A question was recently posted on my Facebook wall asking, “Is X camera better than Y camera?” We’re going to get straight into it here, and you considering second hand gear may want to pay attention.
Editor’s Note: For the love of Cartier-Bresson, do not ask me photography questions on my Facebook Wall. Instead, become a fan of The Phoblographer on Facebook or Twitter and ask us there.
Kuldeep Vik Singh asks,
“Which DSLR Camera is better?
A. Canon Rebel XS (black, with 18-55mm lens)
B. Nikon D3000 (with 18mm-55mm VR lens)
C. Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 (with 18-55mm lens)
And
Which Camera is better?
The Answers
To be honest with you Kuldeep, it is the photographer that makes the images, so I recommend that you become a great photographer and study all there is to learn. Of course, that means outfitting you with a great camera. Without knowing what you’re going to be shooting, here are my suggestions on which one is the best camera.
First Question
The Canon XS is very good and has can take excellent pictures in low-light for what it’s worth. The best way to take advantage of the sensor in the camera though is to get better lenses. Take a look at this guy’s Flickr: he’s got one really good lens and one or two off-camera lights. Oh, and he uses the Canon XS.
The D3000 shouldn’t have been created to be honest with you. I’ve never seen a good image come out of it. The D3100 is currently being reviewed by my staff, and the findings so far are positive.
According to CNET, the Sony A230 has wireless flash control: which means that if you choose to buy off-camera flashes later on, you’ll be able to control them when they aren’t attached to the camera. The A230 is also relatively new.
My suggestion would be to go with either the Canon XS and better lenses or the Sony A230 and tell yourself later on that you’re going to purchase better lenses and off-camera Sony flashes.
Second Question
Sony NEX-3 vs the Olympus Pen.
First off, you should know that at the time of me writing this article, there are four different Olympus Pen cameras: the EP-1 (the best built camera in this category ever made in my opinion) the EP-2 (reviewed here) the EPL-1 (which I hated) and the EPL-2 (which we are very hopeful for.)
We reviewed the NEX-5, the NEX-3‘s bigger brother. Bit for bit, the NEX-3 will give you much better image quality than the Pen cameras but will lack their versatility. The Pen cameras have more accessories and lenses than a spoiled Hollywood princess.
So you’ll need to figure out what you want on this one: versatility or image quality. Here are some resources to help you:
Lens Sharpness Test: Sony 16mm F2.8 vs Panasonic 20mm F1.7
Recommended CCTV Prime Lenses for Micro Four Thirds
Lastly, I’m going to recommend a good image editing program: Lightroom 3.
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