DSLR camera recommendations

[gsganzer]

My wife is showing interest in photography and is interested in getting a DSLR camera. Any one have any experience and can recommend a camera? I've had some folk recommend a Canon T3i, Sony A37 or a Nikon D90

I don't know enough about them to make an intelligent decision.

 

[caps]

I'm partial to Nikons due to their durability. Not familiar with the D90 but the D5100 is a good entry level DSLR. The D3100 is ok too but has less features. There are comparison charts that you can access from a google search - just search for "Nikon D5100 compared to a ......" and you can get a chart of features. The T3i is a decent camera - my son has one and is happy with it but I like the Nikon better. I know it is subjective but it feels more comfortable. My favorite camera of all time was my old Nikon F (35mm) that I bought in 1970 and used for 20 years while in the military and 10 years as a contractor. I sold it to a journalist from NY for more than I paid for it in 2001. Probably belongs in a museum now but I kinda wish I had it back.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Most tractor drivers are going to be partial to the camera they own, or have owned. DSLR's (or SLT's) are many and varied. What is suitable for me may not be the one for you. For something like this, it is best to research on-line using websites that have good reputations. I'm sure there are folks here who are knowledgeable but none have the time and resources to put together something that will give you a comprehensive picture of what is out there. One of the best sites can be found here: Digital Photography Review

I would never buy a camera because someone here had "good luck" with it. :thumbsup:

 

[Fossil Farm]

I've been involved in photography for 40 years. I have a Canon G11, Nikon D50 and Nikon D7000. I have Minolta film cameras. Of course Sony bought them out and I wasn't sure if they would continue with the camera line, so I switched. Canon and Nikon are the standard. Of course DSLR's are expensive, much more so than film cameras. Until she really knows what she wants to do, I would suggest something like the Canon G11 (G12 now). You can easily get $3000 or more invested in DSLR's real quickly. Don't get hung up on megapixles that much, especially starting out. Anything over 10 MP is fine. The size of the sensor is actually more important, but I won't get too deep. Get a camera with a viewfinder like the G11 or 12 and let her experiment. If she really gets into it, then she will have a better feel of what DSLR she will want. She may want to pick up a film SLR to practice with also, since they are so cheap now, just to get a better feel of how an SLR works and what can be done with it. If she only wants point and shoot, a G12 type camera is more than enough. Good luck.

 

[riptides]

Focus on a good camera body, put your money in lenses. (no pun intended)

We have always had Nikons. We still have our 10 year old ++ (original battery) Nikon D50. Last I checked over 20k pictures went through it.

A good camera I am not afraid to drop or go missing. Easy for everyone to use. I think it is classified below their professional series.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

What kind of experience and camera does your wife have? Does she think this is going to be a long term interest? Hate to see someone spend the BIG $$$ and find out a couple yrs down the road this hobby is not what they thought.

If your wife is moving out of the point and shoot stage and wanting something that offers a lot more, one possibility it to look at a cross-over, bridge models. These have most of the features you'll find on a DSLR but they don't have interchangeable lens. They can be had for a few hundred $ so if the interest doesn't last, you're not out the >$1k plus for decent lenses. Also gives the wife time to refine what she wants in a better camera.

I know where my interest are and have found these bridge models fills the bill for me. My current camera has useable features my sister's DSLR camera doesn't have such as electronic level.

 

[houstonscott]

Before you buy explore the new 4/3 camera's. The olympus penn leads in this area and is the new cutting edge stuff in camera's. If you travel and size and weight are important, these 4/3 camera's you might find blow away a big heavy SLR's and are replacing them in many cases. Look at these hard before you buy an SLR.

HS

 

[TripleR]

Agree with Mickey_fx, my daughter uses a high end Canon as she uses it on several projects and my son uses one just below it for his college projects. I use a Canon EOS as it works well and I don't do a lot of specialized stuff though I have quite a few options. You can spend a boat load of money on these things when a cheaper model will meet your needs.

