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didee - What are you planning on taking pictures of, how much of a hobby will this be, and how much money are looking to spend?
One of my problems was that I kept talking with a guy who's partially retired but also works part-time in our office. His primary hobbies are birding and photography. He has the spare money to afford whatever he wants, such as a Canon EOS 5D MkII and a massive 600mm f/4L lens. He can take a picture of a hummingbird a hundred feet away and blow it up to poster size. He actually makes and sells bird info cards and posters using his pictures. The differences between us is that he primarily takes pictures using a tripod while I hand-hold, and he has money to spare while I have two kids. I would have been much happier with my camera purchases had I talked to someone who was more like me.
If your primary picture taking is:
Hiking: Go as light as possible (Canon Rebel or Nikon D3100), maybe even sticking with a P&S. I've missed many shots of wildlife because my heavy camera was in my pack. Plus if you drop a DSLR camera or lens on a rocky trail you're out many hundreds of $$$$. I finally got a rugged P&S for this (waterproof, impact resistant, decent pictures) and just leave my good camera at home. I'll never be a professional nature photographer or ever sell a picture, so I'm really not missing anything.
Outside sports: Here's where a good DSLR shines. Get a high-capacity memory card, set to rapid fire, and start clicking. I've filled up a 2GB card in a sunny afternoon with my kids. I deleted most of the pictures when reviewing later on the computer, but the perfect shots that I kept would have mostly been missed with a slow P&S. Higher-end cameras have higher speed (up to 8 frames per second), but an entry-level camera is still good (3fps). Here's where an upgraded telephoto-zoom lens will really help out.
Outside at dusk, or inside: Newer DSLRs have much better low-light sensors than any P&S, plus they're more stable when hand-holding. You can get a super-fast prime lens relatively inexpensively (f/1.8 or faster) and crank up the ISO for shots that would be completely blurred, noisy, or downright impossible with a P&S. You can also get relatively inexpensive external (shoe-mount) flashes that can really light up a room and freeze the action.
With any of these, a higher-end camera will give you better performance... usually. We go back to changing technology, and the fact that different models of cameras are released at different times. The Rebel is Canon's entry-level line, but the latest T2i model has stats that are superior to their next level higher camera, the 50D, which was released in 2008. Or maybe the Rebel XS is considered the entry-level now and the 50D line is being discontinued.
With Nikon, there's been much jiggering with the product lines recently because they ran out of numbers, but it's getting simpler. Right now their entry-level camera is the D3000 and the just-released D3100. Because the D3100 is brand new with the latest technology it has quite a few better stats than the next model up, the 1-year-old D5000. Next higher is the 2-year-old D90, which the rumor mill has being replaced with a new D7000 line sometime this fall. Next up are the semi-pro models, with the D300s and D700 Mark II (I have an older D200 in this line). Finally there's the professional level D3.
I'm waiting on the D7000 and will take a look at it. I'm going to replace my D200 with either the D7000 or D3100 before Christmas. The D7000 will have more external controls and switches, but the D3100 will be lighter and smaller.
Have a look at the Pentax Kx. The glass in the kit lens is superior to the lenses that come with a Canon kit lens and as another poster said you get more bang for your buck when you add new lenses.
That said, you might also look into a superzoom style camera, something like a Canon SX20 is. I have one and it does a lot of things right. It functions much like an SLR and has a lot of manual modes to learn with, 20x zoom ( up to 80 in optical) and can be had for under $350 ( last I looked). It might be a good way to get into photography to learn the ropes and see if you like it or not.
FWIW I use an Olympus E-500 and I love it! I also carry an Olympus FE-20 P&S with me at all times because you never know what might pop up. People were talking about the weight around your neck, etc. I rarely if ever wear my camera around my neck, I always carry it in my hands. Some of the places I go to shoot are questionable at best and trying to make a fast exit with a camera around your neck isn't all that fun. LOL Not to mention getting hung up and almost killing myself.
Great thread! I've been looking into DSLR's for a while now and can never amke up my mind. My P&S is getting old, and was never that great to begin with, now that they've stopped supporting it on newer operating systems it really needs to retire. The question is do I replace it with a better P&S or bite the bullet and get a DSLR considering that I don't have a money tree in my yard and I'm not a pro.
I primarily shoot lanscape. Ocassionally some wildlife (not from miles away or anything), but I would like to try my hand at macro since I enjoyed that with my film 35mm in school. My biggest problem lies in lighting... we've got 24-hour sun in the summer and virtually no daylight in winter, and a lot of the shots I want to take are things like the aurora which doesn't show up on my P&S at all or dawn/dusk critter visitations that always end up grainy.
Any recommendations? Is there a kit lens or kit combo that could work well, even if not perfectly? Anyone have issues with software no longer supported, or are most DSLRs memory card file systems rather than import software?
I love my Cannon Rebel. I love it. The pictures are outstanding, as I especially like taking them in the RAW format. I am not familiar with other cameras, and I am by no means an expert at terminology of this, that and the other. I highly recommend the Rebel, though, based on using it. I must admit, mine being an older model as I bought mine when they first came out, is in my opinion, built sturdier and with higher quality plastic molding.
I shoot mainly landscape and animals. With animals, especially, you want a "fast shooting" camera because animals do not pose. My Rebel has never let me down. I have let myself down by putting in too large of a flash card, which slowed the speed down noticeably.
I can only base my information on my experience with my camera. It fits my hand perfectly, the weight is not too much, and the functions are incredible. This is a camera a novice or a professional can use. What can I say? I really love my Rebel! The lens capabilities are from here to the moon, so that as you become more proficient with this camera, you have options in lenses. So in owning a Rebel, you can grow with this camera, making it unnecessary to purchase another one.
