Understanding DSLR Specifications

Planning to buy a DSLR? First you need to understand what are those numbers written on their specs sheets. Do they really mean anything to you? These specs will be the biggest factor in choosing the right DSLR for you. Here are the list of the DSLR specifications that you need to know:

Resolution – Megapixel

This is the most common specs that most of us know but what it really mean? Digital photos are consist of tiny dots called pixels. Mega in megapixels means millions so an 18 Megapixel camera will produce a photo that consist of 18 million pixels. Technically speaking, the higher the megapixel the clearer the photo but there are many other factors that will affect the clarity of the image(More on this later). Keep in mind also that full HD TV can only display 2 Megapixel image, this also means that most image displayed on websites and social media are less than 2 megapixel. This means that higher megapixel may not be necessary if you are only using it for personal use. So when you will need a high megapixel camera? If you are using it for large tarpaulin prints, or using it for wildlife/nature photography where you need to crop your image then you need a high megapixel camera.

ISO

ISO is the light sensitivity of the camera. The higher the ISO the better it is on low light situation. Normally you wont be using the highest ISO setting of the camera because the highest ISO have the highest noise which makes the photo look grainy. Choose the camera that offers higher ISO to have better low light performance.

Continuous drive – FPS (Frame Per Second)

This is the number of photo that the camera can take per seconds. This is useful for sports, event and bird photography where you need to take several photos in burst to make sure you get the perfect timing. For example, you can’t really take a photo of a flying bird in perfect wing position in just one shot. So taking several photo in one seconds makes it easy to find the perfect wing angle of the flying bird. This is not a big deal if you are just using your camera for travel.

Battery Life (CIPA)

Unlike cell phones which batteries are rated in mAh, battery life of camera is rated in “shots per charge” CIPA standard. It is rated where half of the shots are using the built-in flash. Expect to have more than double battery life when you don’t use the flash of the camera.

Auto Focus Points

DSLR’s can only focus on pre-defined points called autofocus points. Old DSLR’s usually have around 9 autofocus point which is just fine for casual photographers. If you are into sports or wildlife photography, you might need more autofocus points.