Hi everyone, Ive been reading the forums for a while, but only just plucked up the courage to make a post. Ive been in and around digital photography since late 2000 mainly with normal consumer digital cameras, and i am just now starting to consider moving into a digital SLR. My first camera was a Sony Mavica, which i upgraded to a Canon Powershot G3 in 2003 due to its flexability and manual functionality.
I am an avid fan of motorsport and cars, and these tend to be the main subjects for my photographic work. So ideally i would be looking for something that is good for moving subjects, but also can capture even the smallest details on stationary objects. I would also like to be able to have the flexibility to crop my shots if i need to.
I did have a Canon 350D for a short while, but found that it, at times really struggled to get an accurate focus on the subject of the shot, whether this was the limitation of the standard kit lens, or camera, im not entirely sure. I also had problems with the colours the camera was producing - they would sometimes appear washed out, maybe only slightly, but it made the shots look un-realistic. for example, taking a photo in my back garden, the grass would have a very yellow tint to it instead of the natural green that it actually had.
Ive had a look at a few shots this afternoon on various sites - same shots different cameras. This has pretty much made my decision as to avoid Nikon DSLR's due to jaggies around the edges of high contrast colours - say a red object with a slight curve to its edge with a sky background. The Canon cameras seem to have a much softer feel and dont seem to suffer with the jaggies, but also seem to process noise a lot better.
Also, in terms of lenses, what should i be looking at? i know USM is very important - faster focus and much quieter etc, but what else will give good results? should i consider the lower end IS lenses? or are they not worth the extra money?
I am looking to spend about £1000, around $1500 to get me set up with a body and lens/lenses that will produce what i am after.
Also I am coming upto my final project for my graphic design course - which will involve a lot of photography work, so im thinking maybe a better camera will both help make my work look more professional, but also give me better shots.
Thanks in advance for any advice and help that you can offer, im sure this will be the first of many posts here.
Best Regards,
Oliver
p.s. also thanks to smartwombat for pointing me to this forum.