Advice on Digital SLR

Stephen P

I'm heading to New York in a couple of weeks and I'm seriously thinking about getting myself (IMO) a proper camera i.e a digital SLR that I can change lenses etc...
Up to now I'm used to compact digital camera's. What would everyone recommend for a first time user of a SLR? The type of shots I want to take are the ones you see of say a water fall and the water looks almost blurred and also be able to have the foreground image in focus and the background blurred.

I would appreciate all the advice I can get. I don't really have a budget in mind as I'm not sure how much camera's are in New York. If some of you can give links I'll do the research then on prices etc...

Thanks,
SP

brayblue24

I took the plunge this time last year from compact to DSLR. Went for a Canon 400D package in Dixon's. Got a good price but the Tamron lens that came with it is not great. I recommend the camera as a starter though. In the US its called the Rebel XTi. A friend of mine is in the States ATM armed with a shopping list from yours truly. He has got them all (at gret prices) here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

nilhg

Stephen

My prediction is that you will receive roughly 8 recommendations for Canon, and possibly 4 for Nikon, (though the Nikonites will later fall out over whether you should buy a D40s or not).:D:D

One or two independent souls may advise an Olympus or Pentax or Sony.


The truth is all of them are fine cameras and fine for the uses you propose, you should go around the camera shops here and handle all makes and see which feels comfortable to you. If any of your pals or relations have lenses they might share, that might push you one way or another.

Personally I'm on my second Olympus DSLR and couldn't be happier.

kmick

Best prices in the world I would say http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

If you want a good balance of quality and price either get the 400d or the D40x

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/494376-REG/Canon__EOS_Digital_Rebel_XTi.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/494401-REG/Nikon__D40x_Digital_Camera_Kit.html

Reviews here
Canon
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/
Conclusion if you cant be bothered reading
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/page29.asp

Nikon
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40x/
Conclusion if you cant be bothered reading
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40x/page27.asp

I have the old model of the canon called the 300d and it is brilliant. The final line of the D40x review

"..It would be hard to recommend one over the other and the answer would depend solely on your preferences (I'm calling it a draw)."

I would go with the Canon on the basis that some lenses will not autofocus with the Nikon. But I have a number of expensive prime lenses that tie me into Canon so make up you own mind. The Nikon is marginally cheaper.

If you choose the Canon dump the kit lens and buy (in order of affordability)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-USA/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12091-GREY/Canon_2506A002_Wide_Angle_EF_24mm.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/457678-USA/Canon_1258B002_70_200mm_f_4L_IS_USM.html

Thirdfox

I recently wrote a PM to someone who was interested in the D40 (not the X version) - wrote quite a lengthy response - hopefully it'll be helpful to you too:

thirdfox wrote:

Hi *****,

Good to know that you found my advice helpful. It's great to hear that you're interested in getting the D40.

Now in regards to lens choices... the 18-55 is quite a capable lens in my opinion. Small, light, cheap and offers a nice range; have you seen this thread? http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2055157628
pictures 1, 2 and 4 were taken with the 18-55.

I would normally recommend that you use the kit lens for a while and find out what you're missing before committing to new purchases but since prices in America are so cheap I would have to recommend the 55-200mm VR Nikkor (not the one you linked to in the B&H link - that was the older version (non-VR))

The new version has vibration reduction (what Canon calls Image Stabilisation - IS) And apparently performance has improved a bit too. This is another light lens that will perform superbly for its price (see pictures 3 and 5 from my thread above).

The optical performance and reach of the two lens combined would be greater than the 18-135mm (which doesn't have VR). Whether it is worth the trouble of changing lenses is down to you...

The "money no obstacle" would be to get the 18-200mm VR Nikkor...but that costs $800+ and optical performance is still not as good as the 18-55 and 55-200 combined.

Forgive me if I sound patronising but as I don't know whether you have had experience with film SLR before deciding to buy digital let me put down exactly what I would buy:
So I would get these two together:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...G_ED_AF_S.html
which should be around 528 euro...

you would want an external flash too (bounce flash will make your photos look so much more professional!)
SB-600 or SB-400 (400 made especially for D40, less functions but a lot smaller)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...peedlight.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...peedlight.html
...just to put this in context - in the recently closed down Jessops camera shop in Dublin the SB-600 cost E300+ here it cost less than E130.

You may also want a filter to protect your lens (this is a contentious issue with photographers and many say that putting extra glass in front of your lens reduces optical performance). I use a UV filter when shooting in rough conditions e.g. sea spray, sand, grit, smoke etc. Normally I wouldn't have one on (lens hood is a good protection device too).
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=&cltp=&clsgr=
the 52mm filters here will fit both the 18-55 and 55-200 lenses (the 18-135 uses a different size)

Tripod - I got a $6 cheap tripod from China - it does the job... but if you want to buy a good tripod then it's better to spend more now and have one that will last you a lifetime than to have to constantly upgrade. Of course having a VR lens means less tripod carrying

Remote shutter release - don't get the official Nikon one... just buy the cheapest programmable universal remote and set it to Sanyo TVs - Nikon cameras apparently believe that they're TVs too and work equally well with an uni remote...plus you'll have something to control your TVs too!

Don't forget a good memory card! I use a 1GB Sandisk Ultra II - that takes around 3-400 large JPEGs on the D40. Having a high speed card is important to ensure you get the best fps performance out of your camera (you will be able to shoot at 2.7 fps indefinitely with the Ultra II, lower performance cards will stop after 12-20 shots). It also makes transferring pictures from the card onto your computer a lot handier 2 minutes for a complete ultra 2 transfer... 10 minutes for a generic brand (figures just estimates).
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...arch&Q=*&bhs=t
you may want to get 2 x 1gb cards (one as back up). The D40 can take SDHC cards too (up to 8gb) but I just feel that's putting all my eggs in one basket!

Get a nice bag to hold all your gear too!

So...with all that you would definitely be approaching your E700 limit. You do not "need" the flash, tripod and remote so leaving them out you will probably only spend around E550.

I would not get this by the way:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html
as the 55-200 is the older one (without the extremely helpful VR).

I think a the two lens setup will be enough for most scenarios 200mm becomes 300mm in 35mm terms due to the crop factor and 300mm historically would be well into the telephoto area. Although the 70-300mm VR Nikkor is an even better option (if you have the cash!)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...arch&Q=*&bhs=t

General advice - hold the cameras - get one that you're comfortable with. The autofocus issue isn't that much of an issue since new Nikkor lenses all autofocus on the D40(x). Canon just changed over to motor in lens some 30(?) years earlier.

Stephen P

Thanks for all the indept replies. I will go through each and every link to read the reviews. I've had 2 Olympus compact digital camera's and found them very good so I'll have a look at Olympus too to see what they're like

Thanks again,
SP

Third_Echelon

When I got a DSLR I went for the Canon EOS 400d (Rebel XTi in US). I had Canon P&S cameras for a good few years before that and I was used to Canon functions and menu designs etc. I found the transition to the SLR pretty easy with regards to how to work the camera etc.

I'm guessing that you may find the same when it comes to Olympus cameras...

But, I cannot recommend the Canon enough. Great camera for starting off..

challengemaster

Third_Echelon wrote: »

When I got a DSLR I went for the Canon EOS 400d (Rebel XTi in US).But, I cannot recommend the Canon enough. Great camera for starting off..

+1