Best 3 Affordable DSLR Camera in India 2021
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Table of Contents
1. Canon EOS 1500D DSLR Camera
The availability of reasonably priced smartphone with high resolution full HD camera at the top slot these days, many people find it not worth in investing in standalone digital camera. However, when it comes to range, manual control, zoom etc. it is always a good idea to buy a DSLR camera because it gives you an option to add variety of lenses.
The Canon EOS 1500D is one of the improvised entrants in a series of entry level DSLR cameras. This kid has an upgraded sensor intended to produce better performance with more or less similar features with Nikon’s D3400. Let’s see the extent of an improvement it really has to offer for you.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Camera comes with 24.1 Megapixel count.
- APS-C CMOS Sensor.
- DIGIC 4 Processor.
- 9 Autofocus Points.
- Native ISO range of 100-6400.
- Built-in Wi-Fi, NFC connectivity.
Also learn more about our list of best 5 DSLR Camera in India in the DSLR league.
Design and Build of EOS 1500D
While going through the physical appearance of the camera, we found the design and build of EOS 1500D is almost similar to its previous version. The size, weight and button placement is similar to its predecessor. With the rubber cladding on the right had side of the camera you will find it easy to take hold of it with better grip while making one-handed shooting superbly easy.
The Canon EOS 1500D has a Mini USB port and a Mini HDMI port on the left side of it. The camera comes with 3-inch TFT LCD display with 920K dot resolution. It does not offer touchscreen support. With its optical viewfinder you can capture 95 percent field of view. The camera offers just the right amount of buttons for drive mode, ISO, white balance, autofocus adjustment and navigating menus.
The Canon EOS 1500D has a dedicated LED light at its bottom that illuminates when Wi-Fi is connected. With mode dial on the top of the camera, it looks very beautiful and it is easy to switch modes even when your fingers are slippery because it has a grippy texture. You will find vertical command dial before the shutter button. This will offers you an option to change ISO, exposure, value etc.
Eventually, the Canon EOD 1500D does not look very different from its predecessor; EOS 1300D. With just ample amount of buttons and its light weight its easy to carry while you are travel or using for even indoor activities. The camera is easy to operate and handle making it a smart piece to have by beginner or new users.
You can buy this camera as body only or with EF S18-55mm IS II kit lens. But usually it is sold with EF S18-55mm IS II kit lens which is a standard lens and comes very handy for in nearly all shooting conditions. You can adjust the camera to manual focus or autofocus depending on different shooting scenarios. It also has 3x optical zoom and inbuilt stabilizer.
What you will have in the box?
- Camera body
- Shoulder strap
- 16 GB SD Card
- Battery
- Charger
Features and Specification of EOS 1500D
| Image Sensor | CMOS Sensor with 24.1 Megapixels count |
| Recording System | DFC (Design Rule for Camera File System) 2.0 |
| Screen | 3-inch LCD Display |
| Viewfinder | Optical viewfinder with 95% field of view coverage and autofocus for viewfinder shooting |
| Battery Backup | Approximately 600 Shots per single charge |
| Dimension | 129.0 x 101.3 x 77.6 mm |
| Weight | Approximately 475 gm with battery and card |
| Native ISO | 100-6400 expandable to 12800 |
| Shutter Speed | 1/4000 to 30 sec. electronically controlled, focal-plane shutter |
| Processor | DIGIC 4+ image processor, 9-auto focus points |
| Image Processing Style | Auto, standard, portrait, landscape, neutral, faithful, monochrome, user defined |
| Video Recording | Full HD 1920 x 1080 with MOV, MPEG 4 AVCH/.264 format |
| Flash | Built-in retractable, auto pop-up flash |
| Connectivity | Built-in Wi-Fi, USB, HDMI |
Performance of EOS 1500D
ISO measures the sensitivity of the sensor to the light and how it performs in different light conditions. The Canon EOS 1500D comes with the ISO range of 100-6400 which expandable to 12800. Setting ISO at a lower range means less sensitivity of sensor of the camera.
