Digital SLR

ok so i am going through the same thing as sursuciofla just did. I just don't have as much money as he does. Currently the camera i am looking at is the Olympus Evolt E-300. just would like to hear your thoughts about this camera or if you recomend a differant camera let me know. I am not willing to spend more then $800 for lens and body and i would like a camera that can print 8x10 at 300 dpi which i have been told i need a 7+mp camera to acheive this. Thanks for your advice in advance.

oh and the best deal on the camera i have found is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830111157

Kutless217 said:

ok so i am going through the same thing as sursuciofla just did. I just don't have as much money as he does. Currently the camera i am looking at is the Olympus Evolt E-300. just would like to hear your thoughts about this camera or if you recomend a differant camera let me know. I am not willing to spend more then $800 for lens and body and i would like a camera that can print 8x10 at 300 dpi which i have been told i need a 7+mp camera to acheive this. Thanks for your advice in advance.

oh and the best deal on the camera i have found is
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830111157

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Seems decent to me. Olympus makes good cameras but I have never used or know of anyone who has used it personally so I couldn't tell you much. This guy in my class uses a Sony Cybershot 8mp and it seems that Olympus may be better than that as the Sony does not have the interchangeable lenses feature. I am surprised nobody has posted anything, I guess they have never used it like me. Canon and Sigma and Nikon are the ones I know best.

6.1 megapixels can print up to 51x34 so you definitely dont need to get 7+

Take a look around for a canon digital rebel (not xt). I think best buy sells them for 800 with a lens so you can probably find them cheaper elsewhere

Get a 300D thats what i had before my 20D, and i picked it up from beachcamera.com with a good package for about $750.
Thanks
Alex

alexmaccoll said:

Get a 300D thats what i had before my 20D, and i picked it up from beachcamera.com with a good package for about $750.
Thanks
Alex

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300D = Digital Rebel to lessen confusion
350D = Digital Rebel XT

I'd also say you'd be better off picking up a Canon, while it might cost a little more it will be well worth it because of the amount of very high quality lenses available. I'll soon be picking up a very highly rated lens thats known for its sharpness, colour and contrast. The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L for little over £300 brand new, a very cheap lens for what it is.

trpnmonkey41 said:

6.1 megapixels can print up to 51x34 so you definitely dont need to get 7+

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but at 51x34 whats the quality like?

also from what i was seeing the Digital Rebel seemed to cost just as much (if not more) for just the body. i will keep looking though. I talked to my photo teacher and he recomended both as good cameras for my money but that i will most likely pay more for the canon because they are such a name brand when it comes to cameras. i would plan on checking the camera out in a store this weekend but i am getting my wisdom teeth pulled so it will have to wait until atleast next week to even look at them (not like i have the money yet anyways).

I haven't printed the 51x34 but quality should be fine because the native size of the pictures is 3072x2048 which in inches is 51.2" x 34.13".

http://students.hamilton.edu/2008/rmullins/ Those are some shots I took last week for people I knew on the teams with my Digital Rebel. I had to shrink them a bunch so I could fit them on the server but they are a good representation of the good image processing chips they use.

http://www.42photo.com/productdetail.asp?level=119&catid=316&productid=11082&tabname=description

http://www.officemax.com/max/soluti...V_UseBVCookie=no&affCode=PRF&siteID=k893&mid=

http://www.ritzcamera.com/webapp/wc...97651&storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001

Those are all in your price range (the last one had no shipping or tax I noticed)

trpnmonkey41 said:

I haven't printed the 51x34 but quality should be fine because the native size of the pictures is 3072x2048 which in inches is 51.2" x 34.13".

http://students.hamilton.edu/2008/rmullins/ Those are some shots I took last week for people I knew on the teams with my Digital Rebel. I had to shrink them a bunch so I could fit them on the server but they are a good representation of the good image processing chips they use.

http://www.42photo.com/productdetail.asp?level=119&catid=316&productid=11082&tabname=description

http://www.officemax.com/max/soluti...V_UseBVCookie=no&affCode=PRF&siteID=k893&mid=

http://www.ritzcamera.com/webapp/wc...97651&storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001

Those are all in your price range (the last one had no shipping or tax I noticed)

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how did you print that large without a loss of quality?

that seems to be a stretch of the truth.

quanz said:

how did you print that large without a loss of quality?

that seems to be a stretch of the truth.

