Open for suggestions on SLR camera?

[lance70]

Hi, great site! My wife and I are looking to purchase our first SLR camera, we have a little Canon Powershot right now which takes nice pictures but we would like to upgrade into something better. We been searching the net and trying to read reviews but there are sooo many choices, I would love to hear from people who actually use these cameras and your opinion. We are looking to spend around 1500.00 and probably down the line buying a zoom lens. Thanks!



Lance

 

[ionz13]

I'd say narrow the list down by going out to a store and playing with each camera. See what fits in your hands, whether you like the button layout.

For me Nikon's D90 or D80 is what I am leaning towards. It fits well in my hands and suits me for what my personal requirements are.

Shop around at B and H online, they have a huge listing of various items; and start a wishlist.

 

[tenlientl]

I was in your position. It was either a D80 or D90. Don't ask me why I decided with Nikon, I just did because my mom and aunt owned Nikon SLRs.

Anyways. I don't know much, but I chose the D90. My budget was similar to yours, so I bought the D90 with 18-105mm kit lens. I regret that, because I realized its not the right lens for me. I woulda rather just bought the body and bought a 50mm 1.8.

You might enjoy the kit lens though. Maybe someone else could provide you a better combo; body + zoom lens(not the kit).

Oh. With budget in mind, think of memory cards, case and extra battery. I have not yet had a situation where I needed an extra battery(although i just bought one with the order of the 50mm). I did run out of memory cards though. I got 2x 4GB, and I gotta say, it's not enough.

 

[lance70]

Thank you, yeah I did read about the Nikon D90 last week, so you like that one too ha? We will check that one out at the store, thanks.

 

[tsaraleksi]

A Canon 40/50D might be a good choice as well, for a bit of a step up from the D90 without jumping all the way to pricier cameras. The other possibility to is to buy a camera like an XSi and spend more on a nicer lens-- because you can improve the quality of your images with a good lens far more than with the camera choice. Of course going to the store and checking out the cameras is your best bet, just don't let yourself be swayed tooooo much by the salesman!

 

[tenlientl]

Oh, fyi, I don't use the movie feature. It was intriguing, one of the reasons I thought about getting the D90. At the end though, I don't use it. Maybe I will for family events, but other than that, no.

I got the D90 though coz I'm a gadget freak. It is better technology, and has better ISO.

Oh, the Live View mode I don't really use. It's slow when taking multiple shots. I only use it when I'm trying to focus on something small from far away. It's easier for me to see what I'm focusing it with the Live View than the Viewfinder. For the record though, out of 200 shots, I use the Live View maybe 3 times.

 

[epp_b]

The D90 and the 18-200 AF-S VR is probably a good combination. It might stretch your budget a couple hundred dollars, but it will do just about anything you need it to for a long time.

 

[pez]

Although practically everyone automatically recommends Nikon/Canon gear, I couldn't be happier with my Pentax stuff. The sensor-shift shake-reduction allows for significantly lighter and more compact lenses and therefore a smaller, more mobile system. A K20D with kit lens would come in well under $1500, with enough left over for a number of accessories such as extra batteries/memory/bags/tripod. The new Pentax DA glass is top notch.

 

[TBAM]

I would also strongly recommend an Olympus. With the new 4/3 system the cameras are very light and very versatile.

The only downside at the moment is
- on some of the E system cameras, they only have a 3 point auto-focus selection (get's annoying when trying to get good depth of field, however you can always focus on the centre, lock the auto-focus and then recompose)
- 4/3 lenses are quite expensive at the moment, however they are of very good quality

However, with your budget and an Olympus E-520 (which comes with some nice kit lenses), you could easily get a Leica or Sigma 25 / 30mm f1.4 prime, a and a good external flash set-up for some great quality photos.

Just as an alternative to the Nikon/Camera options.

 

[lance70]

Thanks everyone! I'm printing this down for my wife to read, she will be very interested in this. We have a lot to choose from then. I appreciate the responses, thanks!



Lance

 

[lance70]

I just wanted to say we picked up our camera today, we did get the Nikon D90, it had the lens with it as well, I know I will need a better lens down the line but at least it's a start. Wife is still checking it out so not had time to look it over myself yet lol. Thanks for the help!