What entry level DSLR do you recommend?

[imported_nerve]

I have always been interested in photography. I have a P/S. I would like to get a DSLR and take some classes.

Not sure what I should get I was looking at the Nikon D40x but was considering the D80.

I want either a Canon or Nikon for the used lens market...

 

[imported_nerve]

Of course I did a search after I posted this topic...

I found a couple threads I will read over.

 

[teatime0315]

Whats your budget?
If money is tight go for a D40
If you can squeeze a little more D80

 

[imported_nerve]

$1200ish

I have SD Cards already..

 

[corkyg]

For $1200 you can pick any of them - just decide which lens family you want to be saddled with, and try them all at your local Best Buy or Circuit City or camera store. You can then get a good look and feel as to what suits you.

After that, read the reviews on the above link website - Phil Askey's site. Then decide and order on line from the best total cost including shipping.

Nikon or Canon will do the job.

 

[magomago]

Also consider Pentax. With 1200 you could get a pretty nice setup. A K100D, while I haven't checked on the latest prices, were running at 450 with the 18-55 lens, or 400 as just a body alone. From there after spending another 200-300 on accessories (polarizer, tripod, etc) you still have good money for another lens~ a 50-200mm DA is easily affordable. That gives you 18-200 for a starting range which isn't bad. and the kit lens, while still being a kit lens, is not that bad! And the benefit is any lens you buy automatically has image stabilization because it is built into the body rather than into the lenses =)
If you get more into it - there is also a decent amount of much "older" lenses that can be had for pretty cheap. I just picked up a SMC Takumar 135mm 3.5 (I chose it over the 2.5 because the f/3.5 is sharper completely open than the f/2.5 was at 3.5) Of course to do that, you lose a lot of functionality and have to take pictures old school style...but for 50 dollars shipped on ebay it can't be beat =)
The disadvantage of Pentax is that there isn't much first party super zoom range, and some of the more "Desirable" lens are not produced anymore. This produces REALLLLLY expensive prices for some of the sweet older gear. Of course it isn't like Canon or Nikon are "cheap" either. On the flip side though, primes are given some really nice attention and there is quite a bit to choose from

I've had my setup since July and absolutely love it! Nearly 3000 clicks, and this is only because I haven't really clicked much the past 2 weeks because school takes up a lot fo time

 

[TheChort]

Do you want to spend $1200 now, and not have to pay for camera equipment for a looong time, or are you willing to put in more money soon down the road?
The reason I ask is because The Canon 30D and Nikon D80 are great, and I highly recommend both. Unfortunately that leaves you little money for lenses, tripod, carrying bag ...

But I guess those two are a little above entry level
The Nikon D40 and Canon Rebel XTi are great too. At least with these you have extra $$ to buy a nice lens.

I've also heard plenty of good things about the Sony Alpha. The underdog in this case

Check out dpreview.com if you already haven't
Side-by-side reveiw

I don't know too much about the Nikons. Call me a Canon fanboy if you will ,
But here are a couple things worth mentioning:

- The 30D is the only camera of the 5 listed that can shoot continuously at 5fps. All the other ones top out at 3fps.
- The 30D comes with a metal body, unlike the plastic body of the rebel xti. Not sure if the D80 is the same, but it does some to be heavier than the D40.

- And in Nikon's favor I should mention that both of their cameras come with a 1.5 crop factor on the lens, versus the 1.6 on the canons. Not a considerable difference, but worth mentioning anyway.

Hope that stuff helps and good luck deciding!

 

[imported_nerve]

Originally posted by: TheChort
Do you want to spend $1200 now, and not have to pay for camera equipment for a looong time, or are you willing to put in more money soon down the road?

I have been reading the sites that are in the sticky. I do understand that down the road I will be spending alot more on lenses. I would rather make the investment now on a good body that I can go from entry level -> intermediate with.

I will check out the 30D you mentioned. The only thing swaying me to Nikon at this moment is the fact that I have about 5gigs worth of SD memory cards.


I was looking online at the prices. I decided to take a look at a local camera shop and found this. This looks like a good price for D80 w/ lens.

I am not sure what lens kit to go with... after I decided on a body.

What else should I factor in after the body/lens purchase?
Call me stupid, but I didnt think there was too much other things to purchase other than lenses.

 

[TheChort]

Originally posted by: nerve

Originally posted by: TheChort
Do you want to spend $1200 now, and not have to pay for camera equipment for a looong time, or are you willing to put in more money soon down the road?

I have been reading the sites that are in the sticky. I do understand that down the road I will be spending alot more on lenses. I would rather make the investment now on a good body that I can go from entry level -> intermediate with.

I will check out the 30D you mentioned. The only thing swaying me to Nikon at this moment is the fact that I have about 5gigs worth of SD memory cards.


I was looking online at the prices. I decided to take a look at a local camera shop and found this. This looks like a good price for D80 w/ lens.

I am not sure what lens kit to go with... after I decided on a body.

