Heeelp! After borrowing a few DSLRs, and trying out a few more in shops (and thus angering assistants who know I'd buy it online anyway) I'm still none the wiser about what to go for. My problems here are...
I've tried the Nikon D50 and D70 and been very impressed by both, however I have no Nikon glass at all and for that reason I don't think I'll be going for a Nikon DSLR.
Canon is another matter; the 20D looks so good in every way that I'd be prepared to spend my whole budget on the body and just use m42 lenses with an adapter until I could afford some better lenses later (I could then use Canon, Nikon and M42 lenses). On the other hand if I went for the 20D I would definitely spend my whole budget on the body, and even then I'd be lucky to find it for the price.
Meanwhile Pentax would be the best from an economic point of view since I wouldn't have to buy any new lenses at all. On the other hand I'm very unsure about their current *ist range. I've only tried one (the DL) and am having great difficulty understanding why the DL2 currently sells for £350 new (a price that's pretty much unheard of for DSLRS here) while the original DS sells for up to £200 above that. Is the DL2 such a bad camera that they can only sell it for that price, or is it more a case of it being good value for the money? I'm also not sure why none of these cameras go below 200 iso, and am wondering whether that would bother me as much in practice as it does in principle - are there any *ist users here? Does the lack of lower iso levels bother you? And why isn't the DS2 sold in the UK?
Finally, the Konica Minoltas. Both the 7D and the 5D look like great cameras to me. I could use my existing Minolta glass as well as M42 (again with an adapter). I tend to stick with a few good lenses so it wouldn't bother me that there's not as much range as with Canon or Nikon lenses. But should just the fact that there is no KM any more (and therefore no firmware updates etc) put me off?
Sorry for the length of the post and randomness of the questions... I know no-one can choose for me... but that's kinda what I was hoping for.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
- I'm invested in Pentax glass (both K-mount and screw covering most focal lengths).
- I'm semi-invested in Minolta AF glass (a couple of lenses).
- My budget is limited; I can afford to spend up to around £600 for a body and can't afford to buy into a completely new lens mount yet.
I've tried the Nikon D50 and D70 and been very impressed by both, however I have no Nikon glass at all and for that reason I don't think I'll be going for a Nikon DSLR.
Canon is another matter; the 20D looks so good in every way that I'd be prepared to spend my whole budget on the body and just use m42 lenses with an adapter until I could afford some better lenses later (I could then use Canon, Nikon and M42 lenses). On the other hand if I went for the 20D I would definitely spend my whole budget on the body, and even then I'd be lucky to find it for the price.
Meanwhile Pentax would be the best from an economic point of view since I wouldn't have to buy any new lenses at all. On the other hand I'm very unsure about their current *ist range. I've only tried one (the DL) and am having great difficulty understanding why the DL2 currently sells for £350 new (a price that's pretty much unheard of for DSLRS here) while the original DS sells for up to £200 above that. Is the DL2 such a bad camera that they can only sell it for that price, or is it more a case of it being good value for the money? I'm also not sure why none of these cameras go below 200 iso, and am wondering whether that would bother me as much in practice as it does in principle - are there any *ist users here? Does the lack of lower iso levels bother you? And why isn't the DS2 sold in the UK?
Finally, the Konica Minoltas. Both the 7D and the 5D look like great cameras to me. I could use my existing Minolta glass as well as M42 (again with an adapter). I tend to stick with a few good lenses so it wouldn't bother me that there's not as much range as with Canon or Nikon lenses. But should just the fact that there is no KM any more (and therefore no firmware updates etc) put me off?
Sorry for the length of the post and randomness of the questions... I know no-one can choose for me... but that's kinda what I was hoping for.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.