Camera advice please

I am looking at new DSLR cameras. I have it narrowed down to either a Canon Rebel XT and Nikon D40X. I have found what seems to be a decent deal for each of them. The Canon comes with 18-55mm and 70-300mm lenses and Nikon comes with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses and both have a case and extra battery. The canon is $100 cheaper I know I could go to the XTi but that puts the price lopsided the other way.
What seems to be the better package? My photography will be a wide range from close-ups on my wood turnings to longer wildlife/ travel photos.

Thanks
Kevin

I have the XTi and I would recommend a Canon camera to anyone, however I haven't have any experience with Nikon. The Canon 18-55mm is pretty poorly built but is a good lens to get started with. I have a sigma 70-300mm with a dedicated macro function and it's been a good lens and I’ve had plenty of use from it. What 70-300mm lens is it? A 70-300mm is great for macro photography so will be useful when you are doing close ups and the large amount of zoom will help if you need to snap a animal etc from a distance.
Maybe someone who has used the Nikon can help you out with the D40.

I think the Canon is the better choice, though they are closely matched. Probably more important than the body itself is the lenses, and I think it is generally known that Canon makes the best glass. Next time you're at or watching a sporting event, check out the professional photographers cameras. You'll see a lot of white lenses: those are Canon L lenses.

Don't base your purchase mostly on the lenses you get. They're good for a beginner, but they're basically giveaways and the lowest quality. Eventually you'll want much better quality and those and replace them with better glass.

After talking to a photographer friend of mine, I am even more confused.
Similar to what has been stated above, he more or less said just buy the body and invest in a good lens because the kit lenses are junk. Yeah, they'll get you taking pictures but you might as well get a p&s.
It was also mentioned that for what I want to do, a dslr is overkill. So, that brings me back to the long zoom p&s category or slr-like. Then the only thing I am missing (for my needs) is the speed. My complaint for most cameras is the speed from shot to shot and shutter lag.
The water keeps getting muddier the more I look.

Take a trip to a camera store and handle both cameras, see what feels the most comfortable for you. This should be a large part of your decision.

I am in the same boat as you and after a lot of research and questions I know what im getting.


Point and shoot
+small & easy to carry arround
+simple to use, just point and shoot
-Takes ages to take multiple photo's and is slow
-Quality is generaly not as good
-not as satisfying to use
-not as many options to play with

DSLR
-Bigger to carry
-more expensive
+Nice to hold, like a gun!
+very satisfying to use
+quick rapid picture taking with no lag
+batter image quality
+Lots of options if you need them (there is auto mode)
+lts of expanshions and extra's if you wish, like lense's.


I was choosing between the camera's you said, the nikon D40x and the Canon rebel XTI 400D, but I was also looking at a third, the new Sony Alpha 100 and this is the option I chose.

Unlike the Nikon and Canon, the sony has Image stabalisation built into the camera and so it is on every lense you use, even the kit lense which the others do not have. This was a big plus for the sony. It also has anti dust features which the nikon does not have but the canon does.

The second big point with the sony is that the kit lense which comes with the camera is actually nicer and has a better zoom than both the nikon and canon camera's.

Sony actually bought out Konic manolta which are an experianced SLR camera and lense manufacturer and the sony Alpha 100 is compatable with all these lenses made by this company.

There is a smaller number of available lenses for the sony, but there is a nice selection of lenses available and as time goes on there will be more. also remember you can use Konic minolta lense's two so if you count them there are hundreds!

I wont go into everything as you can have a look into these cameras on the net. may i recommend the website http://www.cameralabs.com as they have great reveiws and nice video reveiws also.

These are the reasons I have chosen the sony alpha 100 and people who have them have left great reveiws and seem to love this camera. The old fashion hard core DSLR users will say either cannon or nikon as they are the old school "experianced" SLR makes and there all possessed and have these makes embeded in there skull.

The best bet is to go into a shop and actually try out all these camera's.

After a trip to Ritz camera and a few other places it actually looks like I won't get either. For what I need, a DSLR is just overkill. I'm now shopping the long zoom point and shoots. I like the Panasonic Lumix FZ18 for the long zoom (18X) and pretty good image quality and I also like the Canon S5 IS for its speed, from off to ready to shoot is far faster than most others too bad its only a 12x. I guess if you look at it, it has about the same zoom as the 18-55 and 55-200 lenses combined. My wife likes the look of the Sony H5 so that is a contender also.

I love the canon rebel body. I have a film rebel but I and a digital point and shot. I've never used the nikon but I hear good things.

