I am going to be purchasing a new SLR camera soon. Does someone want to recommend one to me? Any suggestions? Also, does anyone know of a decent photography forum out there? THanks

 

Try the 'Near Topic' MINI Camera and Video. You'll get opinions on SLRs there
I'll put on a flame suit and give an opinion. Unless you are going up to Medium format the choice boils down Nikon or Canon. Pentax has some nice cameras, but Nikon and Canon have the R&D budgets to push the technologies. In photography there is no substitute for square inches - size of sensor (film), size of image sites and maximum aperture of the lens. The technology of the digital SLR body is changing rapidly, so find the lenses you like, and then pick up the body that works with those lenses.
In keeping with the 'square inches' axiom, try to stay away from 'digital only' lenses since they limit you to a smaller image sensor. The exception to this rule is if you do get a body with a smaller sensor, and want a wide angle lens, the only affordable choice may be a digital only lens.

 

(I originally posted a similar thread in Off Topic, but was recommended to post in this forum instead. If this does not belong here, please feel free to move it to its approriate place )


From reading this forum, I have become more and more interested in the world of Digital Photography. For the past 6 months, I have been borrowing a Digital Rebel SLR camera from my mom to learn on. I am finally looking at buying my own camera, and am looking for suggestions. I enjoy taking pictures of my car (although that would not be the cameras only purpose, obviously) and am also looking for a decent lense that would suit that purpose. Finally, does anyone know of a decent photography forum online (or even a book I could buy) to further my knowledge on the more advanced techniques?

I appreciate any help or advice from you guys!!

 

How much money you got to spend. I can help get you going in the right direction but need to know how far you can go. Good choices at most price levels.

You are welcome to email me at peautry@msn.com

Call

 

Hey,

Thanks for the response. I figure I'd just respond hear in case any one else out there is looking for help as well .


Anyways, right now, I think my price range is $1000-$1500 (the lower end of the range ).

 

If you do a good search on the net you should be able to get a package of two lens say a Nikon 18-70 mm and Nikon 70-300 mm along with the
Nikon D70s. I've just completed extensive research on this subject and decided on the Nikon D200. If your budget could stand it, that's the camera to die for but it would set you back another $1000. If you have not had a DSLR before the D70s is an awesome camera.

You should be able to find the best price for above at www.thecamerapros.com.

Glad to help in anyway.

Call

 

Along with Nikon, there's also Canon. I have a Canon 20D ($1500 with the 18-55mm lens) and absolutely love it. It's my 2nd Canon DSLR. The Canon Digital Rebel XT is under a grand now, and I believe it's either 6.3MP or they bumped it up to 8.2. Fantastic cameras. That being said, you couldn't go wrong with either a Nikon or a Canon. My preference is Canon of course. Nothing like seeing rows and rows of the big white Canon "L" Professional lenses at sporting events!

Also check out www.bhphotovideo.com or even Best Buy or Fry's Electronics if you've got one near 'ya.

 

Sir

I repair these cameras for a living and can tell you thet the Nikon D70 is very prone to Spd failure as is the D2H!
I would reecommend highly the 30D Canon over the D70 due to its manaufacturing quality and reliability

 

I agree that the Nikon D70s is a great camera for the money. I haven't heard of a rash of problems with them. Remember, though, that you're buying into the entire system (lenses, flashes, etc.) so keep that in mind when you're deciding Nikon vs. Canon.

For books, I highly recommend that National Geographic photography guides. http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/j...ORY&itemID=178 They're great books.

Online forums, I'd start with Photo.net and (I guess) Dpreview. The camera reviews on Dpreview are very good but there's a lot of nonsense (along with the occasional useful comment) posted on the forums. Tread carefully on Dpreview.

Mark

 

Does anyone know and answer to this. I used to have (still do, but don't use) a 35mm Cannon Rebel and have all the lenses from it, are they usable on the new digital Cannons? If so, I just may have to go get all the lenses from my father's house! And then of course, go buy a new camera!

