David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

SLR Shopping

So far, every camera feature described in this chapter could apply equally well to compact cameras and SLRs. A few features, though, are unique to SLRs. Consider them well, since you're going to be spending at least twice as much as you would if you bought a pocket cam.

SLR Stabilizers

Stabilizing your shots is just as important for SLRs as it is for pocket cams. If you're a professional, sure, you haul around the ultimate image stabilizer: a tripod. But come on—who else is really going to carry around that heavy, bulky piece of gear?

Fortunately, all SLRs come with image-stabilizing features these days.

Note

Different camera companies have different cute names for stabilization: VR (for vibration reduction), OIS (optical image stabilization), Super Steady Shot, VC (vibration compensation), and SR (shake reduction). It's all the same thing.

But there's an ideology war afoot: Should the stabilizing system be built into the lens, or into the body of the camera?

Some companies, like Sony and Pentax, say inside the camera body. They argue that when using this scheme, all of your lenses, old or new, are automatically stabilized. You don't have to pay for image stabilization over and over again with each lens you buy.

Nikon and Canon, however, don't sell image-stabilized digital SLR cameras—only stabilized lenses. Yes, this means you have to buy stabilization over again with each new lens, which can get expensive.

But this approach has some advantages. For example, any stabilizer ...