What to buy for first time digital SLR?

[Shesmiles64]

I am looking for a user friendly "beginner" digital SLR and any comments would be greatly appreciated. I will want to take alot of action picks of animals and as well as my son's school plays.
Thanks

 

[Taylor510ce]

I think the best camera for the money right now is the T1i. Sure I am partial and there are better cameras, but its coming down in price and is a very good buy right now. As for fast action, you would want a faster lens. If you are shooting kids, I would at the very least get a 18-50 f/2.8 ( or something close to that ) since you want to be able to use the lens for other stuff as well. All in all, you are probably looking at about $1000 give or take $100 and whether you pay sales tax or buy used.

 

[AdrianC]

Depends on your price range, but I'd say Nikon d3100.

 

[Robin Usagani]

to be honest, none of the DSLRs is user friendly. Entry level cameras have a built in flash.. that's a good thing if you are not planning to buy a flash unit.

 

[Vinny]

For action photos of animals I will assume you are talking outside. A fast lens isn't really needed if it's outside IMO but you need a long focal length lens. You're probably looking in the 200 to 500 mm range depending on how close to the animal you can get, unless your talking domestic animals then almost any lens will be OK.

For school plays it's a different story, you may need a fast lens but you might need a long lens as well. My suggestion is to look for a camera that has a good high ISO performance. I'm not sure if the Canon T1I that was mentioned does or maybe the Canon T2I does. Nikon has a few new cameras out and maybe they fit the bill. Also, the little flash that comes with the camera will not work in most cases even if they allow you to use flash.

Don't think of a DSL as beginner vs expert but look at it as a new way of taking photos if you're used to point and shoots (P&S). It can be as easy as a P&S on fully automatic or it can be as creative as you would care to be on fully manual. Once you become a less beginner a "simple" DSLR may be something you grow out of really fast.

My son was in the jazz band and here is a photo taken with a high ISO and no flash. My lens was a longer one and it isn't all that fast as well.

 

[N E Williams]

I am a beginner myself and have a Nikon D3000, haven't had any problems with it plus Nikon is a great choice in my opinion. Both of my parents own a Nikon