Need a lot of help choosing a camera to buy!

MykulPasskwa

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1) What is your budget?
$800-1200

2)What is your megapixel preference? (The higher the megapixel count, the larger your image dimensions.)
around 18mp would be fine

3) What size camera would you prefer?
a. SLR; 1.5 lb+

4) What subjects will you be shooting with the camera?
I want to shoot everything. I'm in Korea and going to Germany so I'd like to shoot landscape but also shoot macro of cultural things, and I like taking picture of people.

5) Do you want the ability to change your lenses?
Absolutely

6) Do you plan to do any heavy post-processing in Photoshop (or related programs) or do you want to print images straight from the camera?
No, but eventually I would like to get into it.

7) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I bought a Rebel T3i and returned it, not because it wasn't good but because I was told it would limit me in the future. I liked having a Canon, but I'm open to all brands so long as theres a logical reason provided

8) Is battery life a concern to you, and how many shots do you hope to take?
Not much of a concern

9) Do you mind buying the camera online without seeing the camera in person?
Yes, I'm in the military overseas and they recently banned shipping batteries so I would rather avoid the trouble of having to ship the battery

10) Did you plan to make large prints or mere snapshots with the camera?
snapshots

11) Do you want a large rear LCD to view your pictures with?
Not necessarily large, but would like a decent sized LCD

12) Is the camera's looks and stylishness important to you?
No

13) How long do you want the camera to last?
3 years+

14) How much storage capacity do you want? (this is memory card dependent, but some mediums are cheaper than the other)
I shoot a lot for practice..typicaly 100-200 pictures a shoot, maybe more, 3-4 times per week about.

15) Do you need a video recording capability?
yes

Please state any additional features you need/want. If you don't know how to answer a question or don't care about what it is asking then just say so!

I hope I got much of what there is to cover.. This wiill continually evolve.

GOOD LUCK
thumbyo.gif
 
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7) The T3i is a fine camera. Unless you've acquired an exclusive contract to do all photography for National Geographic, I have NO idea what this person thought would be any kind of limiting factor. The T3i can use essentially ALL Canon lenses and lenses made for Canon cameras.

14) Essentially a non-issue. Get a bunch of smaller cards, like 8gb. Get class 10 so you have good write speeds. They're cheap and plentiful.
 
If you wish not to be limited in the future, you need to drastically raise your budget.

At the same time, if you only take snapshots, what camera you get doesn't really matter.
 
I'm with others in this thread, there was nothing wrong with that entry level Canon.

You can of course put a lot of research in this, figure out in great detail what the advantages and disadvantages of the cameras are. However, you need to know what you're looking for.

For example I got me a D5100 because I wanted a swirvel monitor and great low light performance. Still, had I known the D7000 had weather sealing (among other nice features), while the D5100 has not, and realized that the Nikons get incredibly super slow when shooting in lifeview anyway (2 sec from pressing shutter to picture taken), I might have dropped the swirvel monitor and went for the weather sealing instead.

1) Now thats finally a very solid budget for an entry level DSLR. You get get one great lens with that, too.
2) Thats actually a steep requirement. For example, only 2 Nikon DSLRs currently fulfill it - the entry level D3200 (24 Megapixel) and the flagship D800 (32 Megapixel). All other current Nikon DSLRs have only 16 Megapixel (and thats the native resoltion, thanks to Demosaicing the actual resolution is lower).
4) Oh, thats actually FAR from "everything". Thats much less than some people demand being able to do.

You only need a wide to decent tele lens, for which the usual 18-105mm kit lens should work fine; in fact a 18-85 would already suffice for these requirements. With your budget, you might even get something fancier than the kit.

You also need a macro lens. You might even get some nice macro lens that can also be used for people portraits.

