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View Full Version : Help with choosing D-SLR



Ryan
06-18-2009, 11:18 AM
Im in the market for a D-SLR. Im taking a online photography course, and my standard point & shoot camera isn't offering me much of anything, anymore.

I really wanna know what my options are... Im looking for a basic 35mm. My price range is about between 400-600 . I want something thats durable, somewhat lightweight (if possible), takes good (usual) pictures ofcourse, but mainly, has a wide range of settings/adjustments I can use.

Can anyone point me in the right direction, or to what cameras I should start looking at to get an idea? I wanna make a good decision because money is tight and I won't be buying another camera anytime soon. Any help is greatly apreciated.

Thanks.

QuadJunkies
06-18-2009, 12:02 PM
Canon or Nikon is what I would stick with.
I got great photos swhen I had my Rebel,Ive since upgraded .
This might be right up into your price range in affordability. Pappy will be best for input and suggestions on the Nikon lineup. I had a tough time deciding when I bought a camera as I wanted something lighter and alot of lense selections . I chose Canon for being light weight as I have tendonitis so every little bit helps. lol
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06082416canoneos400drebelxti.asp
B&H has good price on them so will buydig.com

kawabunga
06-18-2009, 12:16 PM
Canon and Nikon are the top choices. I don't know much about the Canon line-up as I am a Nikon shooter myself, but there are plentiful options out there for you. It all depends on how much you're willing to spend and how badly you want the added features. Nikon has some great entry level cameras and some are going real cheap now because of the recently released D5000. That is one option, but probably a little more than you're looking to spend. Otherwise I'm confident that the D40 (going for next to nothing now) or the D60 would be a great starter for you.
Those are just the bodies, and with an SLR, the glass is what makes a world of difference. Many cameras come with a kit lens and you can upgrade and swap until your pockets are empty from there.
I would look into these if you're considering Nikon: D40, D60, D80, D5000. All are nice cameras but each one will suit a different need a little better than the other. That's up to you to decide what's important. If you can, go to a local camera shop and start asking questions there. Somebody in person will be able to help greatly.
Online places to shop, I recommend: B&H, Adorama, Ritz, Amazon...they're all pretty competitive. Dpreview as quadjunkies mentioned is a good resource as well. Ken Rockwell is a loved and hated reviewer as well as Thom Hogan www.bythom.com www.kenrockwell.com

hondariderdylan
06-18-2009, 12:17 PM
wheres papps when you need him?
hes the camera master around here

QuadJunkies
06-18-2009, 01:01 PM
Originally posted by kawabunga
Canon and Nikon are the top choices. I don't know much about the Canon line-up as I am a Nikon shooter myself, but there are plentiful options out there for you. It all depends on how much you're willing to spend and how badly you want the added features. Nikon has some great entry level cameras and some are going real cheap now because of the recently released D5000. That is one option, but probably a little more than you're looking to spend. Otherwise I'm confident that the D40 (going for next to nothing now) or the D60 would be a great starter for you.
Those are just the bodies, and with an SLR, the glass is what makes a world of difference. Many cameras come with a kit lens and you can upgrade and swap until your pockets are empty from there.
I would look into these if you're considering Nikon: D40, D60, D80, D5000. All are nice cameras but each one will suit a different need a little better than the other. That's up to you to decide what's important. If you can, go to a local camera shop and start asking questions there. Somebody in person will be able to help greatly.
Online places to shop, I recommend: B&H, Adorama, Ritz, Amazon...they're all pretty competitive. Dpreview as quadjunkies mentioned is a good resource as well. Ken Rockwell is a loved and hated reviewer as well as Thom Hogan www.bythom.com www.kenrockwell.com
Agreed,good glass is worth its weight in gold( and in some cases, thats what you will pay! lol:p )
IT makes the work load a little easier.
I chose a faster camera to work better with my lense. I also had some focusing issus with my sport lense on my rebel and it was very akward to shoot a longer lense on a smaller body-but it did work.

kawabunga
06-18-2009, 01:10 PM
Originally posted by QuadJunkies
Agreed,good glass is worth its weight in gold( and in some cases, thats what you will pay! lol:p )
IT makes the work load a little easier.
I chose a faster camera to work better with my lense. I also had some focusing issus with my sport lense on my rebel and it was very akward to shoot a longer lense on a smaller body-but it did work.

