Main > Everything Else
Digital camera advice (DSLR)
TOK:
The wife wants a new camera for Christmas. The 4 megapixel Canon S40 has been durable and still takes nice pictures if there is good lighting, but its just time to get something better. Since going digital, the wife has become a total photo nut, I'm thinking of getting her a DSLR this time. It needs to have point and shoot capability if she doesn't want to fiddle with the lens, but it'd also be nice to have the external flash capability and other flexibility the higher end camera's offer.
Price cap is right around a grand (a bit over is fine if there is a standout camera for a few hundred more). The array of choices in this price range is overwhelming. Been looking at CNet and some other tech sites, but I'd appreciate some suggestions from the camera guys here.
bfauska:
I haven't used any of the others so my statement is only that the Canon DSLRs seem great to me. I picked up the first digital rebel the EOS300d about 3 years ago and have been happy with it ever since. My wife is also greatly enjoying photography lately and we actually have 4 of her photo's framed in our house, the prints are 12"x18" and look like they came from a film camera. The 300d is only 6.7mp and the new 450d is something like 10 so the ability to crop and or enlarge an image is amazing. The camera's automatic modes offer great reliability and the manual modes are plenty versatile for work up to the entry level professional professional. I really think that Canon does a good job of leaving most of the quality and versatility in their consumer cameras and making the jump from consumer to pro more about durability and a few high end upgrades rather than selling the consumer some watered down several year old technology in a DSLR case.
I have also found that www.dpreview.com is a great source of reviews and sample images for nearly every digital camera worth looking at.
mpm32:
We just got a Canon XTi. Awesome camera even in point and shoot mode. We had a digital elf before that and the great thing about the slr is shutter lag is non-existant. The kit lens is ok but I'm reading the camera really shines with better glass and I'm looking at getting the 70-300 is lens next.
cdbrown:
I got one of these recently and have been blown away with the quality of shots. I don't really even know what I'm doing but I'm glad I spent a little more and got this over the canon 350. The lense kit is good quality and the camera functions are mind blowing.
crashwg:
I've been looking at getting a DSLR in the very near future also.
THIS WEBSITE HERE has given me MORE than enough information to make my decision.
That link is directly to a comparison between a few different models. Do browse the rest of his site though as it has a wealth of information.
By the way, reading everything I have on that site has led me to the decision of getting a Nikon D300. It's got a few more features than the D200 for a couple hundred dollars more. My next choice after that would be the D80 which has yet a few less features than the D200 (most of which the average user wouldn't notice) but is significantly less expensive.
To sum up a lot of what is on the site, the top cameras for DSLRs are Nikon and Cannon. Cannons have a marginally better picture quality which isn't noticeable unless you're blowing stuff up to like 20"+ and Nikons are more user friendly with features more commonly used accessible without navigating menues.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version