Camera Suggestions Please

S

Shawn D

Member
I have been browsing this forum for a month or so now thinking about taking the leap into the DSLR world and was wondering what all of you thought of these cameras. I am trying to decide between the Canon XSi, the Sony A300, or a Nikon D60. Also do you think I should buy a kit or the body only and then a decent lens? Since I am just starting out I don't want to spend a ton of money on accessories and the best quality lenses though.

Thanks for the help

This kit seems like a pretty good deal, what do you think?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/545831-REG/Sony_DSLRA300X_Alpha_DSLR_A300_SLR_Digtial.html
 
You can find excellent camera reviews on the following site: http://www.dpreview.com/ The site also has a discussion forum which will give you comments about the different cameras. A second site (http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/index.php) has good lens reviews - the Sony 18-70 didn't get particularly good reviews.

Have you tried holding each camera? I was looking at the XSi but when I tired it decided that it was too small for my hands which made it very uncomfortable to hold. YMMW but try them out. Most stores will also let you put an SD card in the camera to take some test photos to look at at home.

You might want to look at the Nikon D80 rather the D60. Since Nikon released the D90 (a D80 upgrade), the D80 has been dropping in price. It now costs around the same price as the D60 but is a more capable camera in most areas (the D60 is an excellent camera too). It offers additional features which you might find useful (including the ability to use a wider range of lenses - the D60 has no auto-focus motor in the body which limits the lens option if you want AF). The Nikon kit lens (especially the 18-70, 18-105VR and 18-135) are all excellent lens. Depending on your photography interests, they would be a very good starting point. Then, as your skills and interests develop, you could select additional lens.

All this said, any of these cameras is capable of producing stunning photographs and would serve you well.
 
Personally I'd avoid the D60 as it can't autofocus with some lenses, which may limit your lens selection a little. Also, it lacks bracketing, which isn't a terribly useful feature for aquarium photography, but it's very handy if you ever want to do some HDR photography. If you're interested in a similar Nikon in the same price range as the D60, I'd check out a used D50 or D80. Both can auto focus with any auto focus lens and both have bracketing.

If you think the lens restriction for the D60 is no big deal and don't have any interest in the bracketing feature, then it's a perfectly fine camera.

KenRockwell.com is an invaluable site for all the info you need for both Canon and Nikon cameras and lenses.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13657398#post13657398 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TWallace

KenRockwell.com is an invaluable site for all the info you need for both Canon and Nikon cameras and lenses.
Click to expand...

The problem with Ken is that he's no more qualified than you and I, and is quite often just dead wrong about stuff.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13657407#post13657407 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
The problem with Ken is that he's no more qualified than you and I, and is quite often just dead wrong about stuff.
Click to expand...

I'm certain that he's much more qualified than I, actually :).
 
Thanks for all the responses. I have not held all these cameras in particular but have toyed with several Nikons (D40, D60 and D200) in my yearbook class, as well as playing with my uncles Canon XT, I have not held a sony or played with one yet. Thanks for pointing out that the D80 is dropping in price and that would be a nice snag, when I googled D80 this came up http://soniccameras.com/catalog/pro...t.com/compare.asp?item=25412&products_id=4124 which seems like a great deal. What do you think?
 
Too bad we can't get discounts for pimping B&H! I refer everyone who asks where to buy gear to their site. I have always gotten the best service from them and their customer service folks are wonderful to work with.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13661071#post13661071 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shawn D
Also do you think the D80 will drop more in price as the holidays get closer?

Thanks again
Click to expand...

Probably not....but then again, some stores might run "kit" specials. So who knows. Anything can happen.
 
I'd seriously consider buying used, as you can easily save a couple hundred dollars. Used D80s aren't too hard to find as people tend to upgrade from it to a D90, D300, D700 or even D3 for the rich folks. I got my used D50 on Craigslist for $425 with 2 lenses and a Nikon camera bag. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. The camera works perfectly.

I found this in your area: http://houston.craigslist.org/pho/900795031.html.
 
Went and played with all the cameras today and liked the way the Nikon D60 and D80 felt the best. If I go with the D60 and later upgraded to another Nikon body would AF lenses still work on bodies like the D80 with the built in AF?
 
I assume that you are asking if AF-S lenses will work on the D80? If so, yes - AF-S lenses will work on all Nikon bodies. In fact, there are advantages to the AF-S system: it is faster, quieter and you can fine-tune the auto-focus using manual focus override without having to switch off the auto-focus. The problem for the D40/D60 is that Nikon hasn't produced AF-S versions of many of it's good prime lenses and also that older film lenses are AF, not AF-S. The AF lenses will work on the D80, as long as they aren't too old (circa 1980).
 
And while other lens makers, such as Sigma and Tamron are making some newer lenses with a motor in the lens, alot of theirs still don't have them.

This was one of my main reasons for upgrading last month. There are alot of quality lenses available and it became very upsetting when they wouldn't auto focus even though alot of the pics I take were done with manual.

A lot will be what you intend on taking pictures of. I started seeing some of the guys here. Before you know it , I was looking at landscapes in a different light. I started taking pics of sunsets instead of just looking at them. I needed better glass. I also needed a better body, (mine was a D40, which has the same drawbacks).

I'm not quite there yet. I have some average glass. I have a great body now, (D200). I'm learning the camera now. If I had bought this camera first, I'd be looking for better glass now.

Christmas isn't too far away though.
 
Misled, do you mean upgrading bodies or lenses? Haha sorry I'm a noob. Yes I mean AF-S nickb. I can definitely see myself upgrading bodies in a year or two depending on how serious I get into photography
 
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