 

Hi MiniNurse, if your lens are "EOS" with a red dot, then they will work.
I switched from a Canon EOS ElanII to the Rebel XT 8.2 and all my lenses work perfect, inc 75-300 w/IS
Scott

 

YIPPIE!! Now I just have to come up with the cash to buy a new camer!! LOL Thanks! That is what I was hoping to hear and since I think my father has 4-5 lenses, i think I will be having fun!!! (when I come up with the cash, that is!)

 

Wow...thanks for all the responses guys. I think I might go with a RebelXT (without the stock lense) so I have enough money for a nice lense. I am afraid that if I go with the Nikon D70, or Canon 30D, that I will not have enough money to buy a nicer lense that I want.

 

i've always been impressed with canon. i've got a 300d (digirebel) and love it. although if i could afford it i'd upgrade to a 30d. in the end the camera should feel comfortable in your hand so it may be worth it to hold a canon as well as a nikon and see which suits your hand better.

if your target is $1000-1500, i'd get the Rebel XT and spend for a very nice lens and high memory CF card...the lens is probably the most important part of photography

for an all purpose lens i've gotten a liken to my 28-135 IS lens (very versatile and capable of all types of shots - I've included some samples below). as mentioned dpreview.com is a great source of reviews and information. like any forum there's informative and nonsense information posted, but the site provided information is very good.

hope this helps.

nirmit

 

FWIW, I owned a D70 (before it became the D70s). I would purchase a D70s in a heartbeat if I were in your position. The D70 "kit" lens (18-70) is a great value for the money and I continue to use my kit lens now with my D200. I have no future plans to replace it.

For $1500, I would get a D70s with the kit lens, a 1 GB CF card, an SB-600 speedlight with rechargable batteries, and a UV/Circular polarizer.

That will get you started off very nicely and you can then decide down the road if you want to get a longer focal length lens to complement what you have so far. Your options at that point are basically $300 or so for a 70-300 F/4-5.6 OR throw down for $1500 and get the 70-200 F/2.8 VR (which is pretty much the gold standard for lens quality and performance). You may also decide to go wide angle later on, but again, that's going to be expensive (nearly $1000 for the nikon 12-24 F/4).

---------

The ONE thing I like about the Canon line-up is that they offer a 70-200 F/4 for roughly $550 (afair). That's a nice lens and a very practical size/focal length/aperture/price. That said, I wouldn't base my Nikon/Canon decision on that one lens.

---------

Here's how I would decide nikon/canon: go to your local camera store and get your hands on the D70s and Rebel XT. Decide which one feels best to you and has the controls where you can get to them (ask for assistance and be sure they show you how to adjust ISO, Aperture, and Shutterspeed and change between Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Mode). Get the camera you're most comfortable with using. That's the one you'll get the most use out of.

----------

Where to start learning more: How-to :: Making Better MINI Photographs

And I'll second MarkS's luke warm endorsement of DPreview. The reviews are excellent, but the forums are suspect.

 

One more plus for Nikon

The Nikon Wireless Flash System is excellent and there is no Canon equivalent. The Nikon Creative Light System (as nikon calls it) enables the commander flash (which on the D70 you can use the built in pop-up flash as the commander flash) to wirelessly trigger remote flashes (see my recommendation above for the SB-600 to compliment your D70s).

If you want to wirelessly trigger flashes with Canon get ready to spend a lot of money on pocketwizards and custom camera cables from third parties to attach the pocket wizards to your D-SLR. You'll need to by a transmitter and a custom cable for your camera and then have a receiver for each remote flash you have out.

The major advantage of the D70/D70s/D200 is that they all can use their built in flashes to do the triggering. It's an extremely flexible system.


example of a shot with the Nikon 18-70 kit lens and the Nikon Creative Light System being put to use.

