im looking to buy a digital SLR, need input

[fkshiu]

Get a low end introductory SLR camera first to see if you're in this for the long haul. I'll repeat what others have said: photography is very, very expensive. You'll soon find the kit lens completely inadequate and will need to invest in higher quality lenses. It is at this point that most people find that they can not or will not invest the extra time and money or the go in whole hog because SLR photography is not so much the camera body as it is the glass that goes in front of it. This is because you can still take amazing photos with a good quality lens and a low end camera but not vice-versa. Secondly, the lenses that you invest in will last you multiple generations of bodies if you take care of them.

For most people, the choice comes down to between Nikon and Canon simply because they dominate the SLR market and offer the widest variety of lenses. Third party lens manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron (both of which make great lenses for much less than Canon or Nikon) also focus their product lines on the big two as well. Sony SLRs have a far more limited lens line although if you dig around most old Minolta lenses will work with them since Sony bought out Minolta's SLR line. Go with Pentax if you are an iconoclast and drive something like a Saab.

Whether you choose Nikon or Canon is mostly matter of personal preference. You can take wonderful pictures with either brand. So try to borrow a sample of both brands for a bit and see which one you like better because most likely it will be a long term marriage to a particular brand.

I shoot Canon mostly because I have a close friend who already had several Canon lenses which I could mooch off of him.

[Mferko]

this thread talked me out of getting the d40 and has got me looking at the canon XSi now

Beyond snapshots - My first dSLR, learn from our mistakes! - The Something Awful Forums

or maybe a used canon d70
i want it to have the motor on the body for the focus so i can use the old lenses tho

[Mferko]

anyone here used a nikon D70?
any good?

[Kitsune]

Get a low end introductory SLR camera first to see if you're in this for the long haul. I'll repeat what others have said: photography is very, very expensive. You'll soon find the kit lens completely inadequate and will need to invest in higher quality lenses. It is at this point that most people find that they can not or will not invest the extra time and money or the go in whole hog because SLR photography is not so much the camera body as it is the glass that goes in front of it. This is because you can still take amazing photos with a good quality lens and a low end camera but not vice-versa. Secondly, the lenses that you invest in will last you multiple generations of bodies if you take care of them.

For most people, the choice comes down to between Nikon and Canon simply because they dominate the SLR market and offer the widest variety of lenses. Third party lens manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron (both of which make great lenses for much less than Canon or Nikon) also focus their product lines on the big two as well. Sony SLRs have a far more limited lens line although if you dig around most old Minolta lenses will work with them since Sony bought out Minolta's SLR line. Go with Pentax if you are an iconoclast and drive something like a Saab.

Whether you choose Nikon or Canon is mostly matter of personal preference. You can take wonderful pictures with either brand. So try to borrow a sample of both brands for a bit and see which one you like better because most likely it will be a long term marriage to a particular brand.

I shoot Canon mostly because I have a close friend who already had several Canon lenses which I could mooch off of him.

I second everything fkshiu just said!

im leaning towards the d3100 or d5000, guess i'll have to see what prices are like on black friday, just need something we can learn on now, itl be way better than my stupid little canon point n shoot im sure, getting fish in focus with that is such a pain.

or the canon XSi

which do u guys think is better?
\
also a friend said i might be able to get a used 40D for a decent price? would that be better than getting these new?

I'm not sure asking "which one of the d3100, d5000, or XSi cameras are better" will yield any useful answers. Most people stick to the brand they purchased first, so not a lot of people have used multiple brands before. I can tell you all about why I don't like the XSi, but I can't tell you how it compares to the other brands...

Wooow.... 40D is quite the jump...from the Xsi...
the 40D is a few years old, and I've never used on myself. I have the 50D (the newer version of the 40D). I absolutely LOVE this camera. The quality is great, the robustness, and the LCD are all phenomenal. I've never had any issues with it (except a firm ware issue that occurred right after it was released )

I'm not sure that I would recommend the 40D to you... It's not because of the quality, but rather because of the ease of use. The new ones (like the XTi's) are super user friendly. If you decide not to pursue photography seriously its still a wonderful camera to have. You can take it anywhere and meet a lot of your day to day needs (much better than a point and shoot). The 40D/50D on the other hand are slightly harder to use (the 50D is not too bad, the 40D I'm not sure how much user friendliness they have. The 50D, you get to cheat, so if you don't remember which button changes the ISO's, or the way it focuses, you can go to the LCD screen and find it by scrolling thorough the menu. the XTi is the same ). Also the 50D weights A LOT more than the XTi. You don't think its a big deal, but when you start traveling with it, its a huge pain. My current favorite camera/lens combo weights just under 10lb in my camera bad. Add another few for my zoom lens...

The point is if you don't decide to pursue it then the XTi is tons better. If you are considering getting second hand then, I would suggest getting the XTi second hand instead. Then take the course with it and decide what you think about it. If you want to upgrade sell the XTi (for the same price you bought it at ), and upgrade.

[Mferko]

I second everything fkshiu just said!



I'm not sure asking "which one of the d3100, d5000, or XSi cameras are better" will yield any useful answers. Most people stick to the brand they purchased first, so not a lot of people have used multiple brands before. I can tell you all about why I don't like the XSi, but I can't tell you how it compares to the other brands...