If you increase the ISO to higher value, the camera will become more sensitive to the light. This allows you to take photo in weaker light and darker situations. Increasing ISO range to higher value is suitable to indoor photography and even outdoor shooting when light is weak.
But this will also affect your photography creating grainy effect or noise. Nevertheless, this is fine as long as you are comfortable with little noise for more light.
Based on our user reviews and real time photography experience, we did not find significant difference in the photos shot with ISO range of 100 and 200 while comparing with the ISO range of 400.
The ISO range of 100-200 is the greatest one for shooting in a daylight. It produces the best quality picture utmost details. ISO 200-400 is well suited to taking shots in relatively darker conditions, like in the shade or indoors where it is brightly lit.
The ISO value of 400-800 is perfectly good for indoor shooting with flash. You will produce more even exposure with detailed background.
Going up increasing the ISO to 1600 you will not find noticeable noise and every detail is well preserved. If you happen to be an event photographer, this is a better choice, because live events are often organized in low light conditions where you may not be allowed to use flash.
However, when you jump to ISO 3200, you will find a noticeable drop in details increasing digital noise. You may prefer to use this range in event photography where light conditions are very very low.
While taking shots, the Canon EOS 1500D offers high resolution with ample for cropping images later on if needed. There is good level of details, but getting sharp images may need skill. The effect produced by the refraction of different wavelengths of light through different angles is mild but is not very noticeable.
The objects in the centre of the frame of the Canon EOS 1500D have fair level of sharpness. But on the side you will notice it is little blurry. Being an entry level DSLR, it will come up meeting your expectations in terms of focusing speed. It also produces decent depth of field for close up shots with its kit lens. This is a good sign.
The performance of the Canon EOS 1500D in terms of auto white balance, our user found it to be little inconsistent because it produced different color tones in same set of burst images. Although we found close ups with good details and well defined edges in most cases, burst mode with 3 fps is not very good for fast moving subjects.
The camera has programable shooting modes such as A+, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, etc., that automatically set it for your preferred scene. You can also rotate, rate and add creative filters like soft focus, grainy black and white when you view images on the camera.
As for the video recording, it is good to have at 30 fps. But we expect it would have offered 60fps as others have been offering. The quality of video is good with manually focused shutter button. But it is not ideal because it also captures motor sound with the video.
The battery life of camera is kept at 600 shots per single charge. But depending on the usage like use of flash, live view, video and enabling Wi-Fi, the consumption may increase and it may come down.
Conclusion
The Canon EOS 1500D DSLR camera is certainly a good to buy within this price range, though sounds little higher with EF S18-55 IS II lens. However, price may vary in retail market and different ecommerce shopping portal. It has increased resolution in one hand on the other hand we would expect the other features would also have been upgraded to some extent.
Design and built of the camera is quite good. But performance of the camera in terms of average ISO range and burst mode is fairly rated. It is lightweight and easy to carry. In addition, its easy to operate and handle and also lets you connect to your smartphone and compatible devices with Wi-Fi connectivity.
The Canon EOS 1500D DSLR overall a good camera to buy for beginner and budding photographers.
Pros
- Lightweight and easy to carry
- Good built and design
- High resolution pixels counts
- Good battery life
- Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, NFC
Cons
- All features not upgraded
- Burst mode is not very exciting
- Fair overall performance
You may also like to read our full review on Nikon D5300 DSLR Camera in India
2. Nikon D3500 DSLR Camera
The Nikon D3500 is yet another addition in its club of budget DSLR camera. Although there has not been many changes in this version of DSLR camera from its outgoing sibling, it undoubtedly goes up one step further in our list of best 3 cheapest DSLR camera in India in 2020.
The camera comes at a very reasonable price with all the features you are looking for in an entry level DSLR camera. It is a lightweight camera and is easy to carry. The camera is usually sold with 18-55mm AF-P kit lens that has a retracting mechanism making it more portable when it’s switched off.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- APS-C CMOS Sensor with 24.2 MP
- ISO 100-25600 Sensitivity Range
- EXPEED 4 Processor with 11 Autofocus Points
- Full HD Video Recording
- Built-in Bluetooth connectivity
- 3-inch LCD display
- Very good battery backup
Design and Build of Nikon D3500
The Nikon D3500 is designed with plastic body which seems pretty fat and chunky. You can have better control over the camera as it provides good rip on it. The most commonly used control buttons are placed on rear side of the camera on the right side of its LCD display. This makes it easy to handle that too without accidently pressing buttons that you never wanted.
