Recently I’ve seen a lot of posts around the web by individuals looking to upgrade from point and shoot cameras to their first DSLR – and in a few cases by folks who intend to bypass the P&S step entirely and just start right out with a DSLR.

Among these folks the questions are usually “which camera should I get?” and “what lens(es) should I get?” These questions are phrased in various ways: “Is camera X a good choice?” “What is the best lens for Camera Y?” “I hear that lens/camera Z is the best – is this right?” “I’m just getting started and I plan to get the very best camera and lens available.” “What lenses do I need to complete my setup?”

While there are exceptions to almost every rule, in the case of new DSLR shooters I have some strong opinions about what the best approach will be in most cases. The good news is that the “right” answer is probably also the least expensive, the most conducive to learning about your relationship to DSLR photography, and the most adaptable to a variety of future directions that you might find your photography taking.

(First a quick note about brands. If you “do your research” you will certainly find partisans of this brand or that – I happen to use Canon – who will try to convince you that their brand is great and the others are deficient. Don’t listen to them. The truth is that in the end it barely matters at all whether you get a Nikon or a Canon or Sony or Pentax DSLR – any of them can produce the photographs you need and do so with very high quality. There are some differences, and if these differences actually are significant to you they might be worth considering – but it is not the case that one or the other brand is significantly worse/better than the others. That said, I’ll name Canon models below since that is what I know – but look for equivalent models from the other manufacturers if your prefer.)

So, what sort of DSLR is “best” for the newbie shooter? It is almost certainly the model designed expressly for beginning DSLR shooters – one of the so-called “entry level” models. For Canon buyers today this typically means the T1i or the XSi bodies, though the older XTi would also work just fine. Cameras like these use “cropped” sensors and are typically are capable of producing image quality equal to that of the cameras in the next tier up (e.g. the Canon 50D). They have every technical feature you are likely to need. They work with a wide range of lenses up to and including the very best that the manufacturer makes. While they frequently include operating modes that are simplified for beginners (useful sometimes even to experienced photographers) they typically also offer complete manual control. The cost is typically well under $1000 and “kits” including a lens are available for much less once the new models have been out for a while.

A few specific issues:

Megapixels – New DSLR buyers, trying to parse out the differences between competing cameras, often see that one camera has “more megapixels” than the other and wonder if that makes it “better.” Probably not. A camera with a 15 megapixel (MP) sensor constructs the final image from more and smaller individual “points of light,” but the difference between, say, a 15MP sensor and a 12MP sensor is essentially insignificant even in high end photography. And, unless you are a very skillful photographer who regularly prints huge “gallery quality” prints any of these MP ratings will be far more performance than you’ll even need. Truth be told, if you mainly will share your photographs online and by emailing them or if you won’t print larger than letter-size a 6MP sensor would be plenty – so while 15MP is more than 12MP which is more than 10MP… all three provide more than enough sensor resolution and you won’t see any difference in your photos.

Image Quality – Although the “MP count” discussed above is what people often most correlate with image quality, it is not the only issue. If you read a lot of reviews you’ll hear that this or that camera has “better low light performance” or “more/less noise” or “better color” and on and on. In some cases there might, maybe, possibly be some small difference that can be measured on the test bench – but in virtually all cases these differences are more about giving the reviewer something to write about than they are about any visible effect on your photographs. Again, you’ll get fine image quality from any of the cameras in this category no matter which manufacturer you choose.

Full frame or cropped sensor – When digital sensor based cameras were first developed the cost of the sensor was extremely high. Sensors with the same dimensions as 35mm film (24mm x 36mm) were very, very expensive and cameras using these sensors typically were priced in the $8000 and higher range. One way to effectively reduce costs was to use a smaller sensor. All of the entry level cameras use one or another variety of the smaller cropped sensors. Major manufacturers such as Canon and Nikon typically produce one or more entry-level cameras with the smaller sensors along with at least one more expensive model that also uses the smaller sensors.

Recently the technology and the market have developed in such a way that full-frame cameras (with larger sensors of approximately the same size as a 35mm film frame) have become available for relatively lower prices in the mid-to-upper $2000 range. More and more this leads some first-time buyers to ask “aren’t these full frame cameras better than cropped sensor cameras?”and “if I want the best shouldn’t I get full frame?”

