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So you saw this really awesome picture on facebook that a friend of the third cousin of your fourth best school friend had put up. The picture also had a nifty description of the spanking new DSLR with which it was taken. Suddenly, the long lost/unexplored artist comes to life and you decide its high time you buy yourself .. a DSLR!
If that is the case, this is going to be your definitive 5 minute DSLR buying guide. No fluff, straight to the point and awesome, as always.
WHY BUY DSLR?
Let me play the devil’s advocate here by asking you to reconsider your decision. Why do you really need a DSLR? People will tell you about the absolute advantages of a DSLR but you don’t buy a Ferrari just because its features and specs are awesome (I know the Sheikhs do it, but that is besides the point). Most first time user/photography enthusiasts need a good camera for capturing family and general travel photos. They don’t intend to freeze themselves in mountains trying to get that perfect night shot, or spend 50% of their honeymoon time trying to setup tripods (which btw, is a bad idea).
DSLRs are great cameras, only if you (1) Need very specific kind of pictures (i’ll visit this point shortly) (2) Intend to devote enough time to photography and (3) Have the moolah to support this hobby (DSLRs can be as ridiculously expensive as most latest Iphones, you get the point 
)
Before listing out the non-DSLR options, lets quickly visit the comparative advantages of buying a DSLR
1. Bigger sensor - Sensor is where all the data shot by a camera gets recorded. Imagine rain drop falling from sky as light. Keeping a bucket and keeping a glass outside, the bucket will gather more water from the same source in same time. Big sensor = Big bucket. Is that better? Yes, if you are willing to exploit that data (aka process pictures in an editing software).
(in the picture above, a full frame DSLR is denoted by “35mm” line, a smaller sensor DSLR is denoted by “APS-H” line, point and shoots are the small rectangles in the bottom left corner)
2. Depth of field - Bigger sensor help in achieving better bokeh
Statutory warning: Its not called ‘blur’ in the background, it called Bokeh. Bow-kay. Bokeh.
Getting into the nitty gritty of the bigger sensor to bokeh correlation might be a science driven turn off in your shopping experience, so we’ll let that fact rest. The take away is, DSLRs come with bigger sensor and sensor size affects bokeh.
3. Specific pictures - One must understand that DSLRs are intended at clicking very special kind of pictures and by special I don’t mean spectacular … I mean
a. Pictures with shallow depth of field – i.e. with lots of .. you got it .. Bokeh 
b. Pictures that contain lot of details – landscape scenes. Remember, large sensor, more details, exploit details.
c. Action/High Speed pictures – the burst rate (number of pictures per second) are usually high for DSLRs compared to other cameras. Although that gap is fast reducing.
d. Night photography – Night photography requires cameras to push their processing power to the limit. DSLRs are the Rocky Balboas of night photography. Enough said
4. The last advantage – and I don’t see that as a game changer for lot of first time user/enthusiasts is choice of lenses. DSLRs have been around since Bappi Lahari started copying music. Lots of lens choices are available which is not the case with most of the competition. This is however changing as more and more smaller cameras are getting interchangeable lens options.
By now you have enough information on why a DSLR is better. BUTTT, here are some of the reasons you might not want to buy a DSLR
1. Expensive – “With great DSLR comes great lenes” – C’est moi
Surprisingly, lenses can cost 3 to 4 times the DSLR body (don’t ask why, it is conspiracy theory material). If you are investing the time and effort, better be prepared to invest the money as well.
2. Weight – A mid sized DSLR with a mid sized lens can weigh anywhere from 1 to 2 kgs. That is a lot to carry through the day on your honeymoon trip. Think about it 
3. Ease of use – Almost 70% of first time DSLR buyers give up on their cameras because of all the frills of learning how to use the equipment, learning how to do basic editing yada yada
But then, if it the love for photography that got you buying a DSLR .. why stop!
Here is my quick shopping adviser flowchart
Final words
1. Buy used gear – this bmw commercial explains it all
2. Invest more on lenses – A DSLR is only as good as what it sees
3. Spare aside some funds for accessories – bags, filters, tripods etc
I hope you have fun buying your first expensive camera .. DSLR or otherwise!
