Good starter Digital SLR?

[deathmatch782]

After years with the crappy point and shoot type camera's, i'm looking to get something nicer.
I have done some research, but almost all the terminology is over my head.

So any suggestions on a good starter camera that wont break the bank? I'm a college student and getting married, so I dont have alot of free income.

[superjohnny]

You'll have to take this with a grain of salt, because I don't own it yet. BUT, I've done a lot of research and been to almost every camera shop in Portland and decided on a Nikon. I ordered a D50 from Cameta Cameras (ebay) for $650 with a real nice 18-70mm lens. Yes the D50 is no longer part of the current Nikon lineup, but when compared side-to-side with the D40 I just couldn't ignore the lens compatability issues of the D40 and couldn't justify the extra $600 of stepping up to the D80.

If you want some reading check out:
www.dpreview.com
www.bythom.com
www.kenrockwell.com <- he gets mixed reviews because he has a strong opinion
www.nikonians.org

Check out the Canon XT & XTI as well, they're good cameras and there are many people who rave about them. In my hands and just tinkering with them at the local shops I found the Nikon's more logically layed out with better menu systems and I'm a novice so ease of use was high on my priority list. The Canon's are a bit less expensive, but the kit lenses consistently get poor ratings.

[maveri9720]

I 2nd the D50. I own it and absolutely love it. Mine came with the 28-80 lens and it has worked for me thus far.

Great camera.

I bought mine for $550 though, so shop around for pricing.

[deathmatch782]

I did a whole bunch of research today and last night.
I think i'm going to get either a D50, or Rebel XT. Unless I can find a cheap D70 or the like.

[Casey]

Someone post a pic of there tank with the D50 so we can see how good the pics look please.

[maveri9720]

Sorry it took so long. I was at work and didn't have access to my pics.

Here ya go. Hope you enjoy them!

[maveri9720]

Here's a couple more. Also, these are my first pics with my new camera, so be gentle, I'm still learning.

[TheNewton]

Originally Posted by Casey

Someone post a pic of there tank with the D50 so we can see how good the pics look please.

There are way to many variables to make your purchase based on a picture. You can find terrible pictures taken with a dslr and fantastic ones taken with a point and shoot. Most what determines the outcome is the photographer and their knowledge of the camera they are using, then with DSLR would be the lens. All that being said both Nikon and Canon make excellent products. I have the D50 myself and it is a nice camera. If you have a Ritz or Wolf camera store near you I would check them out. They have an odd relationship with their online site which does not carry the D50 but the brick and mortars do and they have been selling the body for around $460.00 and $550.00 with an average to low average kit lens (18-55MM). For a macro lens the Nikon 105MM is excellent but pricey and you can get excellent results with the Sigma 105mm or Tamron 90mm.

Superjohnny listed some good sites to check on reviews. Remember dpreview can get real techie, I like the reviews on thom hogans site, seem to be pretty straight forward. Ken Rockwell, well you really never know if he is pulling your chain or not, and I never cared much for the pictures he takes, but he does have some good pointers to pass along.

[superjohnny]

Love that picture of the shrimp cleaning the clown mareri9720. Your pictures look great!

[Casey]

Great pics man thanks.

[maveri9720]

Your welcome.

And TheNewton is dead on. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw Casey's reply to post up some pics.

You can take the most expensive camera in the world and give it to someone who doesn't know a thing about taking pics and the pics will look horrible. But give someone a crappy P&S and they can take some fantastic pics.

But there is only so much you can do with most P&S cameras. They have limitations that DSLR don't have. I know my P&S can't adjust the White Balance. I don't have any control manually over my P&S. I can't shoot at whatever speed or aperture I want to. I can only zoom in so far, ect, etc.

So, 1/2 of it is knowing how to take proper pics, but the other 1/2 is having the proper equipment to take those pics.

I just wanted to give an example of what this camera is capable of and I haven't even come remotely close in doing that. I still have LOADS of research and reading up on until I can take some really superb shots.

But as of right now, the only thing holding me back is my knowledge, or lack there of, not my camera or it's functions.

[deathmatch782]

I have the choice to get 2 different Nikon cameras.

First is a D50 with 2 len's. One is a 28-80 and the other a 70-300.

The other camera is a D70 w/ a 18-70 lens.

Both of the kits are w/in $15 of each other.


Which one would be the better choice?

[maveri9720]

IMO, there isn't much difference between the two. There has been alot of discussion and you can find alot on the net comparing the two.

I am a recreational shooter and use it to take pics of the tank and other stuff. So depending on how much you would use the camera and in what capacity, I would personally go with the D50 and the two lenses. I think you would be very happy and content with the camera and those 2 lenses for a good long time.

Small differences include: 1.8" LCD screen vs 2.0", SD memory card vs Compact Flash cards, frame rate of 2.5 fps vs 3fps, can't control external flash w/o cabling or expensive remote control vs camera can control external flash, 1 command dial vs 2 command dials.

IMO, these aren't very important to me and are minute differences. So the price difference and the loss of a lens doesn't justify the decision to step up to the D70.

My .02

P.S. Is it a D70 or a D70S? The D70S is the upgraded, newer version of the D70.

[bbaz_usa]

I've used both in the field, and apparently am the only one who favors the Canon line. The XT is an incredible starter camera, and has the ability to capture images such as the ones below I took at Voodoo Music Fest last Oct/Nov. I've since upgraded and have mine for sale, if you are interested. They body is light, it accepts more lenses than you will need to consider, battery life is excellent, and LCD size doesn't make as big of difference as you might think. They all have the ability to zoom and in a sec or two you will know if you want to dump the image. After a while, you stop looking, because even the 1 Gig flash cards hold 256 images at high quality....



It's also great for just some regular snap shots, ie the mercedes below:

[deathmatch782]

It is a D70, not the D70S.

I went with the D50 and 2 lenses. Should be here Mon or Tues, then I get to play w/ my new toy. I too got mine from Cameta (ebay).