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Perish forbid you select an SLR brand or model just because I use it. While long-time, sharp-eyed readers of this column can probably deduce what equipment I favor, I do my damnedest not to let my preferences influence your purchases.
To put it succinctly, the best camera for you—digital or film—is one that you find most comfortable and convenient to use, with the features, lenses, and accessories you need.
That said, there are some features I consider essential to discuss, no matter the camera or user.
The ghost camera (above) provides a quick roundup of such features. Let’s look at some of these in depth, and see why I chose them.
CENTRAL-CROSS AF SENSOR: While camera manufacturers compete fiercely with one another over AF—which camera model has the largest area of sensitivity and/or the greatest number of sensor points—I don’t trust auto selection of sensor points. The camera has no brains and is liable to select the biggest, easiest, or closest object on which to focus. In your haste and excitement to make a permanent photo record of the horses running at the racetrack, you may not notice that the AF sensor diagram is telling you that the camera has thoughtlessly autofocused on the closer, bald-headed spectator some rows in front. Perhaps you unintentionally produced a photographic masterpiece of a sharp bald head and blurry background horses, but probably not.
Like many pros, you should stick to the central AF point, place it over the subject you want focused most sharply, then, while holding focus, recompose your picture and shoot.
SPOTMETERING: Evaluative metering can usually be depended on to handle complicated lighting situations, and in times when you are shooting fast and furious. But pros often prefer to take a judicious spotmeter reading of a gray object in the same light as the subject. Pick a camera with a small diameter spot. Which ones have small spots? Read our test reports.
LIGHTED LCD PANEL: Ever try to set your camera blind in a pitch-dark area? Enough said.
FLASH-OK SIGNAL: Are you in flash range? Was the camera set properly for the right pop-up flash exposure? A flash-OK signal in finder will tell you. It’s surprising how many good SLRs don’t have such a signal.
SHIFTABLE PROGRAM: Don’t like the shutter speed/aperture that program exposure has dealt you? Shift to a better combo in a wink.
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