I’ve had an interest in photography ever since the early 1980s. Back then when film was the medium, I had a Petri viewfinder camera and a Rolleicord twin lens reflex. Sadly, when the cost of film and processing became prohibitive in the early 1990s, I had to turn to other, less costly hobbies.
From a seaside resort in Tabuelan, Cebu
Fortunately, low-cost digital cameras have made photography affordable again. In 2007, I bought my first digital camera, a Sony Cybershot S650. I have also made use of various phone cameras. But I have never owned a single lens reflex (SLR) camera, let alone a digital one. So when I came to buying a digital SLR, I wanted to make sure I got a camera that I could enjoy and actually use.
The good news was that, when it came to capabilities, the big names were generally even in each given skill level. Neither Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, Pentax, and so on had any huge advantage. That realization pretty much helped me avoid long hours of going over technical comparisons and reviews (although I did read some). What was important now were certain subjective preferences.
With film, I used to experiment with long exposures (10 seconds to a few minutes). The time allowed me to play with flash, ambient light, and various colored lights to get interesting effects. So I naturally wanted to be able to do the same with my new camera. That meant that the camera should be capable of fully manual operation. After all, what’s the point of getting an SLR if you intend to stick to presets and automatic exposure? Part of the creativity — and certainly much of the fun — lies in controlling the important parameters that can affect your photos. Manual exposure lets you play with light and motion, and that’s something I really like to do.
Posted by Maddog 
