Need help buying a dSLR

[Evo]

My XT will fire off 3 different exposures automatically if i have the AEB set up and the camara set to multiple rather then single shot. One press of the shutter and off fire 3 different exposures. :thumbup:

 

[ANDS!]

I need IS in the body because IS lenses are expensive as hell.

I think the question becomes, why do you need IS? It really only becomes viable at longer focal lengths when you've got a lens on there thats pulling down on the camera body. With a fast enough lens, shooting in the regular length shouldn't be a problem.

I want an adapter because I don't want to sell my current 4gb card.

Cards are all of 30-40bucks. Not that much of a price to crimp yourself out of a majority of the cameras on the market.

I want exposure bracketing because it takes all 3 exposures at once and it's faster aswell, like if the wind is blowing or something there won't be any ghosting.

Dunno how the Pentax does it, but the pictures aren't taken "immediately" - its first picture, adjust settings, second pictures, adjust settings, third picture, adjust settings. If something moves, it will catch it.

My XT will fire off 3 different exposures automatically if i have the AEB set up and the camara set to multiple rather then single shot. One press of the shutter and off fire 3 different exposures.

 

[laotech]

If what you seek is a DSLR with a live view feature then go for Olympus E410/E510 series. There Zuiko lens is top of the line.

 

[Seefutlung]

The new Canon 1DMKIII has live view, CF & SD cards, RAW + JPEG of each shot, ISO up to 6400, 10MPs good IQ, oops ... doesn't take AA's ... nevermind. (or camera IS)

 

[DSLR noob]

The new Canon 1DMKIII has live view, CF & SD cards, RAW + JPEG of each shot, ISO up to 6400, 10MPs good IQ, oops ... doesn't take AA's ... nevermind. (or camera IS)

lol. What a piece of sh***! J/k I want one so bad but I don't plan on ever getting one, too much of my money goes to my car and hopefully will go to a 70-200 f/4 L soon.

 

[Neuner]

Hey, this is my first post here and I have a question...
I own a Canon S3IS, the thing is that there is quite a bit of noise, even with pictures at ISO100. And ontop of that, the iso can only go up to 800, and at 800 it's very grainy.

With some of the features your requesting of a dSLR, I'm wondering if that is really the direction you want to go. Is the majority of your reason for the ISO Levels and decrease in graininess of the pics? If so then there are several nice P&S cameras that will give you improved images.

If your really looking to go SLR, then I think you should relax and loosen up some of your requirements a bit. I'm sure you have a good reason for all of them, but you'd be entering into a different concept and you will have to accept adaptation.

Model specific lithium batteries have been dropping in price and last a lot longer than AA's. I believe all SLR's come with one standard anyways. Memory cards are relatively cheap, and the whole concept behind the SLR, Single Lens Reflex Camera, with light reflected up by a mirror behind the lens, is contrary to 'live view'.

Quite a few P&S and dSLR cameras that I've seen have the Auto Exposure Bracketing and only very few dSLR's have body IS - the only one I knew of before this thread was the Sony Alpha.

I think you've got a good line-up of what your looking at. I would concentrate more on the image quality and having a good selection of lens, even though you will select a few (at first), and go from there.

If your willing to go used through an Auction, you can get a really great deal. I got my D80 for ~$700 and was only a month old. It was in perfect condition and included the original receipt for warranty and any returns.

 

[WDodd]

Neuner has some great points.

I would seriously reconsider using AA's over Lithium Ions. I've been shooting over the last 2 days probably in between 400-500 shots on my XT with the same battery. I have 2 and the 2nd one only cost me an extra $50. AAs aren't going to last as long especially if you get rechargeable ones.

Memory is so cheap nowadays. There is absolutely no reason to fret over getting rid of your 4GB SD card. A quick search on NewEgg.com gave me about 10 results for 2GB cards for the $30 you would end up paying for an adapter. I have about 3 SD cards laying around from my old P&S that doesn't get used much anymore.

I'm not going to remake the point about IS because it was already mentioned that in-camera is not a proven technology.

Another thing to look at though B&H has some used/factory refurbished deals that might be worth checking out.