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Umm its not. Those are the actual sizes of the photo's in terms of real pixels. Printing anything small then that is compressing them a bit but those dimensions I listed are the actual sizes of the photos without compression

what dpi would that be though? i would expect that to be horribly blown out but then again i have never tried printing at that size and never will.

Kutless217 said:

what dpi would that be though? i would expect that to be horribly blown out but then again i have never tried printing at that size and never will.

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That would probably be around 70dpi.... But keep in mind this isn't print. You aren't going to hold a blownup 51.2" x 34.13" image 6 inches from your face and try to read 10pt. text off of it.

Take a close look at any blown up image even from film (unless shot on a large format) and it will look very grainy compared to a 600dpi print piece... But it still looks just fine hanging on the wall.

The screen you are looking at on your mac is probably not far from 70dpi. In fact the 17" Powerbook/iMac are 72dpi I believe.

Check out the used cameras available from KEH and B&H camera shops. Both reputable businesses.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com

http://www.keh.com/hmpg/index.cfm

I own a Nikon D100 (6.1 Megapixels, 3,008 x 2,000 pixels) and I use it to shoot weddings, nature, etc. I've printed 16"x20" portraits using the "medium" mode (2,240 x 1,488). You can see some pixelation if you're up close, but is comperable to the graininess in 35mm negatives (Kodak, 400 speed film) that I've also printed as 16x20. In "High" or "Raw" the pixelation is even less.

Granted, the Nikon is out of the price range you are looking at (body only was $1000 3 years ago), but I use it as an example of the quality from a 6 megapixel camera. . . a Nikon D50 body sells for about $650 at Ritz Camera. Nikon lenses are expensive, but Tamron also makes relatively good lenses. I went with the Nikon over Canon only because I already had lenses for my 35mm SLR. . . otherwise I'd be torn between the 2 - Canon makes some of the quietest lenses on the market, which is better for weddings, etc. where you want to be discreet and not have distracting motor sounds when the lens autofocuses (manual focus corrects this problem, though, with Nikon, Tamron, Sigma etc.)

Wouldn't trade my camera for the world - I never use my 35mm SLR anymore - it sits in its camera bag and collects dust!

Hope this helps!

I have just bought the Canon 350D and OMG its stunning. Don't get an OLD 300D thats like buying Panther instead of Tiger! 350D isnt much more. Go for the newer model mate.

I agree that a Canon would be a great choice, my 20D is an awesome camera, and I'd say the the DigiRebs are good choices for the price.

By definition, if you are looking for an 8x10 at 300dpi, 7.2 megapixels are a minimum [(8inchesX300dpi=2400px) X (10inchesX300dpi=3000px)]= 7.2 million pixels, or 7.2 megapixels. You should know, that through interpolation (basicly, upsizing) you can make it bigger, but with a loss of quality.

The 51inX34in comment was definetly in error, as even the highest DSLR available (about 16 MP) would render that print at only 92 dpi.

Oh, and you should experiment with prints with less than 300dpi. 300 is kinda a magic number, but you can definetly get prints that look NO different at, say, 240 dpi.

Good luck

Tel said:

I'd also say you'd be better off picking up a Canon, while it might cost a little more it will be well worth it because of the amount of very high quality lenses available. I'll soon be picking up a very highly rated lens thats known for its sharpness, colour and contrast. The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L for little over £300 brand new, a very cheap lens for what it is.

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An L lens for £300, blimey guvn'or!! Just have a look for dents and scratches for where it fell off the back of the lorry! ;-) Seriously though, good find!

With regards to the DSLR front, personally I'm not a big fan of the Canons (the UK ones anyway), but I suppose that's because I'm grossly biased against Canon, but that's a whole other story.

It's definately worth giving the KonicaMinoltas a look, their image stabalising technology on the sensor mostly negates the need for fast lenses (aperture wise, not focussing speed!) unless you wanna play around with shallow depths of field.
Being in the position of having played with most of the DSLRs on the market (I used to work in a camera shop) I can definately recommend the KonicaMinoltas, with Nikon coming in a close second. Canon lags a fair way behind and Olympus isn't even in the running (that's just my personal preference though!)

are you in the UK if so look at this option, there is a way to get the 350D with kit for approx £350, also the cheapest way to buy the 20D.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=111424&page=1&pp=10

Highly recommend the 350D as an owner myself, just wish I knew of this offer as I paid just over £500 for body only.

unfortunately i am in california so that doesn't help me much but thats a great price on it...that comes out to what about $700? i think the conversion rate is about 1.8 if i remember correctly.

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