what would work best for me??

trainwreck · Oct 26, 2013

So right now im just using my camera phone for all my pictures. but i would like to move up to a "real" camera. But i have no idea where to even begin to look.

99% of the pictures i take are during work or in my travels for work. Im a heavy equipment operator that works all over the western united states doing all kinds of railroad work. So this camera should be some what weather friendly, im not looking to go swimming with it but it will be out in the rain,wind,snow and dust.
Size is not really a factor in my choices.

a friend of mine recommended a canon t3. Is this a good choice??

any info would be a huge help.

thanks.

goodguy · Oct 26, 2013

So from your question I see you want a DSLR.
My advise is go for a more modern camera then the T3i, its a pretty old design even though its s till a faily good camera.
The 2 cameras you can consider are the Canon 70D or the Nikon D7100.
They are modern and about the same buying price.

From the 2 I would personally go for the Nikon D7100, I bought mine and love it.
I think the Nikon D7100 is directed more toward taking photos while the 70D is directed more toward video making but both cameras as I said are good choices.

robbins.photo · Oct 26, 2013

trainwreck said:
So right now im just using my camera phone for all my pictures. but i would like to move up to a "real" camera. But i have no idea where to even begin to look.

99% of the pictures i take are during work or in my travels for work. Im a heavy equipment operator that works all over the western united states doing all kinds of railroad work. So this camera should be some what weather friendly, im not looking to go swimming with it but it will be out in the rain,wind,snow and dust.
Size is not really a factor in my choices.

a friend of mine recommended a canon t3. Is this a good choice??

any info would be a huge help.

thanks.

I'd have to agree with goodguy - the Nikon d7000 and d7100 are both weather sealed so they'll stand up to adverse weather conditions a little better than a non-weathered sealed camera. If your looking at mostly taking pictures I generally recommend Nikon over Canon, I know the Canon folks will probably disagree with me here but when you compare Nikon vrs Canon at the same price point, the Nikon body will generally give you much better image quality for the same amount of money.

trainwreck · Oct 26, 2013

thanks for the info, but the d7000-d7100 are a bit out of my price range for my first camera. guess i should have said something about my budget in the first post. Im only able to spend about 400-600 on this camera.

robbins.photo · Oct 26, 2013

trainwreck said:
thanks for the info, but the d7000-d7100 are a bit out of my price range for my first camera. guess i should have said something about my budget in the first post. Im only able to spend about 400-600 on this camera.

Ok, so weather sealed probably isn't going to fit into your budget. Not a problem. Well if it were me I'd probably look at maybe a used D5100 then, you should be able to get one easily with a lens and have a little left over for a bag and maybe a few other accessories while your at it. Under the circumstances the one accessory I would strongly recommend would be a good multicoated UV filter - the filter itself really doesn't do anything for your camera per see since unlike the old 35 mm the newer digitals really don't get much of an advantage from the UV filter.

But what it does do for you is put a nice $20 shield between your lens and the outside world. Since you'll be in some harsh conditions it's nice to know if the filter gets scratched you can toss it and replace it cheap. If your lens had gotten scratched, well whole different story there.

I use a D5100 myself, and I really like it - for the money it's a really tough camera to beat. The image quality is great, it shoots fast for something in it's class and it just produces wonderful photos.

These were taken with my D5100 and a 70-300mm Nikon lens:

DSC_0254 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

DSC_0055 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

DSC_0206 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

DSC_0432 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

goodguy · Oct 27, 2013

If 400$-600$ then I think you have 2 options

Nikon D5100 or Nikon D3200

The D5100 is located a bit higher in Nikon camera tree and has few more options over the D3200 but the D3200 is more modrn.
Both camera will fit your pocket but the lens you will be able to get with them is the 18-55mm VR which is the more basic lens but still is a good lens, see you you can get the 18-105mm VR which is optically a bit better and gives you a better range.

Out of these 2 I personally would go with the D3200 simply because its a more modern camera.

Good luck.

The_Traveler · Oct 27, 2013

A dSLR incurs lots of costs - weight, new lenses, post-processing after you take the image.

Perhaps you would be better off with a point and shoot or a bridge camera that will give you a significant leap in adaptability and control over a cell phone but you won't end up with a camera that will require lots of dollars and effort to use.
There are lots of good P&S or bridge in the 5-600 price range that will serve.
Do a web search and read the reviews for the latest ones.

Best Bridge Camera 2013 - Top Digital Cameras - Tom?s Guide

Designer · Oct 27, 2013

I was going to suggest a point-n-shoot, so I'm glad The_Traveler wrote it first.

Yes, trainwreck, a good point-n-shoot will give you the picture quality you want without being large and heavy. Most of those little cameras will fit in your jacket pocket, which beats the camera left back at the motel all to heck.

trainwreck · Oct 30, 2013

ok so what point and shoot cameras should i look at?

robbins.photo · Oct 30, 2013

trainwreck said:
ok so what point and shoot cameras should i look at?

Well I do have a Panasonic FZ200 - I don't use it much since I went to DSLR - but it does take some pretty nice photos. It's small and lightweight, easy to carry, has the more advanced options for when your ready to go manual but until then you can use the automatic modes pretty easy, has a nice fast lens on it. All in all I was pretty happy with it till I got the DSLR, just no comparison in Image Quality between the two - but if you'd like to see some FZ200 shots...

P1120590 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

P1130244 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

P1030282 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

goodguy · Oct 30, 2013

trainwreck said:
ok so what point and shoot cameras should i look at?

IF you want to go with a point and shoot then let me recommend you the point and shoot that I own the Canon G15, fantastic camera.
You can use it just like my wife in full auto or use it as if its a DSLR completely in manual.
It gives you all the options and is designed to the photography fan but without the size, weight and need for lens as a DSLR.
If you want the new model which just replaced it is the Canon G16, both cameras are very a like with small differences.
This camera has fantastic image quality, very good low light performance and is very practical and easy to carry.

Meeskephoto · Oct 30, 2013

The Pentax K20D has some great reviews and a renowned weather sealed body. It is a bit more out of your price range if you buy new, but used like new on Amazon/Adorama is really reasonable:

Amazon.com: Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction and DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II Lens: Adorama Camera

Weather sealed and great image quality, pretty rad deal.

Nikanon · Oct 31, 2013

Check ebay. I have seen the D7000 sell between $550-$600. Heck I just sold mine the other day for $575 I had it listed here but nobody wanted it so I sold it locally.