 

[six-five-two]

Thanks for your help Neuner. I think I am going to change my first post a bit now.

Also, can anyone tell me if Tamron lenses are any good? Perferribly the 18-200mm and the 28-105mm ones for the Pentax.

Thanks for all your help so far.

 

[sabbath999]

Asking if Tamron lenses in general are any good isn't really going to help you. Can you take good pictures with them? Yes. Are they durable? Depends. Are they worth the money? Again, depends. Are they more cheaply made than Nikon or Canon or Pentax lenses? Most often but not always.

The 18-200 (assuming you mean the AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di II) is a decent, inexpensive lens with lots of plastic on it is kind of slow. If you are going to use it for general photography you could do worse. You could also do better, depending on the amount of money you want to spend. It also suffers from all the drawbacks of a superzoom lens, if those don't bug you then you may like it. If they do, then you won't. It also is an APS-C lens so it won't work on a film camera or a next-generation camera with a larger sensor... not that one would likely care very much considering. I have shot a few pictures with a friends, and the quality is OK.

I have no idea about the 28-105. I couldn't even find specs for it on Tamron's website, and have never seen one in person.

 

[Peniole]

Just a comment on the batteries. The E-volt cameras take a special adapter. It takes 3 Li disposable batteries that you can get from any decent drocery store just in case you get stuck with a couple of dead batteries and no where to charge. They however do not last as long as the Li-ion battery that comes with the camera.

 

[six-five-two]

Update: I am buying the Pentax K100D online, it is more than $100 cheaper.

OFF TOPIC: I just finished watching the Simpsons Movie and it sucked ****, don't waste your time. Just wanted to say that.

Oh, and does anyone know of a 18-105mm lens? Or anything from 18-100(to 200) that is very good quality (sharpness, no vignetting, no barrel distortion, etc.)?

 

[shivaswrath]

how do you like the k100d so far? any opinions or ideas? I'm debating between the D40x and the k100d. . .

 

[Hill202]

These are quotes from Ken Rockwell's website ;

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Photography is the power of observation, not the application of technology." Ken Rockwell. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How have I made all my best shots? By noticing something cool and taking a picture. The important part is noticing something cool. Taking the picture is easy. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Your camera has NOTHING to do with making great photos. You have to master technique of course, but that's just a burden to get out of the way to free yourself to tackle the really hard part. The hard part is saying something with your images. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Photography is art. It's abstract. Therefore it's difficult for many people to grasp. It's easy and lazy to think a camera makes the photos. It's easy to blame bad photos on a camera. When you get better you'll realize you would have been better off to pay more attention to your images and less to your camera[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]And even Albert Einstein offers: "Imagination is more important than knowledge."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A good photographer makes great images with a disposable camera because she knows its limits and how to use it. On the other hand, plenty of poor photographs are made every day using very expensive cameras by people lacking passion and vision, regardless of how much technical skill they have and how sharp their lenses are.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]People write novels, not typewriters. So why do some people think buying a different camera or learning all about shutter speeds will help them make better images? People make photographs, not cameras. Your choice of camera has NOTHING to do with anything. NOTHING. [/FONT]​

 

[Stratman]

Update: I am buying the Pentax K100D online, it is more than $100 cheaper.

OFF TOPIC: I just finished watching the Simpsons Movie and it sucked ****, don't waste your time. Just wanted to say that.

Oh, and does anyone know of a 18-105mm lens? Or anything from 18-100(to 200) that is very good quality (sharpness, no vignetting, no barrel distortion, etc.)?

I don't have one, but I hear the Tamron 18-250 is a great all around lens for the Pentax. plenty wide, and plenty long, with decent IQ

 

[shivaswrath]

WOW, that second link you attached was an amazing point to illustrate the finer points of photography. . .I'm developing an eye, and have always been a hapless aesthete - but I still do believe a good SLR will help carry me to that next level in capturing those moments. . .

I'm a car guy and the best analogy I could think of is that it depends on the driver more so than the car; a lot of guys recommend spending a couple of days at Bob Bondurant's race school or something similar ($2k or so), rather than spending $80k on a BMW or Lotus =) A nice car never hurts though, right?