The Top Five SLR Cameras

If you are a professional photographer, a photography student or a photo enthusiast, or, if you are simply looking to freeze some memories in time, the first thing you need is the right camera. The SLR digital cameras available at retailers such as Cameta Camera, Best Buy and Amazon.com can start you on your journey towards capturing beautiful images with their specialized photographic equipment. Below are the top five recommended SLR cameras that can help get you started.

1. Olympus Evolt E-420

Weighing a mere 380 grams (or 13.4 ounces), the portable Olympus Evolt E-420 digital SLR camera is equipped with a 2.7-inch LCD on-screen AutoFocus, which works as seamlessly as a point-and-shoot, displaying subjects in focus the instant the shutter is pressed half way.

The E-420 also features Face Detection Technology, that targets and locks up to eight faces, ensuring they are in focus and crystal clear for amazing portraits every time.

Shadow Adjustment Technology allows the Evolt to capture detail in the bright area of the frame, and opens up detail in the shadows, where other cameras would render too dark or underexposed.

The Perfect Shot preview option lets you see just how the image will look before you even capture it, so you know that what you see is what you get.

The Olympus Zuiko 14-42mm Digital Zoom Lens is a 3x standard zoom lens, the smallest and lightest in its class, featuring a closest focusing distance of only 25cm. The Extra-low Dispersion and two aspherical lens elements correct aberrations without increasing lens dimensions, and the circular aperture diaphragm enables defocusing, one of the big advantages of this lens.

2. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi

The EOS Rebel XSi is one of the fastest cameras available today with 3.5 fps continuous shooting, up to 53 full-resolution JPEGs (or 6 RAW) images in a burst, instant startup times, speedy autofocus and reduced shutter lag time.

All relevant shooting information, including ISO, is displayed in the improved, high magnification viewfinder, which also provides a larger overall view with increased brightness and clarity. The viewfinder also makes it easy to change settings without moving the camera away from the eye.

The large 3.0-inch LCD monitor has 230,000 pixels with a viewing angle of 170 degrees and is perfect for Live View composition and viewing camera settings like AF, ISO, Metering, AF Point selection and flash options. The maximum brightness of the monitor is about 30% greater than its predecessor, which is beneficial when you’re using the camera in bright sunlight. The Display-Off sensor feature also automatically turns the bright TFT color LCD monitor off whenever the camera is at the photographer’s eye.

The Live View Function of the Canon EOS Rebel XSi makes it easy to grab odd-angle shots, and you can magnify any part of the scene 5x or 10x for precise manual focus. The Live View Function can also be used remotely in the studio via a computer through a USB connection so you can view what your camera is about to capture on your PC monitor.

The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens consists of 11 elements in 9 groups and uses an Ashperical lens element to correct aberration for excellent image quality throughout the zoom range. A circular aperture is used for exquisite rendering of out-of-focus backgrounds and optimized lens coatings minimize flare and ghosting, which are prone to occur with digital cameras. The zoom lens is compact and lightweight, with an impressive macro close-focusing ability of 9.8” (or 25cm).

3. Nikon D90

The Nikon D90 SLR Digital Camera features Nikon’s exclusive Scene Recognition System that advances precision in auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance in diverse shooting situations, giving you stunning images with point-and-shoot simplicity.

The Live View mode provides for easy image framing, even when shooting at odd angles, allowing users to frame their images on the large 3” high-resolution color LCD. Three contrast-detect AF modes allow photographers to focus on any point in the frame, enabling a greater variety of composition, and the face priority AF mode in the Live View provides for even sharper pictures of people.

Nikon’s 12.3 megapixel DX-format CMOS imaging sensor is coupled with Nikon’s industry-leading 12-bit advanced EXPEED image processing technologies, providing for color-independent pre-conditioning prior to A/D Conversion and working in harmony with high-precision digital image processing algorithms, producing natural-looking images that benefit from faithful color and tone reproduction, along with a wide dynamic range.

In terms of speed, the D90 has a power-up time of 0.15 seconds with a mere 65-millisecond shutter lag time, and a swift continuous shooting performance at 4.5 frames per second, which is ideal for shooting sporting events and other high speed subjects.

