saltykelly
Member
I'm looking to get my wife a digital SLR for her birthday, but I don't know much about them. What is the best bang for your buck? I'm looking for $700 or less. And where would it be cheapest to buy?
Question for those into photography
- Thread starter saltykelly
- Start date
saltykelly
Member
I was thinking about this package maybe. I think the lens she has already will work with it as well.
http://www.bestpricecameras.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=713796&up=713192
http://www.bestpricecameras.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=713796&up=713192
Do NOT buy from that reseller:
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Best_Price_Cameras_6
Here's my standard recommendation:
f you decide to go the DSLR route you need to consider more variables than you do with a point and shoot (P&S) camera.
The order of importance, in regard to picture quality, with a DSLR is:
Photographer skill, lens quality, camera body.
Every DSLR body on the market today will take excellent pictures. Your lens choices are far more important than which body you buy.
You also have to be comfortable with how the camera feels. If you're not comfortable with your camera you won't be out shooting with it. Go to a local camera store (avoid places like Ritz, Best Buy, etc.... if at all possible), play with several different camera bodies and see what feels the best in your hand. Buy the one that feels best.
/ personal rant /
If you go to a local store with subject expertise (again, not a Ritz, Best Buy, Wolf Camera, etc) and take advantage of the knowledgeable folks buy your camera there. You might pay a little bit more but they deserve to be compensated for their assistance. In the long run building a relationship with a local store can be very helpful as a good camera is a long term investment. I have no problem buying online to save money; I just don't do it if I've involved the local store in the sales process. Also there are a lot of really shady online camera dealers. If the price seems to good to be true it probably is.
/ end rant /
Buying a DSLR is more than buying a camera, it's buying into a system. That being said Canon and Nikon currently have most of the market. Choosing one of those gives you more choices for expansion down the road. The new Sony looks good as well and it's compatible with Konica/Minolta lenses.
If saving money, by buying used gear, allows you to spend more money on lenses you should go that route. A good lens on a used body will take better pictures than a cheap lens on a brand new body.
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Best_Price_Cameras_6
Here's my standard recommendation:
f you decide to go the DSLR route you need to consider more variables than you do with a point and shoot (P&S) camera.
The order of importance, in regard to picture quality, with a DSLR is:
Photographer skill, lens quality, camera body.
Every DSLR body on the market today will take excellent pictures. Your lens choices are far more important than which body you buy.
You also have to be comfortable with how the camera feels. If you're not comfortable with your camera you won't be out shooting with it. Go to a local camera store (avoid places like Ritz, Best Buy, etc.... if at all possible), play with several different camera bodies and see what feels the best in your hand. Buy the one that feels best.
/ personal rant /
If you go to a local store with subject expertise (again, not a Ritz, Best Buy, Wolf Camera, etc) and take advantage of the knowledgeable folks buy your camera there. You might pay a little bit more but they deserve to be compensated for their assistance. In the long run building a relationship with a local store can be very helpful as a good camera is a long term investment. I have no problem buying online to save money; I just don't do it if I've involved the local store in the sales process. Also there are a lot of really shady online camera dealers. If the price seems to good to be true it probably is.
/ end rant /
Buying a DSLR is more than buying a camera, it's buying into a system. That being said Canon and Nikon currently have most of the market. Choosing one of those gives you more choices for expansion down the road. The new Sony looks good as well and it's compatible with Konica/Minolta lenses.
If saving money, by buying used gear, allows you to spend more money on lenses you should go that route. A good lens on a used body will take better pictures than a cheap lens on a brand new body.
saltykelly
Member
My wife took photography in highschool and takes great photos with her Canon Rebel 2000 with a canon zoom lens EF 28-80mm. I just want to get her into a digital so that she can load the photos to her computer. And be able to take more photos without loading more film. If this lens is sufficient I will just buy the camera itself.
Just pick up an XT or XTi body and let her use the existing lens. I can't stress strongly enough how much you should avoid that store that you linked to. For starters that's a gray market camera; i.e. it has no Canon warranty in the US.
The next problem is that you can't actually buy the camera for that price. You place the order online. They send you an email telling you that they need you to call them to "confirm some information" and then the up-sell starts. Unless you agree to the list of options that they try to sell you, the camera will never ship. The net is that you end up spending more than retail for a camera with no warranty and a bunch of 3rd party accessories that were supposed to come with the camera originally.
There are a LOT of shady folks in the camera business.
The next problem is that you can't actually buy the camera for that price. You place the order online. They send you an email telling you that they need you to call them to "confirm some information" and then the up-sell starts. Unless you agree to the list of options that they try to sell you, the camera will never ship. The net is that you end up spending more than retail for a camera with no warranty and a bunch of 3rd party accessories that were supposed to come with the camera originally.
There are a LOT of shady folks in the camera business.
sumyungviet
New member
I would recomend bhphotovideo.com , adorama.com , or beachcamera.com i bought my xti from beach camera.. but have moved on to the 40d =] and what doug said .. its definitly the lens.
saltykelly
Member
Obviously the major difference in the xt and xti is the megapixels. Will this make much difference, or is this only going to matter if you turn the photo into a billboard?
There's a few more difference between the XT and the XTi. The XTi has a sensor cleaning mechanism built into the camera, where as the XT does not. The LCD screen on the back of the Xti is 2.5" vs the XT's 1.8" LCD. The XTi has slightly better autofocusing in low light (but I can't tell you how much better).
Don't get me wrong, the XT is still a very nice camera. With that said - I ended up getting my wife an XTi for Christmas. The slightly larger LCD and the self cleaning sensor made it worth it for me.
And if you love your wife as much as I love my wife, you'd get her an XTi. Just kidding....
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS400D/page3.asp
(350D = XT whereas the 400D=XTi)
Don't get me wrong, the XT is still a very nice camera. With that said - I ended up getting my wife an XTi for Christmas. The slightly larger LCD and the self cleaning sensor made it worth it for me.
And if you love your wife as much as I love my wife, you'd get her an XTi. Just kidding....
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS400D/page3.asp
(350D = XT whereas the 400D=XTi)
