Which Camera?

[lazyreefer]

Hey guys, I have gathere enought points in my credit card to get a digital camera, I can get about $800 gift card from best buy or circuit city. what would be a good digital SLR camera to get? from limited research I have done so far, seems like nikon D80 and canon 400D seems to be nice cameras that people recommend. any thoughts on these two?

Thanks!

 

[reefman]

nikon D80 :smile:
i think pedro uses it. check out his pics.

 

[Pedro]

Actually i use a D70, so the D80 is superior. It's not in the price range however. If you can find a d70s that would be great. You might also want to look at the D50. Keep in mind that once you add the lens, memory, etc, the price increases. You really can't go wrong with either brand, however i am partial to nikon.

See www.bhphoto.com to get some ideas about pricing. Good luck!

 

[ATJ]

I love my D70, but then I already have a few good Nikkor lenses. If you are starting from scratch, ether Nikon or Canon are good.

As Pedro says, the lenses and other accessories is where you can spend the money.

 

[Salesbig]

i would suggest not buying from those guys.. If you can get the cash youre better off doing some research for the best price..
They may price match. but do your research..
Also if you visit slickdeals.net you will probably see a better deal there.. You may have to visit this site like 3-6 times a day to see if that deal comes up..
One more thing.. When buying a lens.. i suggest you buy the lens made by Nikon or Canon depending on which company you get.

Good luck either way

 

[lazyreefer]

well maybe the DSLR I list above are too much for my level of photo taking expertise (I have none - total noob ) would you guys recommend that I get a lower price point DSLR and get better ones after I get more experience? or do I just get the best that I can get (like reef equipment )

 

[bad coffee]

the canon rebel xti basic kit is around $800.

I'm a canon fan. But go check both out and buy the one you like. Like pedro said, they're both good cameras.

If your not going to seriously get into photography you might look at one of the high end point and shoots. I bought my dad a Panasonic lumix for christmas. it's 6mp and has a 12x zoom lens with image stablization. the canon S3 and the sony one like it are good as well.

If you're looking for reviews www.dpreview.com

Another note. Buy GOOD memory cards. The cheapo ones are slow and you'll have to wait longer between shots while the camera saves the pic. I have sandisk ultra II's and extreeme III's. they're about the best bang for the buck. look around, there are lots of places that have rebates on them now.

B

 

[Pedro]

Joe,

Just curious, why don't you suggest he buys from them guys?

I would say that 99.9% of my equipment is from them. Bottom line is you have to do your research first. After that it doesn't matter if you buy it from McDonalds, so long as it's new.

If you are new to Dslr's it's probably a good idea to start small. There's no need to go top of the line. Learn the basics and as you get better then you can upgrade. We all do it. Now when it comes to the lenses, that's where you can go top of the line because that you will keep even if you upgrade, so long as it's the same manufacturer.

Check out the D50, it's not a bad little brother!

 

[emps]

or the D40 is a great entry level DSLR, and he can get a decent lens with $800.

I have a D50 and love it.

 

[Salesbig]

Joe,

Just curious, why don't you suggest he buys from them guys?

I would say that 99.9% of my equipment is from them. Bottom line is you have to do your research first. After that it doesn't matter if you buy it from McDonalds, so long as it's new.

If you are new to Dslr's it's probably a good idea to start small. There's no need to go top of the line. Learn the basics and as you get better then you can upgrade. We all do it. Now when it comes to the lenses, that's where you can go top of the line because that you will keep even if you upgrade, so long as it's the same manufacturer.

Check out the D50, it's not a bad little brother!

price mostly.. everyone thinks they are the cheapest when they sell most things at list price.. even most of their adverised prices are list.. this is the only way they can collect the advertising money from the companies.
Thats why they say they match advetised prices, cause you cant really advertise most things below a certain point,, sony,panasonic, nikon and so on..
Its called MAP - Minimum Advetised Price...

 

[ATJ]

well maybe the DSLR I list above are too much for my level of photo taking expertise (I have none - total noob ) would you guys recommend that I get a lower price point DSLR and get better ones after I get more experience? or do I just get the best that I can get (like reef equipment )

Your current level of expertise shouldn't be a factor. What is more important is where you think you'll get or where you want to be. How serious of a photographer do you think you'll be? How keen are you?

If you think you'll probably just get the camera out at family gatherings for snapshots and maybe take the occasional photograph of your tank, a medium range point and shoot will probably be more than enough. Most have some pretty good features, including macro, which will allow you to play a bit.

If you think you will really get into photography and will be taking photographs more for the photograph itself rather than just documenting something, I recommend you get a medium range digital SLR, like the D50 or the equivalent Canon, with the kit* lens and a couple of good memory cards. Most of the kit lenses will serve you well and as you get more into using the camera and know the sorts of photographs you want to take you can start buying lenses specific to your area of interest.

*Kit lens is the lens that comes with the camera. These days they are zoom lenses with a fair range and can be quite versatile as general walk around and shoot lens. They will give you much of the same capabilities as a point and shoot camera, but giving you the extra features of a SLR.

In the end, the most important thing about a photograph is the photographer and not the equipment. It is generally possible to get good photographs from just about any equipment as long as the lens is of good quality.