What did you consider before buying your camera?

I see a lot of threads asking for advice on purchasing cameras / lenses etc & was curious as to what did you think about before you purchased?
I purchased a 450D as my 1st DSLR as I hadn't done any photography for approx 30 years & it was all film in those days, so I wasn't sure if I could adapt to digital. The price, the feel of the camera in my hands & the simplicity to use were my initial considerations, but I soon felt that I wanted more. I then upgraded to a 50D & I am now the proud owner of a 7D.
As I mostly shoot macro or wildlife, the crop sensor suits my needs, as does the fast frame rate of the 7D.
What do you consider to be important before you purchase?

My first purchase of a dSLR was for one thing and that was sports...little did I think about music photography, until the opening ceremony of a sports event

My first DSLR was a brand new Rebel Xti. Before that I had a Sony superzoom and was irritated by how slow it was, and terrible in low light. So basically I wanted the bigger CMOS sensor to shoot at high ISOs which it did very well. Being able to add an external flash made a HUGE difference in my pics! I choose Canon at the time because the Xti/30D and similar cameras were very good with better high ISO performance over the other brands, and I liked the controls better too.

I mostly shoot people/landscape and general sill life (not really any sports or wildlife) so I'm very happy with the 5D's IQ and FF over crop "feels" better for me.

My first DSLR was the 450D as well. As I was pretty clueless as the time, I stuck with Canon since my Father had an AE-1 he shot for years. After that it was figuring how much money I was going to blow... get the 40D or the 450D. Decided on the Rebel as I wasn't too sure if I would enjoy Photography much. Boy was I wrong! lol

Most first purchasers grope around with little information and, like the blind squirrel, eventually luck upon the acorn, Canon.

I was lucky enough to have access to various cameras before actually buying my own. The choice of going with a 5D2 was completely obvious to me at the time, because I needed the most resolution at the lowest price. There were other potential alternatives, but the 5D2 also has great high ISO performance, which came in handy more than a few times.

Started with Olympus E-20N, from there went to 10D, 20D, 40D, 5DMKII

Don't regret any of them and didn't really consider anything else at the times either.

Miki G wrote in post #13530716
I see a lot of threads asking for advice on purchasing cameras / lenses etc & was curious as to what did you think about before you purchased?
I purchased a 450D as my 1st DSLR as I hadn't done any photography for approx 30 years & it was all film in those days, so I wasn't sure if I could adapt to digital. The price, the feel of the camera in my hands & the simplicity to use were my initial considerations, but I soon felt that I wanted more. I then upgraded to a 50D & I am now the proud owner of a 7D.
As I mostly shoot macro or wildlife, the crop sensor suits my needs, as does the fast frame rate of the 7D.
What do you consider to be important before you purchase?

Well, your story is pretty typical, although the specific needs for a photog's shooting interests vary.

My interests have been all over the map, so I ended up with three DSLRs -- a 1.6 crop 30D, a 1.3 crop 1D3, and a full frame 5D "Classic".

That may sound like overkill, but at the time I had the finances and the motivation to get the best bodies for my wants/needs. I also picked up good lenses for the same reason. I'm content with my choices, and still use all three bodies, picking the right one for what I want to shoot, although in a pinch any of the three will do. In fact, if I still had a working P&S/compact, I'd still keep one with me at all times and happily use it, although I found out the hard way over several years of using them that they fell through for all the uses I was interested in!

About the only thing I considered was, could I afford it!

I had been a Canon driver in high school (70's!!), with AE-1. Lost the focus on photography (sorry), and only shot with my AE-1 every once in a while.

Decided to dip my toe into digital with a Minolta P&S. Loved the convenience of "computer darkroom", but the quality still didn't WOW me.

Was asked to shoot at a party by a friend who needed to be in all the pictures, so he told me to use his Rebel. THAT was what did it, and brought me back. Got my own 350D, and after a couple of years, got my dream machine, the 5DII.

Living happily ever after . . .

i checked out my sis in laws nikon d5000 and my neighbors canon t1i.. i liked the t1i.... and the t2i was out.. so decided to coin up a few bucks and go even newer.. glad i did as i like the screen on my t2i better.. and of course the t3i came out... oh well... now i want a 7d...

so i looked at what i could afford and would give me the features i thought i wanted.. and only to find out .. i had no clue..

Mainly the specifications plus budget

Before joining my local camera club I was perfectly happy with my Canon Powershot A610. I was amazed at the pictures it could provide. In the "olden days" I ran the gamut of film cameras, my last one a trusty AE-1. I wasn't too impressed with the first digitals, image wise. After the camera club, however, and witnessing how amazing large prints looked, I knew that I needed something "better". I "graduated" to an Xti and recently a 60D. I continue to be amazed at what these mechanical marvels are capable of. (I've been increasing my knowledge thanks to POTN).