 

[SLHawkins]

Definitely go online and research what fits your desires/requirements. The difference between megapixels within a camera range are minimal. I am very pleased with both my Nikon CoolPix D7100(~$500; though, I recommend going with the D7700 due to the rotating flip screen) and my recently purchased Nikon D5100 (~$900 bundled with case and telephoto lens from best buy). The D7100 is my 'compact' camera when I am on the go and working in the field around the farm. It has the scene settings and effects, as well as, video capability. It has setting for Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or completely manual. The D5100 is for when I want to do more deliberate/sophisticated photography. It has a few more scene and effects settings. Neither camera is complex. But, you must read and practice to become proficient with it. Talk to any experienced photographer and they will all tell you-if you want to get better, take more pictures. Plus, you can find all sorts of tips and tutorials on youtube. The lens cover is a little weak on the D7100. However, Nikon did cover the repair under warranty. hopefully, the improved it on the D7700. If you have any specific questions, drop me a note-Hawk

 

[dmccarty]

Some very good advice so far.

For very good Nikon reviews and advice, Thom Hogan's Nikon Camera, DSLR, Lens, Flash, and Book site. Hogan really likes the 4/3 cameras.

What camera to buy, like buying tractor, depends on the usage. DSLRs are computers to which lenses are attached. Lens technology moves at a very slow pace compared to DLSRs. DSLR's are adding functionality at a rapid rate while lenses pretty much stay the same. I have lenses from SLR's I bought in the early 90s that I am still using on my D800. I bought a new zoom lens a few years ago which covered the range on a prime lens I owned. I think I payed $700 for the prime lense in the mid/late 90's and I used it as a trade in for the D800 DSLR. I think I cut about $450 for it as a trade in. I might have gotten more selling on Craigslist. About the time I bought that $700 lens I bought a F100 SLR. I think I paid $1200 for the F100, but when I sold it, I got $200. I should have sold it much sooner since I would have gotten more money for it.

I just sold a D700 that was three years old to buy the D800. I think I got about $1500 for the D700 but I believe I paid $2,500 for the camera when new.

Cameras will drop in price/value very quickly. The value on a lens, especially pro quality lenses, drop very slowly.

I don't like Canon. They burned me and my father years ago which is why I used Nikon today. If I had bought Nikon back in the 80's, I would still be using the lenses I bought back then on today's DLSRs. However, other people will swear at Nikon like I swear at Canon. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Nikon released some less expensive F/4.0 lenses that seem to be pretty good if a F/2.8 lens is not needed. Canon had/has a better F/4.0 set of lenses compared to Nikon.

I only have two zoom lenses and three primes. Primes are light and cheap compared to zoom lenses. It used to be that primes also provided much better image quality but on today's top of the line zoom lenses I don't think that is always true anymore. Over the holiday, I used all of my lenses except one AND I used a rental lens. Two of those lenses I bought back in the mid 90s to use on an SLR. Depending on your wifey's needs I would seriously look at prime lenses. They are much cheaper, lighter and provide excellent image quality.

You might also want to consider renting, LensRentals.com - Rent Lenses and Cameras from Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, Leica, and more. I have used this company a couple of times this year and they have impressed me. You rent the equipment, I always buy the insurance, and they ship it to you with a return label. You use the equipment and when done, box the equipment back in the box, slap on the label and drop the box off at the shipping company. Pretty danged easy.

Besides a camera and lens, you need to consider photo processing software. When I first moved to digital, my photos were ok. No worse than film. When I FINALLY figured out to use my photo software, I was very happy. Which image processing software to use, causes bigger "fights" than Canon vs Nikon or Green vs Blue vs Red tractor colors. :laughing::laughing::laughing: I use Nikon Capture NX 2. It does what I want it to do for the most part but it has not had a major upgrade in years. People are worried that Nikon will not provide an update but who knows. Nikon has always been and still is very secretive about future products. The lens I have been renting is very long in the tooth and it is shocking that the lens has not be upgraded. I searched some photo websites and people were swearing that the lens would finally be updated in by Christmas. Christmas of 2009! :shocked: Rumors this year were the lens would be updated by XMAS 2012. Still no lens. :shocked:

Anywho, which image software you use is important too. Photo editing can make or break an image.

Image quality on even SmartPhones is pretty danged good if the equipment is used within reason. What camera to buy really depends on what problem is being solved. I worked on a photo project last spring and one of the best images was taken with a very cheap consumer all in one camera/lens. The lady was in the right place at the right time.

What does the wifey want to do with the camera?

Later,
Dan

 

[/pine]

You might benefit from some reading on photography forums...not to demean TBNers...but I would research where professional photographers post their opinions...