The question is more complex than it might seem, but the answer is pretty simple – the beginning DSLR shooter almost certainly should not bother with a full frame camera. I’m not going to go into all the details here, but let me share some perspectives on this.

First, taking advantage of the potential betterness of full frame takes more than just shooting with a full frame camera. (Which I do, by the way…) A full frame camera can produce better results – if you shoot with very careful and practiced technique (using a tripod, mirror lock-up, a remote release, very careful automatic or manual focus, careful selection of aperture, very high quality lenses), post-process with very sophisticated software and skills (shooting in RAW mode, post-processing in Photoshop, carefully and precisely adjusting a whole range of image settings), and then print at very large sizes – let’s say 20″ x 30″ or larger.

But you aren’t going to do that, are you? The first-time DSLR shooter most likely wants to take some “sharp” photographs of friends and family, record the sights while travelling, and so forth – and will probably shoot handheld and will most likely share photos electronically or make smallish prints. Here the potential advantages of the full frame format are irrelevant.

Camera size – Read enough reviews and you’ll find someone writing that “I had to upgrade because the entry-level camera was too small for my hands.” I strongly urge you to not give too much credence to this. I used an entry-level DSLR for a couple years when I was testing the waters and making my transition to DSLRs after shooting film for many years. I have large hands, but I never felt hampered in my ability to operate the smaller camera. In fact, there are some advantages to having a smaller camera, especially for the sort of user I’m writing about here. For one thing you are more likely to actually bring along and use a somewhat smaller camera. The camera can be less obtrusive in actual use – it doesn’t shout “Look at me! I have an expensive camera!” And the slightly lighter weight can be an advantage in situations where you have to cart the camera around: traveling, hiking, and so forth.

I also urge you to recognize that many buyers succumb to the belief that “a big camera looks more professional.” Well, yes, maybe. Sometimes. But this doesn’t make your photographs any better, and the warm feeling of having the biggest camera quickly wears off when you have to start carting it around! And don’t forget that a lot of great photography – thinks street photography, for example – has often been done with smaller cameras. Bigger is not necessarily better.

Get the ‘best’ camera? – Many times the prospective DSLR buyer will say something like “I’m going to get very best camera so that it will serve me for a long time.” This is one of the trickiest issues of all when it comes to getting a camera. Before the advent of DSLRs camera systems evolved fairly slowly. It wasn’t that uncommon for someone to use a 35mm camera for decade or more. But today, at the relative beginning of the development of digital cameras, the equipment evolves much more quickly and cameras tend to be replaced on a shorter cycle.

Complicating this issue even more is the very much open question of what the new DSLR photographer may end up doing with photography a year or two or more down the road. It is possible that as a new DSLR owner you might be starting on a path to photography as a very serious hobby or even a profession – but it is far more likely that you will simply enjoy using your camera to photograph the events of your life and share pictures with friends and family. The problem is that it is basically impossible to know at first. So, do you get the ‘very best’ camera and bet that photography will become an all-consuming passion, or do your recognize that the odds are against this and get something less expensive and durable?

As if that wasn’t enough, there is another factor that new buyers rarely consider, namely that there is no single “best camera” for all types of photography. Let’s say that your friend tells you that the ‘best’ camera is a 21MP full-frame DSLR – but your friend shoots landscape photographs from the tripod and prints large. You take this advice and a year or two later discover that you like to shoot sports and share the photos online – and that the wonderful 21MP full frame camera that is so great for landscape is the wrong choice for what you shoot. Basically the problem is this: as a new DSLR shooter you do not yet know what your subject and working preferences will be and you’ll only discover this by shooting a lot.

Answer? Again, wait until later to make those expensive choices. Start with the inexpensive, entry-level camera. Shoot a lot of photographs – at least 10,000 I’d say – and learn from the experience, from other photographers, by reading. Before long the experience you gain with this entry-level equipment will begin to coalesce into some photographic self-knowledge and you will know what other equipment you need/want – and that is the time to start investing in higher quality and more specialized equipment.

And, still lurking in the background, is the question of…

Lenses – The discussion of lenses -which ones to get and which are best and what constitutes a good set of lenses – can consume hours, days, weeks, months of your life. So let me start with my bottom line recommendation:

Get the inexpensive kit lens that is offered with the camera by the manufacturer.

