — Very nice image quality, good in low light, produces out of focus backgrounds, and focuses fast. I used this a lot on my old Digital Rebel XTi. I don’t use it anymore on the 5D since I have the 85 and 135, but I haven’t sold it because it’s a nice lens.
• Canon EF 135mm f/2L — A great combination of light weight, telephoto focal length and a fast f/2 maximum aperture. Images are extremely sharp, produces great soft out of focus backgrounds. I use this often because I like the look of telephoto compression, and it’s easy to carry. Shooting at 135mm takes getting used to if you haven’t done much telephoto work.
• Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG — I got this for one simple reason: 12mm. This is the widest rectilinear leans available on a full frame camera and while I don’t use it often, it shoots incredibly wide angle images when I want them.
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS — The 5D’s “kit lens”, this was my main travel glass for a while. Nice image quality, helpful image stabilization, annoying distortion at 24mm. I switched to the 24-70 as my general purpose zoom since I prefer the f/2.8 over IS.
• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L — My general purpose zoom lens of choice. Great for travel, has excellent image quality and a fast f/2.8 max aperture. Some call this “the brick” because it’s heavy but I don’t think its weight is a big deal.
• Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L IS — Stunning image quality, fast f/2.8 max aperture, very useful image stabilization. Great for outdoor sports, parades and other event situations where your subject is moderately distant and you don’t have much room to move around. I don’t carry it much for personal or travel photography because of its size, weight, and conspicuous white color.

Shooting around New York, I like to carry the 24L, 50 and 135L. Sometimes I’ll also bring the 85L. I prefer to travel light, and on trips usually bring just the 24-70L along with the 50mm for very low light shooting and the 135L as a small portable telephoto. For the few hired jobs I’ve accepted, the versatility of two cameras with the classic photojournalist’s combo of 24-70 and 70-200 is hard to beat, with the 85L thrown in the mix for good measure.

Lighting

• Canon 430EX II Speedlite — Decent, small hotshoe flash. Doesn’t fully rotate 180 degrees in both directions, and every time I bounce with it I’m tempted to snap it.
• Canon 580EX II Speedlite — Larger than the 430ex II and dust & water resistant, this flash puts out more power, recycles faster, and swivels all the way in both directions. Can also control other Canon Speedlites via infrared. It might be more expensive, but the 580ex II is usually one of the featured items in Canon’s annual rebates.
• Bogen 3373 Retractable Light Stand — Small, light and portable. Discontinued. The new version is the Manfrotto 5001B.
• A cheap umbrella adapter, exactly which one I cannot recall. Some of these come with metal hot shoe mounts… don’t use them. It could fry your flash. I use the plastic feet/stand that ships with Canon Speedlites, which can be threaded onto the top of my adapter.
• Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter — Cheaper than Pocket Wizards. Doesn’t have the range or the reliability of a PW, but they are expensive and I don’t do much off camera flash work in situations that would demand them.
• LumiQuest Promax Softbox III — Small and cheap.
• Impact 30″ Convertible Umbrella — Small and cheap.
• Various homemade snoots, grids, and gel holders.

Tripods and Accessories

• Induro Alloy 8M AT013 Tripod Legs — Not the lightest tripod around, but it gets the job done at an affordable price while still being strong and durable enough that I can put my gear on here and trust it will stay stable. The caps on the bottoms of the legs have all popped off and been lost, and the zipper on the bag broke almost immediately.
• Giottos MH-1000 Large Ballhead — Easy to rotate the camera in any direction, the quick release is simple to use, and it features both horizontal and vertical levels.

Past Gear

The following cameras and lenses were once found in my collection, but have since departed, have been sold or replaced.

• Polaroid PDC 2300Z — My first digital camera purchased way back in early 2001. It took 4 AA batteries which the flash would make quick work of, so I shot almost exclusively without it. So began the love affair with ambient light.
• Sony Cybershot DSCW50 — Your basic inexpensive 3x zoom compact point & shoot at the time. Chalk up another casualty – I broke the zoom lens mechanism on this one.
• Sony Cybershot DSCW80 — Replaced the DSCW80 with the same model since I already had the extra cards and batteries. Was not happy with the image quality.
• Canon Powershot G9 — Very nice image quality along with RAW files and manual controls in a small package. Not small enough to convince me to bring it out instead of a DSLR most of the time though, so it was used infrequently and eventually sold.
• Canon Digital Rebel XTi — My first DSLR, it had great image quality and worked well but I eventually found myself wanting a full frame sensor and better high ISO quality for low ambient light shooting.
• Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro for Canon — A decent replacement for the 18-55mm Digital Rebel kit lens. Its build is a little tougher, it has a fast f/2.8 max aperture at the 17mm end of the zoom range, and at 70mm it’s longer than the 18-55. I prefer constant max aperture zooms though, andn the long end of the Sigma the fastest you can use is f/4.5.
• Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 III — Bought and sold this one all inside 7 months. Why? 300mm for $180 and not much else. Many people say this is a great lens for the price. I disliked the image quality immensely, and the build quality was not great. With the amount of abuse I put my camera gear through, I surely would have destroyed this lens by now. Not to be confused with the EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM which as better image quality, image stabilization and a USM focusing motor.
• Sigma 600mm f/8 Mirror Lens — 600mm of reach in a tough, affordable package. Fixed f/8 aperture and manual focus only. Makes round “doughnut” bokeh. I had seen photos by Miami Fever made with this telephoto beast, and it showed up in the B&H used department one day so I bought it on a whim. It was fun to use for a while but I eventually decided to get rid of it to fund more practical glass.
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II — The first prime lens for many photographers, including myself. Fast f/1.8 max aperture for low light shooting, amazing sharpness and image quality for a very low price. The build quality is poor; I’ve broken at least 2 of these. Autofocusing in low light is difficult, plus the manual focus ring is small and there is no distance window. No regrets.

