Buying your first DSLR is exciting if you're ready to take your photography to the next level. A DSLR represents the pinnacle of professional light recording tools for still photography. It gives you full control over the quantity and time variables of light required to make good images, even marketable images. But without the skill to get the most out of it, a DSLR can also be a tremendous waste of money, which is why you need some help in making that purchase.

Unfortunately, advertisements make amazing photography look easy. Manufacturers target consumers with messages that show soccer moms effortlessly capturing portraits with perfect exposures and skin tones in razor sharp focus automatically. While that may happen sometimes, the question is do you know why it happens when it does, and can you make it happen on purpose repeatedly? If you're relying on accidental results, then does it really matter what camera you get? You're just paying more to play the same slots then.

However, if your goal and reason for getting a DSLR is to take control of your photography and make the images you want on purpose, images you never thought you could make, you need to understand a few key concepts about DSLRs.

The pack is out there right now by the millions buying the latest commercial, desperately waiting and hoping for equipment to get it right, for good images to fall into their laps. The question is are you ready to get ahead of the pack? Are you ready to be in the driver's seat of your photography? If not, a DSLR is only a more expensive way to get the same point-and-shoot results you're already getting.

Equipment Philosophy

Photography is nothing but drawing with light, requiring a quantity of light and a timed exposure. The camera gives you the tools to control that recording. That's it. The rest is features, and everything related to whether or not the image is any good is up to you, the photographer, not the tool.

How is a trained magician able to perform amazing illusions with ordinary objects? The answer is through skill in controlling not only the objects but the audience. He may use gimmicks to aid in the performance of the illusion, but the effect still relies on the magician's ability to manipulate the tools and principles of the art. The tools and objects by themselves are nothing extraordinary. Similarly, the camera is just a tool. Making good art with it requires a storyteller who understands what makes good images and how to craft those images.

Without control, equipment is a slot machine. Millions of people chase the most megapixels, soaring ISO quality, blazing speeds, more buttons, smarter auto modes, the price tag alone. Those things are fun to have, but for what, a fancier slot machine? Those slot machines are already singing. Pull after pull, they're spitting out average, mediocre and just plain poor photos, but just enough decent ones to keep people playing. And then the frustrated cries for help come: "I'm doing everything the camera tells me. I paid more. Why am I not happy with my images? The gear isn't good enough!"

Sigh. Why would you want to just be another player at the slots when you could take control and guarantee more winnings?

If you want to gamble, go to Vegas. If you want to make good images, you must learn to take control of photography, from visualization to exposure to light, color and processing. Think of a photograph as a record of decisions you make as a photographer. If that's true, investing in the equipment two inches behind the camera (your brain) can turn photography from a slot pull into a world where you can design the images of your dreams consistently and predictably. When you have control, not only can you get the desired result but you can protect yourself from sales pitches, gear you don't need, save money and control exactly how much you spend and why.

The Recommendation

The first two major tips you need to know flow from my equipment philosophy: Any DSLR set is capable of producing professional images, including the entry-level stuff, from the first generation to now; secondly, and the reason for the first tip, consistently producing the results you want means understanding, skill and work.

With that knowledge, why would you buy something you couldn't control? DSLRs are designed to be controlled. They'll take all the lousy pictures you tell them to, but what they really want is a storyteller to come along and use them in creative and interesting ways. That's what all the DSLRs talk to each other about when they spend time together in shipping trucks and on store shelves. A DSLR in the hands of a point-and-shoot owner is a sad DSLR that hasn't fulfilled most of its potential as a light recording tool. A DSLR in the hands of a skilled storyteller is a happy DSLR.

My official recommendation for beginners is to give a sad used DSLR a good home and a happy life. Start with a used entry-level DSLR from Nikon or Canon. This saves you lots of money and gives you the tools you need to learn, practice and master the fundamentals of photography.

Then -- and this is the most important -- actually learn photography. As you learn to do more with the same equipment, you'll be rewarded with images you thought only the top cameras could make, and your DSLR will have fulfilled its potential.

Avoid "investing up" into more expensive cameras or categories. It's better to grow out of a camera than buy one to grow into. At least then you know you're advancing, and you can sell it to another beginner who's looking for a DSLR or use it as a backup. If you don't learn, you'll be stuck pulling the slots like everyone else who paid for more and doesn't know how to control it, and your hobby will center more around collecting equipment than making enjoyable images.

You can put a used beginner kit in your hands at about the $300 to $400 level if you shop carefully, below the retail price of a new kit and well below the thousands some people would try to pressure you into spending. Anything more is money you could invest in education, your family or your house.

This should be good news. With a small equipment investment and the effort to learn photography, you can make better images than people without skill who have the latest gear. It's just not a good commercial. And with nobody looking out for you, it's easy to feel that you might suddenly outgrow entry-level stuff or randomly need a high-end feature or more megapixels in case you accidentally figure out how to make a fine art portrait. The less you know, the more likely you are to waste money on gimmicks and sales pitches. That may get your name carved into the donor wall of the Nikon CEO's yacht, but it does nothing to improve photography.

