EDIT4: Okay I just removed all the built in links...it think it doesn't look as easy to read, but i dont have better options ATM 
edit5: readjust pricing and since I finally picked a flash I've moved that up.
Okay ? as you all know I?m ve been posting here (and lurking a lot more and reading pretty much anything posted here as well as the links)!. I?ve been seriously considering buying a DSLR to the point where within two weeks at most I will make a purchase. My background is I used to have an A70 that fell in a lake a few years back, and I?ve been playing with my friends A75 but for some reason it is starting to act weird (turns off randomly, screen corruption, etc) so I want my own again. I?m just waiting on an award for a competition to come in ; should be here within the week?I say two weeks maximum because I?ve had packages sent out from City of Industry, CA [ie: 40 minutes from me?] travel all the way to Ohio before they realize it is going in the wrong direction and turn around.
I?ve also been reading on camera physics for a while, and while it all is pretty interesting, it?ll be a while before that mush really gets a chance to settle in my head (but to see stuff like bode plots from control systems actually get used is pretty awesome!). I?m hoping once I have the Camera I can actually experiment and see it all work for myself (something that the A75 won?t do..I told you its realllly fubared)
In the meantime I?ve been looking around and trying to decide how to budget this in terms of expenditures, and what type of gear I should be looking for.
Now I know I still have plenty to learn ? so please feel free to give any suggestions in any form: whether it is toss portions what I?ve compiled for something else, or to get something from a different retailer because it is cheaper (always a good thing ? ) , or whatever you think will help. Advice on swapping different lenses is fine, a different set of batteries, or which flash to go to, etc. etc. I know that asking for this advice takes all of your time, which is why I tried to read up a lot first on my own (although I?m still a step above nub right now )
I?m hoping that this could hopefully serve as some kind of ?nUb guide??
My budget is about 1500 USD +100 -0 USD after rebates. I?m stationed in CA ? so non-Cali merchants to avoid taxes are always welcome. I?m hoping a budget of this allows me to a little more flexible instead of being stuck too much on the low end (although the price of lenses easily makes 1K seem very low )
I?m trying to build a complete ?starter system? that I can use for many occasions. I know I won?t use every lens or tool in every situation ? but I don?t want to be put in a situation where I don?t have much to work with?so if you think ?wow a lot of this is random for a beginner?, well I want to be as complete as possible because I?ve been waiting for a very long time to do this.
With that said here is what I?ve come down to ? note that the prices are not exact~ some of them already include tax, others don?t, and some don?t have shipping figure in. This is why I put +100 on my total price, because I know it will cause the amount to creep (hopefully not too fast!) upwards.
469$ Pentax K100D 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Shake Reduction and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...001&pf_rd_i=B0009OAFI4
? I thought about holding out and paying more for the K100d super for the SDM support, but since I?m just getting into it I don?t see it as a necessity especially since threre is plenty of glass to select from. I don?t think I?ll need that motor to help it focus fast anytime soon But with a 100 rebate with a combined 50-200, its just very hard to say no, especially when its ?competition? is priced around 100 more. I know it apparently doesn?t do well in continuous shots ? but I know I won?t be using that much?and I also agree the menu names are pretty amusing as well
180$ Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 Lens
http://www.amazon.com/Pentax-S..._2/105-2149630-2599617
? I want it for more portraity type shots, as well as low light indoors~ that is a big thing for me (bloody low light situations!) for wanting to leave the P&S realm.
250$ Pentax DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED Lens
http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...001&pf_rd_i=B00005ABC5
? The Telephoto. I was thinking between this or a slightly cheaper ( I think it was cheaper) Sigma in the same focal range, but a few user reviews mentioned that the images looked sharper from this lens.
