Digital SLRs?

[Dex_star]

with a $1000ish budget

Id get a used 40d + tamron 17-50 f/2.8

or a 20d/30d + canon 17-50 f/2.8

edit:

I use the first combination and really haven't felt like I need another lens, except for when I shoot sports I would love more zoom. But I've shot car shows, concerts, birthday parties, etc etc and 17-50 is a good zoom range to cover everything.

The differences in the Tamron and Canon lenses, IVE HEARD, is only noticable in the build quality, not so much in glass quality. So if you would like a little better body, its not so much of a sacrifice to pick up the Tamron to afford the 40d. I used to shoot with a 20d and the differences I notice between it and the 40d was enough the justify to price difference, imo.

[islandboi8204]

thanks for the help Dex! i'll definitely look into getting one of those set ups for her.

one more thing, are there any other reputable sites for buying a body/lens online? i came across adorama.com and their prices seem reasonable for new gear.

[ericdw]

adorama is completely legit, b&h is another. and they'll beat each others' prices...

only lookin at canon?

[islandboi8204]

im definitely open to other brands, but then again i don't wanna start up the old nikon vs canon debate. just wanna get something that she can use right away as a beginner and grow into.

also, if i buy say a canon, does she have to use only canon/tamron lenses, or can she use some other brand?

what do you recommend e?

[ericdw]

i dont know enough to intelligently argue the nikon/canon debate, and when it comes down to it, their entry level slrs are probably just about the same. i chose nikon because (1) i thought the user interface was better and (2) the smaller canons are crazy uncomfortable, esp for small hands like mine - the nikon is much more comfortable.

whatever brand you do end up with, you can use that brands lenses, and then third party lenses from companies like tamron, sigma, etc., which make their lenses for both nikons and canons.

[islandboi8204]

alright, i guess i'll have to check nikons out too then... she's got small hands, but it'll be hard to tell what she'll like without having her try them since i want it to be a surprise.

[cure]

alright, i guess i'll have to check nikons out too then... she's got small hands, but it'll be hard to tell what she'll like without having her try them since i want it to be a surprise.

one more thing, why does mostly everyone recommend starting with a prime lens instead of those kit lenses? dex recommended a zoom lens (which seems really versatile especially for a beginner) but the general consensus on here is to start with a decent body and one of those 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 lenses? :confused:

I think beginners enjoy zoom lenses and move onto primes when they need it for a certain function, say low-light events like concerts. I think the best steal right now is the nikon d80 which you can get the body for around $550 at adorama or go with a kit option around 650ish or so with plenty of money to spend for more glass (don't forget a filter too, probably just a UV filter for starters).

I shoot nikon, so i'm not very helpful with canon stuff.

The nikon options you have under $1000 with a kit lens are the D40, D60 and the D80. I suggest you eliminate the D60 as a choice because you don't gain much. The D90 is just outside of your price range, at around $1099/$1130 at JR.com or B&H. The D40 ($450 kit) is very easy to use and is for beginners, but if she plans on getting into photography you might as well jump for the D80 or even consider the D90. The gap between the D40 and D80 in terms of capability is big, the D80 just fell in price because the D90 is just the superior version. D80 has more lens compatibility (you can get a 50mm f1.8 for $110 while the only offered prime for a D40 that autofocuses is a 50mm f1.4 at $440) and features bracketing, another screen that gives you better control, etc.

The D90 does have live view and video capability, but those are not reasons to pay more. The video isn't fully worked out, no dedicated mic output, and the live-view - while it does work - is compromised when dealing with temperature and is still off (it is never instantaneous). It does have an improved sensor and whatnot, you can read up on it if you'd like.

What i suggest is a nice little package:

Nikon D80 ($550 body or $740 w/ 18-135 lens)

SB-600 ($174)

Nikon 50mm f1.8 ($110)

If you went with the kit, i think that'd be just fine. If you didn't get the kit, you could opt for a better glass.

[Lloyd]

... the live-view ... is compromised when dealing with temperature ...

Hi there! Are you saying that the LCD screen on the back of the D90 doesn't offer an accurate representation of the white point as detected by the camera's light sensor? Does this also apply to the rest of the colours it detects? Any idea what the difference is?

I wonder if this also applies to the D300. They have different LCD screens however. Should probably get off my arse and work it out for myself.

[mis]

Unless you're considering a Nikon D80/90. I would just get a Canon instead

[cure]

Hi there! Are you saying that the LCD screen on the back of the D90 doesn't offer an accurate representation of the white point as detected by the camera's light sensor? Does this also apply to the rest of the colours it detects? Any idea what the difference is?

I wonder if this also applies to the D300. They have different LCD screens however. Should probably get off my arse and work it out for myself.

I was referring to the warning in the manual about the live view working only 30 seconds at a time in high temperatures as well as Nikon recommending an AF-S lens instead of simply AF lenses when using the function. The delay i mentioned is basically that there is time between relayed information to the LCD, etc . The few times i've used the live view functions (mainly to test), it provided a fairly accurate depiction of light and colors. Though, i'll mess with it more and see what the results are.

[ProfMonnitoff]

i wouldnt recommend a 50mm as the only lens on a D80. 50mm on a cropped nikon is about 80mm in real terms which is quite narrow.

[sidneylo]

alright, i guess i'll have to check nikons out too then... she's got small hands, but it'll be hard to tell what she'll like without having her try them since i want it to be a surprise.

The new Canon XT models are made for retarded babby hands, so maybe that'll work.

[aizan]

for people with truly small hands, look into the canon 450d, nikon d60, pentax km, olympus e420. however, most people will find these uncomfortable.

