Digital SLR Camera recommendations?

[cmdrdredd]

I was wondering if anyone here had experience with digital SLR cameras and would recommend me some models to look at. Also if anyone knows of some sites that have reviews of some of the available models I'd appreciate a link as I've come up dry for the most part. I can find alot of reviews on various camera models but can't find a shootout or rundown of features and prices with some quality & value comparisons.

I'm not sure of what budget I'm aiming for because to be quite honest I don't know a whole alot about the features of digital SLR cameras. I couldn't make a decision to only spend xxx amount of dollars on a camera if I'm not sure what features they all have and decide if it's worth it.


Thanks for helping a noob out

 

[Dug]

dpreview

Nikon- D50 or D80
or Pentax- k10d

Check the dp forums for more information then the reviews give.
Remember to check out the whole system (lenses, flashes, etc) because that's what you are buying into, not just the camera.

 

[Gagabiji]

Originally posted by: Dug
dpreview

Nikon- D50 or D80
or Pentax- k10d

Check the dp forums for more information then the reviews give.
Remember to check out the whole system (lenses, flashes, etc) because that's what you are buying into, not just the camera.

...You've forgotten the Canon brand.

To the OP: Check out the Digital Rebel XT (350D), and the Digital Rebel XTi (400D). All of the Nikon, Pentax, and Canon bodies are about on par with each other.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Gagabiji

Originally posted by: Dug
dpreview

Nikon- D50 or D80
or Pentax- k10d

Check the dp forums for more information then the reviews give.
Remember to check out the whole system (lenses, flashes, etc) because that's what you are buying into, not just the camera.

...You've forgotten the Canon brand.

To the OP: Check out the Digital Rebel XT (350D), and the Digital Rebel XTi (400D). All of the Nikon, Pentax, and Canon bodies are about on par with each other.

Ok I've narrowed it down to probably the Cannon XTI because it seems to be the lowest priced model in the range (from what I found). Plus I do plan to buy a couple more lenses and a bigger card (card is cheap) so I don't want to spend too much on the body.

just a FYI: I am familiar with photography both film and digital. I owned a couple high end SLR film cameras in the past couple years but have given them to relatives because I want to get away from film. I'm basically looking for close to film quality without actual film. So please don't take me to be some nobody thinking they can put pics in National geographic just because I have a $1209120120 camera

 

[cmdrdredd]

Another quick question. Does it matter who actually manufacturers the lense? In other words if I have a Canon DSLR do I need to buy only canon lenses?

 

[Evilhomer99]

No, it only has to be a cannon compatitble lense, which there are many of. The glass you buy is almost as important as the body, if not more.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Evilhomer99
No, it only has to be a cannon compatitble lense, which there are many of. The glass you buy is almost as important as the body, if not more.

I can get some of the better lenses cheap from a local place I know really well, but he can't discount the body as much as online so I'm going to buy the basic body etc online. It's a small private owned camera store I've bought many things from before. I just wasn't sure, and didn't ask if there was specific lenses for each brand.

thanks

 

[RanDum72]

One thing to also consider. With some Pentax and Minolta (nowSony) digital SLR bodies, they have built-in image stabilization(IS) which works by moving the sensor to counteract movement. On Canon and Nikon, they are built into the lens. While in-lens stabilization is said to work better than in-body stabilization, the cost of each IS lens is very expensive. With the in-body stabilization, each lens attached also becomes stabilized. Most pros nowadays use Canon, with Nikon coming in second but Pentax bodies can use old manual focus lenses used for the k series. Nikon can also use older lenses but Pentax has better compatibility. Sony SLR's can still use older Minolta AF lenses and AF is better than Pentax and is probably as good as Canon or Nikon.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: RanDum72
One thing to also consider. With some Pentax and Minolta (nowSony) digital SLR bodies, they have built-in image stabilization(IS) which works by moving the sensor to counteract movement. On Canon and Nikon, they are built into the lens. While in-lens stabilization is said to work better than in-body stabilization, the cost of each IS lens is very expensive. With the in-body stabilization, each lens attached also becomes stabilized. Most pros nowadays use Canon, with Nikon coming in second but Pentax bodies can use old manual focus lenses used for the k series. Nikon can also use older lenses but Pentax has better compatibility. Sony SLR's can still use older Minolta AF lenses and AF is better than Pentax and is probably as good as Canon or Nikon.

