Suggestions, Digital SLR Camera & Accessories

[JW]

Hey,

I wanted to start taking some nice shots and thought about finally getting a nice dSLR Camera. But I don't know the first thing about them.

I read a few reviews and such online and would like to hear from actual users of them. I figured Alex would be a huge help if he chimes in.

Anyway, I am looking for advice on different models I should look at, any specific brands, info about lens and sizes, and basically any other good useful accessories I should look into getting.

I would like to say I will probably just be focusing on Day shots if that is any thing useful, but now that I think about it... night shots and sunsets would be cool to shoot to.

Price range I am looking at is anywhere between $500-$1200

Well, let me know what you guys have to say.

Thanks,

JW :D

[69BirdX]

I have a cannon rebel xti and love it. Just got a sigma 18-250 lens for it as an early cams gift. Perfect anythig I want to use it for. I have pics I. Mutlimwdia section. My mom has a nikon which also very nice. I suggest trying both them out to see what feels more comfortable. The cannon rebel line for the price is very nice

[Slow Z]

Nikon D40 is a good start.

[Knipps]

I have a cannon rebel xti and love it. Just got a sigma 18-250 lens for it as an early cams gift. Perfect anythig I want to use it for. I have pics I. Mutlimwdia section. My mom has a nikon which also very nice. I suggest trying both them out to see what feels more comfortable. The cannon rebel line for the price is very nice

I've got an XTi I bought myself last year and I love it. For your price range you can get the body & a decent lens (w/ optional room for accessories)

[ryanfx]

I also have an xti and really like it. The indoor photography could be a little better, but outdoors is absolutely wonderful. I would however not recommend it because it is an outdated body and very similar in price to newer models. If you are looking for a great first camera I would recommend newer body's in the rebel line. Also make sure you allocate 4 or 500 for an addon lens.

[69BirdX]

I agree with Ryan. But the new model the xsi isn't much different except 2mp better. All lenses ate interchangable in the rebel line

[sweetbmxrider]

yeah the rebel line is pretty good for entry level and you can't beat the price. plus you can get fun stuff like remote shutter release so you can take a picture without touching the camera. get a tripod though and try to stick with canon lenses if you can flip the bill. fredmiranda.com is pretty sweet. get a nice bag to hold your stuff in though like a tamrac. also get big cards, like 4 gig, and an extra battery or two!

[ar0ck]

http://www.dpreview.com/

[79CamaroDiva]

I agree with Ryan. But the new model the xsi isn't much different except 2mp better. All lenses ate interchangable in the rebel line

for that matter, all lenses on the canon EOS digital line are interchangeable

yeah the rebel line is pretty good for entry level and you can't beat the price. plus you can get fun stuff like remote shutter release so you can take a picture without touching the camera. get a tripod though and try to stick with canon lenses if you can flip the bill. fredmiranda.com is pretty sweet. get a nice bag to hold your stuff in though like a tamrac. also get big cards, like 4 gig, and an extra battery or two!

this is applicable for all dSLRs really. any camera can have a remote trigger, a tripod is a wonderful investment, mfr lenses are generally within similar price ranges. many camera companies have models that are VERY comparable with few differences between them. the site that alex posted (quoted below) is a wonderful tool. a lot comes down to personal preference. I started with a canon 20D, just upgraded to a 50D, and i absolutely love it.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/580464-REG/Canon_2807B005_EOS_50D_SLR_Digital.html
this kit is at the top of your price range, but you will 100% absolutely NOT be disappointed, as well as not need another lens any time soon. it takes stunning photos and is what the company i work for uses for a portrait lens, so i was shocked to find it came as a kit. the 28mm is not as wide as some earlier kit lenses (18-55mm), but the quality of the photos more than makes up for it, as well as a much stronger zoom. Before i knew i needed to get a new camera i was going to purchase that lens next anyhow because i enjoyed shooting with it so much. as fate would have it my 20D got water damaged (ugh) and it wasn't cost effective to fix.


http://www.dpreview.com/

:stupid:

look into all the big name brands. I've heard great things about all of them, and again, a lot of it comes down to preference. Nikons D series, Canons Rebel or D series, Sony alphas, Olympus and Fuji have great cameras out too.

Don't buy at a box store, so far b&h has had the best prices I've seen and they have a phenomenal track record, as well as no sales tax if you order outside of NY

[TaKid455]

I have been looking at nikons. Told that the D70-D90 are the better ones to get as you can use any lens and not nikon's own expensive line. not sure the difference between the 70, 80 and 90 beside MB size are though. I have seen t hem used w/ lens for 400-1200.

[Kat]

I have the D90 and love it. As said before da gril has a Cannon 40D and that takes some cool pics also. A bit better than the D90 IMO.. Shhh don't tell her I said that tho. lol

[79CamaroDiva]

I have been looking at nikons. Told that the D70-D90 are the better ones to get as you can use any lens and not nikon's own expensive line. not sure the difference between the 70, 80 and 90 beside MB size are though. I have seen t hem used w/ lens for 400-1200.

Any SLR camera has any number of various lenses made by different mfrs and are not limited to it's own manufacturers lenses.

[stevethepirate]

I did a lot of research when I was looking to buy one. I bought all the digital photography magazines I could find, etc. I basically sought out every review possible.
I ended up going with the Rebel XTi and I really like it. Sure, you can get nicer cameras. In my opinion, there is no need to pay a couple hundred more unless you are experienced enough to take true advantage of the increased specs and whatnot.
Good pictures require good glass. The XTi and XSi are inexpensive enough bodies that you will have money left over to get a nice lens or two.

[Raist103]

i have a d70 and shot for shot my old nikon 5700 took the same quaility of pics, only difference being the lens can be changed but with 8x zoom and 7x dig zoom it was fine. i havnt seen the need to upgrade again but when i do ill go with a cannon for sure. my friends use cannons and shot for shot without changing settings canon takes clearer pics.

[79CamaroDiva]

i have a d70 and shot for shot my old nikon 5700 took the same quaility of pics, only difference being the lens can be changed but with 8x zoom and 7x dig zoom it was fine. i havnt seen the need to upgrade again but when i do ill go with a cannon for sure. my friends use cannons and shot for shot without changing settings canon takes clearer pics.

really? That's very surprising.. how about in low light conditions? How was the noise relative to each camera?

[fmybody]

I did a lot of research when I was looking to buy one. I bought all the digital photography magazines I could find, etc. I basically sought out every review possible.
I ended up going with the Rebel XTi and I really like it. Sure, you can get nicer cameras. In my opinion, there is no need to pay a couple hundred more unless you are experienced enough to take true advantage of the increased specs and whatnot.
Good pictures require good glass. The XTi and XSi are inexpensive enough bodies that you will have money left over to get a nice lens or two.

:werdmelissa:

[Raist103]

really? That's very surprising.. how about in low light conditions? How was the noise relative to each camera?

i would say the low light the d70 is better and outdoors the 5700 was better even with uv filters on. the d70 has some white out. a point i forgot about is speed. the d70 wins hands down. car launchs are super easy on the d70.