Help Me Choose a DSLR

[MedRed]

Ok... I was originally looking for a good low light camera. I've now decided to go the DSLR route. At the moment I'm leaning towards Canon... but I'm open to suggestions. My budget is $500- $1200. If a $500 camera will do what I need with out hiccup, then so be it; however, I won't pass up a Canon 7D for $1300 either.

Once again these are the kind of pictures I'd like to take with greater resolution and clarity. What camera and lens(es) would you recommend?

Here are some of my pictures to show you the kinds of things I'll need to shoot and the conditions:

Thanks for the help

 

[TTrout]

You have a lot of choices with Canon. As a wedding photographer I shoot a 5D MII. The Canon's are notoriously bad at focusing in low light, however I feel that they have come a long way. I can also shoot high iso settings with low to no grain in the photos. I have not played with the new 60d but might look at it as well. I would probably look at either the 50D or 60D with a 50mm or 100mm macro lens. You might also look into the 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 for your normal shots. That should cover the photos above. You could save a lot on the body as well and get something like an older 10D or 20D, but the high iso on them are very grainy and will have less ability to focus in lower light.

I would recommend checking out dpreview.com and going to a camera store to hold and play with a couple of them with the lenses you like.

Hope that helps and good luck

 

[MedRed]

Thanks TTrout

 

[Brett9917]

The key to low lighting photography, (DSLR or PS) is stability to avoid camera shake and ghosting. A tripod is a must for low lighting and aquarium photography.

As far as what TTrout said about ISO noise -- you can crank up the ISO to get your camera in focus, switch it to manual focus, drop the ISO to normal levels and just take a longer exposure shot. That's what I do... and just delete the grainy shot. So you can go with an older body and focus more on lenses.

A good macro seems to be a must these days for aquarium photography and could yield some interesting shots with your computer work as well. And the kit lens will definitely work in the beginning.

 

[oralsturgeon]

I just got the 7D for my oral surgery practice and will be also using it for my home photography as well. So far with the cannon 100mm macro and ring flash I am taking wonderful pic intraorally which is not a great lighted area. Also it has the true 1080p HD video capability if you ever want to record videos of your tank... That was a big plus for me....

Toddd

 

[MedRed]

Thanks guys. How much did you get your 7D for? Oralsturgeon, your name is fantastic!

 

[oralsturgeon]

I bought a huge package from www.photomed.net

 

[TTrout]

The key to low lighting photography, (DSLR or PS) is stability to avoid camera shake and ghosting. A tripod is a must for low lighting and aquarium photography.

As far as what TTrout said about ISO noise -- you can crank up the ISO to get your camera in focus, switch it to manual focus, drop the ISO to normal levels and just take a longer exposure shot. That's what I do... and just delete the grainy shot. So you can go with an older body and focus more on lenses.

A good macro seems to be a must these days for aquarium photography and could yield some interesting shots with your computer work as well. And the kit lens will definitely work in the beginning.

This is true for the computer shots since nothing is moving. However, you drop the shutter too much and your fish will be a blur of color.

Although, as you can see there are a few ways to get low light situations to work. You can lower the shutter speed, or you can open the aperture, or you could bump the iso, or could use a flash, or a mix of all or some of these. With the aperture your looking for lenses that have a small f-stop. The smaller the f-stop number of the lens the more light will pass through the lens. This will allow you to bump the shutter up a little faster. Along with bumping the iso up you can then bump up the shutter a little more.

I agree, a good steady tripod is a must and will allow lower shutter speeds without blur from hand shake.

Another option you might look at is renting a body. Robertsimaging.com will allow you to rent bodies for a reasonable price. This might be helpful if you just can't make up your mind.

If I had it to do over I would have bought a body that was much older and cheaper maybe even film just to learn. Now I have a very expensive ($1,500 new) 10D that I could probably only get $150 for. But you will always use the glass

 

[firstsalt]

also if you have very low shutter speeds than youll need a shutter realese but right now i say you get a canon rebel xsi or an older camrea like a d60 which i have. Than a macro lens later on

 

[MedRed]

Great info! Thanks!

 

[MedRed]

Just an update, I ended up going with a Canon 7D. Now I just need to know how to use it. lol. Thanks everyone!