You're spot on with the gold analogy! It's worth it in most cases though, depending on how serious you are with your photography.
One reason I went with Nikon is the opposite of why you went with Canon, QuadJunkies. I liked the heavier, more solid feel. It fit me well and the controls were much more comfortable to me. If you're a big guy I'm guessing you wont like the D40 because it's like a toy in your hands, but I could be wrong, maybe you like them that way. Canon makes darn good products, as well as Nikon. Best advice I could give you is to try out both personally and see which one fits your hands better. Do you like a lighter or heavier body, do you like the control configurations and so on. When you have them both in your hands, you can answer those questions.
Another reason for me to go with Nikon was my resources. Where I'm doing my schooling, my photography professors are shooting with Nikon and they would be able to help me when I had questions. (It was also nice when I could borrow their lenses too :) ) For me, when I first started that was important. There are a lot of things to consider.

Pappy
06-18-2009, 01:30 PM
Go on ebay, buy a used Canon Rebel. There isnt any point in dropping alot of coin on gear until you learn more and decide then what direction you want to take your photography. Once you reach that point, you wont be asking people, you will know what you NEED. Until then, the rebel with a kit lens will get you started and beyond. Any thing other then that is a mute discussion, it means very little at this point.....all you need is manual controls to grow with as you learn.

kawabunga
06-18-2009, 01:41 PM
Originally posted by Pappy
Go on ebay, buy a used Canon Rebel. There isnt any point in dropping alot of coin on gear until you learn more and decide then what direction you want to take your photography. Once you reach that point, you wont be asking people, you will know what you NEED. Until then, the rebel with a kit lens will get you started and beyond. Any thing other then that is a mute discussion, it means very little at this point.....all you need is manual controls to grow with as you learn.

Good point. A D40 or D60 will do the same.

hondaking52
06-19-2009, 03:30 PM
hey guys, i also wana get a new camera, but i dont wana spend alot of coin, i was looking at the nikon coolpix L100 or the fuji finepix s2000hd. just want somthing better then the 4 mp camera i have now, i like the fuji cause it has hd video which i will probly use alot. any advice would be great guys, thanks

QuadJunkies
06-20-2009, 12:03 AM
I dont know a thing about point and shoots,to me they are a waste of time for what we like to shoot.You can get away with still images with alot of todays cameras, but not as well if you want to shoot a moving object.

You could go to DPreviews site and read reviews on the camera to find out alot about most cameras, the reviews are very informative.

hondaking52
06-21-2009, 01:14 PM
ok, thanks QJ!

Ryan
06-21-2009, 08:50 PM
Thanks everybody for the input! I did some reading up on the rebel and I think that its going to be my best bet. Im still gonna wait another month, get a little deeper into my course and then pick something up by mid or late july. I definitly want something affordable now, because once I know what im doing and what I want to do with certain photo's, I can get exactly what I need.

Now my next question.... Im always unsure about buying certain used products. I will look on Creigslist this week to see what kind of deals I can get..... But what should I be looking for in buying a used camera? How am I gonna know if anything internal is damaged, or if it was beat to hell ect?

QuadJunkies
06-21-2009, 09:50 PM
Originally posted by Ryan
Thanks everybody for the input! I did some reading up on the rebel and I think that its going to be my best bet. Im still gonna wait another month, get a little deeper into my course and then pick something up by mid or late july. I definitly want something affordable now, because once I know what im doing and what I want to do with certain photo's, I can get exactly what I need.

Now my next question.... Im always unsure about buying certain used products. I will look on Creigslist this week to see what kind of deals I can get..... But what should I be looking for in buying a used camera? How am I gonna know if anything internal is damaged, or if it was beat to hell ect?

The catch is you wont know..