I understand all that from the reviews, but for my purposes and what I expect to do with this camera I don't think I'll be needing it.

Not to mention a couple hundred dollars difference is quite alot to me before you add any lenses or accessories.

 

[easytimes]

If you're planning to become a basic snapshooter with an SLR, almost any camera will work for you. I have been shopping cameras lately, and the feature that captures my eye is batteries. My present cameras take four AA batteries, and I would hate to move to a camera that only uses proprietary batteries. First off, they think those batteries are made of gold, and if you don't have at least two or three of them, I can guarantee you will find yourself needing power and have the best photographic opportunities sitting there looking at you.

The Pentax K100D takes AA batteries, so you will always have power for your camera as long as you can get some Energizer lithiums at a Wal Mart, Kmart, and many other stores that are open at various times of day and night.

Unless you are a pro photographer with specific needs, almost any camera brand with a reasonably good history and 6-10 megapixels of resolution will give you very good to excellent shooting results. The Pentax line is on the shy side of that resolution scale, but six Mp will give you some darn nice pictures unless you plan on going well beyond 13x19 prints.

I've seen some pricing on the Pentax K100D ranging from $460 to $700. I'd buy the plain body and then get a quality wide angle to medium telephoto zoom, and call yourself set for photography. Kit lenses are usually crap, so don't always take the Wal Mart special with that junk lens. Some kit lenses aren't bad, so do your research.

Check at Steve's digicams, Digital eye, DC resource, and any other sites you can find to read. It's up to you to decide what is important to you... for me, those batteries are VERY important. I can work with getting good pictures from a decent camera... I don't need the best... just the most convenient.
Good luck,

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'm planning to use this also to do digital imaging for printing on wide format printers becides personal usage. So a standard point and click won't do it, but I would like to keep reasonable pricing since I don't plan to spend $2k+ on just the camera body. I have some options on lenses the shop has some Cannon Pro, Sigma, and Tamron lenses that fit I just need to decide which lense types I want/need.

 

[rappy]

Since you have helped me with some computer issues, I hope I can help you with this. I got into cameras a few years ago. I looked long and hard before deciding on Canon. I picked up and still have the Canon 10D. It is a great piece of equipment. What I found, just like Dug mentioned is that you dont really buy into the body since they change so quickly, but you want to buy into the lens line, since they wont change much and they will hold their value. Canon has some of the best glass you can buy. Next time you are watching a sporting event or even any news/press conference, keep an eye out for the white lenses. They are the Canons premium "L" line. Yes most are big bucks but there are a few that are within a decent price range, and you can often sell/upgrade them and get nearly what you paid for! So my vote would be with Canon. If you want more info on Canon's check out this canon forum. As for a 3rd party lens, there are some decent Sigma or Tamron lenses, but again, you cant beat Canon.

You mentioned you have some film equipment? What brand? Most "film" lenses will also work with digi SLR's, so if you are happy with your lenses stick with them, BUT remember the "crop" factor. Most DSLR's have a crop factor that affect their focal length. My 10D has a 1.6X FOV, so my 17-40 mm lens (35mm equivalent) is actually a 27-64mm lens. So choosing a lens is a bit different. Also, since again you said you have had a few high end film cameras, allot of people say that the "lower end" rebel's feel cheap and "plasticy", so you might be disappointed in that respect. And since you have some experience with SLR's, I would bump it up to a Canon 30D. It has a few more bells and whistles an experienced photog might want. As for purchase. Its always a good idea to support a local shop, and great to test drive equipment, but you can save a decent chunk of cash by purchasing from a place like B & H Photo Video. Oh yeah, be warned.......Cameras are like this computer crap...once you start, you cant stop...next thing you know, there you are waiting for UPS/Fed Ex with that new telephoto lens you just purchased!

