You are about to buy a camera, one of those “SLRs” that open up a world of infinite possibilities for you as a photographer. Gone are the days of blurry, pimply, dark photos. This time we are going for an "SLR", a real camera ? You are finally going to take the big leap.
You have been saving time and depriving yourself of whims. This is going to be a great financial investment, so you want to make sure you make a good purchase, it has to be the best DSLR for your budget. The best brand possible. Which one is that? Canon, Nikon, Sony?
But we are all tormented by choosing. It is much easier for them to give us an SLR, of a brand and model that has already been decided, than to start researching, searching and having to make the decision ourselves. And if I'm wrong, then what?
Today is an article in which I explain one of my criteria for choosing and recommending SLR cameras. This criteria will help you answer the question “What is that best brand?” . And yes, today I am going to get wet, I am going to give you an answer in which I am going to mention certain brands clearly, you will see it later. The reason why I will opt for one brand over others will not be so obvious. You'll see ?
Keep reading.
WANT A QUICK RECOMMENDATION?
In the rest of the article I explain this "particular" selection criteria that I have and I reveal what from my point of view is the best brand in terms of SLR cameras. That being said, I know that there are readers who would like to skip all this literature and get straight to the point. If this is your case, if you have landed on this article looking for a good SLR camera to buy right now, a camera that has already been tested and backed by recommendations from thousands of users, a camera made for the amateur photographer, with modern features and an affordable budget Surely you already know my famous article with the best SLR cameras that I recommend, you can read it here .
If, on the other hand, you want to find out what I normally use to choose one camera over another when they ask me for an opinion, in "Mastering SLR Photography", the new online photography course that we teach at the School of Photographers I reveal my 5 criteria to get it right when buying a good SLR camera. Today, however, we are talking about a very "particular" criterion, as I said before, since it is not very common to mention it among photographers in their recommendations, but based on my humble experience, it is a factor that can make a tremendous difference in terms of to the photographic results that a photographer can achieve with his camera.
Let's go to trouble
THE BEST BRAND OF SLR CAMERAS
First, I'm a Nikonist, in case you didn't know ?
That being said, I try to be impartial in my recommendations, that must be said too. Just because I 'm a Nikonist doesn't mean I only have eyes for Nikon.
The best SLR camera brands, in my opinion, are easily Nikon and Canon. But from afar. Occasionally I can recommend a Sony, Pentax, Olympus, but Canon and Nikon account for 90% of my recommendations.
At the same time, I don't think Canon or Nikon SLRs are much better than any other brand's SLRs . Quite the opposite. Canon and Nikon SLRs for the amateur user usually have the same quality and photographic results as SLRs from any other brand .
Hey, but... what weed have you smoked today Mario? First you say that Nikon and Canon are the best, but then you say that they are not of better quality than the other brands. What do we agree on?
Dear reader. I have not lied to you at any time in the text. Do I have your attention yet? Let's figure this out come on ?
THE CANON AND NIKON MYTH
Two brands that deserve all the respect in the world. My current cameras are all Canon and Nikon so I can't say anything bad about these two brands. What happens is that history has been building a myth around the quality of the cameras of both brands that have become the two best-known brands. They were the two most popular brands, for decades, and as I write these lines they still are. And although it may be true that the beginning of its popularity is due to the quality of the construction of its cameras, in the past, the truth is that today any competitor to Canon or Nikon, any brand, no matter how small, is capable of to create cameras with the same quality and with very similar technologies.
Gone are those times when industrial knowledge was exclusive to only one brand, today everything is manufactured in China or in Asian countries, all mobile phones do almost the same thing, all new cars begin to park by themselves, and all reflex cameras gradually begin to acquire the same functionalities. And if not, I'd like to see a single current SLR, whatever brand it is, Nikon, Canon, or other, that does something that no other SLR can do. I don't know. There was once a camera brand that made their devices Wi-Fi enabled, the following year all other brands' cameras were Wi-Fi enabled. One time, I don't know which brand built GPS into their cameras. Amazing. Who would have imagined it? A revolutionary technology that no other brand was going to be able to imitate in decades. Lie!
And so I could go on. Did I miss something important? Oh wait, maybe it's the quality of the photo itself. Regardless of the buttons and extras, is there a particular brand of camera whose photos are simply wonderful, not because of the settings, not because of the shooting mode, not because of the lens, not because of the photographer, but because of the mark itself. I don't think so. I have seen wonderful photos taken with Sony, with Pentax, with Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and with practically every brand. It is not true that no brand has a "secret, locked-up formula, à la Coca-Cola, that makes the colors in your photos a mesmerizing hue unattainable by any other camera." Such affirmations are closer to a belief in metaphysical and supernatural powers than to a true verification.
In terms of quality, and speaking in a "general" way, leaving aside specific models or exceptional cases, Canon and Nikon are generally good brands, as good as any other brand of cameras. That's how crude it is. There is nothing in the name Canon or Nikon that influences the quality of photography for better or worse . A photo will never be better or worse just because of the name or logo of the brand. Yes, it could be due to a better sensor, or better internal treatment, or better features, but that's not exclusive to Nikon or Canon, that's common to all brands. Throughout history there have been "mythical" cameras, of all brands.
SO IF CANON AND NIKON ARE A MYTH, WHY IS THE BEST SLR CAMERA (STILL) CANON OR NIKON?
Their popularity makes them better. The simple fact that there are more photographers using Canon and Nikon than other brands, just that, makes them very good candidates for a wise purchase decision.
As a user of an SLR camera, you are interested in having a camera that is as well known, common, popular and "used by other users" as possible . The fact that it is so common opens up an immense range of resources that you can consult, use, and that will help you in your use of the camera. You will very easily find forums with users who own the same camera model as you, with similar problems, the same concerns, etc.
What about all the buttons and controls on the camera, is there one that resists you and you don't know how to use it? You just google it and you will most likely find something mentioned by other users about it. Have you lost the user manual, or do you simply want to have it in a digital version in PDF? You look for it on Google and if it is a very popular camera, it is normal that you find it without much difficulty. One day you turn on the camera and an error message appears. Again, you put the search and something you will find.
With a less popular camera, you may get the same quality in your photographic results, but being less popular, the ecosystem around that model of camera will be much more limited . You will meet fewer people in life with that camera, you will exchange impressions with fewer users, it will be difficult for you to find places or forums of other similar users, and when you find one of those forums, it will possibly have fewer users than the other of the most popular camera.
If your camera breaks down out of warranty after a while and you take it to an independent technical service, you will have a better chance of them finding out what's wrong, finding replacement parts, and fixing it correctly if it's a very expensive model. popular, whereas if it's a lesser known model, it may be hard to fix.
CONCLUTION
This is just ONE more criteria, there are more factors that you have to take into account before opting for an SLR camera. As is evident, this criterion is relevant only when other conditions are equal. Between two cameras that are very similar in almost everything, I would most likely lean towards a Nikon or a Canon for the aforementioned reasons. However, there will be times when an Olympus or a Sony is cheaper, with better features and therefore more appropriate.