If you are getting a Canon entry-level camera (XTi, XSi, T1i) get the package that includes the EFS 18-55mm IS (“image-stabilzed”) lens. If you buy from another manufacturer get their equivalent lens. These lenses produce quite decent results – typically more than enough quality for the purposes of the entry-level DSLR buyer, come at a very low cost (perhaps adding only $100 to the price of the camera), provide the core focal lengths from slightly wide angle to slightly telephoto, and often come with useful features like image-stabilization.

(Do be careful about “kit” lenses – not all kit lenses are equally appropriate for an entry-level DSLR. On these cameras most shooters will want a lens that covers the range from relatively wide angle to a short telephoto – or “portrait” – focal length. On a cropped sensor camera this typically means a lens with a wide angle focal length of shorter than 20mm – for example, 17mm or 18mm is typical on Canon cameras. At the “long” end a focal length of 50-60mm would typically be about right – the Canon lenses in this category usually go to 55mm. Avoid lenses like the old 28mm-135mm zooms on cropped sensor cameras! Some vendors package these as kit lenses on cropped sensor cameras, but they do not serve most buyers very well. They were actually designed as kit lenses for 35mm film cameras but do not function the same way on cropped sensor DSLRs, where they provide essentially no wide angle coverage. Unless you really know what you are doing avoid these lenses at first.)

Many buyers assume that they need to get “the best” lenses because they want really “sharp photographs.” Here’s a secret: your online photos and letter-sized prints will not be any sharper if you use the most expensive lenses. First, the differences in sharpness between very best lenses and the kit lenses are not going to be visible at all in photographs at these sizes. Second, achieving sharp photographs is far more about things other than the lens than you might know – these include shooting technique, post-processing and a host of other features. I like to say that if you can’t get a sharp photograph from the kit lens you won’t get a sharp photograph from any other lens either.

In addition when it comes to selecting the “best” lens, the same factors are at work here that I discussed above relative to camera bodies. Namely, there is no single right answer to the “which lens is best” question. The “best” lens for one photographer will be completely different than the “best” lens for another photographer who shoots different subjects and has different work practices. The street photographer, the landscape photographer, the portrait photographer, the sports photographer will all have very different ideas about what features make a lens best. Again, as a new DSLR photographer you do not yet know which type of photographer you will be – so if you take your sports photographer friend’s advice about lenses and then end up doing street photography you’ll likely have the “wrong best lens.”

The solution is the same. Start with that kit lens. Shoot many, many photographs. Learn. Enjoy. Eventually your preferences as to working methods and subject will begin to coalesce and with the experience you gain you’ll make much better choices when it comes time to get more expensive equipment.

This brings up another aspect of the lens choice issue. Sometimes a new DSLR buyer will ask something along the lines of, “I just got my new DSLR and I want to complete my set of lenses. What should I get?” At first, nothing. Just shoot with the kit lens at first. If you don’t know from your own shooting what lens features you need, it is not time to spend money on more lenses. You have no idea yet what your needs might be. If, after shooting that kit lens a lot, you realize that you are frequently frustrated by your inability to get the whole scene into the frame it will be time to think about what wide angle lens might resolve this. Or if you find yourself shooting sports or wildlife and the subject is too far away you’ll be able to figure out what focal lengths might resolve this for you.

Another minefield for new DSLR buyers is the often-heard anachronistic advice to “start with a 50mm prime and learn that before you get anything else.” Please, no! This advice is wrong for the new DSLR buyer in so many ways that it almost makes me angry when I hear it repeated yet again. Decades ago a 50mm prime (non-zoom) lens was a fine choice for beginners – in an era of 35mm film when decent and low cost zooms were not available. But today this is generally terrible advice to beginners. First of all, with a cropped sensor body the 50mm focal length doesn’t even provide the same angle of view coverage that it did back in the 35mm film days – if you wanted an equivalent prime as a starting lens (and you don’t!) it would be a 30mm lens or so, not a 50mm lens! But more importantly, today the beginning DSLR shooter is going to get a lot more flexibility and pleasure from shooting a zoom, and today’s entry-level zooms provide plenty of image quality for these shooters. (And if you want to set your zoom to 30mm or 50mm or any other focal length and leave it there you can still have the experience of shooting at a fixed focal length.)

Believe it or not, there is much more that could be written about this – but I’m going to (finally!) stop here… after the following summary paragraph:

For almost all new DSLR buyers the best starting point is one of the entry-level cropped sensor bodies equipped with the standard kit lens that offers a range from wide to slightly telephoto.

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