what is a good entry digital slr model to buy??
wheresdavid
Registered Users Posts: 297 Major grins
sorry, i am sure this has been asked before. i travel a lot and use a point and shoot digital, canon a610. i would like to upgrade to something where maybe one day i could get lucky and sell some of my fotos. before all you nay sayers hop in and say it aint possible ...is there a good entry model slr digital (is there such a thing) that i can get that takes decent pictures and doesnt cost a fortune, weigh a ton ..... any help will be greatly appreciated. I should have been more specific. I am looking to spend maybe between $1000-$13000. one problem is that i am currently traveling in south america and it si dificult to go into a store to see how they feel. i can though ask fellow travelers if i can try out their cameras. Wen i buy, i may have the camera sent to a friend who will coming down to visit me or i heard cameras are farely inexpensive in panama and i will be a cheap flight away from there. i have appriciated all the help so far. thanks and greetings from the amazon.:thumb :thumb
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Yes
Canon Digi-Rebel is a great entry level camera.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos350d.asp
So is the Nikon D50.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Nikon/nikon_d50.asp
And i'm selling a used D70 very affordably
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=43150
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"The worst photographer is the one who never takes a picture."
Good luck picking a new camera!
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Sony dslr A100, Minolta Maxxum 7000, Voighlander Bessa R and Calumet 4x5 View Camera
The things that decided it for me: a) it's a Sony (their shit just generally works a long time, imho) and built on the long history of Konica Minolta; b) it has the features I wanted; c) it has built in image stabilization, which reduces the cost later in terms of lenses.
The built in IS was the kicker and that did it for me based on what I wanted out of it and wanted to spend both initially and down the road on lenses. Given the numerous Konica Minolta Maxxum compatible lenses that were sold in the past 20 years (I read somewhere it was over 16 million!), and which are still being manufactured today by 3rd parties, I don't worry about having to buy "Sony" lenses and can opt for better quality without having to worry about IS -- it's built in
Anyway, that's this DSLR newbie's 2 1/2 cents.
Ultimately it's the lens that makes the most difference. Remember: the lens creates the image, the body captures the image. Nikon and Canon have long-standing reputations as the class of the field here.
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- I can use my set of minolta mount lenses. They are not exceptional quality, but I didn't want to spend more money on top of the camera to buy new glasses
- Say what you say, it is a minolta. I have a minolta and it is veeeery reliable (I've skydived with my maxxum for more than 6 years and never had a glitch)
- 10MP
- SteadyShot
- The overal grip. it is very confortable
- 2.5" LCD, very bright
After a month owning it, a few things that I don't like:
- Everybody talks canon and nikon (therefore easier to find stuff for them)
- compared to nikon and canon, noise at high ISO is worse. for my tastes, I don't care much (I never had a need to shoot with films faster than 400 in the past... so there)
It is natural that people will try to defend the brand they have. Since there are lots of nikon and canon owners, they will dis the new sony even never having carried one.
Since you are a 7D owner, I assume you have already seen a 5D. There is not much difference from the 5D and the A100. To tell you the truth, from the pictures, it is very similar to the 7D as well. I have a friend that told me to buy a canon, I went to the store and tried. It really seemed plasticky and too light for my tastes. That felt cheap.
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Sony dslr A100, Minolta Maxxum 7000, Voighlander Bessa R and Calumet 4x5 View Camera
I have held a Sony and I am sure that it is a fine photographic machine. My concern is that down the road Sony will do something like force the use of something more proprietary to force the use of more Sony product. They have done it in the past and just seem to have a knack to foul perfectly good products
As far which one would be best for you, only you really can decide that... the big two are the safe bet, since every one sells third party products that will support them. You never mentioned what your budget is so pretty much if you are starving student then a D50 or 350D could be good (used market could be an option too), if you are an heir to a huge fortune then I would recommend a Hassleblad
Just take the picture
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The A100 is a fine camera and it has excellent IQ. If I had Minolta glass it would be a no brainer to go with the A100.
However if I was starting fresh I would opt for a Nikon or a Canon. Their DSLR systems are more complete and offer more options. In body AS and anti-dust are just hype to me. The best AS, IS or VR is a good tripod. I have yet to see where any anti-dust tech to be completely successful and sooner or later you will go to a blower and/or swabs to clean your sensor (a 2 minute opertaion BTW).
