You are about to buy a camera, one of those «reflex» cameras that open up a world of infinite possibilities as a photographer. Gone are the days of blurry, grainy, dark photos. This time we are going for a “SLR”, a real camera 😉 You are finally going to take the big leap.
You have spent time saving and depriving yourself of whims. This is going to be a big financial investment, so you want to be sure you are making 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 choice. It is much easier to be given a SLR, of a brand and model already decided, than to start investigating, searching and having to make the decision ourselves. And if I’m wrong, then what?
Today’s is an article in which I explain one of my criteria for choosing and recommending SLR cameras. This criterion 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 choose one brand over others will not be so obvious. You’ll see 😉
Keep reading.
Do you want a quick recommendation?
In the rest of the article I will explain this “particular” selection criteria that I have and I will reveal to you the one that, from my point of view, is the best brand in terms of SLR cameras. That said, I know 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 already 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 instead you want to find out what I normally base on 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 Escuela del Fotografo reveals my 5 criteria to get it right in the purchase of a good reflex photo camera. Today, however, we are talking about a criterion, as I said before, very “particular”, since it is not very common to mention it among photographers in their recommendations, but based on the humble experience of a server, 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 the mess.
The best brand of SLR cameras
First, I’m a Nikonist, in case you didn’t know 😉
Having said that, I try to be impartial in my recommendations, that also has to be said. Being a Nikonist does not mean that you only have eyes for Nikon.
The best SLR camera brands, in my opinion, are hands down Nikon and Canon. But from afar. Occasionally I can recommend Sony, Pentax, Olympus, but Canon and Nikon make up 90% of my recommendations.
At the same time, I don’t think Canon or Nikon SLRs are much better quality than any other brand’s SLRs.. Quite the contrary. Canon and Nikon SLRs for the hobby user usually have the same quality and photographic results as any other brand SLR.
Hey, but… what herb 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 are we left with?
Dear reader. I have not lied to you at any point in the text. Do I already have your attention? 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 built 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 could 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 of Canon or Nikon, any brand, no matter how small, is capable of creating 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 mobiles do almost the same thing, all new cars start to park by themselves, and all reflex cameras begin to gradually acquire the same functionalities. And if not, I would like to see a single current SLR camera, of whatever brand, Nikon, Canon, or another, that does something that no other SLR camera can do. I don’t know. There was once a camera brand that made its devices Wi-Fi enabled, the next year every other brand’s cameras had Wi-Fi. Once, I don’t know what brand incorporated 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! Almost all brands have incorporated GPS into their current cameras.
And so it could go on. Did I miss something important? Oh wait, maybe it’s the quality of the photography itself. Regardless of the buttons and the extras, is there a camera of any particular brand whose photographs are simply wonderful, not because of the settings, not because of the shooting mode, not because of the lens or because of the photographer, but because of the brand itself. I don’t think so. I’ve seen wonderful pictures taken with Sony, Pentax, Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and pretty much every brand. It’s not true that any brand has a “secret formula, locked away, Coca-Cola style, that makes the colors in their photos take on a mesmerizing hue, unattainable by any other camera.” Such claims are closer to a belief in metaphysical and supernatural powers than to a true finding.
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 camera brand. That’s how raw 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 brand name or logo. Yes, it could be due to a better sensor, or a better internal treatment, or better performance, but that is not exclusive to Nikon or Canon, that is common to all brands. There have been “mythical” cameras throughout history, 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 successful purchase decision.
As a user of a reflex camera, you are interested in having a camera as well known, common, popular and “used by other users” as possible. The fact that it is so common opens up a huge 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.
That of all the buttons and camera controls there is one that resists you and you don’t know how to use it? You just google it and chances are you will 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 PDF version? You search for it on Google and if it is a very popular camera, it is normal for you to 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 camera model will be much more limited. You will meet fewer people with that camera in your life, 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 with the most popular camera.
If in a while your camera breaks out of warranty and you take it to an independent technical service, you will have more chances that they will know what is wrong, that they will find spare parts, and that they will fix it correctly if it is a very good model. popular, while if it is a lesser known model, it may be difficult to fix.
conclusion
This is just ONE more criterion, 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 under equal conditions. Between two cameras that are very similar in almost everything, I would most likely lean towards a Nikon or Canon for the reasons mentioned above. Now, there will be times when an Olympus or a Sony will be cheaper, with better features and therefore more suitable.
There is a camera for each photographer, and brands do not come into it. Only you will know who your reflex soulmate is.