which dslr camera?

[Melontong]

Hello all,

I'm very interested in photography and wanting to take photography further than only as a hobby. However, Im confused on what best dslr camera to buy.

Im interested in taking people's portraits and spontaneous pictures. I was thinking to buy Nikon d40x as it's great camera for beginners. But unfortunately it doesnt give much room for wider range of lenses and therefore improvement. How about Xti?

Need your help guys

Thank you...

 

[Bryant]

Well me being a Canon shooter, I'm obviously going to direct you into that direction. The xxxD (XT, XTI, XSI) are all great cameras for beginners. The XSI is the best right now with 12.1 MP. I personally never dabbled in the rebel line. I went straight to the 40D because my interests are in sports, so there was no need for me to purchase twice.

There are a ton of complaints that the Rebel series are small for peoples liking. ie... too small to hold or too light. I'd suggest just going into a local camera store just to hold each of them to see what feels the best. Remember, if you really want to get better with photography, you better hope that camera is comfortable in your hands.

 

[Village Idiot]

Hello all,

I'm very interested in photography and wanting to take photography further than only as a hobby. However, Im confused on what best dslr camera to buy.

Im interested in taking people's portraits and spontaneous pictures. I was thinking to buy Nikon d40x as it's great camera for beginners. But unfortunately it doesnt give much room for wider range of lenses and therefore improvement. How about Xti?

Need your help guys

Thank you...

How serious are you about photography? You might want to skip the "entry levels" and go with the next range up. You can find Canon 30D's for cheap.

 

[Sim]

You should go to your local camera shop and hold/try out various models and see which one you're most comfortable with. All the DSLRs out there are capable of taking great pictures...

 

[Village Idiot]

You should go to your local camera shop and hold/try out various models and see which one you're most comfortable with. All the DSLRs out there are capable of taking great pictures...

But some have much better features that allow you to take great pictures the moment they happen rather than missing the opportunity because of lack of feature/ease of use.

 

[jwsciontc]

i got a point and shoot for my first, and am looking to get a dslr over the winter

and bryant i mostly do sports as well what makes the 40d so good for sport shooting?

 

[maulrat]

I have an Canon Rebel XTi and I absolutely love it. I never thought I would love taking photos this much. I'm really glad that I bought the Rebel line for my entry into photography. It helped me see whether or not I truely want to put some serious cash down into the sport. I like to think of photography as a sport.

I am now finding that I want my next move to be to a full frame body; probably the 5D. I prefer landscape and model photography as oppose to sports/action that's why going with the Rebel line actually saved me a little cash.

As for Nikon vs. Canon, of course I am comfortable with the Canon. I've tried messing with a D80 but I felt like a PC user trying to use a Mac. The brand you learn from is usually the brand you'll stick with throughout your career.

 

[ANDS!]

Any dSLR made within the last - lets say - 4/5 years, will be sufficient. I would personally go the used route, as while the newer cameras will have more bells and whistles and hoo-hah!, if you don't know that this is something you want to STICK with, you'll be stuck with a pretty expensive camera and some lenses.

I would say if you could find an older Nikon/Canon (Nikon D50/Can 300/350D) then go with that and spend 300 dollars or less; then put some cash down on some used lenses. All told, you should be able to spend about 600 dollars or less on a package, while still being able to maintain resale value should you choose to not continue with it.

As for the D40x not having a wide range of lense - poppy cock. You can use ANY lens on the D40x. If however, you want the camera to do your focusing for you then yes, you will need to buy lenses with the Auto-Focusing motor on the body of the lens. Here are a list of Sigma (third party) lenses that you can auto-focus with on the D40:

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/news/news.asp?nID=3289

I would check each lense to make sure it has the HSM - Hyper Sonic Motor (one in the list does not).

I'm sure various other third-party manufacturers have similar nomenclature for their AFS (thats the designation for auto-focus motor on the body) line of lenses, so look into that, dont just take the crowds word for it because "boohoo the 50MM cant autofocus on the D40!"

