Expert: Abe - 12/21/2008

Question
I will buy a SLR digital camera soon but I feel difficult to make pick a better one (with a better sensor).  A counter sales told me that the CMOS sensor is higher end than the CCD sensor, so I should buy one with a CMOS sensor such as the Sony Alpha 7 or the Canon 450D and above. But I heard another said that the CCD sensor produce very sharp image,  since Nikon hold the pattern of CCD sensor, so the other manufacturers can only produce cameras with CMOS sensor.  I don't know whether or not this is true.  I need sharp pictures.

Answer
This may have been mostly true 2-3 years ago, but the technology has leveled out somewhat. If you are buying an entry level DSLR, as you seem to be suggesting, a CCD sensor vs. a CMOS sensor will show very little to no appreciable difference.

Buy a DSLR system based on the lenses you'll need, not on the sensor. If you were buying a high-end DSLR, I'd suggest that you go with a camera with a strong CMOS, but in the entry level, it makes virtually no difference.

You mentioned Canon and Sony. Personally I'd go with the Canon XSi. The lenses are cheaper and the image quality is superior. Sony makes some nice point & shoot cameras, but they seem to have some things to work out with their DSLR technologies.