Which Digital SLR?

Recently I have attended a workshop from 'Better Photography' to satisfy my inner photography desires. Got tempted to buy a DSLR camera. Went to a shop at Bangalore and compared prices at both official & grey market. Zeroed down on two brands Canon & Nikon. On the lower side 550D from Canon & D3100 from Nikon. On the higher side 7D from Canon & D90 from Nikon. The lower range was from Rs. 35k to Rs. 50k & higher was from 80k to 90k.

When I took the camera (7D) in hand the temptation was such I went to ATM to draw money. Just before entering ATM I called up my friend (Anand Joshi) a great guy with a lot of pro knowledge on photography (http://www.flickr.com/photos/anandjoshi/). He said in another one month there are new models being launched and it is worth waiting for them.

Now Nikon has launched 7000D. A wonderful camera with almost all features for a person who is serious about photography. Costs Rs. 85k with kit lens, a bag & 4 GB memory. Canon has launched 60D with swivel LCD monitor & a lot of movie options & costing around 65k. My friend (Kiran Raj) wanted to buy a DSLR. Looking at the features & his budget I suggested him to go for 7000D. Surprisingly he readily invested on that marvelous piece.

Now I am planning to buy 60D.

Things I like in DSLRs:
1. The clarity in the picture even with low light
2. The number of customizable options right from PSAM to white balancing, metering etc.
3. With new gen Cameras we can also take FullHD movies ( may not have many options to tweak)
4. The option to change lenses to suit the requirement.

The things I wish in DSLRs:
1. Lighter cost ( USA is cheaper than India)
2. Built-in GPS location tagging (Geo tagging). Most smart phones have.
3. Bluetooth transfer facility.
4. WiFi capabilities
5. Multiple memory cards ( 7000D has)
6. Allow a bit more customization options in terms of memory management such as frame buffeting etc.

After all the research I learnt that the photography mainly depends on the person who is taking that wonderful snap and not on the camera. A simple DSLR with a very good lens will produce great pictures than a great camera with average lens. One must have the lighting sense & picture composition sense. First thing we have to remember is what our eye can see (with our amazing brains behind them) the camera cannot see. For example I have seen many people taking snaps during sunset (low light) thinking that what they see through their eyes is what they will get through the camera. So we have to train our brains to see through eyes of the camera which is the biggest secret behind the best snaps. Also one has to remember to tell a story through the snaps. I have seen some photographs that are very impressive by the story that they convey than the technicality of the photo.

www.dpreview.com, www.kenrockwell.com, www.the-digital-picture.com, www.cameralabs.com are few of the good websites that give a complete review of latest cameras & lenses.

Enjoy Photography.