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Seeking a Decent Digital SLR Camera for Beginners?
lancomandr asks: "I'm interested in getting into digital photography. I have looked at many tutorials and buying guides but there are so many digital SLRs I have no idea which ones to even start considering. I want to be able to make decently large prints, I'd like to get a decent amount of use out of it before upgrading, I want good battery life and durability is key. All of you photographers out there, any suggestions? What did you buy when you started?"
Ah, but digital makes the learning process so much faster. Take a shot - look at it. Don't like? Take another. Want to play with Depth of Field or shutter speed? Take 10 shots, 10 different ways. Review results.
Yes, you can print your results at Costco in an hour, but what if you are sitting in your hotel room on vacation and want to see what you did today? "Did that waterfall shot come out?" If not, I can take another one tomorrow - while I'm still on vacation. Once I get home, I'm not getting back to Hawaii for at least 6 months.
While digitals have a (much) higher up front cost, most people don't think about the sunk cost. With film they think, "Jeez, I only have 36 shots on this roll. Then I have to pay for developing them." With digital, you get unlimited shots with no incremental cost. This encourages people to take lots of experimental and iffy shots, because the have nothing to lose.