Good Quality Dslr Camera

[MavericksMission]

Hello Fellow DOLers..

I'm looking into getting my first ever DSLR camera.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good quality camera for beginners?

My price range would probably bee maybe $1800 max..

I'm after a camera which will be good for capturing animals (sitting, running, jumping.. so on )

Any recommendations would be wonderrrrrrful!

[Mim]

I am a total beginner and have no experience with other DSLRs but can tell you about the one I have. It's a Nikon D3000, have had it for a few weeks and it is fantastic. So simple to use and gives nice clear shots. The aim was to get a camera that will take nice pictures of the dogs (mainly) and this does the job. I really want to get a macro lens now though to take super close up pictures or plants and things, that will be fun.

I haven't done anything other than the auto setting but there are lots of things to play around with and the manual that comes with it explains all of the options well.

Some sites:

http://www.nikon.com.au/productitem.php?pid=1330-ae86b1ea79

http://www.cnet.com.au/nikon-d3000-339297635.htm

We bought this camera really cheap from Harvey Norman. I think it was $700 plus lens and memory card prices. A guy at another camera store told us that Harvey Norm was selling it so cheap they wouldn't be making a profit so it was a bargain.

[Firestone]

Today I got my first SLR and I am loving it. I know nothing as started asking here.

I got mine today at Harvey Norman a Canon 450D SLR with a twin lens kit and extended 2 year warranty. I have saved for a while for this but so far I am loving it. It was on sale and great value on comparison to other stores.

Sorry forgot to add I got the camera, twins lens kit, extended warranty, memorycard, lens filter, LCD screen protectors for $1550.00

Edited March 11, 2010 by Firestone

[SchnauzerBoy]

Go to somewhere like Camera House where you can play with many different models and get the feel of them in your hands and try basic functions.

With a budget of $1800 you are probably looking along the lines of a body and either an all in one kit lens, or a body with a fast zoom lens for what you want to do.

I'd start with the following (prices show import pricing for best example of what you can do)

Canon -

500D (Basic beginners) $850

50D (A little better) $960

7D (Best) $1600 ($1950 kit package with an 18-135 IS)

Nikon

D3000/D5000 (Basic Beginners) $600

D90 (A lot better) $830

D300s (Best) $1650

With those you can either go for the equivalent 18-200 (IS or VR) depending on manufacture, or go for a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 for fast zoom but no wide angle.

Shop around and don't be afraid to use places like DWI who import (don't listen to everyone going on about warranties, canon is International and you can get MACK warranty for both aswell!)

However, you won't know until you put it in your hands and see what is comfortable.

IMHO the Nikon D90 with the 18-200 VRII which you can get for around $1600 (http://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/store/product.asp?idProduct=2415) is going to be the best for focus speeds, zoom range, crisp shots and so on. Canon heads will claim the 50D with the similar 18-200 IS (http://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/store/product.asp?idProduct=1787) is going to be good too - the choice will come down to feel in your hands.

There are sooooooo many review sites out there too... so take a read of them. The body is also just a start of a system too, canon/nikon/pentax/sony etc etc

[wuffles]

I have a Canon 1000D which is the most basic (and cheapest) Canon DSLR. I got the twin lens kit with IS which is great.

As a beginner I love it. The quality is so far above any compact digital cameras I have used and it does everything I want, mainly taking dog photos.

I went into a camera store and played around with all the models, researched the features and differences online, etc. In the end I went with the 1000D because I didn't need any of the extra features the better models had.

[MavericksMission]

Thanks everyone.

I will look into each of the cameras you have recommended and see which one would be best for me!

I am currently using an iPhone camera! So anything will be better..

xx

[DMA]

Hello Fellow DOLers..

I'm looking into getting my first ever DSLR camera.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good quality camera for beginners?

My price range would probably bee maybe $1800 max..

I'm after a camera which will be good for capturing animals (sitting, running, jumping.. so on )

Any recommendations would be wonderrrrrrful!

As SchnauzerBoy said, read around a number of the review sites. The one I respect the most is dpreview. They can be found here: http://www.dpreview.com/ They basically review everything, not just bodies but also lenses.

