HELP ... Canon XT, XTi, D40 or D80

[00bolt]

Im an amateur wanting to upgrade from my S2. I really want to get SLR, but dont want to spend a fortune. My *plan* was to buy an SLR camera body with a kit lens. Then later down road once I start to get better and NEED extra lenses, buy them...

but since im so new, im almost clueless. Iv looked at review after review and most the technical terms dont mean much to me right now. I notice the D80 is probably the best of the bunch, but of course the most expensive...

Id like to spend no more than $1000 for everything, body, lens, etc... But then I notice so many different lens options. I dont really need to blow up my pictures to poster sizes, in fact Id prolly never really do over 5x7 for the most part. But who knows, may want to do bigger one of the kids one day if turned out okay...

So here is basically my wants/needs

1. under $1000 for entire package
2. want body to be new enough I wont outgrow anytime soon
3. 90% of pictures will be of kids, family, birthdays, etc... but occasional landscape, vacation, etc pictures.
4. more interested in quality over MP size
5. like a lens that is versitle, can do close up and zoom out to birds, etc further away



p.s. i notice most these kit lenses are less than 200mm. My Canon S2 right now is like 432mm, does that mean they only zoom about half as much as my S2?

 

[ANDS!]

Youll definitely be able to get a D40 w/ a lens for under 1000, but you should definitely read up on its "limitations" versus other dSLR cameras. It's definitely the little brother, get your feet weet of Nikon's D-line.

The D80 IS good, but then so are the others. They will all do what youre no doubt looking to do - take sweet amaetuer photos. There are differences of course, but for the average non-pro user - they are pointless.

Functionality wise, is where the differences come in, which is why people suggest picking up each and trying them out. If you have a Ritz or maybe even a FRY's in your are (although Ive NEVER seen a NIKON in FRY's camera dept.) - check em out.

If youre TOTALLY clueless on what certain terms means - dont sweet it. Things like CMOS sensor and aRGB II color profile or w/e - bah. . .I dont even pay attention to that, cause I don't need to, and I'm guessing you wont either. For you pay attention to ease of use, menu's, in-camera options and customizations - those are what'll matter to you (and lead me to recommend the D80 - which can be gotten for 800 for the body, leaving you with some cash to get a used lens - memory sticks are inconsequential due to price).

 

[00bolt]

would the D70s be a good alternative?

 

[ANDS!]

I've never actually used a D70, but IIRC it came before the D50, and the D50 is a solid camera in and of itself, and can be had for 400 bucks (used, body only). With the rest of that you can purchases a couple lenses (a couple more if you go Tamron or Sigma - but if you can afford it, dont). I had one in Japan and it rocked my world.

But I PERSONALLY recommend paying for a D80, just cause its new and wont be "old" and will have a good resale value, should I ever chose to get a new one (I doubt it).

So long story short, if you want to stretch cash for value: D50. If you have a few more quid to spend, D80 and a lens (thats what I got recently - D80 and a 50MM f/1.8 Nikkor lens - 910 together shipped).

 

[ANDS!]

D50 at BHPhoto

70-300MM f/4-5.6 lens

50MM f/1.8 lens

Total cost - like 700 or so. All from BHPhoto. That I think would make a nice neat lil introduction to dSLR-Photography package.

 

[00bolt]

well I guess Ill have to decide which body to get. Looks like the big question is the lens. What is the best all around lens? I dont expect to do any real macro shooting (although might be interested in this later on). I would like a lens that can take pictures of the kids, kid's sporting events (why I thought D70s was good with 1/8000), etc... If I venture out of photographing the kids, it would be of whatever I see I like.. for example a red barn in a field, maybe a cool building downtown, maybe a cool flower in a field, etc...

I saw a 18-200 vibration reduction lens that sounds great, but its like $800 itself on ebay...

 

[00bolt]

wow, now I like that price of under $700 even more. One more thing I forgot about, what about filters? Would I really benefit from a UV, Circular, ND ?? what size would go on here? I heard Hoya Pro1 are the best, but not sure what size.

 

[00bolt]

does this mean anymore more to you than it does to me? Looks like they were actually announced the same day btw..

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/com...ebyside&cameras=nikon_d50,nikon_d70s&show=all

and

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/

 

[ANDS!]

