I think I'm ready to make the big step to DSLR -- my brain hurts!

[drewsuf82]

Evening everyone!

I have always found taking shots to be fun. When I was a kid my grandparents made the costly mistake of giving me a Kodak camera which took the old school 110 film oh the fun I had with that camera. Then I got lucky enough to get my hands on a 35 mm Point and Shoot Kodak camera and had much fun with that and wow it was a lot cheaper than the 110.

Then I took a break, well a good break and ended up getting a really cheap 1.3MP digital camera prior to graduating with a very small 32MB memory card (XD!!!!) It opened a whole new world to me and not having to develop film was GREAT (so long as you had a laptop nearby)

Fast forward and I got a Panasonic Lumix which was my first of the "zoomers" as I like to call it. After a year with messing with it I decided that I just wasn't getting what I wanted and made the leap to my first Powershot. After playing with that for what seemed like forever I made the huge leap to the camera that I have now which is the Canon Powershot S5IS. The camera has served me well and I have really enjoyed playing with it and the "manual" mode on it has been fun but I really feel that I can't get what I want out of the camera. So it's been collecting dust for a while because I really just haven't been happy with many of the shots that I have gotten with it (wow a lot of noise in the shots with this camera and trying to get multiple shots is a bit rough) so I know that I'm yearning for more and so many people tell me that my shots are great but I'm simply not impressed because I can see all of the imperfections left by the camera.

Fast forward to today Spring break is coming up and I am taking a trip, well a long road trip and as much as I love the Canon and it's layout I know that my trusty powershot will simply not satisfy me in my trip. I have been browsing forums for what seems like months and there's a few good sales and I'm itching to take the leap (even though I know I will be in the doghouse for it)

As always I know that the more detail that I can include the better the answers I will get so here's what I like shooting: Landscapes, Macro Shots (flowers, water, leaves, branches, I have also recently gotten into taking macro shots of my shrimp in my tanks, really anything that I go OoOoOo look at the detail), Buildings, and Wildlife. I really don't have much interest in shooting people, I don't know I just never have enjoyed it, however there will be the occassional random family or pet shot going on with it, but I really feel that I can do alright with a P/S for that.

My largest complaints with my Powershot s5is is the following: A ton on noise in a lot of shots, extremely limited manual focus, auto focus drives me mad with this camera as well...landscape shots = great anything closer than hills in the distance = maddening to focus on what you want, response time (ie I take a picture it takes forever to be ready for the next), and it is HORRIBLE (I can't stress this enough) at low light shots...

Right now the two cameras that I am going insane over choosing are the T3i, D3200 and possibly the T4i

My trip is rapidly coming up on me and I don't really want to use this poor Powershot for it. If you have a preference to one please let me know, I've been looking at a lot of the specs and I'm just not sure where to go at all. I have had ZERO experience with Nikon, I know that I have really enjoied using the powershot when it came to manual settings, its just AGH the photo quality drives me insane with it. I'm really looking to make my decision here pretty quickly so any and all help would be massively appreciated....there's good deals to be had on all of the cameras I listed above I just need some help/personal experience/hope that someone's been wehre I am and can help me....

Sorry for the wall of text crit If you need any more info let me know I will be happy to reply!

 

[Ballistics]

I know there's a lot of weight placed on buying a DSLR, but if you want one, buy one. It's not something that you really need to prepare for, except doing research on which you buy.
Any camera you buy, is going to take you a couple of days to get used to. Even if it's from a company that you know well.

My suggestion - get whichever one you think is better. People talk about going to a camera shop and using one there for 10 minutes and basing your purchase on ergonomics and such,
but I'd rather have an uncomfortable camera that takes the best pictures in it's price range.
I would get the Nikon D3200 but it's up to you.


I don't know what your budget is, but I would get a decent lens right off the bat. Like the Tamron 17-55mm 2.8. It's a decent walk around lens, it's cheap, and it gets good reviews.

 

[drewsuf82]

Ballistics thanks for your reply. The Nikon seems to have some decent options and everyones saying that the nikon lenses are better further on...would it be better for me to look at the D5100 instead ?