 

[Tollster]

I sell locally and have been taking photos since 89. I am kin to Nikon as well, mostly because the lenses I used on my 35MM back in 89 still work on my DSLR today. The Nikon bayonet mount has been around for a long time, although the metering has changed somewhat over the years, however, the newer DSLR's took that into account and has settings that will work with glass going back to the 50's. So buying lenses on ebay is not out of the question, good glass will cost as much as the camera body.
Canon lenses have changed over the years, and their auto focus motor is also in the lense which is why they do not carry over, not sure how far back you can use the same glass with the newer bodies though.
None the less, its something you have to keep in mind.I shoot the 2/3rds frame D300 now, but all my full frame glass from my F-5 fits, and metering is the same.
Image quality is about the same.
You can get good user feedback at the nikoncafe.com
I think there are some sections that pertain to specific models there. I belong to the site and have found it the most informative Nikon site, with some very knowledgeable folks there...they are also friendly without the ego.
Good Luck

 

[gsganzer]

What does the wifey want to do with the camera?

Dan,
Thanks, you gave some good advice. We've had a number of point and shoots which have mainly been Canon's. Our latest is actually a Casio Exilim 14.1 megapixel with a 10x optical zoom. It actually takes great pictures, especially in low light, and has some great "scenes" that simplify photo taking. I buy most of my optics from Doug at CameraLand New York, including scopes, bino's, camcorders and cameras. He's been great at giving advice and had some recommendations on the latest. What's always good about the TBN croud is you get advice in laymans terms, not all the technical jargon.

The wife's looking to upgrade her photo taking skills on our travels. She'll be in Hawaii on business for a few weeks at the end of January, we also have a trip to Italy planned for late spring and maybe a trip to New Zealand in 2014, so most of the photos are outdoors of sights, scenery and wildlife.

I understand on the pricing. I'm looking at a mid-entry level body. I'll need to look at the 4/3 cameras, hadn't heard of them before.

 

[houstonscott]

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=related&v=WUKO-RM1JCM

HS

 

[grsthegreat]

I went with the Canon EOS 50D myself. I didnt bother with the package deals out there, cause the packages lenses typically suck.

My camera body was the cheapest part of the deal. My lenses are F2.8 IS USM motion stabilized lenses. My largest 70-200 F2.8 lens cost nearly 3 times what the camera body cost. but the images are amazing.

Heres a picture from about 100-120 feet away with the 70-200 lens. I mean you can read the tag number on the horse. a moving horse. I just LOVE this camera.

 

[Alan L.]

My son has a Canon T3i. It takes excellent pictures with the consumer grade lenses that he has - 18-55, 55-250, and 50mm. A much much better camera than the original Rebel, and we are talking maybe $800 for the camera and all these lenses. This might be a good starting point as opposed to the very expensive full frame cameras. Does a fine job at high ISOs, something Canon is known for.

 

[RobertN]

You'd like the trips my friend and instructor does. We went on her Alaska trip in '01.
Betty Sederquist

There's links in there for classes and equipment.

The kayaker at the top of the page is me. the picture made it in to the 2002 Deager kayak catalog. I had never kayaked before!
Dolphin Charters Trip 2001

FWIW, I would look in to local photography classes and clubs. Maybe get a nice used body.

I believe the lenses can be more important than the body. You can put a good lens in front of a cheap body and get good photos. But, you can put a cheap lens on a really good body, and only get mediocre pictures at best. Good glass, and big apertures(ie 2.8's)

On our Alaska trip, my 80-200/2.8 was the workhorse. Some lighting conditions required that fast aperture.

The wife's looking to upgrade her photo taking skills on our travels. She'll be in Hawaii on business for a few weeks at the end of January, we also have a trip to Italy planned for late spring and maybe a trip to New Zealand in 2014, so most of the photos are outdoors of sights, scenery and wildlife.

I understand on the pricing. I'm looking at a mid-entry level body. I'll need to look at the 4/3 cameras, hadn't heard of them before.

 

[dmccarty]

..
The wife's looking to upgrade her photo taking skills on our travels. She'll be in Hawaii on business for a few weeks at the end of January, we also have a trip to Italy planned for late spring and maybe a trip to New Zealand in 2014, so most of the photos are outdoors of sights, scenery and wildlife.

I understand on the pricing. I'm looking at a mid-entry level body. I'll need to look at the 4/3 cameras, hadn't heard of them before.

