3 Amazing Semi Pro DSLR Cameras

Now that 2010 is over and we are heading into a new year I thought it would be a perfect time to sit back and reflect on the best semi pro cameras of 2010 aimed at the high-end enthusiast/semi-pro photographer.

Here are the top 3 semi pro cameras in reverse order of 2010.

3. Sony A850

Although it's a very ugly camera in my opinion the Sony A850 is a well built and rugged DSLR camera. The A850 is very affordable seeing as it's a full frame camera and has an impressive 24 megapixel count like Sony's top of the range A900 camera.

One of the features that I like about this camera is that Sony has had the balls to get rid of all the gimmicks such as the pop up flash and live view modes. The A850 is made for the serious photographer and with no disrespect meant you wouldn't catch a serious photographer using either.

When doing research on this camera I found that a few photographers claimed that the A850 suffered at ISO and had a lot of grain present, however from a lot of usage I can tell you that this is complete rubbish and I found the opposite was true. The A850 can work at ISO 3200 with ease and the quality of the image is very good.

Studio photographers will get the most out of this camera as the 24 megapixels along with the full frame sensor allow for some really spectacular images.

If you're still on the fence whether to get the A850 then I have one more sentence for you:

A full frame camera for less than 00.

2. Nikon D7000

When released the Nikon D7000 was a highly anticipated camera and rightly so. The magnesium body and the full 100% frame coverage view finder where just some of the little added extras. The top features however that you will come to love are the full HD video recording, 16.2 Megapixels and a superfast 6.3 frames per second which is useful if you're looking to shoot sports photography.

There are so many features that I like about this camera, if I were to list them all you would probably have to read through ten pages of writing. Instead I'll give you a few and you can find the rest out for yourself if you purchase this camera.

If you shoot landscape photography i'm willing to bet you may have ruined a few photographs in the past by not having a straight horizon, this may seem like a simple problem to fix but when you're worrying about focal lengths and aperture values sometimes we can get the simple things wrong. In this instance the D7000 will help you out with its intelligent virtual horizon tool which tells you exactly when your camera is straight.

Have you ever run out of space when photographing an event? I know I have and it's a rookie mistake, however I often have a separate memory card to swap over and begin shooting again. Sometimes this can be too late and you may have missed the all important shot. Well with the D7000 you won't have to worry as there are two memory card slots that can be used to combat this huge problem.

The Nikon D7000 is an excellent camera and is highly affordable, you can pick it up with a kit lens for less than 00.

1. Canon 7D

If you have been lucky enough to have used the Canon 7D then you will know how great this camera really is. Although the 7D isn't a full frame camera it raises the bar on the crop camera so much that users using the 7D will no longer feel at a disadvantage to full frame users.

The 18 Megapixels are only 3 Megapixels less than the top of the range full frame Canon cameras. If you're a photographer who constantly likes to crop their images in post processing then you will absolutely love the 7D as it retains image quality and sharpness better than its competitors on the market.

The 7D has an impressive 19 autofocus points which make focusing a breeze. The autofocus speed is quick and very accurate and is much improved upon from the Canon 5D MKII.

One of the main features which I am yet to mention and is probably the most impressive feature is the super quick 8 frames per second in which this camera can shoot at. Sports photographers will love this feature which will allow you to capture every single detail as it happens.

Overall the Canon 7D offers excellent value for money and produces one of the best quality images across the semi professional range, all of this can be yours for less than 00.