Long Exposure Noise Reduction is available on the D90 when shooting at shutter speeds of 8 seconds or slower, and the Nikon D90 provides high sensitivity between ISO 200-3200 to maximize available light and achieve optimal exposure. Sensitivity can be expanded to a low ISO of 100 with the Lo-1 mode or up to ISO 6400 using the Hi-1 mode.

The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm lens is a high performance and efficient optic, useful in many scenarios, with key features including a wide-ratio 5.8x zoom, Nikon Vibration Reduction image stabilization, an Extra-low Dispersion glass element and an Aspherical lens element that virtually eliminates coma and other types of lens aberration, further improving image integrity.

4. Nikon 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera

The Nikon 10.2-megapixel digital camera captures high-resolution images up to 3872 x 2592 pixels, and offers exceptional tonal range and clarity. With 230K pixels and a brightness adjustment feature, the 2.5” TFT-LCD monitor that comes standard on the Nikon has an optical single-lens reflex viewfinder for easy use.

The Nikon 10.2MP features a burst mode that lets you shoot continuously up to 3 fps, allowing photo enthusiasts to capture crisp, fast-action shots such as sporting events or children playing. The EXPEED 12-bit image processing system also allows for fast and accurate image processing and recording.

Nikon’s digital SLR camera has an ISO of up to 3200 to capture crystal-clear color photos, even in low-light conditions. The optical image stabilization option reduces camera shakes as well as vibration distortion for an enhanced image quality.

Eight white balance modes and a fine-tuning option provide for natural tones under different lighting conditions and eight scene modes are available to users, including auto, auto flash-off, close-up, child, sports, night, portrait and landscape. Color modes for the Nikon 10.2MP include normal, vivid, more vivid, softer and black and white with six special effects filters including green, red, blue intensifiers, cross screen (star), skylight and warm. Movie mode, which offers a stop-motion movie recording function, is also available on the SLR camera.

Upon purchasing the Nikon 10.2MP digital SLR camera, customers will receive an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor VR lens, a rechargeable Li-ion battery and charger, a USB cable, camera strap, body cap, eyepiece cap, rubber eyecup and accessory shoe cap with an owner’s manual.

5. Nikon D40 Digital SLR Camera

The Nikon D40 is Nikon’s smallest digital SLR ever designed, weighing just over 16 ounces, making high-performance digital SLR photography easier and more convenient than ever before. The D40 is easy to use, and the point-and-shoot functionality makes it simple for even first-time SLR users to capture beautiful pictures.

The fast startup of the Nikon D40, combined with the super-fast shutter response and rapid-action shooting (at up to 2.5 frames per second), makes it easy to capture photos instantly. The D40 can shoot continuously, with the ability of capturing high-quality action sequences of children playing soccer, baseball and other sporting activities.

The larger and brighter 2.5-inch color LCD monitor, with three color display options, makes it easy to view playback images and function menus. The LCD monitor also enables image preview at up to 19 times magnification, with large type fonts and easy-to-view menus, as well as three all-new display options – classic, wallpaper and graphic.

The in-camera image editing devices available with the Nikon D40 provide for greater creative freedom without the need for a computer, featuring a number of highly versatile options including Nikon D-lighting, image trimming, red-eye correction, image overlay, monochrome black and white, sepia and cyanotype along with skylight, custom color filter effects and warm tone.

The large and accurate viewfinder on the Nikon D40 makes composition easier and makes focusing in low-light photography possible. The bright and sharp viewfinder ensures precise composition, with 0.8x magnification.

The built-in Speedlight with i-TTL automatic flash control brings beautiful exposures to darkened conditions and adds a flash to outdoor situations for enhanced twilight shots, as well as an added impact to daylight images.

The automatic exposure option also delivers eight digital Vari-Program modes including auto, auto (flash-off), landscape, portrait, sports, child, close-up or night portrait, each one adjusting automatically for optimal results under varied conditions.

Designed exclusively for use with Nikon DX-format digital SLRs, the D40 includes 3x AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II lens offers sharpness and versatility in a wide variety of shooting situations.