• 09-11-2008, 05:21 AM
    mj702002
    Have I found the right place for advice??
    Hi! I am searching for my first Dslr!!
    I have boggled my mind searching through the different manufacturers sites- only to confuse myself more!
    The only conclusion I have come to is that I think I should be able to get a pretty descent one that should suit my needs for less than $2000. With that my budget is to spend less than $2000. (The lower the cost the better, BUT I want to be hopefully happy with it for many years to come, be able to upgrade lenses and accessories if needed in the future).

    What I want to use it for will be mainly
    -outdoors,
    -daytime (have to deal with the elements to an extent! )
    -action/sports (mostly horses jumping, kids sports, fishing)
    -for the most part I can be within 10-30 feet of the subject
    - then some general everyday shots - kids, animals, nature

    I have really gotten used to using the live view for framing/shooting subject - should I get thought out of my head for a dslr?

    I am thinking one that shoots at least 4 fps and has the ability to process quickly.

    Should I get a body only with a good lens or are there packages with good body/lens combo.(at least for starting out)?

    Not sure how the digital camera world is with Vista - but that is what I use on my pc , so any programs associated with the camera would have to be compatible with Vista.

    Thats all for now, if I am missing some criteria let me know.

    Thanks ahead for any advice!!
    Mary Jo
  • 09-11-2008, 09:31 AM
    Canuck935
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Hi Mary Jo,

    Yes indeed you have come to the right place! Here you will find the nicest, most helpful bunch of people on the internet!

    Well, as confused as you may be you've at least determined a price point and some must have abilities of the camera body. Given your criteria, something in the mid-range of DSLR's may suit you.

    To find the one best for you, there's no substitute for physical interaction. Go out and handle as many camera's as you can. Use them, fiddle with their menu's, etc. You will find that some work better for you than others.

    As far as live view, most of the current DSLR's have it now. However, most are slow and clunky to use. Sony has a quick live view, but not on any body that can handle more than 3 fps.

    If you have enough budget to get a body only and add a good lens you should do it. If not, then go ahead and get the kit for now.

    No need to worry about Vista anymore. I've been using Vista since pre-beta. When it first came out there were a lot of issues with applications not working on Vista. However, the market has now caught up and all of the current applications should have no problem running on Vista.
  • 09-11-2008, 10:36 AM
    mj702002
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    But, which ones should I be looking at and handling?
    The ones that I have kind of narrowed down just by going on the specs are Sony's A700, Nikon D80 and Canon eos 40d -- Am I least looking in the right direction?
    MJ
  • 09-11-2008, 10:40 AM
    Canuck935
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mj702002
    But, which ones should I be looking at and handling?
    The ones that I have kind of narrowed down just by going on the specs are Sony's A700, Nikon D80 and Canon eos 40d -- Am I least looking in the right direction?
    MJ

    Yes! You are definitely off to a good start! You have done good research. So I would say the next step is to find those camera's in a store so you can handle them.
  • 09-11-2008, 12:25 PM
    Frog
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    You might also consider the new D90 and you'll be able to do movie clips too, if you're interested in that sort of thing.
  • 09-11-2008, 12:39 PM
    Franglais
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mj702002
    But, which ones should I be looking at and handling?
    The ones that I have kind of narrowed down just by going on the specs are Sony's A700, Nikon D80 and Canon eos 40d -- Am I least looking in the right direction?
    MJ

    The D80 has just been replaced by the D90 and the 40D has been replaced by the 50D. Apart from that you're looking in the right direction if you want to make a long term investment. Here's why:

    When you're starting out the best deal is to buy a kit of camera+lens (or even two) from the camera manufacturer. With the D90 or 50D you're in the upmarket amateur or low-end pro segment. These cameras are often packaged with a lens that it built to last and is or good quality optically. The key factor for me is the lens mount. If it's made of plastic then I don't choose it - the optical quality is often very good but there is not a quality feel to it. You may find you're frustrated with it and want something better.

    Manufacturers change camera bodies quite often - 2 years is about the average. You may find that in 4 years time you get a hankering for a new model - the manufacturers may have got Liveview really working on DSLR's by then (right now I would forget about it if you want to do action shots). When you change your camera you want to keep your existing lenses so it makes sense to buy a good one like :

    Nikon 18-70
    Nikon 16-85VR
    Nikon 18-200VR
    Canon 18-200IS

    OK I'm biased towards Nikon but I just checked out the Canon France web site and the 17-85IS has DISAPPEARED.
  • 09-11-2008, 12:51 PM
    mj702002
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Charles - you have a D200 listed under your name...what do you have to say about that model?
  • 09-12-2008, 02:50 AM
    mj702002
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    OK Guys... When I am looking at the specs on these my main focus has been on the number of fps and the number of pics it can store before processing.
    Should I be considering the number of pixels if I don't do a lot of printing (or large size printing anyways - I have just an all around average printer anyways and 5x7 is the only size I have really used)?
    What other things should I be taking into consideration as far as how they are made?
    I am leaning more towards Canons eos 40d - I know it is last years model! With that the price is lower which means I can get a pretty good lens to go with it and still stay within my "budget" to start out.