The camera comes with 3 -inch LCD display and it is not touch sensitive. Thus you have to depend on physical buttons and dials. It does not offer tilting mechanism for low angle shots and it has fixed screen. But since it is an entry level camera, this is quite acceptable.
With The Nikon D3500 you will have an easy interface, as a new DSLR user you can really get into some serious photography. The display is very good offering sharp, detailed and clear photography. The information display shows graphical representations with respect to the shutter speed, lens, aperture and ISO setting. This helps to understand exposure settings and how they interact.
The camera also has a model dial on the top and on thee right, there is a single control dial. Both of these have a really solid and good feel. The power switch button is placed around the shutter release button. This makes it easy to play with the buttons. And the main mode dial and control dial re well within the reach of your right thumb.
With the optical viewfinder of the Nikon D3500, you will have a good exposure information. There is no color fringing at the edges. Only thing you may find uncomfortable is that you would have to extend lens before starting shooting.
What you will have in the box?
- Camera body and lens
- 16 GB SD Card
- Battery
- Charger
- Carry case
Features and Specifications of Nikon D3500
| Sensor Type | 24.2Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor |
| Processor | EXPEED 4 image processor |
| Native ISO | 100 to 25600 ISO range |
| Display | 3-inch fixed LCD display with 921k dots |
| Autofocus | 11 autofocus points |
| Video Recording | Full HD 1920×1080 at 60 fps max |
| Viewfinder | Optical viewfinder with 95% field coverage |
| Burst mode | 5fps max |
| Dimension | 124.0 x 97.0 x 69.5 mm |
| Weight | 415 gm with battery |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth connectivity |
| Battery life | 1550 shots per single charge |
Performance of Nikon D3500
If your budget is tight or you are just getting started with photography, the Nikon D3500 is a great camera to that fits into your pocket. You may wish to check the price on Amazon in India. It is one of the most affordable DSLR cameras out there.
You will notice it lacking in other features, such as its 5fps shooting speed, 1080p video resolution, and 11-point autofocus system. While this camera is not at the level of its more expensive competitors, it can definitely get the job done.
What the D3500 does have is a good 24.2MP CMOS sensor, which is plenty good to take some great shots if you know your way around the camera, lighting, and composition.
The Nikon D3500 come with optical viewfinder and 11 autofocus points. The autofocus points re clustered in the middle of the frame. For the close up subjects, it is easy to focus for the shooting. The camera can be set to autofocus mode as well as manual mode for taking the shot. It is quite fast and produces positive results whichever mode you select.
Since the camera dose not offer touch control LCD display, you would need to use navigation buttons placed on the back of the camera to move around autofocus point. This makes the operation of the camera a little slower.
However, we are content with the seed of the live view autofocus offered by the Nikon D3500. Given its native ISO range of 100-25600, the camera is quite suitable for shooting in different light conditions.
The Nikon D3500 comes with the burst speed of 5fps. This may not be very welcoming for those who would love to shoot numerous actions. But our user review shows it its certainly better than its competitor EOS Rebel T7 or 2000D.
While shooting sporting events and fast moving subject, it did fairly well in all shooting conditions. Comparing auto white balance with its predecessors, it performed better than those that came in the market earlier. The quality of exposures produced by the camera is quite consistent. It did not distort color tone and kept it intact for the most scenes.
The camera features 1920×1080 full HD video recording. While shooting live video, we felt bit noise, but that is not significant. Moreover, it provides excellent easy to use interface for the new users.
With its SnapBridge app and Bluetooth connectivity, the Nikon D3500 is well equipped that enables you to transfer all photos and other media files captured in the camera to your smartphone and other compatible devices.
