Upgrading To Digital

Jtsgal829 · Sep 19, 2008

Hey all.. never posted here before..but i love the site!
I got my first SLR camera when i was 13... i bought a used Pentax From a local photo store. I then upgraded 3 years later to Canon Rebel 2000.. My Mom bought it as a gift for me in 1999 and it has taken some really amazing photos up until about a year ago. I have nothing but good things to say about this camera..but I found it was starting to look a little dull when the photos were developed.. So i bought a new canon Film SLR. Same model basically just upgraded. In the few months i've used it i don't find the quality to be as good.. so i'd like to upgrade to digital. What is the best SLR digital out there for under $600 right now?? I am getting married in 7 weeks so i can't really afford a more expensive camera than that!!
Also any advice on my Film SLR would be appreciated...
Thanks!!!

cnvang · Sep 19, 2008

I would recommend getting another canon brand, because you'll be able to use the lens from the rebel with it. With 600 as your budget you could get the rebel xt or xti; maybe the 30D but not to sure...You can check bhphotovideo.com or keh.com...keh.com is only used equipment, but they still work great. Hope this helps...

Jtsgal829 · Sep 19, 2008

cnvang said:
I would recommend getting another canon brand, because you'll be able to use the lens from the rebel with it. With 600 as your budget you could get the rebel xt or xti; maybe the 30D but not to sure...You can check bhphotovideo.com or keh.com...keh.com is only used equipment, but they still work great. Hope this helps...

thanks.. those are actually 2 of the cameras i was interested in. I am so used to canon and am pretty confident in the brand... but i wanted a little feedback on it before i went ahead!!! :-D

manaheim · Sep 19, 2008

"upgrade" to digital?

Wow, that one's gonna get people howling. Even I don't consider digital an upgrade. Where's Battou???

What makes you think that a digital camera will produce "less dull" images? Are you certain the dullness isn't from your existing technique? (which will have pretty much the same result in digital, btw)

Jtsgal829 · Sep 19, 2008

manaheim said:
"upgrade" to digital?

Wow, that one's gonna get people howling. Even I don't consider digital an upgrade. Where's Battou???

What makes you think that a digital camera will produce "less dull" images? Are you certain the dullness isn't from your existing technique? (which will have pretty much the same result in digital, btw)

wow.. thnx for the warm welcome!!!!
personally i love film photography and have always preferred film.. But my camera certainly has not been the same, and the new one i purchased seems to be giving me a bit of trouble..and right now for what i am doing digital will be a bit more convenient for me. No i don't think it's my technique because over the past 10 years of using the same camera my photos have always been sharp and clear, it's always been an excellent camera and i stand by it..but something is wrong with it. I have no intention of totally getting rid of my current cameras... i would just like to add on with digital. I also have an issue with my scanner which makes it difficult to share my film images online as i find having them transferred to a disk takes away from the quality at times. I'd like to get both of my cameras looked at but don't have the time right now. I was simply looking for an opinion on a good digital SLR camera.. guess i came to the wrong place...

Bifurcator · Sep 20, 2008

10 years? heavy use? washed out dull looking photos?

Replace the light seals.

Good DLSRs are many!

Olympus E3
Pentax K20D
Nikon D90, D700, D3
Canon EOS 1DsMIII, 1DMIII, 5DMII
Sony A900
Panasonic Lumx G1 <--- Me likes!

etc. etc.

tsaraleksi · Sep 20, 2008

Bifurcator said:
Good DLSRs are many!
Canon EOS 1DsMIII, 1DMIII, 5DMII
etc. etc.

Given the budget, a Rebel series Canon is probably the best bet-- the suggested models are all in the +2k category.

The big difficulty with shooting film is the printing part of the equation. One way to avoid the whole 'going digital' thing would be to invest in a scanner instead, and just scan your film and manipulate it digitally, then print it. That will give you the best of both worlds in that you can have a film image but have full control over the final product. As it is, from the way you are talking about having your film processed, you are having the store print it, which means their automated machines are handling all the editing, etc. Doing it yourself will put you in control of how your images look. That said, at that point you would be making things easier by just going digital.

