Hey All

haleyme · Jun 26, 2007

Hey everyone! My name is Haley and I am new here but not new to photography, but im sure in comparison to others I am probably new to that as well.
I have been at it for a couple years now and I couldn't do anything that would make me happier. I am done with school now and wanting to get into the business world of photography. Anyways, right now I have a Canon Elan II EOS. I love having a film camera, and this one takes great pictures! I have a few weddings that I am doing and hopefully by September or so I will have the money to get a new camera.. I want to get an SLR digital camera.. A more professional one. I am looking to spend around... 1,000 or so. SO the point of this thread is this: What would you suggest I get? Camera wise? I am very happy with Canon and would love to get another one, but I don't have my heart set on it. ANYWAYS! Thanks for reading this, hopefully I will get some responses that I can look into.

-Haley

Garbz · Jun 26, 2007

Hi and welcome to the forum. Have you got any investment in the Canon system like lenses or flashes? If so I suggest stay with Canon. If not you have limitless choices. All cameras from various manufacturers do the same thing. The choice of camera ultimately comes down to how comfortable it feels, and how comfortable you are with the controls.

Quality wise there's little notable difference between a Canon EOS350D, Nikon D40x, Pentax K10D?100D Not sure which one was the entry level one there, or an Olympus Evolt 410. Fortunately this is not a rush decision so take you time

haleyme · Jun 26, 2007

Thanks- I don't really have much invested in the camera as far as lenses and flashes go, but I would like to stay with Canon so that I can use the equipment for both cameras. I will look into those cameras, thanks.

sayambhu · Jul 6, 2007

Dear Haley ( tell me you're EMINEM's daughter please please pleaseeee !! :-D ) - Garbz gave you an appropriate list of cameras already, however, I believe you'll get a Nikon D70s, D80 or higher for $1000.

I use a D70 that's highly reliable with great customer service from Nikon, but I suggest you decide upon the camera resolution (Megapixels) you need first. 6 MP is considered entry level for professional photographs. D70 gives me 6.1 MP which is thoroughly not enough for me. (you'll find photographs taken with D70 on my website). Remember that you're gonna keep this camera for quite a while now, so have a steady future planning beforehand.

I have nothing personal against film cameras, but please, dont get one. The horizon of opportunities and effective long time cost reductions with Digi-SLRs are too wide to be left behind.

I suggest you choose between Nikon and Canon. Both my father and I are devoted to Nikon, however, most of my colleagues at National Geographic Expeditions are inclined to Canon. I dont know much about it... but do let us know on what you decide before you buy one.

Wish you a happy new camera !

haleyme · Jul 7, 2007

Ok so, here are two cameras I am stuck between.

This camera I actually found on Craigslist, http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ele/367061300.html

Its the D70. I realized that it does only have 6.1 mp, and at first that didn't bother me very much. Now I am concerned with it. Its a great deal, considering the lenses that he is including, and also the flash attachments and the cards, but again, 6mp?

The other camera I am looking at is the sister model of that one, brand new. The Nikon D40X. I can get it at best buy for 800$, with 10.2 mp. I know you probably already know all this but, which would you go with? The newer camera with higher megapixels or the older one with more accesories.

paul1 · Jul 7, 2007

Hiya Haley.

I have the Nikon D70s, its brilliant, just received a canvas print back from the printers a couple of weeks ago, 45inches by 30inches and it has lost no colour no sharpness there is no sign of any pixelating looks just terrific, if your looking for a great camera then you cant go wrong with the D70 or D70s.
Hope this helps

sayambhu · Jul 7, 2007

Dear Haley,

is the D70 you looked at a used one ? If so, make sure its in perfect working condition. One of my colleagues got herself a used Leica M6 at a nominal price only to find the lens scratched throughout by FFP (free floating particles) like coarse sands etc. : that could be identified only when we had enlarged prints. At times people try cleaning the sensor of a D-SLR and damage them accidentally beyond recovery. Please take care this one has nothing like that.