 

the only reason to purchase Nikon is if you have a whole lot of lenses already paid for. If you have to start from scratch, Canon is the best system for digital photography. The Rebel XT is a fine choice.

I sold a complete Nikon system to buy my Canon gear and have absolutely no regrets. Currently, I use an EOS 1Ds Mk2, EOS 5D, 24-70L, 50/1.4, 85/1.2L, 90TSE, 70-200/2.8IS and the Canon 580 system flash. For what I do, I feel that the Canon full size sensor is very important.

 

Shukes24,
I love your pix; nice job; you had fun taking those shots; it shows.

Call

 

And so is the Nikon D70s. Truthfully, I see no hugely significant reason to choose one of the other, though I'll certainly agree with Dave that the Nikon flash system is just plain terrific. In your case, I can see the advantage of full-frame for use with your 24-70 but, for someone just starting out and buying a selection of lenses, I see little difference. As you know, the XT is not full-frame.

Mark

 

but I already have the Pocketwizards and 3 studio strobe kits (Speedotron black line, Profoto and Comet) that are my primary lighting systems. A good friend of mine actually uses 3 580 strobes with a 1Ds2 and does quite well with them. I prefer a real modeling light for anything beyond mere fill flash or a ceiling/wall bounce in tight quarters, so I just use my single 580 for quickie stuff or where a larger strobe presence would be inappropriate.

I am sure the Nikon camera is very nice. I was merely suggesting that if one was starting from scratch with no other prejudice, I would suggest the Canon system as being the best overall with the most possibility for expansion. I hate to spend a lot of money on a camera setup only to reach a dead end and have to start over because of weakness in the system. Not that Nikon's weak per se, for all you Nikon fans out there, but Canon is a much larger company with far greater resources. I know a number of professional photographers like myself, who were perfectly happy with Nikon for shooting film but when they got into serious digital capture where their careers were on the line, they went with Canon. I am fortunately in a position to be able to have pretty much any camera I want, have tried many and have stated my preference.

 

Shoot this one of the wife while in CA


This one in AZ

 

I'm in the Nikon camp myself, but do freely admit Canon makes a nice camera.

couple of other resources are: www.nikonians.com and for my favorite review site: http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

the nikonians site will give you some good insight into the various cameras mentioned here. The D70 is a good DSLR, while the D200 is the current "have to have" DSLR. It's what I'm hoping to get shortly.

 

I'm a Canon fan but you must go past the Rebel, and go all th way IMO. I have and Love a 10D, now I just need to stop modding the MINI long enogh to get some pro quality lenses to match. The only thing I'd consider upgradeing to (SLR body wise) is something on par with a 1Ds. IMO the rebel is nice but has a horrible user interface, same way I felt when borrowing a Nikkon; but in the end it is what you fell most comfortable with, and being able to use your film lesnes doesn't hurt ethier. Also take the time ot read the manual and know all the little functions and nuances of the camera and be able to do everything without having to look. NIght Sports Photography is where I really learned to get the functions of the camera down, now its all about getting the shot I want and not which swotch adjust the shutter or where is my focus poit selection button, that becomes 2nd nature. As was stated a good lens (like good tires, getting power to the road) is whats going to help you get the most from the camera.

10D Samples (30D should be on par, I have used and hated the 20D not yet sampled a 30)

 

It's

 

Apologies for the previous mispost.

Canon vs. Nikon. In my opinion it's a matter of personal choice. As you note from this thread there is strong opinion on both sides of the Canon-Nikon debate. Both digital SLRs have offer excellent features in the price range you specified. I'm a long time Nikon shooter so personal preference steered me towards Nikon when it came time to buy a digital SLR. I personally own and Nikon D70 and at work we have a couple of D200s. Both are excellent cameras in my opinion.

That said I'm acquainted with several pro shooters that swear by Canon products. Personally I don't believe you can go wrong either way. At the end of the day if your using either digital SLR it's your personal skill set that will determine the quality of your photos.

Good luck!