325 Pentax AF540FGZ Flash Much rading lead to this - and unless there is another flash that I totally missed - I'm choosing this. Main reason I chose the 540 over the 360 - 540 can swivel. Now the last part is a diffuser - any good reccomendations anyone has? After so much reading I already can see that I would probably be using a diffuser more than anything - probably as much (if not more) than bounced flash
30$ Transcend High-Speed Secure Digital Card (150x) ? 2GB
http://www.amazon.com/Transcen..._2/105-2149630-2599617
? Fastest and cheapest SD card I found. Works fine, although seems a few people have received lemons?but it?s a case of ?it works?or it doesn?t?.
75$ Lowepro SlingShot 200 All-Weather Digital Camera Backpack (Black)
http://amazon.com/gp/product/B000B9O83A
? I was looking at this the day before the presence posted about the 300 model. Since I don?t plan on getting more lenses anytime soon (remember ? I?m still a student paying most of my own way) I don?t need to upgrade to anything big. If anything I may try for a wide lens, but that will be far into the future when I have money again In that case, I may look at getting e200, since I should always have an extra spot open. I may also just hop for this on ebay, since price look to be about 15 dollars cheaper or so (although I can?t remember if they ream you on shipping >< ).
30 +5 Maha PowerEx MH-C204W One Hour WorldWide Battery Charger + Car Adapter
http://www.thomas-distributing...mh-battery-charger.htm ? see below
25 POWEREX 2700 mAh AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries<8 Battery Pack>
http://www.thomas-distributing...argeable_batteries.php
? I?ve had issues with more generic brands in the past?and 30 seems expensive, but I?ve heard many great things about Maha, including here. I had other 2700mA that couldn?t get through 50 shots?.so I?ll go with what others know.
105$ Bogen-Manfrotto 725B http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/cu...s=photo&qid=1185475147&sr=1-1#customerReviews
-Selected finally ^^ Thanks troytime and presence.
150 rebate body + Flash combo
25 rebate 50mm f/14
50 rebate 50-200mm f/4-5.6]
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/Fr...73107_PENTAX_DSLR1.pdf
=========================
Running Total
1494Dollars+[100 Tax, shown only for reference as I have a 100 dollar buffer for tax]
Rebate Time (-225)
----------------
1269
======================
Now I plan to get back 125$ through rebates. I?m buying it all from Amazon , despite my desire to avoid tax, for the following: As far as I understand, I must purchase all three together to get the rebate?and I CANNOT find a retailer that has all three in stock at this moment. I tried buydig, abes of main, beachcamera, and profeel. I think profeel did have all three, but their camera cost was like 550 or so which would easily negate the tax. So until I can find a non-cali alternative with all of them in stock and the prices in line with other areas, it?ll be amazon FTW. The other thing is I may interprete ?combonation? wrong?if I can buy the 50mm f/1.4 separate from the other two, I would do that as it figures to be about 14 dollars for me (unless shipping costs 14 dollars, and I believe amazon has free shipping)
Now here are things I have not selected yet that I do want to include.
Circular Polarizer ? Necessary? Seems to be part of standard gear, and it makes a big difference under proper conditions. Generally it doesn?t seem too expensive, but I?m at a loss at which one to use, and what kinds specifically. If anything I?m interested in a kit of ?general purpose? that may have a few each for a different situation. Even if I don?t get one, I want some kind of transparent lens cover that won?t interfere with the camera just so the lens is protected at all times(although that can?t cost more than a few dollars.)
Sensor Brush/Cleaner ? Absolutely necessary and I?m willing to also spend more money on this (ie: won?t grime if its more than 9.95 ~ even up to 100 so as long as it does what it does WELL?although if some 20 dollar pack is perfect I don?t mind saving more to spend it elsewhere!)
Sooo?what do you guys think, and where can you give advice? I was actually going to wait till I was about to make the purchase, but then I realized that I?ll probably spend a few days revising this.
Thanks Everyone and I either await the advice of "scrap pentax, go canikon!" or "swap X and Y for Z and B" or "dont spend 75 on those batteries, get bla bla fromt he store"
P.S. I feel about as nub on camera hardware as I did with PC hardware seven years ago, lets hope this changes as well and one day I can give advice to ppl
EDIT:
Moved from Slingshot 100 to the slingshot 200
edit5: readjust pricing and since I finally picked a flash I've moved that up.