[Aristo]

Looking to purchase a dslr soon and i cant make up my mind between canon 50d or nikon d90, or should i just pony up for the d300?

[islandboi8204]

thanks for all the help! okay so i'm pretty much set on getting the canon 40d since we checked it out in store and she like the solid build of it.

i found these three options in my price range off adorama.com:

1. a refurbished 40d + (someone suggest a lens around $400 please)??:confused:

2. new 40d kit with a 17-85 f/4-5.6

3. new 40d kit with a 28-135 f/3.5-5.6

any option look particularly better than the others?

[ProfMonnitoff]

look at the tamron 17-50/2.8, it's a superb lens for the price.

[Lloyd]

I was referring to the warning in the manual about the live view working only 30 seconds at a time in high temperatures as well as Nikon recommending an AF-S lens instead of simply AF lenses when using the function. The delay i mentioned is basically that there is time between relayed information to the LCD, etc . The few times i've used the live view functions (mainly to test), it provided a fairly accurate depiction of light and colors. Though, i'll mess with it more and see what the results are.

ok gotcha. the live view on the d300 is noticeably laggy too.

As far as the recommendation to use AF-S lenses goes, I notice that if you want to autofocus in live view mode, when using AF-D or AF lenses, the camera puts the mirror back down to do this. Is it the case with AF-S lenses too? Do these lenses have onboard focusing or something?

[Quinnskimo]

bought a Panasonic LX3 about a month ago. I like it better than any DSLR I've picked up. Faster than any other lens I currently own as well at f/2.0. I didn't have a P&S before, though, so I was always missing out on shots/events because I never wanted to lug around my gear. I would recommend this camera to newcomers considering a DSLR who are planning on taking mostly wide angle, single-shot photography. An added bonus is 720p/24 video in 16x9.

[Becks23]

I messed around with a friend's D-LUX 4 and didn't really like the controls. I still think Canon's back wheel is unbeatable. I can't remember if there is a trigger control as well but basically (on a p&s level), Ricoh's front trigger + Canon's back-wheel are dope.

Sorry to go off on a bit of a tangent, just the controls bugged me while the rest of it was quite good.

[cure]

ok gotcha. the live view on the d300 is noticeably laggy too.

As far as the recommendation to use AF-S lenses goes, I notice that if you want to autofocus in live view mode, when using AF-D or AF lenses, the camera puts the mirror back down to do this. Is it the case with AF-S lenses too? Do these lenses have onboard focusing or something?

I think the recommendation is due to AF-S lenses having their own motor. I'm not really sure how the mechanics work differently, my guess is that less resources are drawn from the body itself, allowing it to function better.

[islandboi8204]

just placed an order for a canon 40d body from adorama and then i got this weird phone call from some paki dude working there asking me where my parents lived and if i was aUS citizen so they could make sure it was a valid order...? :confused:

[guiltybyassociation]

can anyone recommend a good camera bag? i just picked up a 40d with a 24-105mm lens and a fisheye lens. i would need room for a flash as well.

[ericdw]

just placed an order for a canon 40d body from adorama and then i got this weird phone call from some paki dude working there asking me where my parents lived and if i was aUS citizen so they could make sure it was a valid order...? :confused:

their customer service is usually pretty good, although i've never done an online order. was your shipping address different from your billing address?

oh, and it wasn't a paki guy. orthodox jews run that shop, so that was probably the accent you heard.

[cure]

can anyone recommend a good camera bag? i just picked up a 40d with a 24-105mm lens and a fisheye lens. i would need room for a flash as well.

http://www.naneupro.com/products/mo-e/

i have a black naneu echo. theyre all pretty military themed looking bags, i like mine since its not too tubby of a lunchbox

[islandboi8204]

their customer service is usually pretty good, although i've never done an online order. was your shipping address different from your billing address?

oh, and it wasn't a paki guy. orthodox jews run that shop, so that was probably the accent you heard.

yeah they put it in the mail so i guess they believed me. looking to also buy a sigma 30 f/1.4 to go along with it, i've read pretty decent reviews on it. apparently it's a good lens to achieve the 50mm for portraits for a camera with cropped sensor (40d) right?

[guiltybyassociation]

http://www.naneupro.com/products/mo-e/

i have a black naneu echo. theyre all pretty military themed looking bags, i like mine since its not too tubby of a lunchbox

thanks! i ended up picking up the LIMA model in black.

[fallen angels]

looking to also buy a sigma 30 f/1.4 to go along with it, i've read pretty decent reviews on it. apparently it's a good lens to achieve the 50mm for portraits for a camera with cropped sensor (40d) right?

yea, the sigma 30mm f/1.4 is a very useful prime on cropped sensor cameras, pretty close to a 50mm equivalent on full frame. i use it as my main walk-around prime on my canon. just make sure you get a good copy. pm me if u want to see example shots.

[Becks23]

I'm actually planning to get a Sigma 30mm this weekend sometime as well.

You just have to be weary of getting a shitty copy... try it out if possible, shoot wide-open and then pixel-peep. But if you get a good lens then it's well worth it.

[ubiquitous]

I'm looking to buy my first DSLR and I've narrowed my choices down to the D60 and D80, now I've read a lot of comparison reviews online, but I still can't decide if the D80 is worth it for me. The lack of built in auto focus worries me on the 60. Also, from what I understand the dust filter on the 60 is really the only huge improvement from the 40? or is this a huge exaggeration? I know this has probably been addressed before but I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed with details from all the reviews. Also regardless of which I get can anyone recommend a good overall lense to start with or which kit would be good for all around shooting...my price range for everything right now (college kid poorness) is around 500-800.

[joelz]

^

Get a d80. Well worth it