Help me choose camera please :)

[ezcompany]

I was thinking of entering the DSLR realm.
Here are the cameras that have entered my mind:

Nikon D40, D50
Canon Rebel XT 350D

Primarily for taking macro photos of my corals, and great cityscape shots.
Which "kit" is recommended, or lenses? Which brands to stay away from?
What site is the best for purchasing DSLR cameras?

Me = noob so thank you everyone

 

[Blue Deuce]

If I was looking at entering the dslr world I would look at Canons new Canon Digital Rebel XTI. In regards to kit's that come bundled with a bunch of stuff most of it is junk that you will end up throwing in a drawer. The 18-55mm kit lens you can get with this camera is adequate I have heard but really soft wide open. But don't be surprised if you find it lacking and soon have thousands and thousands of dollars in len's laying around. The 100 f2.8 (appx. $450) is a great macro and doubles as a very good portrait lens as well.

B&H is probably the most reputable photography retailer with Adorama in the mix. Their price is the benchmark among pros. You will undoubtedly find a lower price on the net but here today gone tomorrow camera sites are notorious for ripping people off.

Mind you I am a Canon shooter since I feel they have superior optics in regards to their long glass which I need and use almost daily. You can't go wrong with Nikon, I am just not as familar with their products.

 

[GSMguy]

i have the xti i like it need a new lens though

 

[mikez104]

Hey Ezcompany, Hope those frags are still doing good. I recently took the plunge into the DSLR realm. I have learned a lot in the last few months. Blue Deuce is right, you will soon want another lens if you get the kit lens. And then another and another....

I bought a Canon Digital Rebel XT AKA 350D with the kit lens (18-55mm) and a 1G memory card for around $710 or so from buydig.com. I chose the free shipping option and I got it in about 3 days. The price has dropped since at other places. Blue Deuce is also right about B&H. Their service is top notch.

The "kit" lens is not that great... I quickly bought a Canon 50mm f1.8. It is a great lens but built cheap (plastic mount instead of metal). It will probably give you the best quality at 50mm for the money. You can find it for around $70.

You can buy the body and pick another lens. I have read the endless amount of posts about lenses on this web site.
]http://www.dpreview.com/forums/ [/URL]
under SLR lens talk. I read so many good and bad opinions on different lenses so I started looking at samples here
http://www.pbase.com

That site has a great deal of pictures, samples and reviews. I am still a little up in the air about what to pick to replace my kit lens but I think I am going to go with a Sigma 17-70/2.8-4.5. The image quality is good and the price is not out of this world. It also has good macro capability. Here is a link to some shots with that.

http://www.pbase.com/jimcreek/sigma_1770_test_report

Here is a picture from tonight with the 50mm f1.8 lens.

As for Nikon and the others, I don't know from first hand experience but I have heard that the chips Canon uses are best as far as image noise is concerned. I have seen many beautiful pictures with Nikons so who knows. I got all worked up about the noise thing after I purchased a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7S. I was not happy at all with the pictures. They had a lot of noise and I eventually returned it at a 10% restocking fee and shipping costs. That's when I bought the Canon.

Sorry to drone on but Since I got that camera I have been really into it.

 

[mikez104]

Almost forgot, here are a few links to some good digital camera tutorials that teach you about compasition and a few basic principals of photography like the rule of thirds. Good stuff.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?page=8279&head=0
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?page=8536&head=0
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=3290
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=3110

 

[Mr31415]

Both Nikon and Canon make fine camera's - you cannot go wrong with either. You will have the Canon supporters and the Nikon supporters - both fighting for their camera of choice. But I promise you this - if you purchase any of their D-SLR camera's it will be difficult to distinguish photos taken with the one or the other... They are very similar in quality.

That being said I prefer Canon due to the way the interface works on the 1DMKII...

 

[VoidRaven]

Right now the D50 kits are only a hair more than, or equal to, the new D40. Forget the D40 (and I'm a Nikon guy saying this) and go for the D50. Here's a link to a nice package from B&H for the D50 for a hair over $600...but you need to check with them as the description says it comes with a 2GB card in addition to a lens but it's not in the subject line. Better safe than sorry. The 28-80mm lens will be good for "walk around" and stuff like that but you'll want to look to another lens for macro shots.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...908&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation


If you can fit more into your budget, this D70s kit comes with the 28-105mm lens which has macro capability (I have this lens)...but you'll need to buy a larger memory card separately.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...693&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation



And statements are true....you really can't go wrong with either Nikon or Canon.....or for that matter Fuji too (which uses Nikon lenses). The jury is still out on the Sony Alpha but I've been hearing more and more good things about it. I've also seen stellar images from the Olympus E series cameras.

The most important thing to remember is that you are not really buying into the camera body...those will eventually be a dime a dozen...but the GLASS, or lenses, is where you really want to spend the $$$. You are investing in a lens system, not a camera body. Camera resolution (mega pixels) is important but not as deathly important as folks will lead you to believe. Now, this does not mean buy a cheap plastic camera body...but you don't necessarily have to spend $3K on the camera body.

gho on this site provided a great example of shots once. I think it was 6 shots from 6 different cameras (a blend of pocket digicams and DSLR's) with very different megapixel ranges and it was very difficult to tell what came from what camera.

BTW....don't forget to go to an actual camera store and physically handle all the cameras that you are looking at. Comfort/feeling good in your hands is important too.

 

[ezcompany]

wow thank you guys!
my friend has a rule - go for the cheapest body, and most expensive lens you can afford lol
i prefer a balance, so i was thinking of the XT with the 100mm f/2.8 Canon lense, what do you guys think? thanks mike for all the great links, i have some reading to do!

 

[mikez104]

I would think the 100 would be good for macro. user review

YOu would need something wide though for the cityscapes you mentioned. 17mm maybe. Thats one of the reasons I'm looking at getting the sigma 17-70. It does macro, wide and can zoom in when needed.

 

[VoidRaven]

I would think something like the Tokina 12-24mm would be better for cityscapes if you want wide. I don't know about the XT but if the camera has a crop factor you need to take that into account. Thus an 18mm lens might be more like a 28mm.

 

[ezcompany]

is there are greater than 1:1 macro lens out there?

 

[mikez104]

He is right about the crop on the XT. Take the lens mm and multiply by 1.6.

 

[BlueCorn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8701927#post8701927 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mikez104
He is right about the crop on the XT. Take the lens mm and multiply by 1.6.

Yup and the recommendation for the 12-24 Tokina is right on the money. I love that lens.