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Need help deciding on new DSLR camera

Postby Absolute-Zero » Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:53 am

Looks like a reasonable camera. Has a good range of ISOs and shutter speeds, again, is lighter than the Nikon and it seems to have some Image Stabilisation built in, which is a good thing. Effectively, it means you can still hold the camera when using fairly slow shutter speeds and you shouldn't get any camera shake. Tends to allow you to use speeds up to two stops slower than usual when holding the camera by hand.

It uses the faster CompactFlash media, too, so that's okay.

The kit you're looking at from QVC also has two lenses, a short 14-42mm telephoto and then a 40-150mm. These give a good focal range from wide angle (14mm) through to approx 3x zoom with the 150mm (standard "eye sight" works out at around 50mm.) One slight disadvantage it has against the Nikon and Canon systems is the size of the sensor, the bit that actually captures the image. It's a Four Thirds sensor, which is 17.3mm x 12mm as opposed to the 22mm x 14.8mm used by Canon and 23.6mm x 15.7mm used by Nikon. Smaller sensors are more prone to "noise" (fluctuations in pixel values) than the larger sensors, especially in low-light, high ISO situations.

Overall, though, not a bad purchase if you're not planning on getting any more lenses, etc. If you were planning on building on your "collection" I'd have to steer you away from this kit and back to the Canon/Nikon choice.

Canon and Nikon are the "de facto" choices for pro-amateurs to professionals alike. As a result they have more lenses available for them. The Nikon, especially, as when they moved from manual focus to auto they didn't change the lens mount on the camera, meaning you can still use most, if not all, of Nikon's back-catalogue of lenses as well as the new ones. Canon, on the other hand, redeveloped the lens mount from FD to EF when they moved from manual to auto so you can't use the older lenses without attaching an adaptor first. There are, however, more newer lenses in the Canon range than in the Nikon one but this is counterbalanced by the ability to use the older lenses on the newer Nikon bodies.

As I said, it completely depends on what you're going to be doing with it, how much you're willing to spend, now and in the future, and, mainly, on your personal choice!

Hope I've helped out a little.
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Postby phileysmiley » Fri Aug 29, 2008 10:03 pm

I know a bit about these cameras although I'm not really as technically savvy as Dan, so I can't break down the specs and their advantages or disadvantages as he did.

I guess I go more by word-of-mouth. I can only go into my own experiences in the process of choosing the camera. Here are the considerations I took into account when I bought it.

First of all, I should say that the digital camera I have been using for years is the Canon S2IS. When I was looking for a great digital, that was the one most recommended to me by other photographers, friends, family, and sources such as Consumer Reports, CNET, and other online product review sites which I've come to trust over the years. I still use it, in fact (I bring both cameras where I go because the Canon also has movie capability).

When I made the decision to move to DSLR, here were some of my considerations:

1) My best friend was a pro photographer and got more and more into it over the years as I did. He was more advanced, though, and had already graduated to DSLR. He had a Nikon. Needless to say, he increasingly urged me to move up to DSLR and he recommended Nikon. I always trusted his judgment.

2) My father (RIP) was a photographer for most of his 80 years and he always used Nikon. We never had anything else in the house. I learned early on what the Nikon name signified, especially when it came to their lenses.

3) When I would attend events and shoot with my Canon, I was usually with up to a hundred or more other photographers. I would be surrounded on the red carpets by the guys who shoot for AP, Reuters, WireImage, Getty, etc. -- the top photographers in the world. I began to check out what they were using and most used Nikon. These are the pictures you see online, in newspapers, magazines, etc.

4) In addition to these testimonials from friends, family, and colleagues, I did my usual research in magazines and at sites that specialize in product reviews. Many even said explicitly, "if you're a digital user and you're looking to move up to DSLR Nikon is the way to go." Specifically the D40, which is what I got.

Since I've had it, when I've attended events and shot with it, the photographers around me have all looked at it with approval and, in some cases, envy if they had something else. Not one person ever looked at it and said, "you should have gotten a Canon."

All that said, a lot depends on what you are going to do with it and the kind of shooting you will do.
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Postby Sisco22 » Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:39 am

Hey guys,
thanks for all the responses. Well, i actually ended up going with a Canon Rebel XT 8megapixel. Looking at getting a better lens for it now. The only reason i went with it is b/c i got a great deal on it. A lady had it for sale for $360 and the camera is pretty much brand new looking. Bought a Extreme III 4gig memory card for it and now i've gotta get a better lens than the 18-55mm standard lens. So, i back in business. I was going with the Nikon D60, but i ran across this deal and couldn't pass it up.
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Postby rippinchikkin » Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:52 am

Get the Olympus..... :whistle
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Postby Chippychap » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:32 am

TBH there is probably NO right answer, but tons of wrong ones.
Do tons of t'internet searching and narrow it down for YOU specifically.
How can anyone else choose something so personal for you?
I use a Fuji, it does everything I want it to do and more.
There's a guy who swears by Cannon, one who loves Nikon, they're not wrong.
Loads of review sites on the web where various facets of each camera are put under the
microscope.
Enjoy the search.
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Postby _Taz_ » Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:54 pm

Yeah I have a Sony Alpha (formerly Minolta Digital) and I really like it.
One of the main reasons I went with it was I was a previous Minolta SLR user. So I already had lenses that would fit. I was familiar with the Minolta controls. I have gradually swapped out my SLR lenses for DSLR lenses, but I didn't have to do it all at once.

Do some research, go to a store and play with them, see how they fit your hand. See if you can operate the controls easily, and even the best DSLR is only a Heavy, Bulky Point and Shoot camera if you're not going to take the time to learn how to use it.
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Postby Cornflake » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:18 am

I'm thinking of getting a DSLR (or DSLR-like camera) this Xmas as well. I heard that you can get cameras that have the abiliy to save images in some type of raw format (without JPEG compression at all), which will help photos look clearer and removed\ that pock-marked look. I've been looking at some sub-SLR cameras in stores and they typically only have a 'fine' quality setting. My current regular digital cam still results in photos looking a bit rough and pock marked even with the ISO setting at lowest and the quality setting at 'fine'.

Don't mean to be off topic but rather than create a new thread....
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Postby _Taz_ » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:39 am

most dslr's give you the option of RAW, RAW/JPG, or JPG
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