It is also been very widely seen that most of the user’s concern is related with the power/battery backup provided with the device. Nikon has kept this concern well in consideration while designing the camera to fulfil user expectation in this regard. The camera comes with an impressive battery life of 1550 shots per single charge.
With high resolution 24.2 Megapixel sensor and there no low pass optical filter, the camera can produce images with great details. Our user review shows the images captured with the Nikon D3500 are as good as the images captured in higher end expensive cameras.
If you are interested in spending few more bucks on little advanced lens kit, you will have a perfect companion in the Nikon D3500 while taking shots and producing high quality pictures.
Coming to the performance of the camera in terms of ISO, increasing the ISO value up to 800 to 1600 did not show significant noise with the image. It has quite a great ability to maintain color balance even when shooting outdoor under sunlight.
But jumping ISO range beyond 1600 will produce images in which noise will be largely seen and become significant.
The Nikon D3500 offers seven exposure modes such as standard, vivid, neutral, monochrome, portrait, landscape and fat which usually suitable for video recording. You can adjust these modes with contrast, brightness, saturation etc.
Conclusion
The Nikon D3500 is certainly not a perfect camera. But if you are a new users and budding photographer, it has almost all the features that any higher end expensive camera has. We would suggest it is worth investing to fulfil your aspiration in photography because it does not pinch you pocket deeply.
We would also like to mention few other positive points here. The camera has excellent 24.2 Megapixel sensor with the ability to produce great results you have always wanted to. With 1550 shots battery backup per single charging, you will feel dissatisfied while shooting for a longer time.
The camera also has special Guide Mode which is very helpful for the new users to understand basic settings make quick grip on it.
As we go further into the functionality, we feel some austerity measures have been taken in the form cost-cutting. This so because it would have been appreciated more had it been designed with 4K video recording and touchscreen functionality.
Pros
- Very good image quality
- Long battery life
- Special Guide Mode
- Lightweight and easy to carry
- Beginner’s camera
Cons
- 4K video absent
- Wi-Fi connectivity absent
- No touchscreen functionality
You may also like to read our full review on Nikon D750 DSLR Camera in India
3. Canon EOS 3000D 18MP DSLR Camera
With millions of smartphones with high resolution and high definition camera flooding in the market, capturing images and recording videos for indoor as well as outdoor activities has become easier than never than before.
Although, one can get a smartphone with good quality camera at a relatively lower price, this may lack sizeable features a DSLR camera will offer in terms of ISO range, depth of field, color balance, shutter speed and so on.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- 18-Megapixel DSLR Camera
- APS CMOS Sensor
- DIGIC 4+ Image Processing System
- 9-Autofocus Points
- Built-in Wi-Fi Connectivity
- Native ISO Range 100 – 6400, Expandable to 12,800
- EF-S 18-55 lenses
The Canon EOS 3000D is the one in our club of the best 3 cheapest DSLR cameras that offers you all the features that a smartphone doesn’t. If you are aspiring for digital photography and just starting, and also cannot afford to make a big investment, this camera gives you all features you are looking for.
Design and Build of Canon EOS 3000D
The Canon EOS 3000D is built up of plastic body and it does not have weather protective shield. Generally, one would expect weather protection for a DSLR camera. But considering its price, it is quite fine one can happily compromise on it. The camera is significantly lightweight and easy to carry around. You will have a very grip and hold over the camera.
In the EOS 3000D, you will find all the control buttons on top of the camera or on right side of the LCD display. Our user review found that the camera has a single dial that used to change shooting modes. You can also use the same dial to switch on and of the camera. The exposure is well controlled by a secondary dial which is placed between the primary dial and the shutter button.
Looking deeper into the design and build of the camera, we felt that some cost cutting has been done while designing and producing the camera. This evident by comparatively smaller LCD display which is 2.7-inch on the back of the DSLR.
To test the quality of the display, we did shooting under the sunlight. While shooting under the sunlight, the display offered by the EOS 3000D has not been quite impressive in terms of visibility. It is good to have optical viewfinder with the camera. But in the absence of refractive power settings, users found it a bit problematic with their spectacles on.