Good luck,

Rappy

 

[rappy]

This is what I currently have in my bag. Pretty happy with the coverage:

Canon Zoom super wide EF 17-40mm F4L - $635 (AR)
Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II - $80 (Dont let the price fool ya!)
Canon Telephoto EF 85mm F/1.8 USM - $320 DR - By far the most crisp lense I have seen
Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-200mm f/4.0L - $545 (AR) - and its white

Rappy

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: rappy
Since you have helped me with some computer issues, I hope I can help you with this. I got into cameras a few years ago. I looked long and hard before deciding on Canon. I picked up and still have the Canon 10D. It is a great piece of equipment. What I found, just like Dug mentioned is that you dont really buy into the body since they change so quickly, but you want to buy into the lens line, since they wont change much and they will hold their value. Canon has some of the best glass you can buy. Next time you are watching a sporting event or even any news/press conference, keep an eye out for the white lenses. They are the Canons premium "L" line. Yes most are big bucks but there are a few that are within a decent price range, and you can often sell/upgrade them and get nearly what you paid for! So my vote would be with Canon. If you want more info on Canon's check out this canon forum. As for a 3rd party lens, there are some decent Sigma or Tamron lenses, but again, you cant beat Canon.

You mentioned you have some film equipment? What brand? Most "film" lenses will also work with digi SLR's, so if you are happy with your lenses stick with them, BUT remember the "crop" factor. Most DSLR's have a crop factor that affect their focal length. My 10D has a 1.6X FOV, so my 17-40 mm lens (35mm equivalent) is actually a 27-64mm lens. So choosing a lens is a bit different. Also, since again you said you have had a few high end film cameras, allot of people say that the "lower end" rebel's feel cheap and "plasticy", so you might be disappointed in that respect. And since you have some experience with SLR's, I would bump it up to a Canon 30D. It has a few more bells and whistles an experienced photog might want. As for purchase. Its always a good idea to support a local shop, and great to test drive equipment, but you can save a decent chunk of cash by purchasing from a place like B & H Photo Video. Oh yeah, be warned.......Cameras are like this computer crap...once you start, you cant stop...next thing you know, there you are waiting for UPS/Fed Ex with that new telephoto lens you just purchased!

Good luck,

Rappy

I'm buying the body online and the lenses local because the prices online are more than I can get them for local. I had Nikon film cameras never canon, but canon seems to be recommended alot so I sort of decided on it. As for the plastic feel I'm not worried about that particularly I'm more interested in the quality for the money.

 

[rudder]

ask the mods to move this to off topic. There are a lot of photographers and several recent threads on dslr cameras.

I have a canon 30d and am biased towards that, but you should look at the pentax k10d. It has some awesome features for a camera that is supposed to retail for $899. 10 mp, in camera IS, weather sealed. All of which are a big plus to me. I am waiting on more reviews to come in though.

 

[foges]

Personally id go for canon. If you dont mind going used you can ge a 20D for 700. that leaves you with a lot of room for leneses which are much more important. If you dont mind a small & plastic camera you could go for the XTi, which has good reviews, but i personally just find it to be too small for my hands. The 30D has a bigger screen and a few other improvements, but i dont see it being worth the extra price over the 20D. It will also fall in price when a 40D is intruduced (probably next september), and im sure the 40D will be much more upgradeworthy (probably a digic 3 processor, 10mp, dust removal, etc...).

As for lenses, i have basically the same setup as rappy:
17-40 f/4
85 f/1.8
(both great lenses)
I had the 50mm 1.8 which is a fantastic lens for the money, but i have a Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 so i didnt see the need for another 50. That is another great thing about canon. You can add third party lenses, so you get a much greater spectrum of lenses to choose from (like CarlZeiss, Leica, Olympus, Nikon, Pentax,etc...).

I can recomend this forum, tons of info there, plus a lot of reviews: www.fredmiranda.com

 

[HeavyB]

Originally posted by: foges
Personally id go for canon. If you dont mind going used you can ge a 20D for 700. that leaves you with a lot of room for leneses which are much more important. If you dont mind a small & plastic camera you could go for the XTi, which has good reviews, but i personally just find it to be too small for my hands. The 30D has a bigger screen and a few other improvements, but i dont see it being worth the extra price over the 20D. It will also fall in price when a 40D is intruduced (probably next september), and im sure the 40D will be much more upgradeworthy (probably a digic 3 processor, 10mp, dust removal, etc...).

As for lenses, i have basically the same setup as rappy:
17-40 f/4
85 f/1.8
(both great lenses)
I had the 50mm 1.8 which is a fantastic lens for the money, but i have a Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 so i didnt see the need for another 50. That is another great thing about canon. You can add third party lenses, so you get a much greater spectrum of lenses to choose from (like CarlZeiss, Leica, Olympus, Nikon, Pentax,etc...).

