What is the best camera

I have decided to treat my self to a nice camera this year for xmas. I just have small canon powershot sd1100. Takes great pics of family standing still thats about it. Everything i've tried in the tank is very blury. What is everyone using for reef tank pics now? (under $1,000 prefer) Thanks
The only other one i've tried was my brothers nikon d60
 
You are really opening that one, The new Canon 7D would be my choice of all the ones I have shot with. For under 2K I think you would be hard presseed to do better. For 2 K if you shopped around you could get the 7D and a 100mm macro if you buy the used macro, the price on those has really dropped since they introduced the 100mm macro L version.
 
You are really opening that one, The new Canon 7D would be my choice of all the ones I have shot with. For under 2K I think you would be hard presseed to do better. For 2 K if you shopped around you could get the 7D and a 100mm macro if you buy the used macro, the price on those has really dropped since they introduced the 100mm macro L version.

I just added the 7D to my bag. It won't replace my 5D but it's a really nice body.

Honestly, any modern DSLR is going to take excellent pictures when used properly with a quality lens.

Check the sticky at the top.
 
Thanks guys. My bonus is going to be paying for this and it seems it might be closer to the 1,000 dollar range but we'll see i'm gonna check out the d7 now. Thanks!
 
Personally, I would go with something a bit cheaper like the T1i and put any extra money into a good lens. Check out the specs of the 7D and unless you need some of those features such as 8 shots per second, then the T1i or the 50D might be good choices depenind on which camera is more comfortable for you. I shoot with a 50D and love it.
 
Yeah i'm noticing there is a lot of options out there. Perhapse the 7D is a little out of my league. I just want a camera that will give me good quality pics of my wavy duncans up close! And buy one and have for 5 or 10 yrs! I like the all the canons just don't quite understand all the specifics of them all. But i'm learning. At least i'm taking my time. Thanks everyone. You opinions are greatly appreciated....
 
I personally LOVE my 50D....the more I use it, the more I give my heart to it

Seriously, I was between a T1i and a 7D, but I ended up with the 50D. The 7D was a bit too expensive for my taste, and I wanted a built in flash (even though I NEVER use it). The T1i had nice video, but no auto focus made that worthless. And coming from an old 10D, after feeling the rebel, I instantly knew I would never be happy with one.

My advice is the same as above. Go to a store and hold both camera's. If you feel the rebel and are happy with it, AWESOME. Spend that extra money on some good glass. But you may find the xxD line to be a bit more to the right feel.

Advantages the 7D has that I wish my camera had:
Wireless remote
Weather proofing (although the 50D still has awesome construction)
Slightly better CMOS

Personally those were not worth the extra $$, but they still would have been nice.

hope that helps, feel free to ask any questions on the specifications
 
With a $2000 budget, it's easy to reccomend a high end camera like the Nikon D300s or the Canon 7D, but I would go with something slightly more modest. For $800 you can get a Nikon D90, which is an excelent camera, just as good as the D300s in many ways. This would leave you with enough left over to get a good tripod (essential for good macros), and a great macro lense like the 60 2.8 afs. With the money left over you could also buy some really cool corals to take photos of.
 
I personally LOVE my 50D....the more I use it, the more I give my heart to it

Seriously, I was between a T1i and a 7D, but I ended up with the 50D. The 7D was a bit too expensive for my taste, and I wanted a built in flash (even though I NEVER use it). The T1i had nice video, but no auto focus made that worthless. And coming from an old 10D, after feeling the rebel, I instantly knew I would never be happy with one.

My advice is the same as above. Go to a store and hold both camera's. If you feel the rebel and are happy with it, AWESOME. Spend that extra money on some good glass. But you may find the xxD line to be a bit more to the right feel.

Advantages the 7D has that I wish my camera had:
Wireless remote
Weather proofing (although the 50D still has awesome construction)
Slightly better CMOS

Personally those were not worth the extra $$, but they still would have been nice.

hope that helps, feel free to ask any questions on the specifications

Thanks. I'm leaning more towards the 50D.. What lens are you using?
 
With a $2000 budget, it's easy to reccomend a high end camera like the Nikon D300s or the Canon 7D, but I would go with something slightly more modest. For $800 you can get a Nikon D90, which is an excelent camera, just as good as the D300s in many ways. This would leave you with enough left over to get a good tripod (essential for good macros), and a great macro lense like the 60 2.8 afs. With the money left over you could also buy some really cool corals to take photos of.

Great more to think about. But i think its going to be Canon... But who knows. I've been to three shops in my area and of course that leaves me with three more different opinions.. But i do like the way the7D and 50D feel so far.
 
Thanks. I'm leaning more towards the 50D.. What lens are you using?
I got the kit with the 28-135mm IS USM lens (supposed to be sharper than the 18-200mm lens). So far I have been really pleased with this lens. It produces nice sharp images, as long as you stop it down a bit.

Right now I am also renting a canon 100mm Macro USM lens....and so far I LOVE it. I am testing it out to make sure I am happy with it and don't want to spring for the L version. I can tell you I am quiet pleased, even though I have only taken a few pictures so far, I can see this lens has a lot of potential. Here are some photos I took with my first aquarium shoots with it:

(also note that these were taken without a tripod and with a high ISO, my reason being that I was actually mostly trying to get fish pictures)

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(I could not find a way to make his blue dots look right, any advice from other reef photographers?)
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Not if you'd looked through the viewfinder on the 7D. :lol2:

Well, that's true... I'd be very tempted! I'm sure it's a great compliment for the 5D. The thing that worries me is it would make me want to upgrade to a 5D mkII for the newer screen and other modern amenities. A more realistic 2nd body for me might be the 1Dn mkII... keep it old school :D
 
FWIW, there have been some really good deals on the T1i and XSi lately. If you keep an eye out at slickdeals.net and/or fatwallet.com you can probably find something for a great bargain. One such deal at Amazon just ended a few days ago... but I'm sure there will be more.
 
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