A DSLR for my birthday,question is which one?

[PJL]

^ Noise is similar to grain in film. The higher the ISO setting on a digital camera, the more likely you are to get "noise," which ultimately comes out as kind of a pebbly effect and results in a loss of sharpness. You only really have to worry about it if you're trying to shoot in low light conditions without a flash.

Nikons do not produce better images than Canons, nor do Canons produce better images than Nikons. It's all in how the photographer chooses to take their pictures and what kind of post-processing they do. Really, the most important choice is what's comfortable in your hand, not the name on the housing or the lens cover.

 

[lunaaa]

~£800 budget, Thats great!

£300 max - second hand Canon 20D from ebay (probably includes a lens.)
~ £100 - Canon 20D compatible battery grip
£80 - a good camera bag (lowepro slingshot aw 300 is great.)
£12 - Compact flash adapter (to use sd cards instead of a cf which are much dearer)
£20 - 4x4gb sd cards at rating "2"

thats £510 all in so far meaning you have £290 to spend on a lens or a tripod

I have the 450D, as nice as it is, it feels too fake for me, its body is made from hard plastic whereas the canon 20D is made of a magnesium body and feels tougher and is a little more weighted (Thats a good thing)
and the 20D has a brilliant sensor (according to online review / comparison sites)
and it is cheaper than the 450D when bought second hand.
the 20D is a semi-pro body and the 450D is an budget body

it's 800 dollars not pounds i think that lowers the udget than the prices you mentioned

 

[lunaaa]

^ Noise is similar to grain in film. The higher the ISO setting on a digital camera, the more likely you are to get "noise," which ultimately comes out as kind of a pebbly effect and results in a loss of sharpness. You only really have to worry about it if you're trying to shoot in low light conditions without a flash.

Nikons do not produce better images than Canons, nor do Canons produce better images than Nikons. It's all in how the photographer chooses to take their pictures and what kind of post-processing they do. Really, the most important choice is what's comfortable in your hand, not the name on the housing or the lens cover.

Thanks for clearing it up.

 

[KmH]

Go to a store, try some out and decide which one feels the best in your hands and is the easiest for you to control.

Closer inspection of this oft repeated premise, reveals it need not be one the top 10 things to consider when choosing a camera.

Human beings have opposable thumbs and sufficiently fine muscle control to adapt to any reasonably laid out ergonomics.

The features a camera has are way more important than the feel.

 

[Cedar]

Reading the whole thread, I just thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

I did it the way everyone should with DSLR photography. I tried out different interfaces at the time with different entry level DSLR's, I ended up going with a Nikon D40. I loved that camera. The interface made sense, the camera felt good, it took great pictures until I hit my limit with the camera. I could not do what I wanted to do.

So I spent a month trying out different cameras a brands until I came across the Canon 50D. Magnesium body, great interface, solid pictures, great processor.

Just start off low, and go up! Canon has XSI and Nikon has their D series. Whichever feels good to you!

 

[UUilliam]

in responce to your query about nikons having more vivid colours.

It is:
1. Post processing
2. Nikons come with a default colour setup that gives better saturation than canon, however you can change canon (not sure about nikon) colour bas you have the option to increase / decrease saturation, contrast, brightness sharpness etc...
these will only affect a JPEG format though, if you shoot RAW you can do a much better job on your computer.

And I suppose my advice is now obsolete, however the 20D and a lens is still in your price range.

 

[gsgary]

I wouldn't shoot Canon....They're so clumsy to me. But that's just my opinion. Nikons have much simpler faces, and when you're starting out, that's the most important thing- something you can learn on.

Nikon glass (Especially the kit lenses) is also the bee'z kneez. G'luck.

that's avaluable tip . i dont want to be stuck on a camera that i dont understand how to use its features it would take alot to learn

Don't listen total bull **** :thumbdown:

 

[lunaaa]

its narrowed down to these two now,canon 450D and Nikon D5000.

 

[Live_free]

its narrowed down to these two now,canon 450D and Nikon D5000.

Out of those two I'd go with the D5000.

 

[Newcastle Shooter]

Glad to see you have narrowed it down to two cameras! Best go and see which feels the best for you.

A good resource (not a review site) is:

DxOMark Sensor

On a purely technically rated basis it allows you to see how individual dslrs rate on specific areas like noise and colour saturation etc.

 

[lunaaa]

its narrowed down to these two now,canon 450D and Nikon D5000.

Out of those two I'd go with the D5000.

can you tell me why?

 

[Live_free]

its narrowed down to these two now,canon 450D and Nikon D5000.

Out of those two I'd go with the D5000.

can you tell me why?

For one I like Nikon, to be honest that is the main reason. Both those cameras have basically the same features and specs. Look down the road though. Do you like Nikons later cameras or Canons? Do you like Nikons glass? Or Canons? At that low of a level in both line ups either way you go your gonna get the same stuff and you will be happy.

 

[lunaaa]

Glad to see you have narrowed it down to two cameras! Best go and see which feels the best for you.

A good resource (not a review site) is:

DxOMark Sensor

On a purely technically rated basis it allows you to see how individual dslrs rate on specific areas like noise and colour saturation etc.

i used the website to compare canon450D to Nikon D5000 and despite not undertsanding alot of terms i concluded that the nikon D5000 is better.

 

[martinsoler]

Hi if you're going to take a Canon entry go straight to the 500D. It's quite a lot better than the 450D and almost the same price.
I took quite a few photos with it and it is pretty good entry level. You can see my 500D shots here: Canon 500D Martin Soler Photography

I was pretty happy with it until it was stolen. But that's a whole other story.

Only trouble that I seemed to have was noise. But I never found out if that was because of my inept use or if it was the camera.

I currently have the Nikon D300 and I think the pics have a better quality overall. Though lower mega pix. You can see my D300 pics here:
nikon d300 Martin Soler Photography

See for yourself if you can notice the difference. On Nikon try the D90 it's the 500D equivalent.

 

[Wiggz]

Nikon D5000 - I love the info button... if you highlight something on the menu or any of the settings and don't understand what it is you can hold down the info button and it explains that function to you. PERFECT for a beginner IMO (it helped me a lot neway)