Just my $.02.

Bifurcator · Sep 20, 2008

tsaraleksi said:
Given the budget, a Rebel series Canon is probably the best bet--

But he said "good" dSLR... So the Rebel range is out.

manaheim · Sep 20, 2008

Jtsgal829 said:
wow.. thnx for the warm welcome!!!!

Sarcasm?

I didn't mean any mal-intent in my message. The questions were genuine.

Lots of film photographers do (and always have) gotten STUNNING results with film, so it's not like film is fundamentally incapable of doing this. I also know that there are differences in the two mediums that you need to be aware of, but amazing results can be had in both, so... logically, based upon your criteria, the move to film isn't necessarily what you need...

...unless you have previously un-commented on criteria.

I've never really thought this through, but the criteria for digital would likely be along the lines of...

- I want more immediate control over my processing (though a negative scanner would alleviate this)
- I want to see instant results.
- I rarely print, and more frequently do the on-line thing.
- I wanna take nudie pics of my girlfriend and don't want the development lab to see them.

You sounded like you were saying this:

1. "I've been taking great pictures for years!"
2. "Hm, suddenly my pictures are less great..."
3. "I know, I need to switch to digital!"

Jtsgal829 said:
personally i love film photography and have always preferred film.. But my camera certainly has not been the same, and the new one i purchased seems to be giving me a bit of trouble..and right now for what i am doing digital will be a bit more convenient for me. No i don't think it's my technique because over the past 10 years of using the same camera my photos have always been sharp and clear, it's always been an excellent camera and i stand by it..but something is wrong with it. I have no intention of totally getting rid of my current cameras... i would just like to add on with digital. I also have an issue with my scanner which makes it difficult to share my film images online as i find having them transferred to a disk takes away from the quality at times. I'd like to get both of my cameras looked at but don't have the time right now. I was simply looking for an opinion on a good digital SLR camera.. guess i came to the wrong place...

No, you came to the right place, except that IMO you're being deeply oversensitive. If you're getting offended by me you're in for some real surprises when a certain few other personalities get wound up.

I was genuinely trying to help.

I was merely questioning your diagnostic process.

Sounds like you may have had some criteria you weren't mentioning, which is fine.

ruaslacker2 · Sep 20, 2008

Bifurcator said:
But he said "good" dSLR... So the Rebel range is out.

:thumbdown:
The Canon Digital Rebel are excellent cameras according to the photography magazines. Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one...
And most of them stink. :greenpbl:

Alex_B · Sep 20, 2008

if the quality of your film SLR output dropped, that is probably the labs processing the film. At least that is what I realised, when you do not develop yourself, or pay a lot of money, then it is hard to find a good lab these days. 10 years ago that was a different story.

Oh, and I could not find anything really offensive in manaheims post. There was even a smiley in there

chrisburke · Sep 20, 2008

manaheim said:
Sarcasm?

- I wanna take nudie pics of my girlfriend and don't want the development lab to see them.

this is why i went digital.. jokes...

Early · Sep 20, 2008

manaheim said:
"upgrade" to digital?

Wow, that one's gonna get people howling. Even I don't consider digital an upgrade. Where's Battou???

What makes you think that a digital camera will produce "less dull" images? Are you certain the dullness isn't from your existing technique? (which will have pretty much the same result in digital, btw)

Considering the film processing available today, anything is an upgrade.:x

Bifurcator · Sep 20, 2008

ruaslacker2 said:
:thumbdown:
The Canon Digital Rebel are excellent cameras according to the photography magazines. Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one...
And most of them stink. :greenpbl:

Says you. nya nya! :lol:

Where's your images? Show us your stuff bro? Nothing posted so far? Here's another saying I guess you know it: Money talks and BS walks...

tsaraleksi · Sep 20, 2008

Bifurcator said:
Says you. nya nya! Where's your images? Show us your stuff bro? Nothing posted so far? Here's another saying I guess you know it: Money talks and BS walks...

Having used cameras from across Canon's line, I would not choose to use a Rebel series camera over what I currently use. But a list that includes a D90, etc, ought to include a rebel especially when the stated budget is $600.