Welcome to the Studio Commercial Seasonal

• Marcus photographs Adam Liaw, the winner of MasterChef 2010
• How to buy a DSLR
• Dave's wanderings across South America and NYC
• The launch of our awesome blog

1. Research your brands before you invest. We've been with Canon since the dawn of time (ok, for the last twenty years) but that doesn't mean you have to take our word for it. Stick to either Canon or Nikon if you're leaning towards pro level. The last thing you want is to invest 5k into a camera and lenses only to find the camera body will be disconinuted in ten years time. We're pretty sure Jason and Cameron have matching Canon tattoos. That's how heavily invested they are in the brand.
2. Figure out your budget before you walk into a store. The sky is the limit when it comes to camera equipment. You can never have too much. Nip this in the bud and pick a firm number before you find out the prices to all of these babies, otherwise your camera purchase will be akin to negotiating in a used car lot.
3. Make sure it shoots video. These DSLRs are the same price as only still cameras, it makes no sense to not give yourself this option. If an iPhone 4 can shoot video, your DSLR should have the same functionality.
4. Invest in a good camera then buy greater lens. You can take crap images using the lens that comes for free with your awesome Canon 5DMkII. You can take great images with a 550D that's attached to a great quality lens.
5. There's no reason to splash out on a DSLR unless you know what you want to photograph. Figure out if it's portraits, landscapes, action shots at the soccer game or the stars moving in the night sky. Now go to your local camera store and tell the salesperson exactly what you want to photograph and ask for the best camera.