Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Digital SLR Camera advice

Dear Axiom BB'ers:

I am looking for some advice about Digital SLR Cameras.

I own a 35-mm Canon Rebel EOS, but I havent use it for a good time now (past 3 years at least). Learning curve was too slow, as developing film times and money invested on film and developing was growing too fast, at least faster that I was learning. Plus the infinite note taking for each frame to keep track of the settings... blah blah blah..

I have a friend that changed his SLR for a D-SLR and the learning curve has been just great ! In months time, and just with some books out of Amazon.com, he is shooting terrific pictures!! He uses a Nikon D80.

Before taking the plunge in a D-SLR, I will like to get some feebdack from the D-SLR users on this BB (I trust Axiom members a lot, as I got always help from this BB with setting up my HT).

I see on the web discussions about CANON vs NIKON entry level D-SLR. Any hints, tips, advices, or anything I should know before going into D-SLR, will be highly appreciated.

Thanks and Regards.

If you have a Canon EOS already, you probably already have a lens or two. If that's the case, I'd get a Canon, probably a Rebel XT. I have that camera (and an older EOS 7e), and I love it. Very easy to use, and when you want to get more advanced, you can. The manual's pretty good, too.

I would view lens selection (or those that you already have) as a leader in your choice. This is unless you are going pro level in a D-SLR.

FYI: I did some research into getting one. The sensors they use are not of the same size as a 35mm frame. Thus your focal lengths for your lenses need to be adjusted for (they are all longer by a factor of roughly 1.4 to 1.5).

The only one that didn;t do this when I last researched was the top of the line Canon (a pretty pricy item).

Yeah, I don't see any reason to move up the line from the Rebel XT unless you are very, very serious about photography. Adam, feel free to tell me I'm full of it.

My sister bought the Digital rebel XTi, Lets just say I wish i had the $700 or whatever it is to pony up for one myself. Very nice camera. Although It doesnt seem to take good pictures in low light conditions, That or I just dont know how to use it. With the right lighting though it takes awesome pictures!

I just went through this last summer. I researched and studied and went to camera shops to touch and feel each offering. There’s really quite a bit to this and you owe it to yourself to do some research. Opinions are great, but they are typically jaded towards that individual’s personal preference. In other words, my opinion stinks just as much as anyone else’s.

When I was doing my research, I found out that DSLR’s were first developed for existing SLR owner / users in mind. The DSLR body was designed to work with the existing crop of lenses being used for SLRs. When they did this, it came with limitations that ultimately affected the sensor. More importantly, the sensor size. With the exception of the pro grade DSLR’s and DSLR’s built on the 4/3's platform, the sensor size was reduced. I do not profess to know all the intricate details of this sacrifice, it was one that bothered me and ultimately led me to purchase a camera built on the 4/3’s platform. I chose this platform over a full sized pro model because I tend to take my camera everywhere I go, including hiking adventures. A full sized camera is simply just too big for that, and even more weight when packing extra lenses around (then there's the tripod...ugg). Additionally, the 4/3’s platform was designed from the ground up around the sensor. The body was built first, then the lenses to the body size. There were no sacrifices made. For more information around this, visit four thirds dot com. http://www.four-thirds.org/en/about/index.html

The camera I ended up with is the Olympus Evolt 510. It is physically the same size as the Rebel and small Nikon, but when holding it and the Canon and Nikons, it is definitely more robust, and in my opinion, better built. It also has in body image stabalizaion; a dust shaker that fires every time the camera is turned on, it has a live pre-view. And, I just liked the button layout better. After shooting several thousand shots with camera, I have grown to really enjoy it but I have also found some limitations that have inspired me to look at other cameras. One glaring limitation is it only has three focal points. While three is enough for the majority of shots I take, it sucks for taking portrait (vertical) shots. You have to center the subject as the focal points are horizontal. Another limitation is it only has one adjustment dial that you can select to use for either aperture size or shutter speed. When shooting manual, this sucks. I would like to have two dials.