What else should I factor in after the body/lens purchase?
Call me stupid, but I didnt think there was too much other things to purchase other than lenses.

The kit lens is the standard/default lens that comes with the camera. Often times people upgrade rather quickly, as the kit lenses are never the greatest quality. But the thing I like about the Nikon kit lens is the wide range it offers (18-135mm). For a beginning photographer, having a wide range is great because it gives you the opportunity to experiement and find out what you like about wide or tele.

There are a bunch of things you could buy, and that depends largely on your taste in photography.

Ever since buying my Rebel XTi in July, I have gotten the following, as best as I can remember, and in the order I purchased them:
- 4gb CF card
- Tripod (actually it's just an old one I took from my dad )
- Tamrac Camera Bag $35
- 50mm lens $80
- Lens protector $10
- Tamron 28-75 lens $340
- UV protection filter $10
- Mini-Tripod (great for carrying in my bag when i don't want the large tri-pod) $10
- Remote shutter release $25

And it's worth mentioning that I just ordered 2 more gigs of ram ($80), as some of my larger photoshop files were really putting a strain on the 1gig of ram that I had.

 

[troytime]

I'd go with the D80 and the 18-135 kit lens. Its IQ is really good for a kit lens, and has has a pretty good focal range - which means you won't have to buy another lens right away and you can shoot a lot of stuff without switching lenses.

the 5fps vs 3fps isn't a big deal, even if you're shooting sports 3fps is pretty good.

Hit up a camera shop and figure out which ones feel good to you.
I was originally going to buy an XTI until i actually held one.

 

[imported_nerve]

Thanks guys.

I will go to my local camera shop and get a feel for the camera's.

I will also do some more reading on the 30D, Xti and D80

 

[martensite]

Originally posted by: magomago
Also consider Pentax.

QFT.

I have a K100D super and the 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 kit lens plus an additional Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro. For the price, it's an excellent setup, and I am happy I went with this instead of the Canon or Nikon. The K100D is perhaps the best entry level dSLR on the market ATM, and it's shake reduction rocks! :thumbsup:

Now, only if I had some spare cash laying around to afford a FA 31mm f/1.8 AL Limited

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: martensite
The K100D is perhaps the best entry level dSLR on the market ATM, and it's shake reduction rocks! :thumbsup:

personally I would say the Sony (ex Minolta) A100 for much the same reason.
K10D is a nice camera though.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst

Originally posted by: martensite
The K100D is perhaps the best entry level dSLR on the market ATM, and it's shake reduction rocks! :thumbsup:

personally I would say the Sony (ex Minolta) A100 for much the same reason.
K10D is a nice camera though.

I think one of the factors which puts the A100 over the K10D is actually the new Sony A700, which offers an upgrade path, unlike Pentax. Sony will also be releasing a further upgrade (A800 or A900, most likely) within several months which will be in the Canon 5D class, offering an additional upgrade possibility.

Sony is merely awakening into the DSLR market, and the A700 proves they are serious about it. A100 is a fine camera, but I cannot wait to get the A700 for a variety of reasons (better construction, better AF, better metering, better noise, etc.!). The super steady shot goes up to 4 stops now, apparently.

 

[The Stigenator]

i want to get the sony one but i am vary of the lense choices.

 

[soydios]

I just have to recommend the Nikon D80. It has the automatic settings for beginners, but has enough capability and advanced features to grow with you. The D40 would simply leave you wanting more once you gain experience.

I would recommend Nikon over Canon because of ergonomics, exposure metering, and the flash system. Both Canon and Nikon have extensive upgrade and accessory trees for you to explore if the Nikon Acquisition Syndrome bug bites you, as it did me, but Nikon seems to place a higher priority on compatibility than Canon. You want used lenses? Nikon's go all the way back to the 1960's.

Pentax and Sony are alternatives I suppose, but they are just that: alternatives.

*EDIT* DISCLAIMER: Wow, after rereading my post, I realized just how much of a Nikon proponent I am. Get the camera that does what you need it to do right now, and sometime a few years in the future, for the best price. Nikon, Canon, Sony, or Pentax, they're all good systems.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: AndrewR

I think one of the factors which puts the A100 over the K10D is actually the new Sony A700, which offers an upgrade path, unlike Pentax. Sony will also be releasing a further upgrade (A800 or A900, most likely) within several months which will be in the Canon 5D class, offering an additional upgrade possibility.

Sony is merely awakening into the DSLR market, and the A700 proves they are serious about it. A100 is a fine camera, but I cannot wait to get the A700 for a variety of reasons (better construction, better AF, better metering, better noise, etc.!). The super steady shot goes up to 4 stops now, apparently.

i have to imagine that pentax will be sticking sony's new 12 mp sensor in a camera sometime in the near future (pma 2008?). i can't imagine that hoya was willing to shell out a bunch of money for pentax without attempting to make it competitive in the most profitable sector of photography.

