Need some basic info regarding DSLR cameras.?

Question

1)what is 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 and 14-42 f/3.5-5.6 seen in lens and between these two which is better?

2)which one is good?a prosumer digital camera or a dslr?or in which way a dslr is better than a prosumer camera?i see a lot of features in prosumer camreas like face detection,image stabilisation,zoom,bright capture etc etc and dslr's wont have such features but still dslr's have more demand and expensive.why is it?

3)what is the zoom range of a dslr camera, 18x ,20x or more?

4)i'm an amateur photographer and my photography interest has grown a little and planning to buy a good camera.among olympus sp 570uz,nikon d60, canon eos 450 which is the best one?

5)shall i go for a dslr or prosumer camera?which one will suit to me as a beginner?

Answer 1

cnet.com has some good info

Answer 2

1) the numbers without the f (18-55 and 14-42) are the focal length ranges (measured in mm). Basically what this tells you is what you'll see looking through the lens. The eye sees at about 50mm. That means that with both lenses you'll see a lot more than the eye sees (wide angle) to roughly what the eye sees. The f/3.5-5.6 tells you the maximum aperture size. The first number is the maximum aperture when the camera is at it's widest focal length (18 and 14) and the second number is the maximum aperture when the camera is "zoomed in" (55 and 42). Aperture is the size of the hole that lets light into the camera. A smaller aperture number means you can let more light in.

2) DSLRs are better than prosumer digital cameras. The reason DSLRs don't have a lot of those features is because "real" photographers don't need them. Most people who have a point-and-shoot just want to take shapshots so face detection is needed. A photographer will take the time to compose the shot properly so he doesn't need to rely on those technologies.

3) Zoom range has nothing to do with the camera. Zoom range is dependent on the lens. Zoom range is the ratio between the highest and the lowest focal length. The 18-55mm lens is roughly a 3x zoom (55/18=~3x). However, you could also have a 100-300mm lens and it would be 3x zoom (300/100 = 3). What that means is that zoom doesn't really matter on a DSLR - it's the focal length that matters (and I explained why in part 1).

4) They're all good. Go with whichever feels good in your hands.

5) Either will be fine.  

Answer 3

1) Both are good lenses but the 18-55 will give you a zoom range from a bit of a wide angle to a standard range ( with the sensor on most DSLR there will be about a 1.5 crop factor)

2) Fist of all prosumer is a marketing term and really not a camera type. Some call high end point and shoots prosumer. If this is what you are looking at the DSLR is much better. It has a sensor many times larger than the prosumer. It gives you the ability to change lenses It will have better metering, color processors, firmware and be built better.It will let you shoot in RAW mode.  A 6 mp DSLR will give you the ability to take better pictures than a 10 MP point and shoot. DSLRs let you control the picture more than point and shoots do. And they often have similar or better features under different names.

Others call entry level DSLR "prosumer" if this is what you are talking about there are some great entry level DSLR like the D40 or D60 by Nikon

3) zoom rage is simply the range from the lowest focal length to the highest.So on the 18 to 55 its  3.05X . If you had an 80 to 400 lens it would be 5X  Its really nothing to worry about with a DSLR as you can change lenses to get different focal lengths as needed. And a 35 to 105 and an 18 to 55 both have about a 3X zoom range but they are totally different lenses. So zoom range may not really be teling you what you want to know. Again it is more a marketing tool than a real concern

4) They are all good and you'll find asking photographers this is like asking people what make of car is the best. There are some strong opinions. I use Nikon and have since the 70's . The D60 is a great entry level DSLR. It will let you have control over your shots to go with your skill level. Everything from a flexible program mode where the camera does many of the functions to a full manual mode where you set everything as you want it. It give good quality pictures. The D60 give you a number of things you want. It has newer firmware and image processors, designed for the 10 mp sensor. It has an "Active Dust Reduction System with Airflow Control ". Nikon not putting a system on the D40 to deal with dust is one of the biggest drawbacks I see to the D40 ( though I think its still a great camera for the money) If you change lenses dust will get in and the camera needs a system to deal with it. With the D60 you get a VR lens. That will help with low light situations ( they may offer that now with the D40 but originally it was not) . The D60 has Adaptive Dynamic Range. Nikon calls it "Active D-Lighting," it lets you save some highlights that my otherwise be lost. It has a newer better metering system than the D40.

It is a small camera as DSLR go and some people with larger hands do not like that so go and get one in your hands and play with the controls to see how it feels

5) Go for a good entry level DSLR I love Nikon but Cannon, Sony Olympus and others make good cameras. Research them at places like DPreview.com or kenrockwell.com