I would ask people who have had experience with buying second hand cameras for such places as Photography forums.
I might be wrong, but doesnt B&H sell used cameras somewhere on there site? As cheap as they are new you might just shop around for a new one . ;)

kawabunga
06-22-2009, 06:45 AM
Originally posted by QuadJunkies
I would ask people who have had experience with buying second hand cameras for such places as Photography forums.
I might be wrong, but doesnt B&H sell used cameras somewhere on there site? As cheap as they are new you might just shop around for a new one . ;)

B&H sells used and refurbished equipment. I've purchased a couple of refurbished lenses through them and all experiences thus far have been positive. I would definitely buy from them again.
If you're shopping for a camera body though, if they've been out long enough, QJ makes a good point about spending maybe another 100 or so and getting a brand new one with a full factory warranty.

Pappy
06-22-2009, 07:49 AM
Buying a used digital camera is like anything else electronic.

1) If you can have the seller take a picture of a nice sky and send you a fairly large image, you can look for dirt on teh sensor

2) Check buyer feedback ofcourse

3) Look the item over for worn paint on the buttons/controls, cracks in the body, dirt in corners or in areas that are hard toc lean (all helps determine in what enviroment and how well the camera was kept)

4) If you can handle the camera, listen for anything out of place when depressing the shutter button, and test its burst rate. (you will have to maybe ask the buyer if its a camera your unfamiliar with to help set it up for a few steps) Check the lens mount and se if there is any play in it. Check lenses for scratches as well.

5) Avoid many of the package deals found on the web, most are scams. Stick to BH, Adorama, Calumet etc. Visit some photography sites, Ive bought and sold some sweet stuff from them and its pretty easy to search to see if a member is decent or not, they dont stick around long if they screw folks.

Ebay is great as long as you can have good feedback and the seller communicates with you. If they dont commnuicate well, dont buy! Harlen bought a $7000 lens for 1/2 of what it costs a few months back....the deals are out there!

Ryan
06-23-2009, 01:41 PM
Thanks for the great tips everyone!

I been reading up on the Rebels.... The XTI 10mp (with lense) goes for about $600-700 new (on sale $560 at amazon). the XSI 12mp (with lense) goes for about $750-800 new. Is the XSI worth paying the extra 200 dollars?

I'll will probably end up buying one of these 2 cameras used or refurbished. Seems much more logical for me at this time...

Again, thanks for all the insight... I have a much better idea now on what im getting, and where im gonna get it.

QuadJunkies
06-24-2009, 12:03 AM
Originally posted by Ryan
Thanks for the great tips everyone!

I been reading up on the Rebels.... The XTI 10mp (with lense) goes for about $600-700 new (on sale $560 at amazon). the XSI 12mp (with lense) goes for about $750-800 new. Is the XSI worth paying the extra 200 dollars?

I'll will probably end up buying one of these 2 cameras used or refurbished. Seems much more logical for me at this time...

Again, thanks for all the insight... I have a much better idea now on what im getting, and where im gonna get it.

IMO I think the XTI will be just fine for your application. Do a comparison and read a dpreview and see if you feel its worth the added price tag, my guess is that the XTI will be fine until your ready for an upgrade or ready for some good lenses- even better!!

Ryan
06-25-2009, 08:57 PM
Thanks... I'll probably grab the cheepier one and invest in some good lenses down the road.

I'll put some test pictures up when I purchase the camera... Again, thanks everyone for their input!

kawabunga
06-26-2009, 07:24 AM
Good luck and have fun!

bwamos
06-29-2009, 08:43 AM
Originally posted by Pappy
5) Avoid many of the package deals found on the web, most are scams. Stick to BH, Adorama, Calumet etc. Visit some photography sites, Ive bought and sold some sweet stuff from them and its pretty easy to search to see if a member is decent or not, they dont stick around long if they screw folks.

Ebay is great as long as you can have good feedback and the seller communicates with you. If they dont commnuicate well, dont buy! Harlen bought a $7000 lens for 1/2 of what it costs a few months back....the deals are out there!

I have had great experiences with Cameta Camera on ebay as well. I'd put them right up there with B&H on customer service and reliability.