Originally posted by: soydios
You want used lenses? Nikon's go all the way back to the 1960's.

actually, F mount goes back to 1959 (as did canon's R/FL/FD). but don't try using an old lens on a D80. pre 1977 (read: pre-AI) lenses are incompatible (could damage your lens mount). and the AI lenses don't automatically index on the D80, so they don't operate as they do on,l say, an F3 (apparently, not only do you have to stop the lens down yourself, but the camera won't meter with it).

any canon EOS camera will meter with pre-AI and AI lenses, given the proper converter. so you get the odd situation that old nikon glass works on cheap canons but not cheap nikons.

pre-AI lenses can be converted to AI ($30 or so, so not bad)

pentax k mount dates from 1975. apparently the k10d has a 'crippled' KAF2 mount that requires stop down metering on pre KA lenses. but at least the lens won't damage your camera.

 

[stockriderman]

Get a 10D or Rebel. Used,they are around 300-$400. The rest is better to spend on lenses.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i have to imagine that pentax will be sticking sony's new 12 mp sensor in a camera sometime in the near future (pma 2008?). i can't imagine that hoya was willing to shell out a bunch of money for pentax without attempting to make it competitive in the most profitable sector of photography.

I agree that we'll see that sensor in other DSLRs but I'm not so sure that THK might not take the opportunity to punt the camera division off to say Samsung.

& just for completeness in this thread, Minolta's AF mount (now used by Sony of course) goes back to 1985 & any Minolta made MAF lens will work perfectly on a new Sony (some older 3rd party may not, notably Sigma as they wouldn't pay licence fees but reverse engineered).
With the correct adapter older manual MC & MD lenses will fit but of course won't autofocus.

 

[tphss]

I recommend going in here:
Steve's Digicams Best Camera's

Other then that, I would probably get the Nikon D80 or the Canon Rebel XTi or the 30D if you can afford it.
Personal preference, I would probably get a Canon and stay with them, since as soon as you pick the brand and buy the lenses you need to stay with them.
Good lenses are usually more expensive then the camera itself and then in the future you would want to buy the same brand camera body which you can use the lenses you already have.

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: soydios
You want used lenses? Nikon's go all the way back to the 1960's.

actually, F mount goes back to 1959 (as did canon's R/FL/FD). but don't try using an old lens on a D80. pre 1977 (read: pre-AI) lenses are incompatible (could damage your lens mount). and the AI lenses don't automatically index on the D80, so they don't operate as they do on,l say, an F3 (apparently, not only do you have to stop the lens down yourself, but the camera won't meter with it).

any canon EOS camera will meter with pre-AI and AI lenses, given the proper converter. so you get the odd situation that old nikon glass works on cheap canons but not cheap nikons.

pre-AI lenses can be converted to AI ($30 or so, so not bad)

pentax k mount dates from 1975. apparently the k10d has a 'crippled' KAF2 mount that requires stop down metering on pre KA lenses. but at least the lens won't damage your camera.

I have a 50mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/3.5, both pre-AI, that mount on my D50. I think some pre-AI lenses protrude too far into the mirror box, so Nikon just tells you not to use any of them. AI, AI-s, and pre-AI lenses do not meter on any camera less expensive than a D200. But, they work just fine in Manual mode.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
i want to get the sony one but i am vary of the lense choices.

There's a huge market of used Minolta AF lenses out there. I've never had an instance where I thought there was a real gap in the availability of lenses.

ZV

 

[Shimmishim]

woot! i can chime in as well.

i got a rebel xti (400D), tamron 17-50 f/2.8, and 4GB CF card all for under $1100.

oh and i have a hood coming as well.

very happy with my purchase

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
i want to get the sony one but i am vary of the lense choices.

There's a huge market of used Minolta AF lenses out there. I've never had an instance where I thought there was a real gap in the availability of lenses.

ZV

I was going to suggest looking at the used lens market to see if it suits your need. I initally started out with a small budget but enjoyed taking classes so much... the money I have tied up in lenses is way more than my camera. But thanks to used I have saved a ton of money.

In my case I have Canon EF lenses.

But don't be wary of used lenses. they are a great bargain. Even older lensees will amaze you. I have a 10 year old lens I got for my 35mm rebel... the AF is dog slow but the lens takes amazingly sharp pictures.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: rudder

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
i want to get the sony one but i am vary of the lense choices.

There's a huge market of used Minolta AF lenses out there. I've never had an instance where I thought there was a real gap in the availability of lenses.

ZV

I was going to suggest looking at the used lens market to see if it suits your need. I initally started out with a small budget but enjoyed taking classes so much... the money I have tied up in lenses is way more than my camera. But thanks to used I have saved a ton of money.

In my case I have Canon EF lenses.

But don't be wary of used lenses. they are a great bargain. Even older lensees will amaze you. I have a 10 year old lens I got for my 35mm rebel... the AF is dog slow but the lens takes amazingly sharp pictures.

Bingo. Used lenses are a great bargain sometimes.

I got my Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX for $500 used, which is about half of what it would cost new, but it performs every bit as well as a brand new lens.

ZV