6 months hiking in Azië + photography = what gear ?

[JinXter]

Hi guys,

Im the new guy on photoforum and my name is Michaël aka JinXter
I've just finished my degree in cinematography in Brussels Belgium. At this moment im preparing my 6 month travvel to china,vietnam and thailand.
because of my love for film and photography i would not survive doing nothing creative along the way. Thats why im looking into buying my first SLR camera, but as you may know its very hard to chose one, simply becaus there's so many cams available. So thats why im here, i was hoping you guys could help me out.

Heres all the info that i would like to be respected in choosing a camera.

1. I have big hands,and wear glasses
2. has to be entry level priced, (ebay,amazon,...) because im afraid its going to be stolen along the way.
3. Would like to have a kidlens set (up to 200 mm)
4. must have manual control, don't like modes, not planning on using them.
5. AF, could be handy, but really i like taking control.
6. Battery life, as much shots as it can give me, because i don't know how many times i can reload.
7. Megapix, don't really care, would like to have at least 1920 x 1200 resolution. So i guess anything above 6 mpx.
8. all the advice you could give me!

The camera's that i looked into were

Canon XTI
Pentax K200D
Nikon D40
Nikon D60
Nikon D80 (would really be the limit, in price, acutally a bit to high)
Sony,minolta = not, because of the small viewfinder (glasses)

Ohh i dont need live view, but would like to have dof preview.


Hope you guys could help out.
Youll hear more from me on the forum!

THANKS

JinXter

 

[Rogan]

well a D40 with the nikon 18-200mm VR would be a good plan for you in my opinion,
or a nikon D50 or D70(s) if the size is important because these 2 cameras are bigger gripped for bigger hands

 

[JinXter]

Hi Rogan,
Thanks for the reply
I not really leaning toward the D40, because it seems to be the oldest entry lsr camera
available. But then again i have been reading kind reviews of the D40.
6mpx would be the limit but would like some more resolution if possible.
8 would suit me fine , 10 more then enough.
The D50 seems indeed a bit bigger, so thats a plus but its hard to find.

 

[Iron Flatline]

You should go to a big store, and hold them in your hands to see if you are ok with the controls, etc.

Take a good long look at the Pentax - good price, and it is weather-sealed.

 

[Deadeye008]

You could pick up a Canon 20d(which is a littel bigger than the xt/xti/xsi, to fit your hands better) with the kit(18-55) lens. It's 8.2mp. Pair that with a Canon 55-200 IS which is supposed to be an awesome lens for the price. That would make a good lightweight entry combo IMO.

 

[JinXter]

I would like to visit a store, need to find one who has them all, were i live i don't now any stores like that.

The canon 20D seems intresting,but its hard to find, does seem abit outdated?

My concern with the panasonic is not being able to go full manual (no dedicated buttons) and the junk modes on the camera, comes in handy for fast action, but full control is priority. Hmmm. But those kitlensens are really great (for the money that is)
don't think you have better ones included with the nikons and canon.