Within the broad spectrum of DSLR’s available in the market these days, there is a segment designed especially for beginners who have only recently forayed into the world of photography. A top level DSLR camera can puzzle and confuse any beginner with the many settings and control options. However, an entry level DSLR combines efficiency with ease of use in an attempt to simplify things.

Having said that, what should be a beginner’s expectations from a DSLR? How different are the criteria to be considered from a top level DSLR? Well, for starters beginners must look for that ideal balance between basic and advanced features. Look for a DSLR which allows you to experiment a little while still providing the basic photographic features. Additionally, a DSLR which comes with automated features is always a good purchase for someone who is still learning the tricks of the trade.

Considering these features, we have complied for you a list of the best DSLR cameras for beginners:

1. Canon Rebel T3i – The great part about this DSLR camera is that it incorporates certain features found typically in a professional DSLR, but yet it manages to keep things relatively simple. This Canon DSLR comes with the Live View mode using which you can actually see how changing some settings can modify a photo even as you are clicking it. This means that it is way easier for you to decide on the best settings for a particular photo.

Additionally, the camera has three zones- the Basic, the Creative and the Image Zone. The settings for all of these three are pre-regulated and they ensure that you get the best of photographs. After a while, when you are equipped with the necessary knowledge and experience, you can easily shift from the automatic to the manual mode of settings. Besides the convenience factor, this DSLR also comes with a state-of-art 18 megapixel CMOS which is basically a sensor which accentuates the level of detail of a photograph. To sum it up, the Canon Rebel T3i has everything you can ask for in an entry level DSLR- it is easy to use, it has features which are designed to uncomplicated things but at the same time, no compromises are made on the quality front.

2. Nikon D5100 – This DSLR also comes with several pre-programmed shooting modes like landscape, portrait, close-up etc. The settings have been regulated in a manner that enhances the final quality of your photographs. Apart from these basic modes, there are others like selective color, miniature effect and night vision.

Along with ease of use, this DSLR also promises professional features like a 16.2 megapixel CMOS and a wide ISO range. These terms can be a little confusing for beginners, so here is what they essentially mean (CMOS has already been explained earlier). The ISO range is normally used to measure film speed. In the case of a DSLR, it refers to the speed of shutter at which it can capture fast moving objects while maintain the sharpness and focus. All said done, the Nikon D5100 delivers on the two most crucial criteria- it is technically sound and it allows a beginner to be creative and experimental.

3. Sony SLT-A55 – Sony has always been known for its cutting edge technological innovations and quite rightly so. This DSLR is the first of its kind to introduce the Translucent Mirror Technology which works in combination with the Live View mode resulting in what Sony describes as the “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” phenomenon.

The Phase Detection Auto Focus along with the Dynamic Range Optimizer leave very little for you to do manually. These automatic settings work brilliantly in tandem to produce stunning photographs. Add to this an impressive ISO range and a variety of shooting modes and you have a perfectly balanced DSLR camera for beginners.

Smartphones

There were more smartphones than you could shake a stick at this year, and a few really stood out, like Fujitsu’s quad-core Tegra 3 prototype featuring a 4.6-inch 720p display and 4G LTE connectivity, and Nokia’s newly announced Lumia 900 which is a Windows Phone that might shake up the competition.

What really stood out to us, though, was Lenovo’s K800. While Lenovo is best known for their high-end ThinkPad laptops, they’re really entering the smartphone market with a bang. The K800 is the very first Intel based Android phone, utilizing Intel’s brand new Medfield Z2460 mobile processor, a 1.6GHz processing behemoth, and possibly the fastest smartphone processor to date.

Tablets

Tegra 3 tablets were rampant at CES, from Acer’s latest IconiaTab and Pantec’s waterproof Element to the Asus 7-inch MeMO and Samsung Galaxy Note (which is technically a 5.3-inch smartphone). Out of all of the choices, the one we absolutely couldn’t overlook was the Transformer Prime TF700T.

The TF700T is just like the original Transformer Prime in shape, size, and even most of its components, making it compatible with the same keyboard dock; however, it has a few key improvements over the original Prime. Most noticeably, it has a full 1920×1080 HD display which is absolutely stunning. It wasn’t the only 1080p quad-core tablet at CES, but the Transformer’s great track record speaks for itself.

Laptops

Laptops are always popular at CES, and this year was no exception. AMD in particular had a very impressive booth showcasing its upcoming Radeon HD 7000M series graphics capabilities, which for the budget-aware mobile gamer, will almost definitely be the way to go once they hit the market.

But when it comes to feats of both performance and battery life, Samsung’s latest Gamer Series 7 notebook takes the cake. It will come with Nvidia’s yet to be released GTX 675M graphics core, which is expected to shatter current mobile gaming performance records. On top of that, it also features a dial that allows you to switch between the high-performance Nvidia GPU when you need it and the battery-saving integrated Intel HD graphics core when you don’t.

HDTVs

We saw no clear winner when it came to HDTVs this year. Instead, we saw three amazing models, all featuring some amazing technology that we can’t wait to see reach the consumer market. OLED TVs are definitely going to catch some attention over the next year. Both Samsung and LG demoed 55-inch OLED displays that would take your breath away. LG’s demo unit was only 4mm thick, despite looking better than any display we’ve seen before.

Sony was also turning some heads with its own 55-inch prototype. While Sony didn’t choose to go with OLEDs in which each pixel is its own light emitter, it did take a similar approach which it’s calling “Crystal LED.” Essentially, each pixel has its own individual LED backlight behind it. This creates the same effect as OLEDs, but with a greater potential range for color.

Cameras

There were a lot of interesting and impressive cameras at CES this year. In terms of specs, the Nikon D4 certainly holds its own, but Polaroid definitely wins points for innovation, showing the world’s first “Smart Camera,” the SC1630.

The SC1630 takes the guts of your typical point-and-shoot camera (3x optical zoom lens, 16MP sensor, etc) and pairs them with the smartphone based Android operating system. The result is a wonderful compact digital camera with Wifi, Bluethooth, and even the Android Marketplace at its disposal.