Mediocre DSLR ? advice

Placebo

Hey Guys,
i know this board gets this alot and ive read my reviews but i rather get some advice from the users themselves. I'm sick of getting prints so time to move digital, i dont feel that i'm a complete amateur so i dont want to invest in a "beginners" camera and have to sell it later on.

so Questions, Nikon or Canon

Budget varies, body+lense within 1k mark would be sweet but i could stretch to 1.5k MAX, i wouldnt be able to afford anymore as il be looking into buying a wide angle lense which will cost me.

1- Canon EOS 400D vs Canon 40D, 40D is double the price but they seem pretty similar except for the extra ordinary iso. I dont understand this "matrix" technology business eithertbh.....

2- Nikon D300

have a look at my flickr to see what type of photos il be going for, il be happy with a 50mm lense for some portraits, il move up from there.
I like this girls work http://complejo.deviantart.com/ [canon eos 30D although it doesnt REALLY show]

basically want something which will capture what i see [colour wise] evening/nightshots, less photoshop the better, whitecolor balance/contrast/curves within cam would be a great bonus, i think all contendors above have them anyway.

Photography will stay a hobby, so if i can achieve what im going for with even a 400D, no point shelling money out on a nikon d300 is there?

thanks for reading.

Fajitas!

If you know what you're doing, which you do, the 40D would be a much better option.

Or a second hand 5D - Jesus, I think even new 5D's are gone someplace within your price range these days. You've got fantastic quality there.

311

I just checked WWW.AC-FOTO.COM and the 5D is €1949

Thats pretty good.

Fenster

Off the top of my head, the 40D offers the following advantages over the 400D:

Bigger buffer
Higher resolution.
LCD LiveView for easy shooting from awkward angles
High-speed shutter mode (really incredibly handy for any live action)
Slightly better weather sealing and ruggedness
Greater ISO range. In addition to ISO 3200, you have other ISOs such as 1250, 500, 320, etc. It gives you excellent ISO control compared to the 400D.
More custom functions than the 30D.
More AF points
Spot metering

And more! The extra features more than make up for the price. I know I had absolutely no regrets when I moved from a 400D to a 30D.

Roen

I was actually looking at your photos earlier actually coincidentally enough.

I'd go for the D300 or 40D as you know what you want from the camera and you definitely
No one can see into the future so God knows what'll tickle your fancy in the months or years to come and there's less chance of you 'growing out' of either of those two.
Budget would be the main deciding point between the two. And only you can answer that!

Never mind photoshop, how much or little you use is entirely up to you. The point of a Dslr is to take photographs, not to produce digital putty to be moulded later by PS. Out of the 18 pics on the front page of my Flickr at the moment try pick the two that were actually photoshopped. And I'm not talking about saving them for the web in PS either, cos that shows up in the meta data

Placebo

Thanks Fajistas, 40D seems the popular choice around here, not sure if il be into a 2nd hand one, news not far off either, body 1.5k ebay price.

Fenster i did read up on them but i would really use it for live action shots and wouldnt use the lcd either still superior to 400D i suppose

Roen, D300 has a nice feature where you can dedicate points for your Dept of feild ! seems incredible. Although it does stretch my budget to its limits aswell.
Some nice D300 shots here
actually the only reason im sick of film is that my recent batch from paris did not develop well, i got negatives only and scanned them in friends film scanner and they were very brown, adjusting the curves turned them into photoshoped junk. I despise it, love my filters
id like to nominate judith in berlin and "I" but seeing as youre using a 5D i bet im completley wrong :S

Roen

Ha
I can see this one descending out of control soon. So I'll wish you the best of luck with your decision.
And remember you can only get the DoF your lenses will allow you to get. That's why I'm not far from debtors prison on any given week.

**EDIT** the landscape crop of 'Gougane Barra', 'Charlotte's Stair', and whoops, I admit to a third, 'Flowers are nicer than humans' were my PS butcher jobs.

ThOnda

And what about Pentax K10D? Price is very good and there are only few specs worse than at 40D.

kensutz

40D would be a step up for me and if I can get one asap it would be even better. Realistically I aim to get a 5D but if I get a 40D to last the year and spoil myself in NY in November I'll be happy.

Paulw

The 40D is certainly a brilliant camera. Full of features and functions. Well worth checking out. It has certainly a lot more to offer than the 400D.

Borderfox

I have said it before and I will say it again, if I had a go of a 5d when I started photography I would have sold other gear to get it. An incredible picutre taking machine