Looking to buy my first camera

TheOtherBob · Feb 1, 2008

Seefutlung said:
As a former professional, (news photog), I shot everyday ... there were times in the field when I even slept with the camera.

I'm not gonna argue with you (as we are all entitled to our opinions) ... but to perhaps further clarify my point I will add the following:

Although that "feelie" stuff is prevalant here on the forums ... I and my peers found that adjusting to different cameras (formats and manufactors) was just a matter of time (and for most not a lot of time.)

It is much more important to get a camera that ... say ... has a high FPS (if one is shooting sports) than one that feels good ... or a camera sensor that delivers the highest IQ in low light situations (if you plan on shooting at elevated ISOs) than a camera that feels good ... because after a while they will all feel the same and you may end up with a camera that isn't as suitable for your subject matter as it could have been. (Choose features over comfort.)

As stated eariler ... sure ... use "feel" as a consideration ... but I recommend that you make it your final and least important consideration.

Gary

I'm not sure we disagree too much here - obviously if there's some feature that you need, you have to go with the camera that has it. For a pro I'm sure that happens with a fair level of frequency. However, for most people (particularly beginners), there's almost no significant difference between, say, a Canon XTi and a Nikon D40. Oh, every now and again you'll meet someone who really, truly needs spot metering, or wants to auto-focus some obscure type of lens that won't work on the D40...but for the most part people will be happy with whatever they choose w/r/t features. The same is more or less true with lenses - Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc. all have most of the lenses that a basic user could want.

But with feel, beginners won't spend the significant amount of time adjusting to a camera that a pro would. If it just doesn't fit their hand right, or isn't intuitive for them to use, they either won't use it or won't use it as much. (Or sometimes they won't use a feature - like if they can't figure out how to easily change the ISO, they just never will...)

So, again, we may be saying the same thing - if there's a feature you really need, choose the camera that has it. After that, consider feel.

What I'm saying beyond that is that it turns out that for beginners the camera features are almost always about the same between the different options out there, and that those features typically cancel each other out. So in terms of considerations, after "budget" the beginner can often skip right to the feel. As an offshoot of that, I'd say that people who get hung up on trying to decide between basically identical cameras shouldn't try to break the tie based on technical details that won't ever matter to them (like megapixels or, for most people, spot metering). They can instead make a rational choice based largely on feel, and get a pretty good result - and perhaps one they'll be happier with.

I'm not sure we really disagree on that, though, so I may just be flapping my gums! :mrgreen:

MarcusM · Feb 1, 2008

sabbath999 said:
First, let me state that the only really important thing to consider is which lenses you like best, Canon or Nikon (or Pentax, etc.). Camera bodies are obsolete in 2 years anyways, but the lenses last a long time... so make sure first and foremost that you are happy with your future lens selections.

Most newbies ignore this, and those that do often regret it.

I preffer the D80 which is very similar to the 400D in that price range. I own a D80 and at work I use a 400D. The 400D feels like a cheap plastic toy in comparison, but that is me.

Image quality wise, they are very similar. The 400D has a slight edge in High ISO performance over the D80, but it doesn't have nearly the build quality that the D80 has. It is all back and forth, both cameras have their advantages and disadvantages.

The real deal is which LENSES you like best (and I am not talking kit lenses here, the standard Nikon kit lens is vastly superior to the Canon one, but PLEASE do not make any decisions based on that... neither lens is your answer long-term anyway).

That makes a whole lot of sense, but the catch-22 about that is, how is someone who is using a P&S and transitioning to a dSLR going to know a thing about lenses, much less, which are better, Canon or Nikon?

I'm not trying to say you're wrong by any means. I'm simply pointing out from my own experience, I'm just now starting to learn about lenses. (I've had a Canon EOS digital Rebel for about 4 years now and my only lens is the 18-55 mm kit lens. I haven't been able to afford any other lens yet)

One option you might want to consider, which I'm considering now after I just read on another thread from BigMike that you can rent camera bodies and lenses online. Here is the link he posted:

http://prophotorental.com/Default.asp?c=13742

This will allow you to really test out equipment to make sure you're investing in something you are going to be able to use and like.

Turn · Feb 2, 2008

another thing to think about is the user interface. When i started shooting i was using a Nikon D50 and when i decided that i wanted to buy my own personal camera i ended up with a Canon xti- and i fell in love with the user interface and the menus. So much easier (for me) than the nikon. I would suggest playing with a few that you are considering and actually making the changes in the body that you might encounter in a real shoot and see which one makes more sense to you.