Please help buying my first DSLR! :)

[Celestrian]

First off, let me just say that I know I can buy something used, but what I'm asking now is about buying something new.

As the title suggests I'm an amateur and hope to become an able enthusiast, not a professional. Basically I want as much of an "all-round, all-situation" as possible. I will be bringing it much on hiking trips and hope to get some good action/moving animal shots, and will mostly shoot handheld. Since handling action/sports/moving objects is seemingly the harder thing to do, I'll focus on that and that I'd love them to have some WR too...

I have looked at tons of various reviews for various cameras and these are what I have come up with.

PENTAX K-30/K-5/K-5II w/18-135WR lens
I really like the Pentaxes for its WR - but I am really unsure if the AF is good enough to get mostly good sports/moving animal shots? Either of them? If I was certain the AF was quick and accurate enough I think I'd go for the K-5 model. But that's supposedly the one with the slowest AF, and from what I've seen in reviews, the K-5 II and K-30 isn't really that much of an improvement in anything other than low light. But that's reviews. Have anyone here tested for themselves? I can afford adding a zoom lens if going for the K-5 or K-30.

NIKON D7000/D7100 w/18-105VR
The D7100 is a bit too new to have seen any reviews yet, but I like the idea of no AA-filter (the Pentax K-5IIs is a bit expensive, since there's no kit lens). If I go for the D7k I could also add the 70-300 tamron lens or something and be within my budget. The D7k gets lots of various reviews. The AF is supposedly faster than the Pentaxes, but several also claim that it's very unreliable? Can anyone here say anything about that, can it do sports? Too early to tell about the D7100 I suppose? I would also like a better buffer than what these offer.

CANON 60D w/18-135 IS or CANON 7D w/Sigma 18-200 II OS HSM
Canon in general seems to get a lot of hassle about out-dated sensor, so that makes me a bit uncertain about Canon (hope I didn't insult anyone now, just repeating what I've read! - I can be persuaded otherwise though!) The 60D also gets confusing reviews as someone claiming they are great, others a big disappointment. I'd love the swivel screen though, but I don't think I should buy a camera based on the screen. I haven't been able to see too much of it's AF-performance however, so I'm very unsure about this one. Can add another lens for that bundle though (like the 70-300 tamron/sigma).
The 7D gets mostly good reviews and one photographer told me that the 7D was excellent to shoot sports with. Quick and reliable AF and good buffer. I haven't had that confirmed from anyone else though. But I've also read reviews saying that the 7D are not newbie-friendly, but they have not stated why - any advice on that?

To sum it up
I really like the idea of WR because I'm Norwegian and weather is cold, unreliable and often wet most of the year. Besides that I'd like to be able to take mostly in-focus pictures of various wildlife/nature/sports events (I know I have to practice my aim to take such pictures of course), and to have a good enough buffer for a least 2-3, hopefully 3-4 seconds of buffer. I like taking pictures with the viewfinder, not the LCD screen, so LV focus isn't that important. Lastly, I'd prefer a somewhat newbie-friendly camera (even though I know about the triangle etc, but more from theory than practice as of yet).

Does anyone have any advice to help me narrow it down? (Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome)

 

[JBrown]

IMO, its between the 7100 and 7D, however I dont know enough about the Pentax to suggest it. No matter what you decide I would stick with Canon or Nikon.

Out of the list you provided the 7000 shouldn't be considered since its refresh, the 7100 is here and is essentially the same price if we are only talking new cameras. The 60D is just outclassed in all ways by other offerings (except build quality and a few specific) to include the T4I and 7D and thus is not a contender.

So that leaves us with IMO two viable options, the 7100 and 7D. Im not familiar with the those specific lens so I will just talk about the body.

7100: The 7100 has just been released and I personally have not watched any reviews of it or seen it in person. However based on the information available right now it looks like a solid camera. My biggest disappointment is the small buffer, IE how many shots you can take in a burst before you fill it up. Specifically important in action photography where you are taking many photos trying to capture that perfect moment. The AF system should be solid for any uses you can throw at it. From what information is available should be a hell of a camera at the price point of $1200. If you are overly concerned might want to hold out a few weeks to see some in depth reviews.

