Looking for some advice

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I have been using 35mm cameras and a few digital cameras for 10 years now and I have never once touched a D-SLR camera. So that is my next step.

I am by no means a professional but I do know how to use a camera. But I have little knowledge as to what brand or model of D-SLR will suit me. I like to take close up macro photographs and distance shots. I have a budget of around $800.

What would suit me best?

Thanks in advanced,
Tyler
 
Do you mind buying used? I would look at a used nikon d200. Great camera, and you can get them for a steal nowadays. Other then that maybe a canon 30d or 40d used as well.

Also, what brand and how old are your 35mm film cameras?
 
Your profile says you shoot Canon, I dont know if you are shooting a Canon SLR...if you do you might want to consider sticking with Canon, since you could use your existing lenses....maybe.

Im a Nikon/Fuji person, so I dont know much about the Canon options.

Nikon wise....
Ideally..D80 with a 18-55mm and a 55-200mm VR if you can find one. They've been discontinued, but would still be a good options in that price range.
Next would be a D60 with the same lenses. Just be aware of the AF-S lens limitation on future lens purchases.

The D200 would be great, but I dont think you could find a $800 deal on body and lenses....it would probably be a body only...maybe be able to pick up a lens in that range.
 
You can snag a d200 for 500-600. Plus a nikon 18-70 (good lens, I got mine for 110 used bout 1 or 2 years ago, and it was in perfect condition with both body caps and lens bag.) Which will get you on your way. Though I do agree that if you have some canon lenses you should stick with canon.
 
I have not touched my 35mm in years...in fact I am not sure I even have them anymore. my mother had a SLR 35mm that I was not supposed to use...

as for buying used, I am all for buying used as long as the product works well. :D The going price on Ebay is roughly 500 from what I saw.

Does Nikon offer good quality lenses? are they expensive?
 
Nikon offers GREAT quality lenses. But then so does canon. The nikons do tend to cost a bit more then the canon, (not really sure why) I prefer nikon, but you really should head to the store and play with a couple to see if one really stands out. Here are the lens lineup for both nikon and canon (these are just the nikon and canon lenses, they're are other companies that make lenses for them too)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=8456&atl=Brand_Nikon&mnp=0.0&mxp=0.0&sortDrop=Brand%3A+A+to+Z&pn=1

SLR Lenses for Canon Cameras | B&H Photo Video
 
nikons are great but...

if it was me to start over i would go with canon
 
The only camera I use right now is my Canon "power shot A350" it's the best Point and shoot I have ever owned (out of 3) because of the manual settings, but no SLR as my original post states. I see that Nikon lenses are much cheaper than canon on the websites given, so because I am not rolling in the dough I don't think I can afford a Canon...unless there are other alternative lenses.

Thank you for the advice so far guys!
 
Just make sure you understand the compatibility issues with Nikon lenses.
The D40/D60 will need AF-S or AF-I lenses usually because it does not have a internal AF drive. So some of the lower cost Nikkor lenses wont AF on these cameras. For instance, the Nikkor 70-300mm while very affordable, wont AF on these two cameras. To get the AF, you have to get the AF-S VR version...which is considerably costly. There are of course aftermarket lenses that will AF, so those are options.

Just be aware of this limitation.
 
ok, so with the limitations of the Auto Focus for the Nikon cameras Vs the expensive lenses of canon what is the better choice?

I mainly take photographs of aquariums and fish so I need for the majority of the photos a macro lens. that will be the deciding factor for the camera I buy. Will it handle extreme close-up shots?
I to be honest have no idea what to look for when it comes to features. Do I need dust removal? how does vibration reduction sound? Will auto focus really help me out? I don't know. :)

So...I am a total newbie when it comes to this and I want my first buy to be the right choice...I remember when I bought my first digital camera...boy was that a joke...lol
 
If you really want to get into macro photography, the $490 EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM is an excellent macro lens.

At full 1:1 magnification, the minimum focusing distance of this 100mm macro lens is 1' (0.3 m), but you can make an object just 22.2 x 14.8 mm (0.87 x 0.58 inches) fill the entire frame (with a Canon EOS Rebel or EOS xxD camera) at that distance. With a full-frame EOS 5D camera, an object 36 x 24 mm (1.42 x 0.94 inches) would fill the entire frame.