The Canon EOS 3000D comes with mini USB and HDMI port placed at the bottom of the camera. We do not certainly say it is best DSLR camera, but it is very good budget DSLR camera. We found the design and build of the camera quite good and easy to handle. For the beginners, it would surely qualify for one of the best cameras offering value for money.
What you will have in the box?
- Camera body and lens
- 16 GB SD Card
- Battery
- Charger
- Power cord
- Shoulder strap
- Manual
Features and Specifications of Canon EOS 3000D
| Sensor Type | 18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor |
| Processor | DIGIC 4+ image processor |
| Native ISO | 100 to 6400 ISO range (Expandable to 12,800) |
| Display | 2.7-inch fixed LCD display with 230K dots |
| Autofocus | 9 autofocus points |
| Video Recording | Full HD 1920×1080 |
| Viewfinder | Optical viewfinder with 95% field coverage |
| Burst mode | 3fps max |
| Shutter Speed | 1/4000 sec |
| Dimension | 129.0 x 101.6 x 77.1 mm |
| Weight | 475 gm with battery |
| Connectivity | Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity |
| Battery life | Approx. 500 shots per single charge |
Performance of Canon EOS 3000D
With the Canon EOS 3000D, you will not have make great effort to operate. As we mentioned earlier, the camera offers a greater advantage over the smartphones camera with its bigger sensor size. Since it is an entry level camera, we don’t expect much in terms of images captured in low light condition. But we saw the images captured in different conditions have good light and details.
The image quality produced by the EOS 3000D are great with ample amount of details in different shooting conditions. One thing we found lagging in this camera is that when we captured the image in land scape mode, the sharpness starts falling.
However, as far as close up shots are concerned, the camera did very well with depth of field effect. It maintained good color effects. Although the device comes with an ISO range of 100-6400, which is expandable 12,800. Taking shots in indoor activities with low lights has not been very impressive. This is given by the fact that in low lights, when we increased the ISO value the image started getting noisy.
While the Canon EOS 3000D is very easy to operate, the special Guide Mode helps the new users to learn about different modes, this helps the users to choose shooting mode in different conditions. You can apply creative filters and add effects to your exposure, such as Grainy, soft focus and so on.
The shutter speed and the continuous shooting mode did not show a great speed, but we are impressed by the focusing speed is good.
To test the performance of the ISO range, we went increasing the value from 800 to 1600 and then 3200 to 6400. We could produce images with reasonable details applying the ISO value of 800, but with little noise. But the use of the ISO range above 800, did not give very pleasant output. Surely, if have good at photo editing application like photoshop and enjoy doing it you increase the ISO level at the top and take RAW images and get cleaning job done later on.
With the built-in Wi-Fi connectivity with the Canon EOS 3000D, you can have your photo transferred to your smart devices very quickly and easily. It is even more dividend earned for social media savvy people because they can post their snap on their social media profile with no time. Transfer rate is also very good.
Conclusion
The Canon EOS 3000D has all features you are always looking for in any basic DSLR. The image quality produced by the camera is good given the fact it is an entry level camera in the DSLR league. The video quality did not go wrong either with its full HD capability. The camera comes with 9 autofocus points. That should be considered good keeping in mind it is a basic DSLR.
It would have been better if the EOS 3000D had 3-inch LCD display. It just fell below few points keeping it 2.7-inch. Performance has been quite impressive with low ISO value. But increasing that beyond 800 points did not give very pleasant output. We are quite satisfied with the battery life of the camera. We could take 500 shots per single charge. The optical viewfinder with 95% field coverage is quite good as good as relatively expensive DSLR camera.
So, if you are planning to buy a good DSLR camera without pinching too much your shoe the Canon EOS 3000D would be wrong one. This comes in our league of best 3 cheapest DSLR Camera in India in 2020. This is one of the best buys… guys!
Pros
- Easy to operate
- Lightweight
- Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity
- Decent battery life
- Good overall performance
Cons
- Not weather protection
- Poor display under sunlight
- Average burst mode
You may also like to read our full review on Nikon D7200 DSLR camera in India