I can recomend this forum, tons of info there, plus a lot of reviews: www.fredmiranda.com

Wow this is exactly what I did and I recommend it as well. I think someone with significant experience with higher end film SLR comeras may be happier spending a little more to upgrade to the 20D/30D over the digital rebels due to important things like viewfinder size and overall feel. I bought a used 20D and am very pleased with it. I also have the "thrifty fifty" Canon 50mm f/1.4, the 85mm f/1.8 and a tamron 15-35 wide angle zoom. In the long run, the investment in the body will be minor to the amount you spend on glass anyway. I bought my camera from the fredmiranda for sale forum. There are alot of very reputable people over there.

Cheers,
HeavyB

 

[corkyg]

Agree with Foges. I started with a Canon D60 several years ago. And, as I added to the family of lenses, I also changed camera bodies. next I got the 20D - which I still have - but my real work horse and favorite now is the 5D. It is superior in the wide angle area because it has a 1:1 sensor - no multiplication factor. Lenses are as marked.

The 20D and 30D have a slight advantage in the telephoto area because the 1.6X factor is in effect, added focal length, ie., a 200mm lens shoots as a 320mm, etc.

Canon has the biggest selection of lenses, and is highly favored by the pros, especially sports photographers. You will see more white telephotos on the sidelines than any others.

And, you can use third party lenses as long as their mounts and interfaces are Canon. I have use Tamron and Sigma quite successfully. But, I really prefer Canon's lenses, especially with IS. I do a lot of low light and available light work, and IS plus the 5D's near noiseless 3200 ISO speed makes that easy. My two workhorse lenses are the EOS 24-105mm L IS f/2.8 lens, and the EOS 70-300mm DO IS f/4.6-5.6. And, the 55mm f/1.4 prime lens is in the bag for special situations.

I strongly recommend Phil Askey's site and forum (dpreview).

Once you commit to investing in high quality lenses, the camera body just goes along for the ride.

 

[rchiu]

Like many people have said already, lens are more important than the body for DSLR. You will invest much more in lens than the body over long run, believe me, I have.

So the basic question you gotta ask yourselve is, what lens system do you want to buy into. Cannon, Nikon or others. I personally have Nikon.

Once you decide which system you wanna get into, I would look for a body that fits your skill level and what you want to do. Manufacturers come up with new body's all the time, and the technology build into the body improves alot one year to another, so I would probably not waste too much money for functions on body that you are not gonna use right now. You can always upgrade the body when you wanna move up, and still use your lens.

I got D50 cause it has all the functions I need for the price I wanna pay, and feels the best in my hand. You cannot go wrong with either Cannon or Nikon. I was looking at Pentax too, but they seems to be limited in lens support. (They are compatible with many older Pentax lens, but don't seems to have lots of newer lens out)

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

This gets asked a ton in Off Topic:

Canon (not Cannon)

Pros: good value for the money, 10MP (XTi), largest lens selection, huge used lens market, best high-ISO performance, sensor-dust vibration cleaning (XTi)

Cons: small, dim viewfinder is horrible for things such as manual focus. Smallest and dimmest between the three (Pentax, Canon, and Nikon). Canon will likely never intergrate IS into their bodies because their IS lens market will be hurt pretty bad. Body is too small for many people's hands (XTi)

Comments: The lens selection is great, especially used. Buying a used but in excellent condition Sigma, Tokina, or Tamron lens in Canon mount can save you a LOT of money from buying new. Canon brand lenses are really, really expensive, and do not necessarily provide a quantum leap in quality versus the right Tamron SP, Sigma EX, and Tokina lenses.

Nikon

Pros: ergonomics, good viewfinder, large lens selection, large used lens market

Cons: high-ISO not as good as Canon's. Used lens market not as large as Canon's

Comments: Generally, you can't really go wrong with either Canon or Nikon.

Pentax K10D

Pros: Excellent value for the money - weathersealing, in-body IS, bright, large viewfinder, sensor vibration dust cleaning, 10MP, $900-$1000, good high-ISO performance, compatible with all older Pentax lenses, very cheap and good quality primes and older lenses

Cons: Very small used lens market for newer, autofocus lenses. The body packs a lot, but you'll end up spending a LOT more money in lenses because you're forced to buy new since you can't find deals on used lenses.