If you need a longer working distance, the $1300 EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM provides the same 1:1 magnification at a minimum 1.6' (0.48m) focusing distance.

Unless your subjects are very small and fairly slow-moving, you may have difficulty getting as tight as 1:1 magnification, so you may not need a true macro lens.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-100mm-f-2.8-USM-Macro-Lens-Review.aspx
 
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ok, so with the limitations of the Auto Focus for the Nikon cameras Vs the expensive lenses of canon what is the better choice?

I mainly take photographs of aquariums and fish so I need for the majority of the photos a macro lens. that will be the deciding factor for the camera I buy. Will it handle extreme close-up shots?
I to be honest have no idea what to look for when it comes to features. Do I need dust removal? how does vibration reduction sound? Will auto focus really help me out? I don't know. :)

So...I am a total newbie when it comes to this and I want my first buy to be the right choice...I remember when I bought my first digital camera...boy was that a joke...lol

Rule #1) Never buy new photography equipment. Used equipment holds its value, is available much cheaper than new, and often holds to be just as good as new because people don't dare wreck the glass on their lenses at all because then the lens is worthless. It's almost an all-or-nothing kind of thing.

With that in mind, start out with either a:
used Nikon D50 (under $300) or
used Nikon D200 (around $700)

This gets you the screw-drive so you can auto focus with older lenses. One of the great things about Nikons over Canons is that Nikon's have used the same lens mount since forever, so you can use any lens made since 1979 or so. These older lenses can end up being very cheap and be much more cost-effective depending on what it is you're trying to photograph (really old lenses don't have autofocus on them, so they're OK if you do landscapes, sunsets, macro, etc. but not if you do sports or snapshots).

The screw drive is IMPORTANT. It allows you to use to their full capabilities cheap yet optically superior "prime" lenses such as the 50mm f/1.8 ($100 and under) and the 24mm f/2.8 ($250 and under). These lenses, despite their age, at the very least rival if not surpass the image quality of newer multi-thousand dollar zooms, which is pretty much what you'd have to buy otherwise in order to properly exploit your new DSLR since glass is *everything*.

Buy the camera that allows you to expand and doesn't limit you later on or else you will find yourself having wasted a good deal of money when you buy a body that CAN handle these things.
 
Pentax is another great system.

Agreed and for what your looking at shooting is an excellent option.

Pentax have some of the best prime lenses around and all their gears is top quality, keenly priced ( cheaper than both Canon and Nikon ), and sensibly specced.

The K20D is one of the top crop frame cameras and would suit you well but if you can't fit it in the budget either a second hand K10D or new K200D are also excellent choices.

The big pluses for the above 3 cameras are :-

1) Weather sealed.
2) 100% compatible with ALL pentax lenses ( even M42 ones via an adapter).
3) Best value for money of any of Canon/Nikon/Pentax.
 
used Nikon D200 (around $700)
New Nikon D200 camera bodies have been $600 at Best Buy for most of this year.

This gets you the screw-drive so you can auto focus with older lenses. One of the great things about Nikons over Canons is that Nikon's have used the same lens mount since forever, so you can use any lens made since 1979 or so. These older lenses can end up being very cheap and be much more cost-effective depending on what it is you're trying to photograph (really old lenses don't have autofocus on them, so they're OK if you do landscapes, sunsets, macro, etc. but not if you do sports or snapshots).
Nikon AF (auto-focus) lenses first appeared in 1983 and 1985. AF-I (internal motor) lenses first appeared in 1992 and AF-S (silent motor) lenses first appeared in 1996, but Nikon carries on building auto-focus lenses without internal motors (over 1/3 of the current Nikkor lens lineup) to this day. They have been very gradually migrating the whole lens line to AF-S over the past 13 years. With the most recent AF-S lens releases, you can probably find everything that you want in an Nikkor AF-S lens, but it may cost more than an equivalent Nikkor AF lens without an internal motor. If you buy a few nice lenses, the price difference may be greater than the difference in cost between a camera body that has an autofocus drive motor and the less expensive cameras that lack it.

With Canon, the situation is much clearer. Canon made a complete break from the old FD mount in 1987 and introduced the all-electronic EF mount (with in-lens motors) with the EOS camera line. All EF mount lenses sold since 1987 are fully-functional (including auto-focus) when mounted on even the cheapest Canon DSLR.
 

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