Should I Get DX Model Or FX Model As My First DSLR?

This post is a part of our Q&A section. If you want to submit your question, please use the form in the Contact page.

Andy (Colorado, USA) asked: I want to buy my first DSLR and I am struggling to make a decision on whether to get a DX model or a FX model? Are there any advantages or disadvantages of getting one over another?

Andy, when I bought my first DSLR in 2010, I didn't know anything about the DX models or the FX models. Let alone the details of different models, I didn't even know about the existence of those models. But nowadays, due to many wonderful photography blogs and magazines, we have much more detail information about the different brands of camera, different models and their functionality, which is really a good thing so that the buyers can make an educated decision.

Buying the first DSLR is always exciting and yet very confusing task. We get easily confused on which brand to consider as our first DSLR. Some of your friend might say that the camera they are shooting with, whether it is a Nikon or a Cannon or a Sony or any other brand, is the best brand which makes your brand selection job even tougher. But once you get your mind set on the brand you are getting, next question you will encounter is which model should you get? At the beginning and specially if you are trying photography as a hobby, you might want to get an entry level and relatively cheaper DSLR camera and in that case, decision is relatively easier. But if the budget is not an issue and you are considering photography as a serious hobby and then later turn it into a profession, you might want to get a decent DSLR and that's when our discussion of DX vs FX might come handy.

The first and the most important thing you have to remember while selecting the DX or the FX model is, they differ by their sensor size. The DX models have a smaller sensor or also referred as a APS-C censor which is approximately 24x16mm whereas, the FX models have a larger sensor and also called a full frame (same as 35mm film format) sensor which is 36x24mm. If you are a beginner, DX models might serve you well but if you are looking to upgrade to more "serious" camera, you have to go to full-frame because most of the DX line-up are aimed to let you introduce into the photography world but lacks many pro-level features and specs. But it is also true that with the change of technology and the competition among different brands, DX models are also getting close towards being professional camera if you get the top of the line DX model, Nikon D500 for example. Nikon D500 is the most expensive DX-format DSLR within Nikon brand and it comes with many pro-level features. In fact, many professional photographers have started using this camera as a main or backup camera because of it's light weight and other pro level features.

DX camera bodies are relatively smaller and lightweight than FX bodies and built quality is little bit compromised with the high quality plastic vs aluminum on FX bodies. Usually, DX-format lenses are more compact because the image circle that they need to produce only needs to cover the smaller sensor area compared to that of full frame camera. This makes DX camera bodies an ideal choice if you want to travel with lightweight camera and lenses. Another advantage of DX camera is that you get an extra reach on the lenses because of it's 1.5x crop factor on the sensor. If you use 70-200mm f/2.8 lens on DX bodies, it gives you an effective focal length of 105-300mm but it won't help you to get the shallower depth of field because depth of field depends on "actual" focal length rather than "effective" focal length.

But in FX camera sensor, for any given pixel count, the photo-diodes will be larger than those on a DX sensor and that is the reason FX camera can produce cleaner images when shooting in a low light condition using higher ISO. The latest high megapixels FX camera bodies have an additional advantage of more pixels packed into the sensor to capture more details although it might produce little noisier picture at higher ISO.

In my opinion, which came from my own personal experience, if you are just starting out, you may want to get a decent DX model DSLR so that you can understand how does your camera work and also get to know about the different controls and the features of the camera and then later upgrade it to the FX model. By doing so, you can discover pros and cons of both sides and decide which fits best for your work. Good luck!

Should I Buy A Telephoto Lens Or Use A Teleconverter?

This post is a part of our Q&A section. If you want to submit your question, please use the form in the Contact page.

Oliver (Auckland, New Zealand) asked: I like doing nature and wildlife photography and considering my options whether to buy telephoto lens or teleconverter. Please suggest what should I do?

Hello Oliver! If the budget is not an issue, getting telephoto lens for your need is the best choice by all means. If you are serious into sports photography or nature and specially wildlife photography, telephoto lens will make its way into your camera bag sooner or later. And if you can't afford good telephoto lens yet but have mid-range zoom lens, 70-200mm for example, your option is to get teleconverter and extend its range.

Why do we need a Telephoto Lens?