You apparently do not however need extreme tele (wildlife etc), extreme lens and autofocus speed (action), or uber lowlight performance (night).
7) Hmm. Well you dont really have the budget for a pro DSLR, so I dont see whats wrong with the entry level you already got.
10) Um. Then why do you need 18 Megapixel ?
15) Just for the record - DSLRs in general suck for video. Awful autofocus, monosound, sound of the lens on the video, etc. Get a dedicated video camera to really have fun. Damn, even just get an iPod and at least you'll get fast video autofocus with that.
 
Technically with that budget you could try and get a Canon t$i which is slightly newer so it will last longer than t3i, plus it has AF during video recording if you get an STM lens with it. I think a t4i with 18-135mm STM would be the perfect deal because it will allow you to shoot from cityscape to landscape while giving you continuous AF in video. It'd be a perfect "one-lens" solution for traveling.

Solar, btw I thought D800 was 36.7 or something like that. But it don't matter, only Nikonians care about that.
 
Your budget fall short of your expectations to build a camera system as you described. I have owned Nikons for over 40 years and have shot with Canon and other brands in between, always returning to Nikon, for the simple fact nobody out does them in optics. So staying in you budget and still having money left over to purchase lense etc, I would suggest the NIKON D90. Often you can find them in a kit form with lens etc. EXCELLENT Camera for the price and you have a whole series of DX lenses to choose from, especially if you are doing travel photography. Look I have been around the block, and can highly recommend this model camera, because I have used it already and found it to be an excelent overall camera from a person who wants great results on a budget. It will easliy do everything you have listed and more. Again I am a NIKON person and recommend to you a model that meets your criteria. I have recommended this camera to several friends and co workers ALL have been very satisfied with the resutls and the camera itself. If you are overseas and in the Military, you should be able to pick this camera up for a great prices with AFEES.

The NIkon N90 has:
  • 12.3-MP DX-format CMOS sensor
  • Brilliant 3-inch, 920,000-dot Color LCD
  • EXPEED image processing concept

The D800 has 36.3MP FX-format CMOS sensor and worth every cent you purchase this camera for. You should care about that, as if you crop in close to photos, the more pixals the better results you get when blowing up photographs. Using a 200mm VR lense you can enlarge a photo almost four times and still have no noise, and the reason in using the D800 your 36.3MP comes into play. the D800 acts more like a Medium Format Digital than a 35mm. So it makes a great difference and not just Nikionians care about this, all serious photographs do, as the result of you shoot is really determined when you process the shot.
 
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I have owned Nikons for over 40 years and have shot with Canon and other brands in between, always returning to Nikon, for the simple fact nobody out does them in optics.

I keep seeing Nikon shooters say this, but after much reading I don't see a lot of support for that statement. Not saying it isn't true, but is there a site or some place that proves this definitively?? I'd hate to think that any future purchases of canon L glass might be wasted.
 
Matter of fact over the years Nikkor Lenses have been tested and tested again for optics, latitude and longitude of clearity, the exactness of the F stop readings, the durability of the lense when exposed to harsh elements, such as sand, humidity, and such, and has benn the only camera and lens that has made more NASA flights than any other in the world. All you major magazines for decades has performed lab tests on Nikkor lenses. Like all products some have bombed, but the for standard Nikkor lenses, they have always come out superior. My first Nikon was an F series purchase in Da Nang in 1970, and I have used Nikon ever since. I have no relationship with Nikon other than a satified consumer. In 1976 I was sent on assigned to the sub Sahara and was issued Cannon FTBs, two of them, I took my person Nikon F2 along. Within two days of shooting both Cannon FTBs shutters failed due to external elements, yet my Nikon made it through the entire trip. Of course upon return I had it cleaned, but is performed much better than the Cannon FTB. I have had several other similar experiences with NIKONS and Cannons, but I must state here and now, never did I have a Nikon fail, nor never a Nikkor lense. I graduated from a Photography School many years ago, cut my teeth on 4X5 Swing and Tilts, and to this day, if I have a job, it will be with a Nikon/Nikkor, not anything else. Canons are great cameras and have done a great job over the past two decades making them a leading brand in the world. When you get to the point of the high end cameras from both Nikon and Canon, well it comes to preference, and my years of experience has taught me don't change horses in midstream, so I stay and recommend Nikon based on my own personal experiences and from what I read in performance and comparison reports.