Here's the deal, either way, it's a gateway drug. I like long lenses for portrits because when you use a big apeture and a long lense you can do nice sharp people with blury backgrounds. Good for sports photography.

Here is a question I have, would you want to do any macro? Do any of those lenses do it?

The only thing to remember is that if you get a point and shoot and then decide you'd like a different lense later on, you are out of luck.

The DSLR could be looked at as an investment if you plan on getting more in to photography.

tobywuk said:

The old fashion hard core DSLR users will say either cannon or nikon as they are the old school "experianced" SLR makes and there all possessed and have these makes embeded in there skull.

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Yeah. We dont no nothin, speshly since there aint no flash powder no more.

I've had dozens of PnS digitals and the one drawback has always been shutter lag. Usually, a decent DSLR does a 1000 times better, plus you get to really look at what you are shooting through the viewfinder... which is more accurate than looking at a lcd. I'm an old-school Nikon fan, still have 3 Nikon 35mm bodies and a few lenses left, but I have a new D300 on order and I don't know what'll be more fun... the camera (soon) or getting the Mac (soon).

The Canon/Nikon debate could go on forever and its really a what've you done for me lately in the pro world. Nikon's D3 looks like it will be the ultimate DSLR until Canon reacts with something better. Lenses made by both companies are excellent, but be advised that the kit lenses are not the top of the line for either company. I think you're probably looking at the Costco bundles for Canon and Nikon and they are both attractive deals.

Now... with all that said, I surely did enjoy closeup work with my now-gone Nikon CoolPix 990 which I think got as close as a half-inch from the subject in Macro mode. I'm also a woodworker, and if you're looking at seeing grain details you might look into a very inexpensive but mint used camera. The 990 was Nikon's best attempt at a pro-sumer non DSLR, and the only one to use real glass lenses (the cheaper 995 had plastic lenses). Throw a Nikon 3X telextender on those cameras and the telephoto end is pretty awesome.

And I have to say that my Sony T30 is a marvel. It has excellent closeups/macro, plus its easy to keep in your pocket, has a 3" LCD, and built-in image stabilization... something Sony pioneered. This is my fav P&S.

Yeah... I'm a camera junkie... but I also once made a living shooting product shots for catalogs (medium format).

More carmera advice please!!

Hello guys (or ladies), I generally enjoy taking photos (ueing my SonyErisson K800i - yes! a cell phone!!) and playing around with basic editings on my Mac. I am thinking to buy a DSLR because I want to do more with the photo and the current 'quality' is very limited.

As you can tell from my photo 'experience' ;D I know almost nothing about how to choose a good DSLR. So I am asking if anyone can give me some basic advice (or websites) on what to watch out for when I am buying a DSLR for beginner.

Much appreciated for your advice

I am also getting a nice new DSLR, for christmas and I have chosen what im buying myself after lots of reading!

The basic entry level DSLR camera's you are looking at are the Nikon D40/D40x, Canon rebel XTI 400d and the Sony Alpha 100 (or sony A100). I have gone for the sony.

Lots of people will tell you lots of different things about which is better, which they preffer and which they recommend.. With DSLR's it mainly comes down to actually trying the camera's out in the shop and seeing which you like best. Each of these camera's have the pro's and con's over the other.

I will quicky tell you why I went for the sony. It has Image stabalisation built in to it and this means every lense you use, including the kit lense that comes with it, will have this feature. The kit lense also has a nicer zoom with the sony. I have been into shops and tried all these camera's and for some reason i took to the sony.

may I suggest you visit http://www.cameralabs.com as they have very nice reveiws. dont forget to watch there video reveiws which are very good.

*Merged threads with exact same subject - please add to an existing thread instead of posting a new one...*

Thanks tobywuk, much appreciated

drgrafix said:

The Canon/Nikon debate could go on forever and its really a what've you done for me lately in the pro world. Nikon's D3 looks like it will be the ultimate DSLR until Canon reacts with something better.

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Canon 1Ds MKIII 22 MP FF sensor,something like 15 FPS.

Anyways, I'm getting ready to write up a how to buy a DSLR article for my site.

It's basically like this:

Can you justify spending the money on a DSLR? Do you want to get into photography as a serious hobby or do you just need something that takes good pictures for those special occasions? Some P&S have features that more expensive DLSR's have with just as many mega pixels for a fraction of the price.

What type of photography do you want to do? Wildlife? Street? Portraiture? Studio work?

What quality do you want? High? Super high? Magazine? Just something for the folks to look at?