Telephoto lens is a specific type of long-focus lens and an essential tool to have if you are into wildlife photography and considering to make it your profession or serious hobby. You cannot always get closer to your subject and telephoto lens is the only way to capture them. But good telephoto lens comes with big price and might be bulky for some of us to carry around all day long. As of today, the most expensive and long range Nikon super-telephoto lens (AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR) costs around $16,299.95 and weighs around 10.1 lbs (4.5 Kg) and mid-range telephoto lens (AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II) costs around $6,999.95 and weighs around 7.4 lbs (3.3 Kg). Not everyone needs and can afford these beasts but that doesn't mean we should give up.

What should we do then?

Where there is a will, there is a way, and, this is where teleconverter comes into our discussion. Teleconverter is a cheap way to extend your lens range from its normal range. As name suggests itself, teleconverter multiplies your lens range by its x factor. Let's say you have a 70-200mm lens with f/2.8 max aperture and you bought 2.0x teleconverter. Once you fit this teleconverter to your lens, it will extend range from 70-200mm to 140-400mm and reduces maximum aperture to f/5.6, by half, allowing only half amount of lights and hence slowing down the speed which might be crucial for wildlife photography specially for capturing birds and fast moving animals. If you were thinking little earlier why telephoto lenses were that much expensive when you can achieve the same range with cheaper teleconverter, you may now have the answer. Yes, it not only extends the zoom range by x factor but also decreases the aperture by same factor. So, if your goal is to get greater range with maximum aperture possible (to produce nice bokeh effect in the background and faster shutter speed) then you may have no choice but buy expensive telephoto lens. Sometimes you may be able to get nice blurry background even with smaller aperture if your focusing distance is greater because depth of field is affected by your distance to subject as well. Another disadvantage of using teleconverter is distortion effect. Your image might be little distorted because teleconverter adds different sets of glasses behind your lens adding an external components to the lens whereas telephoto lens is made up of same quality glasses incorporated inside single barrel to produce better result. Distortion might be little less noticeable or even unnoticeable if you use teleconverter from same manufacturer as your lens.

To summarize our discussion into points,

1. Telephoto lens can be heavy and expensive but it is the best option if the budget is not an issue and you do not want to compromise with quality of pictures.

2. Teleconverter is the best alternative and cheaper option to get extended range from your normal zoom lens.

3. Teleconverter extends the range of your lens but also decreases the max aperture by same factor and slow down your lens by allowing only half of the lights than the lens without the converter.

4. And that is why getting telephoto lens or using teleconverter depends on what you want to achieve and how much money you are willing to spend for it.

How Do I Force My Camera To Focus Into The Specific Place?

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Niran (Bangalore, India) asked: I have a Nikon D3100 and loving it so far. But, I have a concern regarding focus when I am taking pictures. When I try to focus, focus point keeps moving. How do I focus in the right place?

Niran, based on your question, it looks like you are using default Auto-area AF mode. I have covered similar topic for Nikon D90 earlier and same theory applies to you as well. In this mode, camera will pick the focus point automatically by selecting the object that is near to the camera sensor. If your camera moves during framing, it might pick up another spot for focusing. Your camera thinks that nearest object is the point of interest. When you press the shutter release button half way down, you will notice the focus point that camera is going to use lighting up in the viewfinder.

Nikon D3100 AF mode

If it constantly picks the random focus point and not picking what you want to be in focus, then you have to manually pick the focus point. And to do that, you need to change the AF mode in your camera setting. The AF-Area Mode option is inside the Shooting Menu (shown in the left picture). If you go inside this menu, it lets you select between the Single-point, Dynamic Area, Auto Area AF and the 3D Tracking modes. Single Area AF simply means that the camera focuses on the subject in the selected focus point only. In this mode, user can manually select the AF point by using the up, down, right, or the left arrow directions on the multi-selector button, which is marked by number 24 in the picture below.

Nikon D3100 Multi-Selector

Later on, if you open the picture using Nikon View NX2, which comes free with Nikon DSLRs, you will find Focus Point button on the toolbar. If you press this button after opening the picture, the software will display the focus point that your camera used by displaying red square. It is useful tool to diagnose the problem if you think your camera is picking up wrong focus point.

I hope I was able to answer your question. But, if you have more questions, please do not hesitate to write us back.

Keep Shooting!