If you're looking at an internet purchase then don't forget eBay. There are some good stores there both domestic & international. Just a warning about international purchases though - any over $1 000au is likely to get both an import duty & GST added. So what may look like a bargan will end up no better than if you bought from a local eBay dealer. Having said that I've gotten some great bargans internationally, including my E-30 & 12-60mm lens, whilst I got my E-420 kit for $500 & my 18-180mm lens for also $500 locally.

Other than eBay (& the online shops lised by SchnauzerBoy), give JB hifi a serious look. They can be found here: http://www.jbhifi.com.au/photo/digital-cameras/

Personally I wouldn't touch Harvey Normal with a 10 foot cattleprod as they'll worm their way out of their warranty give half a chance. It cost me a $1 000 computer earlier this year & I'll have nothing to do with them, or any of their subsidiaries, ever again.

I won't join the "oh buy my brand bandwagon" as, IMHO, one mid-range DSLR brand is just about as good as anyone elses. So you've got Olympus, Pentax, Sony, Nikon & Canon all offering very good product in repsect to the budget you've got. All have their strengths & weaknesses. What I'd recommend is going to a camera shop & picking them up, get a feel for them, check out how easy/complicated they are to operate, then buy the one you like the best (albeit maybe not at the shop but online ). What I will also suggest is don't get a level entry camera, given what you've said what you want to do with it. Not only will you find it wanting, but you'll then have to spend a lot more money getting the camera you will be satisfied with. So here's a few more DSLRs to consider that haven't been mentioned already:

Olympus E-620 or the E-30. If you love the "field of depth" effect, with photography, get Olympus.

Sony Alpha α 500 or a 700.

Pentax K-7

Edited March 12, 2010 by DMA

[kja]

Olympus E-620 or the E-30. If you love the "field of depth" effect, with photography, get Olympus.

I don't understand this...can you explain please?

OP - don't forget to consider lenses when making your purchase because eventually you are going to want more lenses and you really don't want to start over with a new system. Just have a look through prices and some of what's available - certain lenses are only offered for certain mounts (ie Canon or Nikon or Pentax etc) while some mounts (in particular, Nikon & Canon) have a massive number of options both of their own brand and in third party lenses. Third party lenses can not only offer some things that the manufacturer brands can't, but you can also find excellent options for less cash

A great place to start is here on the forum or over at POTN's lens archive - the archive has each lens listed and then tons of photo examples and comments from real world users inside the individual thread. Most lenses that are listed for Canon there are also available for Nikon, more or less. Don't worry about understanding it all or about choosing right now so much as just clicking a few random threads with different focal lengths so you can get an idea of what is available. Look at something really wide like 10-22, 11-16 - then something in the middle like 30, 50, 85 - a couple of zooms like 70-200 (there are about five different ones at all price points) and 18-55 ... that will help you get a feel for what you'll see through the viewfinder when you use different lenses.

I know it seems overwhelming, but seriously you can't go too far wrong choosing an slr body from any of the big guys - they all do a good job and will give you at least a couple of years before you begin to outgrow them, if you even do.

[mish13]

I went to Teds camera house to buy my first DSLR and the reason I chose them is because they let me take the camera home and try it. So I took three different cameras home for two weeks each and got to play with them.

I ended up with the Sony A350 and loved it but after a year I just wanted to jump to a slightly higher level. So I sold my A350 on ebay with one lens and I brought the Sony A700 from Hong Kong. It ended up costing me about $300 to get the new camera which fitted all the extra lens that I accumulated over the 12 months.

I have picked up some good lens on EBay and now pretty much have all my needs covered.

Good luck in your search and as a few others have said go and play around with a few different brands and see what suits you.

[DMA]

Olympus E-620 or the E-30. If you love the "field of depth" effect, with photography, get Olympus.

I don't understand this...can you explain please?

Really? I thought it was "notorious" in respect to the four-thirds system due to the x2 magnification effect by the very basis of the fourthirds system, ie over exaggerated focal length that's automatically inherent in every E system & the Panasonic equivalent(s).

Edited March 12, 2010 by DMA

[DMA]

Olympus E-620 or the E-30. If you love the "field of depth" effect, with photography, get Olympus.