D70's definitely good for entry level professional photography, but do remember what your future aims are. My father got a D2x at first with a single lens and got other accessories and lenses gradually over a period of 6 months or so. You dont need to rush things up and buy *everything* right now, do you ?

We are stuck onto maximum 8 x 10" prints on Epson Stylus printers at 6.1 MP; that's a thumbrule... here's a reference we use :

Because you want to pursue photography as a business, if you are looking for serious, professional prints (*mind the words*), you'll lose aspects of a good photograph above 8 x 10" at 6.1 MP. (And I have no remote clue how to get 45 x 30" at 3000 x 2400 resolution !

)

Garbz · Jul 8, 2007

This is hit and miss though. There's a lot of good reasons why you can get larger prints, not the least of which is if you decide to print a 30x20" photo you wouldn't look at it closely enough to realise it's not 300PPI when printing.

The fact is the "acceptable" standard of 300PPI applies if you're going to stick your nose on the paper to look at it, and there's no reason why you couldn't use a good re-sampler or even a crap one to get much larger prints. A 6.1Mpx compared to a 12Mpx doesn't mean the smaller is much worse.

haleyme · Jul 8, 2007

man, you guys are making this very difficult!!!

i just found a camera on craigslist, again, and its an 8 month old canon 30D. she is asking $900. this is what the ad says

"I bought this Canon EOS 30D digital SLR in late October, 2006 and have used it for about 3000 actuations. However, I have used it with great care and there is not much scratches, if any at all. I used LCD protector membrane so the LCD surface is in perfect condition. I used to change lenses for a couple of times when I borrow lenses from my friends.

The reason I am selling it, if you may want to ask, is that I have upgraded to 5D, a full frame dSLR. I want to recover some cash by selling this one."

I went into best buy yesterday just to play with the cameras and see how they felt, and i actually didnt like any of the nikons. i didnt like how they felt and i didn't like how they functioned (as much as the canons at least) thats when i started looking at the 30d and the canon xti. the lense on the nikon camera in the store was broken. its made completely of plastic.

jstuedle · Jul 8, 2007

I still shoot the D1X, it is 5.47 MP. I have stunning 36" X 54" prints from it. The trick is to use good software to up-sample the file. Something like Genuine Fractals. The other option is to up-sample 10% at a time with something like Photoshop. Make sure you print with a file that is 300 dot per inch for best quality. The big trick for and good print is to start with an excellent file. This is getting it right in the camera, perfect exposure, perfect focus, good contrast and low noise. The quality of the file is more important than the number of pixels. A lot of pixels can help if the image file is less than perfect. Again, JMHO.

sayambhu · Jul 9, 2007

haleyme said:
man, you guys are making this very difficult!!!

i just found a camera on craigslist, again, and its an 8 month old canon 30D. she is asking $900. this is what the ad says

"I bought this Canon EOS 30D digital SLR in late October, 2006 and have used it for about 3000 actuations. However, I have used it with great care and there is not much scratches, if any at all. I used LCD protector membrane so the LCD surface is in perfect condition. I used to change lenses for a couple of times when I borrow lenses from my friends.

The reason I am selling it, if you may want to ask, is that I have upgraded to 5D, a full frame dSLR. I want to recover some cash by selling this one."

I went into best buy yesterday just to play with the cameras and see how they felt, and i actually didnt like any of the nikons. i didnt like how they felt and i didn't like how they functioned (as much as the canons at least) thats when i started looking at the 30d and the canon xti. the lense on the nikon camera in the store was broken. its made completely of plastic.

right, all the best with whatever you select.

Jon, The Elder · Jul 10, 2007

Hi Haley....I shoot with the 30D (for money). It is an excellent tool for what you propose.
The $900.00 price is not bad. Does she include extra battery or any other add-ons?

WDodd · Jul 10, 2007

The body can only take you so far. Don't forget about glass.

haleyme · Jul 11, 2007

Jon said:
Hi Haley....I shoot with the 30D (for money). It is an excellent tool for what you propose.
The $900.00 price is not bad. Does she include extra battery or any other add-ons?

i believe it was the camera and just the standard lense that came with it. no extra lenses or batteries.