Which Camera

[ccampo]

I know this question has been asked several times, I even read the sticky threads in this same forum, but I'm going to ask anyway.

I have around $1200 to spend in a good camera and lens as a Christmas present from me to me

So if you were me which camera would you buy ?

Obviously I want to take pictures of my mini reef and use it as a general purpose camera as well.

I can probably spend more in lens later (another christmas present next year)

So what do you suggest?
make, model, lens, which ones, etc.

 

[nickb]

Assuming you are looking for a dSLR:

For you price point, you could get the Nikon D90 with 18-105mm VR lens. It would be an excellent general purpose camera and would also take general reef pictures. You could add on a macro lens at a later date.

The Canon XSi is cheaper but also excellent. Again, you could add a lens in the future.

If you haven't tried these two out, you should go down to a store with a blank sd card and take some sample photos on each camera. Some people (like me) find the XSi to be too small. Others find the smaller size to be a plus. Only you can say how it feels to you

 

[crvz]

I have the Canon XTi and I love it. For a bit more than $1200 you could get that and a couple pretty nice lenses to go with it. I'd get the XSi body, the 17-85mm IS lens for general purpose, and the 100mm macro lens for a little more fun (an awesome lens for any canon SLR model). The lenses are what really make the setup, I think. Some may think the XSi body is a bit of a downgrade from other things you could get, but I think you'd really like having those lenses for your money (camera bodies come and go, but the lenses can last for years and years).

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

^ agreed

 

[ccampo]

Thanks a lot

I was also thinking about the Nikon D90.
Good to know about the Canon EOS Rebel XSi.
I'm still reading reviews of both and some others, we'll see what happens on weekend when I'm planning going shopping.

 

[hypertech]

For $1200 you could get the XSi w/kit lens, the 100mm macro and probably squeeze in a Manfrotto 190xb tripod.

With that, you could get started with general picture taking and be really set on tank pics too.

Here is one I just blew up to 20x30 with that same setup (XSi and 100mm macro). Its going on the wall at the LFS.

 

[ccampo]

Wow, that's the kind of quality and detailed pictures I want from my camera.
I can't wait for weekend to go to the store and see them in person to see which one finally gets my vote.

 

[gkyle]

I just bought myself a present also - went with the D90 and really love it, especially in low light. I can take the ISO up to 3200 and not notice any noise even when zoomed in close.

 

[crvz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13972074#post13972074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ccampo
Wow, that's the kind of quality and detailed pictures I want from my camera.
I can't wait for weekend to go to the store and see them in person to see which one finally gets my vote.

Just price check, I know brick-and-mortar stores can be considerably higher than what you can get online. I've bought all my equipment from bhphotovideo.com, and I'd surely recommend them. There are probably other places to find stuff even cheaper, but for stuff like this I don't mind paying a bit more for great customer service.

I know when I was shopping, I stopped in a Wolf/Ritz camera place, and they were easily $100 more for the body of the camera. It's nice to put your hands on it before you buy, but there's no need to throw away money.

 

[gkyle]

You also need to be careful and do some research on the seller if you buy online. There are many reputable dealers, but often not the unbelievable low-price ones. My previous camera was an $800 Nikon Coolpix I bought online, and when I bent the pins and fried the processor installing a card, Nikon refused to fix it. Turns out it was a "gray market" camera, meaning that the online retailer wasn't an authorized dealer and therefore I had zero warranty. They wouldn't even fix it if I paid, so I ended up throwing it away.

 

[Doahh]

Go for the D90...
I use a D300 and it is excellent!