Focal Length Range

The EF 24-105 f/4L is a general purpose zoom lens. Its range of focal lengths is very useful, going from wide angle at 24mm to telephoto at 105mm. You can shoot sweeping landscapes with the short end, then zoom in close for portraits, detail shots and the like.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi, 24-105 f/4L IS USM @ 24mm, f/5, ISO 400, 1/20

Photographers whose cameras have APS-C sensors will not see a wide field of view on the 24mm end of this lens due to their cameras’ crop factor. This includes the Digital Rebel series, prosumer series (30D/40D/50D etc…), and the 7D. If you have one of these cameras and are looking for a wide angle field of view, you’ll need to look at lenses around 20mm or less.

Aside from its effects on the wide angle field of view, a crop factor will give you a lot more reach on the 105mm telephoto end of this lens which most people usually appreciate.

A DSLR with a crop factor has a sensor smaller than traditional 35mm film. This has the effect of “cropping out” a smaller area of the scene, hence the name. Crop factors don’t change focal length or make this any less of a lens, but they do change your field of view and so you should be aware of their effects.

Wide Angle Distortion

The 24-105 suffers from very noticeable distortion at wide angles. Lines will curve and bulge out — depending on your position and angle on the subject, the effects range from very slight to pronounced.

Canon EOS 5D, 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 24mm, f/8, ISO 800, 1/5

Notice how the columns of the building bulge out like a barrel. This effect is sometimes apparent at the short end of this lens and disappears as you zoom in.

Image Stabilization

The Image Stabilization of the EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM is extremely useful. The IS enables 3 extra stops before you see blur from hand movement. I’ve made extensive use of this feature in dark environments and can attest to its effectiveness.

Canon EOS 5D, 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 24mm, f/4.5, ISO 1600, 1/6

Take a look at the details in this image. The lines on the barrel and in the writing are all sharp, and yet this photo was shot hand-held at 1/6 sec. Besides hand-holding at slower shutter speeds, IS is also the gateway to more depth of field in dark situations, and using lower ISO ratings to improve image quality and reduce noise.

Keep in mind that although IS reduces blur resulting from hand movement, it cannot reduce motion blur. In order to freeze moving subjects you must use a fast shutter speed.

Constant f/4 Max Aperture

The EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM features a constant maximum aperture of f/4. This is a welcome advantage over kit lenses and consumer zooms which usually have a variable maximum aperture in the f/3.5-5.6 range.

What?

In a kit lens, the maximum diameter of the opening through which light passes shrinks as you zoom in. This affects your exposure — you need a slower shutter speed or higher ISO in order to get a telephoto shot than you do when shooting the same subject zoomed out to a wide angle.

I cannot stand having to re-think my exposure settings as I change focal lengths, and so lenses like the 24-105 with a constant maximum aperture are a welcome upgrade. The 24-105 can shoot at f/4 at 24mm, and it still shoots at f/4 when zoomed in to 105mm. A kit lens might have f/3.5, or even f/2.8 at the short end, but will likely go to f/4.5 or 5.6 when zoomed in.

Background Blur

An f/4 lens usually isn’t associated with diffuse, out-of-focus backgrounds (“bokeh”), however the telephoto capabilities of this lens make subject isolation a little more possible. Get close to your subject, zoom in to 105mm, shoot wide open at f/4, put some distance between the subject and the background and you’ll get some nicely blurred out-of-focus backgrounds.

Image Quality

The EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM has very good image quality. It is respectably sharp starting at f/4, gets nice colors and contrast. Its wide angle distortion can be frustrating, but is also fixable if you’re willing to spend a few seconds doing perspective correction in Photoshop.