7D: Essentially a legendary crop sensor sports camera. Superb build quality and includes a fantastic AF system. Has more FPS then the 7100 and a bigger buffer. I am unsure how the ISO performance compares and might be showing its age in this department. Make no mistake, the 7D with some good glass has been a staple sports photography camera for several years now. The main downside is it is several years old and towards the end of its life cycle. It is rumored to have its replacement announced / available later this year.

Both the 7100 and 7D should perform well at anything you throw at it. When people are talking about it not being newbie friendly they are talking about the enhancements in the camera system which makes it superior to the lower level cameras. Both camera are just as easy to pick up and put in auto mode as any entry level camera. However, they have advanced features (7D AF system adjustments) which could be to much for someone not familiar with the basic operation of a camera. You are paying a premium for these features and unless you want to do your homework and learn how to operate them they go to waste. IMO for basic photography they are not any more difficult to use, but you are paying for features that are more complex which may go to waste due to lack of knowledge. I may be wrong, but I dont believe the 7100 is weather sealed where the 7D is.

Hope that helps

 

[Celestrian]

Thanks for great input, it certainly helps!

The D7100 does claim to have weather sealing.

I definitely want to learn about the more advanced features with an advanced camera, but I'm just not too keen on having to spend a few weeks memorizing the manual before being able to start having fun with the camera.

 

[HughGuessWho96 11]

There is an unwritten rule at TPF that all polls must include an option for "Bacon". JK

The 7D is also weather sealed.

You will get a vote for everything one you listed if you leave it up long enough. There is no such thing as a perfect camera. Each and every one has pro's and con's. Personally, I would recommend the 7D, but I am a Canon guy and have never had any other brand.

I suggest taking a long hard look at DPReview.

 

[TCampbell]

Having read the reviews on the Pentax, I'm disappointed with their ISO performance. ISO 800 is basically about the highest usable ISO and above that the noise is easily noticed. The Canons and Nikons can go several stops higher before noise becomes a problem.

The 60D and 7D are both weather-sealed. See: 7D #1 Weather Sealing | AMC News-Blog

BUT... before you race out into the snow, keep two things in mind. 1) Weather sealing does NOT mean water-proof. The camera can take the rain, snow, splash, spray, but don't submerge it. The difference is that when you "submerge" a camera, the pressure differential increases and water will eventually force it's way into the camera (the seals, o-rings, and gaskets are not designed for high-pressure.) 2) Just because the body is weather sealed doesn't mean the lens is. Only some lenses are weather sealed (there's a thin black silicone gasket where the lens mates to the body and the lens instructions will tell you if it's weather sealed. Most "white" Canon "L" series lenses are weather sealed. The black lenses which are not "L" series are generally not weather sealed. The black "L" series lenses *might* be weather sealed but you have to read the documentation.

Incidentally, the "kit" lenses which are included when you buy these cameras are NOT among the weather-sealed variety.

I thought the D7000 was also weather sealed, but I'm not a Nikon shooter... better ask one of the Nikon guys to chime in.

And of course you can always get an inexpensive rain jacket (or an expensive rain-jacket if you prefer) for the DSLR.


Back to the comment on cameras being beginner friendly...

All of the cameras can shoot in "fully automatic" mode -- basically it's like owning a point & shoot and frankly it sort of defeats the whole point of buying a DSLR because in that mode the only thing you can control is where you point it and when you press the button. They also all work in manual mode as well as a couple of semi-automatic modes (where you set either the shutter speed OR the aperture and the camera takes care of the rest.)

But this assumes you know WHY you should take over the shutter speed or aperture. e.g. if you're shooting action sports then maybe you want to keep the shutter speed at 1/500th or faster. If you're shooting a landscape maybe you want maximum depth-of-field so you'd like a high f-stop value (e.g. f/16).