    (as far as handling them - I do not have a camera shop close by - but I do have a Walmart which only carries the less expensive models in store - using the Canon for example is the 40d's body similar to that of the rebel? If not I believe Circuit city has the various models in store-just a longer drive :o)
    Thanks again - You guys are great!
    MJ
  • 09-12-2008, 04:40 AM
    Franglais
    D200 & D300
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mj702002
    Charles - you have a D200 listed under your name...what do you have to say about that model?

    See the Reviews section - I have written reviews for both the D200 (two years ago) and the D300.

    I really like the D200 but I wouldn't buy a new one today - I would go for the D300, even if it was more expensive. And the D80 is the same sensor and image processor in a smaller, lighter body (the D80 is behind the D200 on metering, number of frames per second, focussing system).

    With the D200/D300 you are looking at a low-end Pro system. This brings you high frames-per-second - which I don't actually use. I don't do sports very often but when I do I prefer choosing the moment to shoot myself rather than doing a burst at 6 frames/second and hoping the best moment is on one of the pictures.

    What I do like about the high-end amateur systems like the D70/D80 is that they are fairly light.

    - The D200/D300 are beautiful pieces of solid magnesium - with a certain weight which you start to feel at the end of the day. I carry them around with me when I'm on a point mission.
    - The low-end cameras like the D40/D60 are too light for me. You need a certain weight in your hand to avoid camera shake (and by the way holding the camera up to your eye adds stability. Holding the camera at arms length with LiveView is not a good idea)
    - My D70 is just right to carry around all day, knowing that I'm going to do pictures but not too many

    As for your question about the 40D - with my 6Mpix D70 I can go up to 16x20 (uncropped) so the 10Mpix 40D doing 5x7 is no problem. The xxD series and Rebel series are based on many of the same components but the Rebel has a mostly-plastic body whereas the 40D has a mostly-metal body so it's heavier and also a bit bigger I believe.
  • 09-16-2008, 05:11 AM
    mj702002
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    OK, Canons eos 40d is going to be it! (decided to order it instead of spending more $ on it buying it locally- so I am waiting--very impatiently!!)
    Now more questions...
    -reading recommendations-
    As far as the terminology and settings and all that sort of thing - I just "mess around" with my pictures by trying different settings and seeing what happens- so I guess up until now I have been learning by trial and error, and the manual settings on the camera I have now are very limited. I have gone through the learn tab on this site and also through Canon's, while I am waiting where can I go to read/learn more about using the manual settings so that I can actually have an understanding for what I am doing.
    -How about the cf card -
    How much of a difference is there between a regular card and the high speed card (remember I want a combination of quick shooting and processing, I think the card plays a role in that .? )

    Thanks again
  • 09-16-2008, 08:47 AM
    Canuck935
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Fantastic! Glad you found your camera!

    Yes! There is a huge difference with CF card speeds. If you want fast continuous shooting you definitely should get a fast CF card. It will also significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to transfer files off the card to your computer. Especially if you shoot RAW.

    I'm not sure about other online resources for learning about exposure. I recommend finding a local class and taking that. That's what I did and it made a huge difference in my photography.
  • 09-16-2008, 10:38 AM
    mj702002
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Any recommendations for the card?
  • 09-16-2008, 01:45 PM
    Canuck935
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mj702002
    Any recommendations for the card?

    Stick to any of the name brands like Sandisk, Lexar, Kingston, etc and you'll be fine. Be sure to buy them from a reputable dealer. There A LOT of fakes out there.
  • 09-16-2008, 03:45 PM
    mj702002
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Thanks - How would you know if it fake?
  • 09-16-2008, 03:53 PM
    Canuck935
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    It's really hard to tell, but there are guides out there..

    For example, here's eBay's guide on detecting fake SanDisk CF cards.
  • 09-16-2008, 09:00 PM
    xystren
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mj702002
    As far as the terminology and settings and all that sort of thing - I just "mess around" with my pictures by trying different settings and seeing what happens- so I guess up until now I have been learning by trial and error, and the manual settings on the camera I have now are very limited. I have gone through the learn tab on this site and also through Canon's, while I am waiting where can I go to read/learn more about using the manual settings so that I can actually have an understanding for what I am doing.

    Thanks again

    This site I find gives a really good virtual camera demo of the different settings (shutter speed, ISO, F-Stop) and how it impacts how your picture will turn out.

    Cheers,
    Greg
  • 10-12-2008, 04:00 PM
    AlexColeman
    Re: Have I found the right place for advice??
    Check out the D90, kit lens is good, Hi_Def video, 4fps i think, Live View, 12MP, and able to use almost all glass.