Armand Niculescu

Armand is 32 year old designer and programmer employed at Media Division. He has a strong interest in Flash/Actionscript, 3D and photography.

24 responses to “How to choose your first dSLR – a complete buyer’s guide”

  1. srijana shakya

    WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON NIKON D-90? WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS? AND IS THERE SIMILAR MODEL IN CANON DESIGN?
    P.S. ENJOYED READING YOUR UNBIASED NOTE ON WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A DIGITAL CAMERA.
    THANKS.

  2. Alfred

    Hi Armand,
    I want to get the cheapest Nikon body with a built-in lens motor. The two Nikon models you listed did not have a built in lens motor. How would i go about finding this? Finally – i’m guessing that if i buy the D60 – i won’t be able to use the top range lenses at all. Is this right? I don’t want to have to buy special lenses that i won’t need some time in the future when i buy a better body.
    Many thanks for your help.
    A.

  3. Carlos

    hey armand,

    I’m extremely new to DSLR’s and have only taken one class in photography (photo 101: black and white). we used an old SLR camera. i wanted to continue with taken photographs and was wondering if you can help me find the best camera for a beginner. Realistically i love taken pictures of the city and its surroundings. thank you and hope to hear from you.

  4. Sacx from RandomBugs

    Hi,

    Very good article. I wanted to see D90 in this article. Anyway it seems D90 is better than D5000.

    Regards

  5. Gabriel Nitu

    Armand, just found your site and I must say I love it. Plenty of valuable information.

    I have an objection to one of your introductory statements though. People do and WILL fight over everything, not just cameras. This is human nature.

    Take a look at the age-old PC vs MAC debate. And let’s not even get into cars… Just join a car discussion forum and you will find it’s the same story all over again.

    Thanks for taking the time to write these nice articles and keep up the good work !

  6. elmo

    What is the lens motor used for? It is very important?

  7. tom

    Hi Armand, thanks for your help.
    Im new to digital photography, although ive done film. I see im going to have to convert . yes i was the last one on my street to get cable, a vcr , dvd, player, computer,etc. Well anyway i need to convert. The question is this. i only have about 300 bucks U. S. Yes i have a wife and kids.Hence the 300 bucks is a stretch. Please hurry with your answer you know how fast money can go . I own a nikon N80, 4 lenses.>50mm/ 17-35mm/ 35-105mm/70-105mm nothing oustanding.2 after market and 2 nikon. Would i be better to buy the older model pro d100x in prime cond or a relatively newer nikon 40 . any other suggestions would be appreciated also. General amateur photography landscape , lightning,nature .

  8. Tom

    Hello Armand:
    Thanks for your quick reply , much appreciated!!! what do you think about the Evolt 500 ? I know i have to start over with the lens but the 4/3 system really intrigues me with the focal range . the Evolt 500 with the 75-150mm i can get close to 300$ to start into digital, hope to move up to their 70-300mm eventually. That lens would be the equivilant to 600mm for about300bucks . And their dust sensor sounds good??? I do know ill be limited by the brand but they do seem to have alot of innovations in their camera. Naturally pic quality is foremost , how do you feel about their lens ? Oh the tortue of picking whats best!!!!

  9. William

    Hello Armand,

    I’m taking a step up from a compact digital camera to a DSLR. I’m planning on taking pictures of landscape, portraits, and of models that I will be building. With the later, I’m guessing that I might need a macro lens, on top of whatever lens may come with the camera. The later is actually the main reason for the switch due to being unable to take decent close-up photos. I figured that I might be better off with a manual focus. The landscape and portraits portion of my plans come from a upcoming wedding that I’m attending where I’ll be able to see the Rocky Mountains. Alas, I have not taken any phototography classes, but wish to learn to take good photos in this case, probably through experience. If it matters at all, the compact digital camera I currently have is a 7.2 megapixel cybershot camera. The model number escapes me at the moment.

  10. Tom marshall

    Armand;
    thanks once again for your answer,i had forgot about the 4/3rds system doing that.I guess i new along i would end up with a nikon. Now I have to choose between 11 segment or 3 segment Af metering. D40x with the extra pixels or D50 for more metering and choice of lens ??Etc. etc. etc. But most of all all id really like is to get a shot of an Eagle in flight. something I could hang and frame , you know like the fisherman with his trophy bass. Well ill keep trying. One of these days mabey ill feel that line tugging!!!

  11. val

    i am currently a canon point and shoot user with 2 small children. i want to move up in the camera world so i don’t miss the action and can get more “life” in my pictures. with about a $2000 budget…. what do you recommend? i agree that i’d rather get a lower end slr body and spend the money on a lens/flash… but i don’t even know what all i need to start! i think i’d like to stick with canon, just because that’s what i’ve always had.
    i didn’t know if your recs have changed since you wrote this article…
    thanks in advance!

  12. cheryl

    hi!

    very much interested in buying my first dlsr with focus on ‘life’ and ‘people’ photography – am at a toss between canon 1000d and sony a 330 – which would you think is better value for money now and in the long run in terms of features, upragde/lens options, accassories etc?

    appreciate the advice!! thanks :D

  13. Tracy

    Hi Armand,

    What would be your suggestion be for a first-time DSLR-user between the Nikon D5000 and Canon Rebel T2i? I was initially deciding between Nikon D3000 and D5000 and settled upon the 5000 as the general consensus seems to be that it is well worth the added cost.

    Now I’m facing the same dilemma, however, between the D5000 and the t2i. Obviously the latter is more expensive…which I can afford, but I would rather not spend the extra money unless it makes sense to and is justified by higher-quality performance. I would be getting a standard lens kit for either, since I don’t want to spend too much money off the bat.

    I would appreciate any feedback. Thx!

  14. Zaya

    Uhmm… I was thinking about the canons, the Rebel t1i.. is that good. I’ll be new with a DLSR but I’m a fast learner, I like canon for SLRs, but sony for point and shoot.. if there is a better one with a high MP and I like to have large LCD for when I am looking to see if my exposures are right.

    Thanks,

    Zaya Heap x