I see by your profile you like Macro Photography, ever go the research labs, hospital labs, and university labs, its NIKON medical equipment that by far are the desired in the lab for microscopic research, eveything from the medical world to the nuclear lab research in NIKON/NIKKOR equipment used, I have seen some Canon but by far NIKON is the most popular, and we both can agree its not because Nikon is a more inexpensive purchase, but it is the quality of the equipment.

Look this is like Ford or Chevy, doesn't matter in the end, its the photographer that makes the difference.
 
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Well well, if we start nitpicking here there are a few lenses Canon has that are the same as Nikon's in IQ....or better. Canon actually sells more medical equipment than Nikon does nowadays. Yes, NASA buys Nikon but you know why? I've worked with the govies for a while and I found out that this what happens when they need some equip (in this case DSLR):

1) Need for a DSLR
2) Request is passed onto secretary Muriel in the office
3) Muriel calls her son and asks what's a good camera
4) Son calls her back and says Nikon
5) Muriel contacts Nikon and proposes a deal for NASA so that the cameras cost less in exchange for publicity
6) Nikon agrees, sends the agreement to command
7)2 Years later, command signs the paper and the deal is done

Now, the reason NASA went with Nikon is because Muriel's son said "yeah sure, Nikon makes good cameras" not because they had a whole lot of lab rats sitting and dissecting every DSLR to find out the "really best" is. I wish I was joking but in the gvt there is so much stuff gets done exactly this way, you have no idea.
 
I usually look at what the pros use in most given situations. I see a lot of L-glass out there.
 
The NIkon N90 has:
  • 12.3-MP DX-format CMOS sensor
  • Brilliant 3-inch, 920,000-dot Color LCD
  • EXPEED image processing concept

Really?

A film camera has a 12.3MP DX Sensor? As well as a 3 inch LCD?

That's news to me, bro.
 
I see by your profile you like Macro Photography, ever go the research labs, hospital labs, and university labs, its NIKON medical equipment that by far are the desired in the lab for microscopic research, eveything from the medical world to the nuclear lab research in NIKON/NIKKOR equipment used, I have seen some Canon but by far NIKON is the most popular, and we both can agree its not because Nikon is a more inexpensive purchase, but it is the quality of the equipment.

Look this is like Ford or Chevy, doesn't matter in the end, its the photographer that makes the difference.

Yeah, macro is my goal and I went Canon almost specifically because of the MP-E65 lens (when I save enough to get it). Besides, if I was so driven to, I'd get an adapter and shoot Nikon glass on it. I've looked at a lot of photography sites and I see a good mix of Canon, Nikon and Pentax being used by pros. I dunno, I guess what I'm really getting at is that there seems to be a lot of snobbery when it comes to cameras (not saying anyone here is like that, at least not from what I've seen), but in my visiting many other sites all I can say is WOW, some serious snobs out there.

We went to the fair last weekend (and dang if I didn't forget to take the camera!!!!!!). There was a guy shooting the motorcycle freestyle jumping, so I went up and was just chatting with him. He was shooting a Nikon D700 with an AF-S 70-200 lens. We chatted a little, but as soon as I mentioned my Canon T3i it was like, oh you're just a snap shot taker (he didn't say that, but his attitude sure went snobby). He even had the nerve to tell me that once I got some experience and some classes that I'd be smart to switch over to Nikon because their glass is by far superior to anything out there. I just said "hmmm" and left it at that because based on what I was seeing on his LCD it looked like he was the one needing some classes...

Anyway, not looking to start any kind of brand wars, was just curious as to how legit the claim is.
 

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