It turns out, the entry level bodies have beginner "scene" modes... icons that resemble what you might be shooting (a portrait, an action-figure, a mountain, etc.) When you turn the dial to the right icon, the camera realizes what your subject is and this biases the computer to use settings more favorable for that type of shooting. Canon's high-end bodies don't bother to have those modes on the dials because every pro knows what they'd set based on the subject.

 

[hirejn]

Stick with Nikon or Canon. I wouldn't recommend anything else. That doesn't mean no other cameras are good, but I have no reason to recommend other brands. The 7100 is already a step up from the 5000 series, so more than you need but you can grow into it. What's most important is your skill. Any Nikon lens is good.

 

[Celestrian]

Thank you all for more answers.

I also just want to add that every "bundle" I've included in the POLL at the top of the post cost the same, with the exception of the K-30 which is a tad cheaper. So there's also a question about the best camera combo for a specific amount of money. In that respect the 7D bundle seems like a very good offer, even though it's an older camera (there's one store that sells them that cheap, other stores price them much higher).

 

[nmoody]

My vote is for the D7100, as mentioned above is weather sealed and has what you are looking for. The Pentax is very close to it but I pick the Nikon over it due to lens and accessory selection thats available for the Nikon. Pentax doesnt have as much available for it.

 

[HerkFE]

I don't see the problem with the D7000 the 7100 isn't a significant upgrade from everything I have read and the lower cost especially if you go body only frees you up to buy better glass. I am not 100% sure on your budget but I am guessing around $1500 might I suggest a D7000 with the 18-105 and a Refurbished Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Lens - Refurbished by Nikon USA 2161B

 

[IslandShooter]

I also agree with sticking with either Nikon or Canon. My biased answer would be go with canon.

 

[jaomul]

Having seen some of the new Pentax cameras I think their ISO performance easily matches any of the other cameras here. There are plenty of reviews to back this up but one or 2 pro mags did say they were not great. Bang for your money though they are your cheapest new weather sealed cameras available because your lenses have to be weather sealed to. If you buy a sealed camera and the lens isn't, your system isn't.

All the cameras you mention above are good choices. The quality of even cheap dslrs now is very high. You do not say your budget or if you would be happy to go secondhand. While different people will offer different brands as better there is no getting away from the fact that if you need weather sealing the Pentax offers the best entry level choice. For me the K5 would be the way to go, not the mark II, its more expensive and has very little improved over the original. I find it amusing that the D7100 as of my time writing here gets the highest vote. People are advising you to buy a camera thats not out yet, and though may be great, it may not

 

[Celestrian]

Thanks for all replies.

I am very uncertain as to exactly how much more WR the Pentaxes have. I mean, can I bring the Pentaxes (with sealed lenses) out in anything but very heavy rain? (I can keep it under a jacket or in a waterproof bag, but I mean, still able to take them out for a few minutes, for a few shots, before putting them away again)? And can I at all bring the Nikon/Canon out in mist, light rain etc at all without having to become anxious?

How expensive are canon/nikon weather sealed lenses, and is there a list of them somewhere?

I think I'd prefer a new camera over a used. I know I could go with a used and get a better lens or two than the kit, but still. I'm Norwegian and I think the prices here are a bit steeper than in the US, though I don't know. All the "bundles" I've put together in the poll are approx. $1800. (except the k-30, which will be a bit cheaper).

I would of course like the newest tech, but I might survive to get a new camera in a while, after I'm more proficient too.

 

[Janeen]

Have you checked out the Sony a77? Awesome camera!

 

[cgipson1]

I don't see the problem with the D7000 the 7100 isn't a significant upgrade from everything I have read and the lower cost especially if you go body only frees you up to buy better glass. I am not 100% sure on your budget but I am guessing around $1500 might I suggest a D7000 with the 18-105 and a Refurbished Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Lens - Refurbished by Nikon USA 2161B

^This... far better lens! One of the best in that price range!

 

[cgipson1]

Have you checked out the Sony a77? Awesome camera!

With Sony's current financial issues, I personally would not buy anything Sony..... Junk Status! Sony and Panasonic cut to junk status by Fitch - Telegraph