Wooow.... 40D is quite the jump...from the Xsi...
the 40D is a few years old, and I've never used on myself. I have the 50D (the newer version of the 40D). I absolutely LOVE this camera. The quality is great, the robustness, and the LCD are all phenomenal. I've never had any issues with it (except a firm ware issue that occurred right after it was released )

I'm not sure that I would recommend the 40D to you... It's not because of the quality, but rather because of the ease of use. The new ones (like the XTi's) are super user friendly. If you decide not to pursue photography seriously its still a wonderful camera to have. You can take it anywhere and meet a lot of your day to day needs (much better than a point and shoot). The 40D/50D on the other hand are slightly harder to use (the 50D is not too bad, the 40D I'm not sure how much user friendliness they have. The 50D, you get to cheat, so if you don't remember which button changes the ISO's, or the way it focuses, you can go to the LCD screen and find it by scrolling thorough the menu. the XTi is the same ). Also the 50D weights A LOT more than the XTi. You don't think its a big deal, but when you start traveling with it, its a huge pain. My current favorite camera/lens combo weights just under 10lb in my camera bad. Add another few for my zoom lens...

The point is if you don't decide to pursue it then the XTi is tons better. If you are considering getting second hand then, I would suggest getting the XTi second hand instead. Then take the course with it and decide what you think about it. If you want to upgrade sell the XTi (for the same price you bought it at ), and upgrade.

ive been checking craigslist and reading reviews and i decided i want something with the live view feature and since my dad has some old canon lenses (and the low end nikon bodies dont have the onboard motor for autofocus) so i'll likely get an XSi or T1i

gah, ive read soo many reviews today my eyes are sore, even went over to london drugs and held them

[Kitsune]

ive been checking craigslist and reading reviews and i decided i want something with the live view feature and since my dad has some old canon lenses (and the low end nikon bodies dont have the onboard motor for autofocus) so i'll likely get an XSi or T1i

FYI, the old lenses may not be auto focus.
Also the live view is good for casual photos, but its ability to auto focus is not as great as without. The way you use SLR to focus, zoom etc is by using the view finder, and in this mode you can use auto focus etc. When you press the shutter the mirror inside lifts, and the light hits the sensor (rather than being redirected to the view finder), and captures the photo. In order for the live view to work, the mirror is moved up (the entire time you are in live view) and the image you see on the LCD is what the sensor is 'sensing'. But the problem with this is the camera cannot focus in this mode. So it needs to drop the mirror, focus on the object, and then lift the mirror again. So if you try it out at the store you'll notice that it takes half a a second for the camera to respond, it'll 'shutter', and the LCD screen will go black momentarily. And is ability to focus is not as crisp I hear.

Also in my option this may not be great for the longevity of the camera (please, someone contradict me). The shutter is a mechanical piece of equipment in the camera (i.e. that thing is pretty much the only thing that really moves in a camera...other than electrons, and auto focusing). This means that of the things that can break in a camera, this is high on the list. The camera keeps track of how many times the shutter has been used, its like a car's odometer. The camera's shutter actuations is recorded in the camera and tells you how many times the shutter has been actuated. (if you are looking for a used camera, this is one thing you can check to see how much it was used). I'm not sure if in live view every time you focus and it does the shutter motion, its considered an actuation though... The point is though that if you find that you need to auto focus on a on object in live view a lot before you take a photo (like a fish moving), then using live view is probably not the best idea. Plus you can see MUCH more detail through the view finder (like the focus) rather than a LCD monitor (since its now pixelated)

gah, ive read soo many reviews today my eyes are sore, even went over to london drugs and held them

... held your eyes? ew... jk.
p.s. I don't like London Drugs for camera equipment... if you want helpful staff go to an actual camera store where the guy actually owns a camera. Buying there is fine though (I price shop quite a bit). I just find London Drugs is very understaffed that they don't like waiting for you while you humm and huh over a camera.

[fkshiu]

London Drugs is "OK" at best for camera equipment. Head over to Broadway Camera by Oak and you're guaranteed to get a knowledgeable camera nut to talk to plus their prices at great too (for local retail). It's sort of like going to a big box LFS where the clerk may know very little about fish versus going to a small LFS and talking to a fish nerd.

The whole live view thing is essentially a comforting safety blanket for beginners who are used to shooting this way with digital point and shoots. The most accurate representation of how your picture will look is through the viewfinder using your own eye rather than the camera's interpretation of it on a little viewscreen. The is especially true if you want to shoot macro aquarium shots where your depth of field (the part of the picture that is in focus) may be razor thin.

[2wheelsx2]

London Drugs is variable. The one downtown (Granville and Georgia) has several camera nuts. I bought mine from Jack Wong, who has 6 or 7 Nikons, including film ones and also shoots medium format. But as a whole, yes, LD is not the best place to get cameras, as some of the staff don't have a clue.

[Mferko]

i live right next to a kerrisdale camera's but they were closed, i just wanted to get a feel for the bodies and look thru them

i dont plan on using live view for everything, i just read it was really handy for being able to check if things are in focus when doing macro photography because you can zoom in. (is that false?)

so far im going with either the XSi or T1i, the ability to record video on the t1i is a plus.

[2wheelsx2]

The live view is good for very specific applications (like if you need to raise the camera over your head to get a shot. I never use mine when I am directly behind the camera.