First SLR

!rene · Jul 2, 2010

Hello! I am looking for my first SLR and I'm having a hard time deciding... I don't want to spend more then $1500 and I have seen some great package deals online. (Nikon DS5000, D90 and Canon EOS Rebel T2i...) If anyone has used these camaras, what are the pros and cons? It looks like the D5000 pictures come out slightly darker? Is there a big difference between pentaprism and pentamirror? Basically, the things I want to shoot are family, children, animal, spontaneous, nature, landscapes... and I want to be able to capture children and animals in motion I.E. dancing, children sports... I'm obviously not a professional but I do plan on taking some classes in the near future! Any suggestions would be a great help!

Thank you for taking the time to respond!

tirediron · Jul 2, 2010

Your best bet is to down to a bricks and mortar camera store (NOT a big-box store, but a real honest-to-goodness camera store) and explain to the salesman what you want to do and handle the various bodies. The featuresets of most of the entry-level DSLRs whether Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax or Olympus are very similar, and all will produce excellent images. How the camera feels and where the controls are in relation to the size of your hands is a very important, and often overlooked aspect of buying a camera.

djacobox372 · Jul 2, 2010

The lens is more important then the camera. For the things you described you're going to want a fast lens; but those can be expensive.

The D5000 would be a good choice for you, it's much cheaper then the d90 and will yield the same picture quality.

A D5000 with a sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM lens should fit in your budget and would be a good choice. http://cgi.ebay.com/Sigma-18-200mm-...ViewItem&pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item3ca906c318

Alan92RTTT · Jul 2, 2010

I love my D5000 and have taken a ton a pics in various setting in the last year.

It was my first DSLR.

Check the links in my sig for pictures I have taken with the D5000. They will give you a good idea of what the camera can do.

!rene · Jul 2, 2010

Thanks for the info! I will go to a camera store and get a feel for them since I do have smaller hands.. That was something I didn't even consider so thank you for that! The DS5000 is the first SLR I had my eye on but comparing it to the D90 I was worried the pictures wont be as clear as the D90 but after seeing your photos I'm feeling much better about it! So thanks guys!!

KmH · Jul 3, 2010

The D5000 and the D90 have the same image sensor.

The D5000 is essentially a D90 with some of the features and hardware deleted so it can be stuffed in a smaller body and sold for a lower price.

Many professional shooters are women with small hands, and they use the big pro cameras with no problems.