Okay ? as you all know I?m ve been posting here (and lurking a lot more and reading pretty much anything posted here as well as the links)!. I?ve been seriously considering buying a DSLR to the point where within two weeks at most I will make a purchase. My background is I used to have an A70 that fell in a lake a few years back, and I?ve been playing with my friends A75 but for some reason it is starting to act weird (turns off randomly, screen corruption, etc) so I want my own again. I?m just waiting on an award for a competition to come in ; should be here within the week?I say two weeks maximum because I?ve had packages sent out from City of Industry, CA [ie: 40 minutes from me?] travel all the way to Ohio before they realize it is going in the wrong direction and turn around.
I?ve also been reading on camera physics for a while, and while it all is pretty interesting, it?ll be a while before that mush really gets a chance to settle in my head (but to see stuff like bode plots from control systems actually get used is pretty awesome!). I?m hoping once I have the Camera I can actually experiment and see it all work for myself (something that the A75 won?t do..I told you its realllly fubared)
In the meantime I?ve been looking around and trying to decide how to budget this in terms of expenditures, and what type of gear I should be looking for.
Now I know I still have plenty to learn ? so please feel free to give any suggestions in any form: whether it is toss portions what I?ve compiled for something else, or to get something from a different retailer because it is cheaper (always a good thing ? ) , or whatever you think will help. Advice on swapping different lenses is fine, a different set of batteries, or which flash to go to, etc. etc. I know that asking for this advice takes all of your time, which is why I tried to read up a lot first on my own (although I?m still a step above nub right now
)I?m hoping that this could hopefully serve as some kind of ?nUb guide??
My budget is about 1500 USD +100 -0 USD after rebates. I?m stationed in CA ? so non-Cali merchants to avoid taxes are always welcome. I?m hoping a budget of this allows me to a little more flexible instead of being stuck too much on the low end (although the price of lenses easily makes 1K seem very low
)I?m trying to build a complete ?starter system? that I can use for many occasions. I know I won?t use every lens or tool in every situation ? but I don?t want to be put in a situation where I don?t have much to work with?so if you think ?wow a lot of this is random for a beginner?, well I want to be as complete as possible because I?ve been waiting for a very long time to do this.
With that said here is what I?ve come down to ? note that the prices are not exact~ some of them already include tax, others don?t, and some don?t have shipping figure in. This is why I put +100 on my total price, because I know it will cause the amount to creep (hopefully not too fast!) upwards.
469$ Pentax K100D 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Shake Reduction and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...001&pf_rd_i=B0009OAFI4
? I thought about holding out and paying more for the K100d super for the SDM support, but since I?m just getting into it I don?t see it as a necessity especially since threre is plenty of glass to select from. I don?t think I?ll need that motor to help it focus fast anytime soon
But with a 100 rebate with a combined 50-200, its just very hard to say no, especially when its ?competition? is priced around 100 more. I know it apparently doesn?t do well in continuous shots ? but I know I won?t be using that much?and I also agree the menu names are pretty amusing as well 180$ Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 Lens
http://www.amazon.com/Pentax-S..._2/105-2149630-2599617
? I want it for more portraity type shots, as well as low light indoors~ that is a big thing for me (bloody low light situations!) for wanting to leave the P&S realm.
250$ Pentax DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED Lens
http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...001&pf_rd_i=B00005ABC5
? The Telephoto. I was thinking between this or a slightly cheaper ( I think it was cheaper) Sigma in the same focal range, but a few user reviews mentioned that the images looked sharper from this lens.
325 Pentax AF540FGZ Flash Much rading lead to this - and unless there is another flash that I totally missed - I'm choosing this. Main reason I chose the 540 over the 360 - 540 can swivel. Now the last part is a diffuser - any good reccomendations anyone has? After so much reading I already can see that I would probably be using a diffuser more than anything - probably as much (if not more) than bounced flash
30$ Transcend High-Speed Secure Digital Card (150x) ? 2GB
http://www.amazon.com/Transcen..._2/105-2149630-2599617
? Fastest and cheapest SD card I found. Works fine, although seems a few people have received lemons?but it?s a case of ?it works?or it doesn?t?.