If you like this post, share and spread the love. Like to see what we do with our DSLRs? Check out at knotinfocus.in or https://www.facebook.com/Knotinfocus
About us: We are contemporary wedding photographers and cinematographers specializing in candid and photojournalistic style of shooting. Two science nerds, foodies, and moment catchers working towards making wonderful memories for you 
Get in touch with us at https://www.facebook.com/rathi.iiit and https://www.facebook.com/abhinav.sah
Filled Under : Uncategorized
In the recent past, two amazing things have happened to the Indian photography scene .. one, the advent of digital media and two, release of ‘Three Idiots’ and the character of ‘Farhaan Qureshi’ . Gone are the days of trusting the same (almost immortal) studio guy who captured your parent’s wedding and their parents’ wedding (and so on to the beginning of human era .. you get the idea). The new age of Indian photographers are well educated, technologically proficient, passionate and hence bring some great perspective to a genre of photography which calls for the most skilled of artists to do justice to … Weddings!
Before we even get to finding the best candid wedding photographer, let’s take a minute to rationalize ‘best’. In the context of wedding photography and cinematography “best” can be largely seen as a function of 1) (Absolute) Quality of work 2) Price and 3) Other factors like terms of shooting, deliverable etc.
Point number one, in our humble opinion, holds quite some importance. Now some photographers might tell you that they shoot photojournalistic style (i.e how a newspaper reporter shoots), some like to shoot ‘candid’ style, while a select few do what is called ‘fine art wedding photography’ (the last term deserves to be featured in an MBA marketing classroom ). Whatever a photographer’s style of shooting is … IT DOESN’T MATTER! Really!! All that matters is what YOU like. Research the photographers … not a genre. The beauty of it is, the way you know if you like a photographer .. is the same way you knew if you like your life partner to be … instincts! It is also important to know that unlike choosing a life partner, you do have the luxury of liking multiple photographers and cinematographers here .. and zeroing in on one.
Which brings us to point number two. If price is not a consideration for you … we should catch up over coffee! Jokes apart … everyone likes to get good value for their money. Prices for candid wedding photographers (and I’m using the word candid very broadly here) ranges all the way from 30K INR for a day to 5Lakh INR for a day (maybe even more). So how does one decide? Like before, our golden rule of ‘go with what YOU like’. So long as a photographer’s or cinematographer’s show-reel portfolio impresses you it doesn’t matter what gear they shoot with, doesn’t matter what their team size is and IMHO it certainly doesn’t matter if their clientele includes the first cousins of Mukesh Ambani! If there was a way to algorithmically price artwork, Sothbey’s would be run by robots. Pricing is a case to case issue and pay whatever YOUR budget allows for. If you are constrained by budget, be upfront to tell the same. A quick tip here: try to hire your contemporary photographer/cinematographer as a combined team from both the side (bride and groom’s). Its clean, convenient and price effective.
Now assuming the above two are sorted, lets come to something which we find the most important of all the three (to think of it .. should have mentioned this first ). It is ultra crucial that you are personally comfortable with your photographer and cinematographer BEFORE your wedding. In the case where you end up liking multiple photographers who also suit your budget, make sure to choose the one which appeals you most as a person (sounds like an arranged marriage concept .. but hey .. it works!). We at Knotinfocus are a firm believer of the fact that our pictures are only as good as the chemistry we share with the couple. Request for a coffee meet if possible, have a skype call … anything to make sure that you don’t freeze when that someone points an expensive camera at your face on the wedding day We’d also like to add 2 cents about the ‘flexibility’ quotient here. While some photographers quote you by the hour or day, some might quote you by the number of photos or the number of events etc. Make sure you go with someone who can live with the uncertainties of an Indian marriage. The last thing that you want is to see the photographer packup at your pheras because the function got delayed by an hour. Other things that may be of interest are to have a formal contract of services, know in advance what the deliverable are, the ad ons (photobooth etc) the photographer can provide and detail out the travel arrangement well in advance.
With the three big pointers covered, here are our 2 cents on some of the peripheral issues
1. Searching for photographers and cinematographer – Keep it simple, google and facebook, that usually does the trick.
2. Studio photographer – Don’t hire too many just because they come cheap. Most studio guys are obtrusive and bring enough umbrellas to survive Mumbai monsoons … not cool!
3. Albums – Tons of variety, no rights or wrongs, just make sure to request for a sample from your photographer.
4. Accommodation and logistics for the camera crew – If you want your camera person to show up fresh and on time, make sure to plan their stay and transport accordingly
We hope this article helps … if it does .. drop in a note at knotinfocus.in … if it doesn’t .. drop in a note at knotinfocus.in
Cheers and may you have some great wedding pictures and videos!!
Filled Under : wedding photography