Right now a big selling point for the A100 is that you save mony with the AS in the body and will save $ on lenses. However the Sony 70-200 2.8 and the Sony 50mm 1.4 lenses are priced much, much higher than its Canon and Nikon counterparts. You also have to take into consideration Sony's long pricing history of selling its accessories for higher prices than other makers.
At this point I don't see the Sony DSLR as a more viable option than other entry level DSLR. Hopefully down the road Sony will flesh out its system and offer more competitve prices for its accessories. Until that time I would hold off on them if I was starting out.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
A really fine camera.
That wasnt' really a selling feature for me. Figured it was bogus and I'll order one of those Copperhill cleaning solutions one of these days
I haven't looked at comparible lens prices for Canon or Nikon, so I can't say, but there's no shortage of new and used lenses with Maxxum mounts
True, they're pretty steep -- again why I have been hunting down minolta or sigma lenses and minolta 5D & 7D accessories on ebay and the like saving 20-40% (on average) off Sony's lens and accessory prices for new equipment.
I was concerned that Sony might change the mount for a subsequent version, but they'd be shooting themselves if they did. People, and 3rd party manufacturers, have already adopted the mount. Perhaps I'll eat my words in 2 years, but in 2 years I'm sure I'll have my eye on some 26MB wonder that fits on my keychain or something
Just ask yourself, assuming you're able to go hold and touch and play with them all as I did, "Do I like how this feels?" and "Can I work with these menus and controls". In the end your opinion is the only one that matters
sounds like a good camera. two questions, can youuse a compact flash card??? 2) where did you live in chigago?? i am currnetly in the amazon but i may have a friend coming from the chicago area to visit me.
thanks
dave
That's the best way to make your decision. If the camera feels right then that's the camera for you.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
I personally did NOT like the Sony A100. The feel was all wrong for me and it felt more "plastic cheap" than the Canon Digital Rebel. The shutter seemed like it wouldn't last very long. Maybe it was a bad copy but I've heard the same comments by others.
I've also heard that the image stabilization (IS) in-camera is not as good as IS in the lens. I can imagine several reasons why (most likely not as many degrees of freedom to optimize focus/line-of-sight) but I don't know for sure.
Like others stated, look for which ones feel the best to you and look at the lens options each will offer. Canon has one of the most extensive variety of lenses (either made for them or Tamron/Sigma/Tokina for Canon mounts).
Erich
6mp, great high ISO, nice AF with the best layout of any in it's and the next level class, it also has built in IS. Pentax calls it SR.
The camera is about $600 with the 18-55 kit lens, which is reported to be quite nice for the price and has a metal lens mount unlike the C and N plastic mounts.
The 55-200 makes for a nice zoom for the price. Neither lens is fast, so for sports it might not work so well, but with the built in IS/SR you get a couple of stops of usability over the C & N counterpart kit lenses.
Plus the K100 goes to ISO 3200. D50 and Rebel go to 1600.
You could get the K100, 2 kit lenses, a flash, a 50/1.4 and a nice bag and monopod and still be within your budget.
It's the camera I would buy if I were buying my first DSLR.
Gene
Personally I'm waiting to hear a little more about the Pentax K10D, which is coming out shortly. It's priced a little higher than the K100, in the same range as the Sony A100 or the new Canon 400D/Digital Rebel/whatever they're calling it. Like the A100 and the K100, it has anti-shake built into the body and weather-sealing. Also, you can use most (all?) Pentax lenses with it.
By the time reviews start coming out for the K10D, I'll be able to afford one. If it doesn't look as appealing to me, then I probably buy the 400D.
Already owning KM gear, it makes sense for you. I have no bias against KM--I have Maxxum gear from back when they just called themselves Minolta, and it still works fine if I were to drag it out. However, I share the opinion that Sony is very good at botching up perfectly good products; grabbing KM gear while it's readily available is probably a good idea.
So let's see, if I knee-jerk defend every camera manufactuer's gear I have, I'll have to be siding with Olympus, Minolta, Nikon, Canon, Mamiya, Holga (heh), Tokina, and possibly Pentax. Doesn't leave much for me to dis out of hand. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/ne_nau.gif" border="0" alt="" >D
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