What is the best all around lens?

That all depends on what you intend to do with the camera; that will dictate what type of lens you should get.

I would like a lens that can take pictures of the kids, kid's sporting events (why I thought D70s was good with 1/8000)

All the above cameras can do this, and if you have someone moving at a speed that needs 1/8000 of a second to capture - put down the camera and get them some track shoes - 0-0. Seriously, for the majority of stuff, 1/500 is fine to grab those instant moments.

The 18-200 is the all-purpose lens that alot of people swear by due to its versatility. Eventually I'll get one myself. Yes, it is expensive, but its meant to reduce the number of lenses you have overall (a 18MM wide lens, a 18-55MM standard lens, a 70-200MM telephoto nature/sport lens, etc.) while still maintaining image quality all the way out to 200MM (which it appearantly does).

Again, I've never used a D70 (or the updated D70s), but from what I hear - it and the D50 are on the same virtual level.

 

[sabbath999]

wow, now I like that price of under $700 even more. One more thing I forgot about, what about filters? Would I really benefit from a UV, Circular, ND ?? what size would go on here? I heard Hoya Pro1 are the best, but not sure what size.

You need to know what lenses you are going to use before you spend money on polarizers... they are expensive (the good ones are, the bad ones are not worth owning), and you need to be able to move them between as many lenses as you can. I have set up my bigger lenses so they step up to the standard pro-size 77 mm for all my specialty filters.

As far as the UV's go, again it depends on your camera... for example, with a D80 they have the UV coating on the sensor so you really don't need one for UV protection.

Having said that, you should (IMHO) have a protective filter over EVERY lens to keep out the muck, and protect your front coating. This can be a UV, Skylight or even a plain optical glass filter... your choice.

I have a friend who will never use one of these because he says it degrades the quality of his images. Then again, he doesn't have to pay for his equipment either... I do, so I keep protective filters on mine.

Find out your filter sizes, THEN shop for them. The prices of the filters are largely dependent on the sizes they are. A 52mm is much cheaper than a 77mm, but if you have several larger lenses step-up rings are cheap and you can use your expensive 77mm's on all of them (just be careful watching for vignetting (darkening around the corners) if you start stacking filters.

 

[00bolt]

so does this look like a good deal? comes with 2 lenses...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280122257801&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

 

[ANDS!]

The only items out of that auction that you should "bid for" are the SD card, the camera and the kit lens. Don't know too much about Quantaray quality, but I'm guessing its not that fantastic.

I'd pay maybe 500 for that package since the rest is just fluff to add to the eBay listing copy (folks just pass up auctions with two or three lines of text I've seen).

Seriously - go through BHPhoto or one of the eBay camera stores (CametaCameras or Roberts Distributors). This way you KNOW you're getting a good deal, and quality equipment (just got my D80 from Roberts).

 

[WDodd]

I'm not sure if they have any refurbished deals on Nikon's but I got a refurb. Canon Rebel XT with kit lens and a CF card for around $550. It was factory refurbished so it was warrantied through Canon and it works perfectly fine. Might be something that you would want to check out.

 

[photoman720]

I have the rebel XT (350D). It shoots very, very detailed pictures and I love it. Check out my gallery for some of the pictures shot with it. The pictures on there are even compressed and look great. I got the Rebel XT body for 500 and the 50mm f/1.8 lens for 70. Add in a 1gb cf card and that is about $600. You can feel free to add some lenses.

 

[JMercado]

I've also got the Canon Digital Rebel XT and am enjoying it very much. I picked it up online for $500 body only, the popular 50mm f/1.8 for $70, couple of 2gb Kingston CF cards. Also got a nice Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for about the equiv of $300 from my LCS.

I pretty much keep my Tamron on my camera on as a standard walk-about lens. I'm wanting to invest in some nice L glass (particularly the 70-200 2.8 non-IS) but I want to see what direction I go with my photography before I step up to throw that money down on a lens. Usually pay less for Tamron / Sigma lenses at my LCS, but the L lenses they have here cost a bit more than online stores.

As far as filters go, I've never noticed anything negative about having my UV filter on my lens inside, but it's definitely noticeable outdoors. Also buy my filters locally (Kenko) and I'm not disappointed in their quality.