The camera that I have decided to purchase when I can scrape up enough money is the new Olympus E-3. It is a pro grade camera built on the 4/3’s platform. It has more focal points, two adjusting dials, weather proof, an articulating live veiw, and improved high ISO performance over the 510. Olympus has also introduced some very attractive fast lenses including the; 12-60, 50-200. Oly also has probably one of the very best wide angle lenses on the market, the 7-11. As one would expect, the E-3 is not cheap. The body is around $1700, the 12-60 is about $1000 and the 50-150 is around $1300. The 7-11 is even more…..

But, you can find the E-510 fairly cheap and I think it’s a great little camera. You can get it in a two lens package for under $700. The two lenses in the package are a 14-42 and a 40-150. Both are good lenses and very light.

To end the ramble, I suggest you visit a few camera shops and play with all the offerings. I don’t think it really matters which brand / model you go with and they will all take great pictures once you learn how to use it and what limitation each one has. I know my 510 will take a better picture than my humble talents will allow.

I wanted a new Canon digital SLR until i seen how big they are. What i realy wanted was camera that would take photos when i wanted it to.

My old Canon Power shot 3.2 took forever to power up and take the shot! Missed a few good shots !

I picked up this http://www.canon.ca/english/index-products.asp?lng=en&prodid=1242&sgid=23&gid=2&ovr=1

Good post. My photography (other than casual) pretty much cease back in 2002 when my house was broken into. While I had a nice 35mm SLR (Nikon 8008S) I really liked my lenses:

24 2.8 AF Sigma
28-70 2.8 AF Sigma
90 1:1 Macro 1.8 AF Sigma
80-200 2.8 AF Nikon

as I recall

Can you tell I like fast lenses
Off side is size (think the smallest filter I had was 72mm) and weight.

Everyone likes fast lenses.

Not too sure on that, tons of f3.5-4.5 or f4.5-5.6 lenses are sold.

Often I find these people are not using apertures in the artist composition (you know, I want all of it sharp and in focus) or aren't realizing they can crop afer the fact and trying to buy a long lens with a priority only on the focal length.

I was browsing some camera magazine just a week ago while waiting at an airport for my flight to board, and they had all sort of "professional" grade camera reviews and such of D-SLR cameras, but they were in the $4000+ range. Then they had a good article about what they called the "best" "entry level" D-SLR camera. All I remember is that it was the Sony Alpha 200. I didn't remember what they liked and didn't like about it because I can't afford right now to drop the cash on a D-SLR, and like I said, I was just killing time at the airport.

Just my 2 cents...

Light travels through all lenses at virtually the same speed. They're not fast, they're wide....

So would you call a 400mm f/2.8 lens wide? Its field of view is only 5 degrees.

In this case fast refers to the faster shutter speeds available that wouldn't be with smaller apertures. And fast can also refer to the autofocus speed. And I don't know anyone who prefers a lens that takes forever to gain focus.









It's a Trumpeter Swan.
[/inside joke]

I have the Nikon D40 which I'm totally happy with. It's an excellent camera and for the price, you can't beat it. If you invest in the additional 18-200mm lense, you will have one fantastic camera that will last you a long time. The learning curve for the camera is pretty easy as well.

You might want to check out dpreviewfor camera reviews.

I agree with Mike; everybody's opinion sucks exactly the same amount.

No, seriously, the Canon, Nikon or Olympus DSLR's will all take great pictures. In addition to Ken's point about lenses, scrutinize how intuitive the user interface is (if you're used to the way Canons "work", it might be difficult to get used to a different OS). Also, like Mike said, take time to actually hold the cameras you're considering. My father-in-law loves his Nikon, but he got it primarily because my Canon was simply too small for his hands. Likewise, his D-100 feels bulky to me.

We also have a smaller point-and-shoot so that we will continue to take pictures when we only want to carry a pocket-size camera.

I've had excellent experience with Canon products. The startup time on the Rebel XTi is practically instantaneous.

Good luck!

Tom has little girlie hands!

{snicker-snicker}

LOL!

Not True!

Well played, though

Ya know what they say about guys with small hands....


Small fingers?

I have really big shoes, though.

In fact, it's thanks to the size of his shoes that Tom found his wife.

Unfortunately their his wife's... ;-)