There's always plenty of advice to go around in these threads, I just want to make a couple of simple comments...
1. Odds are any modern DSLR will suit your needs just fine.
2. I've stuck with Canon over the years because of lens price, variety, and availability on the used market. You may not think you're interested in various lenses now, but you will likely find it's more important than the body as a tool for your creativity.
Any models you can recommend? I want to be able to control shutter speed, but it would be nice to have auto controls available on the camera as well when I'm not in the mood for manually setting.
I believe that it is a DSLR that you seek, the SLR has gone the way of the buffalo nickel. if you've read enough abot this digital wonder that has
put the film companies out of business, it's for sure that you've seen the swing from film to digital. Whether it's the threading, the buying or just
paying for the processing of 35MM film, there is no longer any reason to invest your money into a single lens, reflex camera.
If you are totally new to the digital world, even as photographers, we have several criteria that we seek to attain, whether it is resolution
in the "snapshot" mode, sharp clear pictures that we hope will satisfy our hunger for capturing the moment or a camera that will be smart enough
to let us control the settings to that point where we wind up getting exactly the picture that we saw through the viewfinder. Yes, you are bound
to get caught up in the stunning images that your monitor renders each sample photo that you see in connection to your search for the perfect
camera but we all have that sinking feeling when they start talking about ISO capabilities, apertures, auto-focus and shutter speeds, it often makes
our heads swim when all that we wanted was a friggin' snapshot!
You could say that there is all of the difference about airplanes in this respect: Flying is flying but there's a helluva difference in being in the
cockpit of a 747 than there is when in the cab of a Piper Cub. A 10MP Nikon Coolpix will give a pretty credible picture at $179.95 but a Canon 1d
will give you the absolute best picture if you have the $7,000 dollars that it would take to own one. What you need to do is to view your need for
"perfection" (or the level to which you want to aspire), in direct regard to your budget while keeping in mind the adage: "you only ever get what you
pay for", nothing more but nothing less. Before I would drop that kind of money into a camera, I'd be going to Cnet or youtube and searching out the
reviews of those who've either found a great camera at a reasonable price or a sleek little package that might've well stayed as a phone only.
My suggestion would be to buy the Nikon D60 or the Canon Rebel XS. These are time proven optics and state of the art electronics still priced in a
modest budget and offering the full flexibility of a wide range of variable features or allowing you to let the camera do your thinking for you. Perhaps
the best part is that you can shoot 2 or 3 hundred pictures, just like one of those fashion shoots, come home and see every picture in glorious focus
upon your monitor, edit, enhance or delete those photos and have a level of control over your images that Annie Lebovitz or Ansel Adams would have
died for!
It is your desire for the ability to change and vary the camera settings that causes you to look for the new DSLR, a camera that becomes either
fully automatic or totally manual, all there at your fingertips. I assure you that if you've been satisfied with whater SLR or snapshot camera that you have
now, that you will be overwhelmed by what the DSLR can produce. That is, once you have mastered it's full capability, so far behind just pointing and clicking.
In any case, it's good to see another soul with love for the photographic image. Good fortune in your quest!
Great thread! I've been looking into DSLR's for a while now and can never amke up my mind. My P&S is getting old, and was never that great to begin with, now that they've stopped supporting it on newer operating systems it really needs to retire. The question is do I replace it with a better P&S or bite the bullet and get a DSLR considering that I don't have a money tree in my yard and I'm not a pro.
I primarily shoot lanscape. Ocassionally some wildlife (not from miles away or anything), but I would like to try my hand at macro since I enjoyed that with my film 35mm in school. My biggest problem lies in lighting... we've got 24-hour sun in the summer and virtually no daylight in winter, and a lot of the shots I want to take are things like the aurora which doesn't show up on my P&S at all or dawn/dusk critter visitations that always end up grainy.
Any recommendations? Is there a kit lens or kit combo that could work well, even if not perfectly? Anyone have issues with software no longer supported, or are most DSLRs memory card file systems rather than import software?
First, you need to get a $20-$30 multi-card reader for your computer. They can be even cheaper if you carefully watch the sale adverts for any store that sells electronics, or get lucky on Amazon or eBay. Even if your camera can be connected directly to a computer, popping the memory card out and using a card reader to transfer the pictures is MUCH MUCH faster. None of my last 4 digital cameras have ever been attached directly to a computer other than to update the firmware. Almost all modern consumer-level DSLRs use SD memory cards. SD card are relatively inexpensive, but don't buy the dirt-cheap ones because they'll slow your camera down; pay attention to the card's write speed.
Second, it sounds like a DSLR is exactly what you need. DSLRs have much better low-light capability than almost any P&S (less grainy with low light at high ISO). For better performance you can buy a fast low-light prime lens relatively inexpensively (f/1.8 or better). Put the camera on a tripod, use manual settings to get the light just right (or even better, shoot RAW images and post-process on your computer), use manual focus to sharpen up the image in the sky, and take perfect pictures.
Get a new camera body or maybe a one-generation old used body, but you can save tons of money by purchasing used lenses. Like I posted earlier, digital technology is constantly improving camera processors, but a good lens can last for many many years. Get a decent body (Rebel XS or Nikon D3000 are good one-generation-old choices) with a good lens or two now, and slowly add to your lens collection every year on your birthday.
jwkilgore: Great post! I'm trying to decide what to get right now. I've used SLRs for 40 years, so I at least want to get something with manual controls. All the equipment upgrades so rapidly for a given price point that it all seems like a bad investment, but one has to start somewhere. The Rebel t2i seems like a good place to start, but I'm wondering whether a superzoom P&S might be even better to learn the digital ropes on. I can easily see myself going broke buying more lenses for the dSLR!
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