I don't understand this...can you explain please?

Really? I thought it was "notorious" in respect to the four-thirds system due to the x2 magnification effect by the very basis of the fourthirds system, ie over exaggerated focal length that's automatically inherent in every E system & the Panasonic equivalent(s).

Huh? You can change the depth of field dramatically on every DSLR just by changing the aperture and/or lens (as not all lenses will accommodate as shallow a depth of field as other lenses).

I'm aware of that, but the fourthirds system is biased towards FOD before you make the appropriate changes. In other words, fourthirds is x2 magnifcation over film, whilst everyone else I know is x1.4 magnification. Consequentially the focal length, a major calculation for FOD as it's just not aperture, of fourthirds means to say, before a photo is even taken, has fourthirds already 0.6 biased over everyone else.

In other words, if you've got your 1000D with 100mm lens, whilst I've got my E-30 with the same focal length, what really happens is your lens is 140mm & mine is 200mm. Then comes the following FOD aspects:

g = object distance

b = image distance

f = focal length

k = aperture number (f number)

z = circle of confusion diameter

So if everything is exactly the same, I will nonetheless get greater FOD because the E-30 has the 0.6 bias by the very nature of the fourthirds system.

And admittedly I've gone completely Sorry

Edited March 12, 2010 by DMA

[kja]

OK, before everyone gets completely lost, a nitpicky thing... it is not FOD, it's DOF for Depth of Field. It is important to get terms correct or that in itself can lead to all sorts of confusion.

Also, the 1000D (450d, 40D, 50D, 7D) is a 1.6, not a 1.4 crop sensor. My 1DIII is a 1.3 crop. The Canon 5D is a full frame. I'm not sure where you got 1.4 from coz afaik Canon don't offer a 1.4.

As for the rest, hhmmmK - I don't even see an equation and don't really follow your explanation. BUT it is completely OT so we perhaps might want to make a whole other thread because imho it's not at all relevant to the OPs question really :D

Hmmm, or are you talking about FOV which is field of view?? That's a totally different thing and kinda makes more sense to me with your explanation...

Edited March 12, 2010 by kja

[kja]

dupe...

Edited March 12, 2010 by kja

[DMA]

Oh I keep getting FOD/DOF back the front. Seriously I do it all the time. Call me dyslectic...

Yes I was trying to keep my explaination "basic", even though the issue isn't, so please forgive the exact technical details over whether it was 1.3/1.4/1.6. But I was lead to believe it was 1.4 magnification, for almost everyone else, apart from the 1D's & D3's of this world. Anyways forgive that mistake.

Now I know we're OT so I'll keep is short. Because fourthirds has this magnification bias, fourthirds will always, given the same thing is done with lens, aperture, etc, with a non-fourthirds camera, the focal length will be inheritably greater on the fourthirds camera due to the greater magnification bias. Consequentially it'll have more DOF as a result. Furthermore, regardless what a non-fourthirds camera operator tries to do to overtake a fourthirds camera operator, in respect to DOF, if the fourthirds camera person duplicates the same settings, using the same length lens, the fourthirds camera will always give more DOF.

And, for the record, I've never understood the circle of confusion business, to be honest, even after 39 years of photography :D Rather I just do distance to subject, focal length, & aperture calculation.

So to get back on topic, MavericksMission if you don't want the Depth of Field effect, or you want it limited, don't get Olympus. Otherwise consider it if you do love Depth of Field

[kja]

FWIW most people believe that the ability to obtain shallower depth of field is more desirable than greater depth of field. One can always stop down a lens to achieve greater depth of field and even the cheapest of lenses do a pretty good job on that end of the spectrum but being able to open it up to get razor thin & sharp goodness is what you pay the big bucks on fast lenses for.

[DMA]

FWIW most people believe that the ability to obtain shallower depth of field is more desirable than greater depth of field. One can always stop down a lens to achieve greater depth of field and even the cheapest of lenses do a pretty good job on that end of the spectrum but being able to open it up to get razor thin & sharp goodness is what you pay the big bucks on fast lenses for.

Which are good points, especially when we're recommending a DSLR to a first timer, in the price range that MavericksMission budgeted.