 

[Ballistics]

Ballistics thanks for your reply. The Nikon seems to have some decent options and everyones saying that the nikon lenses are better further on...would it be better for me to look at the D5100 instead ?

I think I would do that if I were you. The sensor in the D5100 is the same sensor in the D7000 which I own. I owned the D5100 for a week before I returned it for the D7000 because it has an internal focus motor.

If you think photography could become a more serious endeavor for you, I'd wait and save up for a better body all together. If you don't want to wait though, you can't go wrong with the D5100 or the D3200. Check out the refurbished options to save some money.

 

[drewsuf82]

Right now I know that the 7000 is out of by budget range, I would rather save that 300 to put towards another lens or etc... as for it becoming a more serious endeavor I could see that happening especially with my intended college major (cultural resource management) I just want to get that first step out of the way if you know what I mean

 

[cynicaster]

I'm going to give a rather non-orthodox perspective here. If you already know (or intend to learn) how to manually set your exposure and thus use a DSLR to its fullest, don't waste another second, get out there and buy one.

If, on the other hand, your dial is going to be cemented in the A or P modes for the next few years, save your money. My dad has the S5IS and has taken all kinds of excellent photos with it over the last few years; it really is a great "bridge" camera.

Another thing with DSLR is that, while the potential for great results is high, individual lenses are typically really good at a certain thing, but no good for something else. If you want to do all of the things you listed in a way that is truly a cut above what you're already doing, be prepared to open that wallet for some different lenses.

 

[Ballistics]

I'm going to give a rather non-orthodox perspective here. If you already know (or intend to learn) how to manually set your exposure and thus use a DSLR to its fullest, don't waste another second, get out there and buy one.

If, on the other hand, your dial is going to be cemented in the A or P modes for the next few years, save your money. My dad has the S5IS and has taken all kinds of excellent photos with it over the last few years; it really is a great "bridge" camera.

Another thing with DSLR is that, while the potential for great results is high, individual lenses are typically really good at a certain thing, but no good for something else. If you want to do all of the things you listed in a way that is truly a cut above what you're already doing, be prepared to open that wallet for some different lenses.

Many expert photographers that use DSLR's make use of Aperture and Shutter priority modes. Sometime's it is all they use. It takes a week of shooting to fully grasp how to use your camera in manual.

 

[Overread]

My advice? Based on your interest in wildlife and macro?

Go Canon! For two primary reasons:

1) Canon has a 400mm f5.6 L; 300mm f4 IS L and 100-400mm all within the same rough price bracket - Nikon only has a 300mm f4 in the same price bracket and whilst Nikon has some older lenses that can be used, Canon is generally more varied for options in this area.
Of course both have access to the same range of 3rd party options from companies like Sigma, Tokina and Tamron who can provide some cheaper and similarly priced options for the market as well.

2) Canon MPE 65mm macro - if you really like your macro this is a fantastic lens capable of giving you up to 5 times life size (other macro lenses will only get to life size reproduction). It's very specialist and not a lens to start with, but further down the road its an ideal option for getting into high magnification photography.



But honestly speaking Nikon or Canon are great choices, there is some battle between what is "best" at any point in time camera body wise (at present Nikon has the edge) however both produce high quality cameras and lenses and will do any area of photography to a very high standard. You can't make a "wrong" choice as such between them; however use what you've learnt about photography and put all your criteria on the table. The more info you consider about what you want to shoot - how much you feel you can spend etc... will help you pre-select what kind of setup you want to build toward - if you've specific interests that might well help show that you've more benefit going with one company over the other (eg in the above section my example of Canon for the macro and wildlife options).

 

[thunderkyss]

I would buy a used D200 & a Tamron 55-200mm f4

It's old technology, so it's affordable, but has all the professional features you'd look for in a camera body & takes damn fine photos to boot.

 

[S2Ace]

If I were you, I would look around for a used body (maybe a t2i or d3100?) and use left over money to buy some good lenses. I don't know how much time you have left until your trip but if there is not much time left, I would suggest the "going to the store" and getting something you're comfortable with. Also, between the choices you listed, I would suggest the t3i over the t4i. I think the only major difference between the two is video recording? (correct me if I'm wrong) Can't say anything about nikon, I've never used one :X