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Best beginner Digital SLR Cameras

Digital SLR Camera: Beginner

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Some beginner photographers can be overwhelmed by the complexity and jargon of digital SLR cameras - especially if they have only ever used point and shoot digital compacts. Fortunately, many of the beginner digital SLR cameras are user friendly and have auto options to allow any beginner photographer to take a good photograph without needing to know about aperture and shutter speeds.

When deciding on which digital SLR camera to buy, the beginner in digital slr photography needs to take into account various factors. If the digital SLR will be used for general photography, any of the DSLRs listed below will provide excellent service. For specialist areas such as sport, nature, fashion, travel, advertising and other photography areas, features must be prioritized before selecting an appropriate DSLR.

For instance, a digital SLR camera which will primarily be used sports photography must be super fast to capture action at 3 fps or higher and have long zoom or fast telephoto lenses available in the camera`s lens range. For nature photography, a light digital SLR camera which is sealed against the elements and has a variety of high quality macro, wide angle and telephoto lenses available will be more useful than a digital slr camera which is not sealed against dust and moisture and also has limited lenses available for its lens mount.

The good news is that nearly all digital slr cameras on the market today are capable of providing high quality professional results once the user has mastered photographic basics. If a beginner is serious about photography and wants to develop photographic skills to intermediate or advanced level, a camera system from long established camera makers such as Nikon and Canon may be more suitable since these companies have every type of lens or accessory to cover all photography projects and assignments.

Key features to look out for when buying a digital slr camera include size and weight, number of megapixels, built in CCD-shift image stabilization, sensor dust removal system, large range of high quality lenses and accessories, fast operation, large bright viewfinder, weatherproof seals and overall general handling. Megapixels are not as important as other factors although a 10 megapixel DSLR will allow large image sizes and more room for cropping a picture than a 6 megapixel camera. Some digital SLR cameras also offer live view which allows the photographer to use the LCD to view the scene just as in a digital compact.

All the digital slr cameras listed below are recommended for beginners in digital slr photography. Once a camera or system has been chosen, study the camera`s manual in detail to learn about all its` features and then practice, experiment and learn as much about photography as possible to become a better photographer.

For previous Best Buys, see 'Best Digital SLR Camera Archives for Beginners'

Best digital SLR cameras for beginners in digital SLR photography 2010
	Olympus E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds Camera - Available March 2010 for $599 including 14-42mm lens. - 12.3 megapixel sensor. Micro four thirds lens mount. - 2.7" LCD with 230k pixels. Live view & face detection. - Built in pop-up flash with guide number 7. Hotshoe. - Full manual controls. RAW & jpeg formats. Six art filters. - 3 fps continuous shooting. Shutter speeds 1/2000 to 60 secs. - HD movie recording at 1280 x 720 using M-JPEG codec. - SD/SDHC cards. HDMI output. BLS-1 lithium battery. - Size 115 x 72 x 42mm. Weight 334g inc. batteries. Buy from Amazon
	Nikon D3000 Entry Level Digital SLR Camera - Available late August 2009 for $599 inc. 18-55 VR lens. - 10.2 megapixel CCD. Dust reduction. Full manual controls. - Nikon F mount. Autofocus only with AF-S & AF-I lenses. - 3" LCD with 230k pixels. No live view. RAW. ISO 100 to 3200. - Optical viewfinder with 95% coverage and 0.8x magnification. - Stop movie motion mode using still images. Hotshoe. - SD/SDHC memory cards. EN-EL9a battery for 550 shots. - Nikon D3000 body size 126 x 97 x 64mm. Weight 536g. Buy from Amazon
	Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 (Micro Four Thirds) - Available from mid 2010 for $799 including zoom lens. - 12.1 megapixel sensor. Micro four thirds lens mount. - 3" touchscreen flip out rotating LCD with 460k pixels. - Shutter speeds 1/4000 to 60 secs. Built in flash. - Electronic viewfinder with 1.44 million pixels. Eye sensor. - HD movies at 1280 x 720 in AVCHD lite. Stereo mic option. - Comes in black, red or blue colors. - SD/SDHC/SDXC cards. Lithium ion battery. - Size 124 x 90 x 74mm. Weight 428g. Buy from Amazon
	Olympus Evolt E-420 Digital SLR Camera - Available May 2008. Four Thirds Standard D-SLR. - 10 megapixel live MOS sensor. - Smallest DSLR in the world. Wireless flash capability. - Live view without flipping mirror down. Face detection. - Dust reduction system. 2.7" HyperCrystal II 230,000 LCD. - Hot shoe. Full manual controls. RAW format. 3.5 fps jpegs. - XD & Compactflash type I/II compatibility. - Fast Truepic III image processor. ISO 100-1600. - Weight 380g w/o battery. Measures 129.5 x 91 x 53 mm - Released with new 25mm f2.5 pancake lens for $699. Buy from Amazon

Best beginner Digital SLR Cameras

Digital SLR Camera: Beginner

Olympus E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds Camera

Nikon D3000 Entry Level Digital SLR Camera

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 (Micro Four Thirds)

Olympus Evolt E-420 Digital SLR Camera