im a 17 year old girl, i have ahuge interest in photography ad finally my dad said that i can get my first good decent camera but the thing is!

i am having a hard time choosing which camera i want between a

CANON EOS 30D

or..

NIKON D80

what adive or opinions do you guys have anyone help me out here?
this is my first camera i want to be real into it and learn everthing about it and i dont want to keep changing brands i want to stay with just one which one do u recomand for a young girl who is learning aobut photography and will use the camera professionally

can anybody help me please!!!!

THANKYOU!

The D80 with the best lens you can afford would be my suggestion. But then again, I am a bit of a Nikon Nut.

oh thankyou so much,
bu would you say the 18-135 lens are alright??

As a walk-about lens, while you're learning and practising, sure.
The kit lenses are a fine place to start, Canon or Nikon.

As you begin to push the limits, wanting to shoot in lower light, or further away, then you'll start looking for other lenses. The kit lenses are usually not wide aperture, at about f/3.5 or f/4 which means they're limiting in low light.

Also you have to remember with the DSLRs you're looking at, they have sensors smaller than 35mm film so you are effectively cropping out the middle of the image circle. Not a bad thing if your lenses are designed for 35mm film and sharpest in the centre, but it does not give you the wide angle view you might expect of a 28mm lens for example. If you're after nature, or sport, and need a long focal length, then it's on your side.

Lenses are the thing that get you locked into a system.
Once you start spending a few thousand pounds for a great lens (Nikon VR, Canon IS) then you've made your biggest investment.
Even with two professional 1D series bodies I have spent more money on the lenses !

I'd say go with the XTi and a good lens. I mean theres gotta be a reason Photo-John (basically) prefers it to a 1D.

Hi and welcome to the site. Really, I don't think you can go wrong with either. At this point think of the fact that you're buying into a system and both of them have all kinds of lenses and accessories available. I don't know if you know this, but Nikon lenses don't work on Canon cameras, etc.

I see that you posted this in three different forums - we're not generally strict about cross posting but this subject doesn't really apply to off-topic.

Yeah, the weight and size, and quality is good enough
For what PJ wants out of the camera it's the right fit.

On the other hand look at what ReadingR is using, a 5D.
Because he takes a lot of landscapes the full size sensor suits him.

For me and JSPhoto, for motor sports the 1D bodies are our choice.

There is no one right camera.

courtneymiller, why not start with a simple Point & Shoot? This will give you a good understanding of the digital world and its good points and limitations, and will not necessarily lock you into a given manufacturer's system, because once you start buying glass, you are locked in as others have indicated. You can buy one of these (P & S) relatively inexpensively. If you are going for a DSLR then why not start with something like the Canon Rebel XTi and put more money into glass. My 0.02 cents.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

If you go with the D80 the 18-135 is an under rated lens that is on my d80 at least 90% of the time. Focus is fast and quiet..pics quite sharp. You do have to watch for vignetting at wide with anything below 5.6 but its not a big problem if you're aware of it.

I would not try to sway you to go Canon over Nikon or vice versa. If you do go with Canon I would suggest getting the XTi and spend the rest on a good lens. I have have used the XTi for a while and believe it is probably the most camera you can get for the money.

courtney

I will give you the same advice I was given from a pro photographer when I bought my first camera - play with them in the shop to find the one that suits you, not all cameras are as easy to use for an individual.

And funnily enough Tom, Paul, and me had the same conversation about why we bought the camera's we did.

As Paul said I do tons of landscapes and for me the sensor on the 5D works out best with excellent definition and it was the only one available in my price range. I find the Nikon user interface fiddly and the buttons are all in the wrong place. Tom on the other hand loves his Pentax.

One thing you didn't mention is the type of photo's that you like taking and this is an important factor.

Technically - the choice between a Nikon, Canon, Pentax is subjective as the cameras and lenses are all good and do the job of taking photos. They question you have to ask yourself before you hand over the money is will I be comfortable holding this in 2 hours time and are all the twiddly bits easy to find when I am looking through the viewfinder. SLR's weigh a lot when holding them for extended periods.

That is what made me buy Canon - I can change all the settings that I need without taking my eye off the viewfinder - and I have only looked up flash usage in the manual, all the rest were obvious to me.

Roger

i was in the same boat as you this time last year. I went with the d80 and made the choice after I went to the store and felt how both felt in my hand. I am happy with my choice and really like where the layout of the controls on the d80. its all upto you though, both are great cameras.