Build Quality

Like other L lenses, the 24-105 is built tough. The lens is weather sealed (requires a filter on the front element to complete sealing) and the barrel is rugged. How rugged? I dropped my 24-105 from chest height onto asphalt while in Europe. It hit the ground, took a bounce and rolled to my feat. After making sure the mount was not damaged I took it back to the hotel, put it on my camera, did a few test shots and discovered the IS, auto focusing and other features were still in perfect working order. I continued using the lens throughout the remainder of the trip. The only evidence of the incident are a few nicks on the barrel. I’d call that impressive.

Please do not try this at home.

Conclusion

The 24-105 is an extremely versatile zoom lens. The image stabilization makes low light photography much more accessible to photographers without top-of-the-line cameras, and the focal length range leaves you ready for almost any situation. This is an excellent travel lens — I’ve gone on many trips with the 24-105 as my only gear.

I cannot end this review without mentioning the Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L. If you spend any amount of time on photography social networking sites and message boards, you know that the two of these are compared constantly. Many Canon photographers looking to upgrade their kit lens and move into “L territory” often consider these two similar lenses. The 24-70 lacks IS and does not zoom as far as the 24-105, but it does have a larger maximum aperture of f/2.8.

Both the 24-70 and 24-105 are excellent lenses, and your decision between the two depends entirely upon your shooting style. Photographers looking for an all-around solution, a lens to put on the camera and leave there, would probably prefer the 24-105. On the other hand, prime lens shooters may prefer the optical quality of the 24-70.

I own both of these lenses. The 24-105 got constant use for a number of years, but I’ve recently switched to the 24-70 because I feel its image quality is closer to my prime lenses, which are what I prefer the most. In my opinion the 24-70 gets better color and contrast than the 24-105. The 24-70′s f/2.8 also makes it more possible to capture moving subjects, which suits a photojournalistic style.

With all that said, the 24-105mm f/4L IS is one of the most versatile professional quality lenses you can get from Canon, and if I had to choose just one piece of equipment to travel with, it would be the 24-105.

Where to to Buy the EF 24-105 f/4L IS

• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at B&H
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at Adorama
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at Amazon.com

Making purchases through these links helps support this site.

It turns out the rumors of Nikon making moves on Canon’s lens territory were true. The ‘net is buzzing with Nikon photographers talking about the two new lenses: the AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED and the AF-S NIKKOR 16-35 f/4G ED VR.

As I previously wrote, these new lenses fill out two gaps that separated Nikon’s lens lineup from Canon’s: the lack of wide fast primes and light f/4 zooms. Both lenses feature Nikon’s nano coating which improves image quality by reducing glare.

Now that we know what this means for Nikon’s lense lineup, what does it mean for your wallet? About $2,200 for the 24/1.4 and $1,260 for the 16-35.

Where to get these lenses

At the moment, the 24mm f/1.4 is marked as “unavailable” and B&H while the 16-35 VR is “available for pre-order”. If you’re thinking of picking up either of these lenses, consider using our B&H links:

• Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24mm f/1.4G ED Wide Angle Lens at B&H
• Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR at B&H

I get most of my own gear from B&H, although I don’t plan on buying these specific lenses because I don’t shoot Nikon.

On February 9^th Nikon announced a new lens aimed at their entry-level customers: the AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G. This is prime glass boasting a wide f/1.8 maximum aperture, small size & light weight and an attractive price tag.

Nikon’s new 35mm f/1.8 is an introductory fixed focal length lens aimed at owners of Nikon’s entry-level cameras (the D40, D60 & D90) who are looking to experiment with this sort of equipment. Its wide f/1.8 maximum aperture enables low light shooting without a flash and allows for a shallow depth of field to isolate subjects and produce soft out-of-focus backgrounds. Plus the lens’ small size and weight makes it very portable.

Nikon’s release of the 35mm f/1.8 DX is a throwback to the SLR film days in that its field of view on a cropped DX sensor is approximately equivalent to the “normal” 50mm lenses that are prevalent among 35mm and full frame shooters. A 50mm f/1.8 lens is available from Nikon, but its field of view becomes slightly telephoto with the DX format of these entry-level DSLR cameras ands its auto focus system is not compatible with every Nikon DSLR. You can read more about why Nikon thinks their entry level customers want a normal prime and why “DX is not dead” in “35mm F1.8 for DX? What is Nikon up to?” by Digital Photography Review (link via Benjamin Golub on FriendFeed).

Last but not least is the 35mm f/1.8 DX’s price tag — an attractive $260. Good glass gets very expensive very quickly, which has had the side effect of creating a large market for cheap fast primes like the “nifty fifty” 50mm f/1.8 lenses (which run under $100.00). By engineering the 35mm f/1.8 as an accessible consumer-grade lens instead of professional glass, Nikon should be able to capitalize on two photographic effects that a great many SLR shooters fall in love with at first sight: ambient light shots and shallow depth of field.