75$ Lowepro SlingShot 200 All-Weather Digital Camera Backpack (Black)
http://amazon.com/gp/product/B000B9O83A
? I was looking at this the day before the presence posted about the 300 model. Since I don?t plan on getting more lenses anytime soon (remember ? I?m still a student paying most of my own way
) I don?t need to upgrade to anything big. If anything I may try for a wide lens, but that will be far into the future when I have money again In that case, I may look at getting e200, since I should always have an extra spot open. I may also just hop for this on ebay, since price look to be about 15 dollars cheaper or so (although I can?t remember if they ream you on shipping >< ).30 +5 Maha PowerEx MH-C204W One Hour WorldWide Battery Charger + Car Adapter
http://www.thomas-distributing...mh-battery-charger.htm ? see below
25 POWEREX 2700 mAh AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries<8 Battery Pack>
http://www.thomas-distributing...argeable_batteries.php
? I?ve had issues with more generic brands in the past?and 30 seems expensive, but I?ve heard many great things about Maha, including here. I had other 2700mA that couldn?t get through 50 shots?.so I?ll go with what others know.
105$ Bogen-Manfrotto 725B http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/cu...s=photo&qid=1185475147&sr=1-1#customerReviews
-Selected finally ^^ Thanks troytime and presence.
150 rebate body + Flash combo
25 rebate 50mm f/14
50 rebate 50-200mm f/4-5.6]
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/Fr...73107_PENTAX_DSLR1.pdf
=========================
Running Total
1494Dollars+[100 Tax, shown only for reference as I have a 100 dollar buffer for tax]
Rebate Time (-225)
----------------
1269
======================
Now I plan to get back 125$ through rebates. I?m buying it all from Amazon , despite my desire to avoid tax, for the following: As far as I understand, I must purchase all three together to get the rebate?and I CANNOT find a retailer that has all three in stock at this moment. I tried buydig, abes of main, beachcamera, and profeel. I think profeel did have all three, but their camera cost was like 550 or so which would easily negate the tax. So until I can find a non-cali alternative with all of them in stock and the prices in line with other areas, it?ll be amazon FTW. The other thing is I may interprete ?combonation? wrong?if I can buy the 50mm f/1.4 separate from the other two, I would do that as it figures to be about 14 dollars for me (unless shipping costs 14 dollars, and I believe amazon has free shipping)
Now here are things I have not selected yet that I do want to include.
Circular Polarizer ? Necessary? Seems to be part of standard gear, and it makes a big difference under proper conditions. Generally it doesn?t seem too expensive, but I?m at a loss at which one to use, and what kinds specifically. If anything I?m interested in a kit of ?general purpose? that may have a few each for a different situation. Even if I don?t get one, I want some kind of transparent lens cover that won?t interfere with the camera just so the lens is protected at all times(although that can?t cost more than a few dollars.)
Sensor Brush/Cleaner ? Absolutely necessary and I?m willing to also spend more money on this (ie: won?t grime if its more than 9.95 ~ even up to 100 so as long as it does what it does WELL?although if some 20 dollar pack is perfect I don?t mind saving more to spend it elsewhere!)
Sooo?what do you guys think, and where can you give advice? I was actually going to wait till I was about to make the purchase, but then I realized that I?ll probably spend a few days revising this.
Thanks Everyone and I either await the advice of "scrap pentax, go canikon!" or "swap X and Y for Z and B" or "dont spend 75 on those batteries, get bla bla fromt he store"
P.S. I feel about as nub on camera hardware as I did with PC hardware seven years ago, lets hope this changes as well and one day I can give advice to ppl
EDIT:
Moved from Slingshot 100 to the slingshot 200
Facebook
Twitter