I can't tell you what features you need or which ones are important to you. Bells and whistles are personal things, and if you can't control them, they don't really make your images better. I can only tell you that as a tool for recording light, any DSLR is capable of leveraging all of the fundamentals of photography and producing great images in the right hands. If you want to know more about what sales pitches and myths to avoid, read this.

I'm teaching you this not because I never want you to buy a nice camera or I don't think your images are worth it, but because the best tool you have should be two inches behind the camera. I want you to avoid wasting time and money on cameras and specs you don't need to take better pictures. If you want to play the gear game, you'll have to compete with millionaire pros who have truckloads of gear that will put your kit to shame. Instead, invest in understanding and skill, which are more likely to reward you. 

Upgrading

What I'm about to ask is especially important if you're looking to upgrade. If you can answer this question honestly, you'll know what to do. The question is this: Is the camera you have preventing you from getting the images you want, or are you preventing the camera from producing the images it's capable of?

This is a game you have to play -- comparing your ability with the tool's ability. Wherever you find points that don't match, make an adjustment to one or the other until you're maximizing your results. Nobody has to know. Just do it.

If the gap is in your exposure or focus, then you can't get the most out of the sensor you have, and you would have to upgrade your exposure and focus skill to match the camera's capabilities. If the pose is unflattering, a new lens won't fix it. Or it could be that you're finally getting consistently better negatives and now need a better sensor to capture the finer detail of them, or you've mastered exposure and require a camera that responds faster to your input.

I can't tell you whether or how to upgrade, or exactly what piece of equipment is best for you or what feature you need. I can only remind you that the gear is only as good as your ability to control it. Only one feature -- the sensor -- directly impacts the maximum potential quality of the file. Everything else is there as a form of control over what goes into the sensor. Hence, if you don't know what you're doing, getting a more expensive camera is nothing more than getting a slot machine with more ways to play. And don't confuse file quality with photographic quality. You can have a highly detailed, clean file of a bad photograph. However, if you start with a perfect capture, even an entry-level sensor gives that image a lot of potential.

My personal rule of thumb for upgrading is to use equipment until using it no longer makes sense. It may not be pretty, the fastest or the most advanced, but can it still tell the story you want to tell? If you're getting the most out of your existing equipment and only an upgrade can improve your imagery, then an upgrade makes sense. Then look for equipment that matches the quality you demand of it.

If I brag about gear, it's about how old and used it is. I take joy in pointing out that most of the images on this site, as of December 2013, were taken with a 10.2-megapixel Nikon D200, a second-generation DSLR whose top clean ISO is 800, and a smaller percentage were taken with the D300, to which I first upgraded around August 2013 and that makes a nice 20x30. Some images were taken with my D100, a first-generation prosumer DSLR. On top of that, many of the images were taken with a Nikkor 24-85 f/3.5-5.6 lens that I bought more than 10 years ago. I still shoot weddings with this stuff. It's not bleeding edge stuff. It's what I do with it that excites me.

Obviously my approach is needs and skill based. I don't buy gear because I want something, or because I blindly hope it will improve me. If it's something I couldn't complete a job without, then I know it's something I have to invest in. Everything else is a luxury. If you don't take that approach, be warned that gear won't improve your photography or make you a better photographer. Equipment comes off of an assembly line. A great photograph is one of a kind.

Shopping Tips

When buying used, which I usually recommend, shop carefully. EBay provides a large market with buyer protections in place. Pay attention to seller ratings and focus on the shutter count and condition of the camera. The shutter count is like mileage on a car. It's an indication of wear on the camera. You want a used model that functions perfectly. The degree of wear that's acceptable is up to you.

Find the serial number and call it into the manufacturer's support to ask if it's a USA model or gray market. You don't want gray market; the manufacturer may not repair it, even for a fee. You want USA models. If you're not comfortable with eBay, search on Adorama, a highly reputable online supplier that many pros use (including I). It often lists used gear with detailed condition ratings.

Another option for saving money if you don't want used is refurbished items. These have undergone some reconditioning by the manufacturer and should be as good as new. Again, Adorama has some refurbished models, and so do other major suppliers. Wherever you shop, check to see if it's on the manufacturer's list of authorized sellers. Other sellers may be offering only gray market items.

Buying used and refurbished is a lot different than buying generic off-brand stuff. Some manufacturers other than Nikon and Canon do make some good stuff, but Nikon and Canon remain the choices of professionals. That has a lot to do with not only the quality but the breadth of the selection of storytelling tools available and industry support for them.

Summary

I wish I'd had someone telling me these things 10, 20 years ago. I remember what it was like to be excited by what I saw and then wonder why the negative didn't turn out how I'd imagined it, not knowing how an exposure would come out, not knowing how to know. I remember actually believing that the equipment would improve me, and if I got better equipment I could get better pictures, but I also remember the frustration that came with that when it didn't work. I also remember needlessly paying a lot more for brand new gear that 10 years later still works as new (hint to look at the used market). I still dream about getting the latest, best gear. But I realize what got me where I am was investing in my brain and hard work, and making calculated equipment investments that continue to pay off. 

Once you master the principles of photography, apply the work, and approach gear as a storytelling tool only, you'll become the master of your imagery -- and a happier photographer.

Looking to buy a lens? Check out this guide.

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