How much are you willing to invest to get that quality? Yes. This is an investment. If you don't see it as such, you'll probably want to stick to P&S.

Do you have the capability to properly edit photos?

Do you want to learn?

Basically, you find the camera with a lens system that best supports what you want to accomplish. Just about every manufacture has a lens for the job. Based on how much you want to spend and what quality you want, you could pay between $80-$2500 for a 50mm lens. The only difference you'll see between those for the most part is quality of the photos. Even cheap high quality glass can run $500 used with Canon and Nikon.

The only two cameras that I'm not a fan of are the D40(and x) and the Olympus with the 2.0 crop sensor. The D40 doesn't have an internal AF motor and relies on lenses with an AF motor. If the lens doesn't have the motor, it doesn't AF. I have no real beef with any of their other cameras. The Olympus DSLR has a 2.0 crop sensor. Higher crop sensor ratios can lead to more noise and a less sharp image. Basically, compare any camera with a crop sensor vs. a full frame for effect.

I shoot Canon. I know Canon's lens line up. I like Canon. I have a 30D. I thought I'd always stay with a crop sensor camera, but now I'm looking at the 5D because the quality of photos that come out of that camera are amazing.

It all boils down to:

Money wanting to spend + seriousness of hobby + quality wanted + time wanting to invest = DSLR you should buy.

Which means that if you've had some camera experience and really want to get into photography, maybe choose a different career path, I'd say skip the entry level cameras and go the next step up. If you just want more control than a P&S can give you with the capabilities to get better quality photos, then just buy an xt, xti, a D70, D50, etc...

For those of you wanting advice on what DSLR to buy, there are numerous websites like Steve's Digital Cameras, FMReviews, and DPReview that offer a ton of technical information. If you're asking _us_ then I'd suggest giving an overview of your budget for say a bare camera body or a kit... if you'd want secondary lenses, what you like to shoot, and whether the DSLR will be used by one "knowledgeable" person or passed around the family & friends. Some folks find the wealth of information and features on a DSLR a bit intimidating. And if you have a decent quality name-brand 35mm film camera do you have any extra lenses? In some cases, you can use old glass on a new body with minor drawbacks, and in other cases you might have to have someone update your lens ($25-$35) mount to allow some functionality. And while all the latest anti-shake technology is nice, photographers have done extremely well without it for nearly 100 years. I find that a monopod is one way around any notion of shake... and it's a bit more convenient than a tripod.

Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, and Olympus are all offering wonderful new entry level DSLRs and contrary to some schools of thought, the picture is _made_ by the photographer and not the lens or the camera. I've seen outstanding shots from users of all the above brands. Digital photography is still mostly art, aided by science so it is far more important to compose the picture you want in your head and then in your camera. And if some tweaking is needed, learn to use Photoshop or another similar product.

To drgrafix's excellent and useful list, I would add Digital Camera Resource Page, a great website from Jeff Keller, the guy that started way back in the day PowerWatch, a website dedicated to news and reviews of the PowerComputing Mac clones. It has thorough in-depth reviews.

MacHeadCase said:

To drgrafix's excellent and useful list, I would add Digital Camera Resource Page, a great website from Jeff Keller, the guy that started way back in the day PowerWatch, a website dedicated to news and reviews of the PowerComputing Mac clones. It has thorough in-depth reviews.

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Ooooooohhhhhh... I knew I left out a great one. Thanks for reminding me. ;D

At this point I think I have ruled out a DSLR, not that is wouldn't be nice but I just really don't need it. I won't be the sole user and my wife won't take time to learn how to change settings so a p&s seems a "safer" route.
In looking at the Canon S5 IS it seems to be the fastest cycle times and has decent zoom so that is leading the pack. A close second is Panasonic FZ18.

I have used DPreview for comparison and reviews and have been happy with that site. Here's what I've learned about the entry level DSLR's, they are all capable cameras for most users that would buy them. The lenses will get you taking pictures but are not up par with most other lenses in a higher price range. Nikon recently stepped up the kit lens to a VR lens and f3.5 (IIRC) at the low end. So their kit lens is now more equivalent to the Canon.
So unless you plan for photography to be a serious hobby or source of income, and you are willing to spend 2-4x the cost of a point and shoot then you may want to shop around some other segments.

For my subjects, kids, turnings, and family vacations I just think some of the high zoom p&s cameras will suffice. That and I don't want to carry multiple lenses around on vacation and I can't justify the $$$ for the high end lenses that will do most of what a 12-15x p&s will do.