Since she is trying to upgrade her photo skills, think seriously of buying a used camera. I am lucky in that there are still a couple of camera stores locally, well, 30-60 minutes drive local :laughing:, and I would buy used equipment from them. That is saying something because I do NOT like buying used anything. I try to stay behind the technology curve as much as possible but with camera equipment, Nikon keeps figuring ways to get money out of my pocket. :shocked: However, inexpensive DSLRs can do things that were simply not possible in the film days...

By buying used you reduce your costs and it won't be painful if the camera is not used or if later she decides to buy a more expensive camera. The key thing with used cameras is the shutter count aka how many photos have been taken. The D700 shutter is rated for 150,000 photos and I had taken over 20,000. There was quite a bit of life left in the camera but the D800 had a couple of features I really really really wanted/needed so I traded up. Besides the shutter count, the problems to look for in a used camera are pretty much visible. Does the LCD have hot spots? Are there bad/hot pixels when taking a photo? Is the body in good condition? The camera store can tell you the shutter count and the camera might tell you somewhere in the menu system. On the latest Nikon's I have owned the shutter count can be found in the photo data.

There are two types of lenses today that she needs to know about. There are lenses designed to work on the APS film sized sensors, or as Nikon calls them, DX sized sensors. Then there are lenses for the full frame aka 35mm sized sensors aka FX in Nikon language. Old 35mm lenses will work on both FX and DX DSLRs. DX lenses can be problematic on FX DSLRs. My guess is that more and more DSLRs are going to move to full frame/FX as the sensor technology gets cheaper.

The DX vs FX sensor size is important not only because of the different lens types out there but also because the same lens works a bit differently on the different sensors. I have three prime lenses, a 24mm/F2.8, 50mm/F1.4, and a 105mm/F2.8. I would suggest getting a 24mm and 50mm lens to go with the camera. These lenses are very good for walking around type photography and landscapes, they provide danged good image quality and they are very inexpensive lenses. However, using those lenses on a DX camera gives a field of view of a 35mm, 75mm, and 150mm. I use the 24mm and 50mm lenses quite often and especially when travelling because they are small, light and I can carry the two lenses with a camera holster bag.

Wildlife photography is a different critter, pun intended. To get quality images you have to fill up the camera frame which usually requires a long lens and/or the ability to get close to the animal(s). It ain't easy. I have been renting a 300mm/F4.0 lens to use with a teleconverter to get a 420mm/F5.6 lens. This is sorta hand hold able. Sorta. For awhile. That is a small and light lens compared to a 300mm/F2.8 or 400mm/F2.8 lens much less the 500mm and 600mm lenses. These other lenses are much heavier and require excellent tripods and tripod heads which are very expensive.

I got a series of images with the 300mm/F4.0 and a 1.4 teleconverter last spring. I stood still, moving very little, for six hours to get a series of Osprey photos. The camera was setup on a tripod with a remote shutter release. Patience was a requirement. :laughing::laughing::laughing:



The other extreme from wildlife photography is closeup photography which is why I have the 105mm lens. With a macro/micro lens there are quite a few images that people simply do not see because the subjects are small. Macro/Micro photography will require a remote shutter release and a decent tripod though. But it opens up a very large number of photo opportunities that are all over the place. It ain't easy getting photos of birds that move around. Flowers don't move that much unless it is windy. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

A great place to learn photography, get reviews and advice is Photography community, including forums, reviews, and galleries from Photo.net. The website was one of the first websites on the web. It is ancient in Internet Time and has very active forum areas. The general photography information is very good as well. There are other sites out there but this is the best all around photo website I have found. The site can be a bit slow though. Digital Photography Review is another decent site. There is a guy name Ken Rockwell who has a site which I would use carefully. If looking for just specifications on equipment he is fine but he is a bit of an odd ball. The Hogan site I linked previously is much better for hands on reviews though it is mostly Nikon based.

Later,
Dan

 

[gsganzer]

The wife jumped "all in" and got a smoking deal on a Nikon D5100 . We were playing around with it last night and it's pretty impressive. It'd take me years to ever figure out what all it can do.

 

[Tollster]

The wife jumped "all in" and got a smoking deal on a Nikon D5100 . We were playing around with it last night and it's pretty impressive. It'd take me years to ever figure out what all it can do.

I am sure its a camera she can grow with and she'll be happy, now its lenses, software, tripods, remote shutter release, flash, filters, polarizers, back packs, and so on..... did I say Printer? I met to add that...congratulations, ya did good!