 

[djacobox372]

If you're in the price range of a d40, yet are concerned over the lens selection: look for a used d70 or d80. The D70 can be had for about $350 used, and is everything the d40 and more--with the only negative being the small lcd screen size.

If you can spend a little more, like $750 or so, a used d200 is an excellent choice, it will even light meter with old non-cpu lenses.

I personally recommend spending a bit more and buying a d200 or better--you'll be happier in the long run.

 

[sultan]

I am not a canon fan (I dislike their lousy ergonomics) so I suggest a Nikon or a Pentax.
Skip the D40X and get either a plain D40 or a D60. Also consider a slightly used D80 if you want autofocus with all lenses but don't worry about lens selection.

All lenses suitable to the D40 will AF on it. The 18-55, 55-200, 70-300 (new AF-S one), 50mm f/1.4 (new AF-S one announced at photokina) and many many more (I listed about 1/15 of all AF-S lenses) will all AF on the D40. And even those older lenses will work if you can live with MF.

Consider Pentax too. The K200D is a tad pricier (about $600 with the 18-55) but it has better ergonomics than all other entry level cameras (*feels better in hand but bigger like semi-pro cameras), excellent high ISO performance (far better than D40/D60), far better build quality than anything it it's ballpark (extensive weather seals, reinforced ABS plastic and steel body, very solid feel) and a slightly better viewfinder too.

 

[beaminge36]

I believe the 40d is regarded as better for sports because it shoots at 6.5fps vs 3.5fps, has a shutter lag speed half that of the xt/xti/xsi and for night shots, it has a higher ISO range and less noise at 1600. I personally don't have one but its on my wish list and I think these are some of the selling points over the rebel series if you want to shoot sports. I'm sure others who are currently using it can add to that.

Nick

 

[Melontong]

thank you all for the feedbacks

Im now looking at the canon xsi and xti but confused between the two. xti is cheaper so that i can save on the lenses later. However, xsi has the image stabilisation feature (im into taking people's portraits but not sports) and i guess that should be counted in taking portraits?? or am i wrong?

 

[manaheim]

Nikon!

Sorry, wasn't enough support on this thread for Nikon, so I had to toss it in there.

Surprised no one asked these questions, but here goes:

- what is your budget?
- what do you think you will like to shoot?
- how serious are you about photography vs. just getting some nice shots of the kids or whatever?

Also...search. This forum gets this question about 1x a day. There's an assload of responses to this kind of thing. Yes... an assload. Search is your friend.

 

[Tolyk]

thank you all for the feedbacks

Im now looking at the canon xsi and xti but confused between the two. xti is cheaper so that i can save on the lenses later. However, xsi has the image stabilisation feature (im into taking people's portraits but not sports) and i guess that should be counted in taking portraits?? or am i wrong?

The XSi does not have an image stabilization feature, the lens it comes with does. You can pick up that lens for any camera, though I wouldn't recommend it. The 18-55 IS isn't exactly a very good lens.

If you're going the Canon route, pick up the XTi, cheaper batteries, longer lasting due to smaller LCD screen, better button layout than the XSi (in my opinion at least).

I would second the vote for the K200, fantastic little camera body, nice weight to it, and the weather proofing is nice. This one uses four AA batteries, so replacing them whenever you need to isn't an issue.

The D80 was also mentioned, it's a great camera as well, with full lens availability and dual spin wheels for faster setting changes in Manual mode.

Really, it's all about your budget, as Manaheim asked.

 

[dklod]

I will third the Pentax. Although I have not tried the K200, I have been using the K20D's twin. The pentax body is very easy to use. I have average hands and I dont have any problems locating the wheels, important buttons and with a battery grip locked in, its even easier to use. Very heavy duty construction and some great lens options. Again, it all comes down to budget and if you can look past all the nikon and canon hype, Pentax is a great option.