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During early 2006 Digital SLRs suddenly dropped to below the £500 for the first time which made them just low enough in cost for the semi pro or keen amateur to consider . Demand from you the consumer has been very high - helped by the often misleading reports about how good DSLRs are by some leading magazines & internet sites . The real truth about the lower priced DSLRs is not all good - there are several things you should realise before you decide to purchase a DSLR …. WHAT IS A HYBRID CAMERA ? A Hybrid camera is a cross between a normal camera & an SLR camera . Most Hybrids are smaller than SLRs but have the same basic shape - a camera with a decent grip & viewfinder with a TFT screen on the back . Hybrids have features like SLR cameras - fast continuos shooting ( shown as fps in the mini yellow boxes - frames per second ) - manual exposure modes like Aperture & Shutter priority, Scene modes - Centre & Multi zone auto focus - Multi segment & Spot metering - Various ISO settings - Single shot & continuous auto focusing . Hybrids do not have interchangeable lenses ( you can add on teleconverter lenses though ) - they have huge built in optical lenses that does away with the need to have more than one lens . Hybrids have powerful built in Flashes & some have a Flash Hotshoe . Hybrids have Electronic TTL viewfinders along with a TFT screen - both can be used for picture taking or picture viewing . In effect a Hybrid camera is a mini SLR camera ! WHAT IS AN SLR CAMERA ? An SLR is a single lens reflex - a camera that has a mirror between the lens & the image sensor so you can see what you are taking through the TTL ( through the lens ) viewfinder . SLR cameras also have interchangeable Lenses so that you can get lenses to suit all your photographic needs . Most come with a standard 18-55 lens ( equivalent to 28 to 85 in 35mm terms - wide to short telephoto ) . Now it gets confusing - some manufacturers use a different image sensors so to get the correct focal length ( zoom range ) you need to know how many to times the amount shown - Nikon , Canon , Sony , Pentax , are all approximately 1.55x so a 55 - 200 lens is in fact an 85 - 310 . Olympus use a different system called four thirds - Olympus D lenses are 2x so a 14 - 42 would be a 28 - 84 lens . Another point to realise is that your old 35mm lenses may fit on to Digital SLRs but the image quality from them may be very poor unless you have pro lens - you need to buy D fit lenses for Digital SLRs . SLRs are fast to use & very well made . Most SLRs have a TTL viewfinder which you use to take the picture & a TFT screen on the back that you use to view the picture after taking it (Hybrid cameras you can use both for taking & viewing ) . Some of the new breed of SLRs also have " Live View " where you can see & take the picture using the screen on the back like you can normal Digital & Hybrid Cameras but the problem with most SLRs Live View is that the image on the screen is very jumpys / not very good - this does not afect the picture you take but does not make life easy . WHICH IS THE BEST TO BUY - A HYBRID OR AN SLR ? Go to most shops & they will tell you than an SLR will give much sharper images than a Hybrid . They will also tell you that the more pixels you have - the better the picture you will get . They are wrong to an extent in both cases . Some Hybrids are capable of producing as good if not better printed images than SLRs costing under £800 . Outdoors in bright light you would see very little difference but indoors a good Hybrid will give much better results because the built in Flashes on some Hybrids are better than the pop up Flashes on lower range SLRs - to get quality indoor shots from an SLR you need to buy an add on Flash - this means more cost & more to carry around with you . With an SLR you will need to get another lens like a 55 to 200 ( again its more cost & more to carry round ) - a Hybrid has a huge built in zoom lens so no need for another lens . Hybrids are smaller & more easy to use . Most Hybrids are much cheaper . Bear all this in mind & you can see why we recommend you buy a Hybrid camera ONE LAST THING TO MENTION … I test most cameras that come out - including SLRs & Hybrids . On Sunday 9th Sept 2007 I did a full test between the Kodak Z-612 Hybrid & the Canon 400-D SLR . I tested the cameras both indoors & outdoors . At the end of the test I printed 5 pictures from each camera to 15x11 inches size . Outdoors there was little difference between the cameras - indoors the Kodak was noticeably better . My conclusion was that the Kodak Hybrid is the better buy for most people - & its cheaper !
Please note that the prices listed are as up to date as we can possibly make them but are subject to change without notice . For our very latest price on any Camera please call us on : 01978 264242 Monday to Saturday - 8.30am to 6pm ... or email us at : wrexcam@btopenworld.com .
To view our prices for Hybrid or Compact Digital Cameras please click on the link buttons at the top to your left .
To see details & prices on Flash Guns or Lenses to fit Digital SLRs please click on the link buttons near the top left of this page .
| PRICE | MAKE | CAMERA MODEL | LENS | CAMERA PIXELS | SCREEN SIZE | MEDIA CARD |
| £349.00 | CANON | 1000-D | BODY ONLY | 10 MILL | 2.5 | SD |
| £399.00 | CANON | 1000-D | 18-55 | 10 MILL | 2.5 | SD |
| NA | CANON | 450-D | BODY ONLY | 12 MILL | 3.0 | SD |
| £479.00 | CANON | 450-D | 18-55 | 12 MILL | 3.0 | SD |
| £289.00 | NIKON | D-40 | 18-55 | 6 MILL | 2.5 | SD |
| £349.00 | NIKON | D-60 | BODY ONLY | 10 MILL | 2.5 | SD |
| £379.00 | NIKON | D-60 | 18-55 | 10 MILL | 2.5 | SD |
| 17-45 | 10 MILL | 2.7 | xd & CF | |||
| £445.00 | PENTAX | K-200-D | 18-55 | 10 MILL | 2.7 | SD |
| £499.00 | SONY | A-350 | 18-70 | 14.2 MILL | 2.7 | CF |