Which is the best budget digital SLR camera to buy? (must be SLR!!?

Answer 1

Get a Nikon D50. It has a few "consumer friendly" automatic modes, but still offers total photographic control when you are ready to take charge. Get a "decent" lens, such as their Nikkor AF-S 18-70 f/3.5-4.5G ED DX lens and not the "kit" lens. This pair will cost you less than $1,000 and you will be very happy with it. If you want more lenses for the same money, you can get this camera with two "kit" lenses that are decent, but not as good for the long haul as the one I mentioned. When you are ready to add lenses, the sky is the limit with Nikon. Get a 1 GB memory card, such as the Sandisk "Ultra" for decent write speed. You can get these in the $30 range. An "Extreme" is faster, but I doubt anyone would notice the difference except a pro.

Someone else wil undoubtedly recommend a similar Canon camera and I will not dispute that choice. I know Nikons and someone else knows Canons. Both are excellent cameras and you will never outgrow their system offerings.

Answer 2

A friend of mine told me the Nikon D50 is rubbish compared to the D70 (or D80 too, presumably), he looked at them both and ended up taking the D50 back, bought a D70 instead. You might be able to get a D70 cheaper since the D80 has come out, but beware that there isn't such a thing as a cheap DSLR lens, and that's what can make the difference between an average shot and a great shot.

They're all rather too bulky, heavy, and cumbersome for my liking, and the batteries last no time at all - give me a film SLR any day!

Answer 3

Your choices would be down to the Canon Rebel XTi ($800) or the Nikon D80 ($999). Both priced without lenses.

I wouldn't recommend other brands such as Olympus, Minolta or Pentax so much as 1.) You've limited choices in lenses and 2.) I don't see their digital systems to stick around as long as Canon or Nikon.

So Canon or Nikon? That's really down to personal preference. You really couldn't go wrong with either choices. It's not like choosing one over the other will allow you to take better pictures.

Also, when choosing your first SLR camera. Keep in mind that it's not really the camera that you'll be investing in. But rather, it's the lenses! Do your own Canon VS. Nikon research, find out which of the two brands fits your needs best. Good luck!

Answer 4

firstly, you need to stick to a particular budget and then ask yourself what do you want the camera to be capable for the price you're willing to pay. Remember that all cameras depreciate in value in much the same way as cars.
If your budget is say, £400, try to ensure that what you're buying is going to last you some years. You may want it to last at least 10 years given that you may want to replace it or buy another body in around 3 to 5 years, so make sure it's reasonably 'future proof', i.e. that you will still be able to buy lenses or other accessories for it and that they will still work. The digital camera market is fast moving with new models being released on a regular basis. Try, if you can, to go for one that's a recognised 'big name' such as Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma, and what was Minolta but now made by Sony, the alpha 100, may be a good buy. I have to be honest in saying that I don't think much of Olympus's E series (four thirds system) because I don't think it should have been foisted on the camera buying public.

Answer 5

Nikon D50.
You can get a Pentax for less, or an Olympus E500, and I'm sure some people will recommend them, but don't!
The Pentax cameras are fine but it makes more sense - and it's worth a few bucks - to go with Nikon for the incredible selection on lenses (used and new) and the unlimited upgrade path for your lenses and accessories. Also, if you decide to upgrade the body in a few years, you can be sure that Nikon will have something fantastic waiting for you and your lens collection... that's a pretty iffy proposition with Pentax. As for the Olympus E500, in addition to the Pentax drawbacks, that particular model has a 1.7 second start-up time and a tiny viewfinder. For me, a tiny viewfinder in itself would be a deal breaker.
The Nikon D50 goes for $550 for the body, or $700 with the 18-55mm kit lens. If you can spare the extra cash, get the Nikon 18-70mm lens instead ($310). It gives you extra range and much better image quality. (You can safely assume that the kit lens with every dSLR camera is a budget model.) Then add a 1GB Sandisk Extreme lll memory card, and you're set for about $900.

Answer 6

I have a Nikkon D50. Does all I could want it to do. Can be found for about $650 or so.

Check with pawn shops in your area. I saw a top of the line digital Cannon SLR at one not long ago for about 1/4 of what it would have gone for new.

Answer 7

A canon or pentax slr, with a long zoom, because im doing photography at school at the moment for gcse and they are the best type for me the best type cameras.

Answer 8

there are quite a number of models out there in the $600 to $1000 price range that are excellent. Each with their own features.

The Canon DRebel400 is certainly a contender, as is the Sony A100 or new Pentax K10D or K100Ds. The Nikon D80 is fantastic as well. There are really a lot to choose from and none of them are bad- it just all depends on which one feels right to you and which features are most important to you.

Answer 9

I am very very happy with my D50. Body, two lenses, bag and memory card for under $800 (cheaper now). A second card was $34, now sells for about $25.

If you want to see an example of what the D50 can do with a 18-55 kit lens, take a look at one of my shots:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pvera/255808459/

I shot that today at noon. I love my D50.

Answer 10

Currently, the best entry level dSLR camera is the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Buy it as the body only and get a better lens seperately.

http://dcresource.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=24712316
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=430123/search=EF+28-200mm
http://dcresource.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=152&sortby=popular-&vendors%5B%5D=0&popup1%5B%5D=10%3A105&popup1_attr_id%5B%5D=105&popup2%5B%5D=0&lo_p=0&hi_p=0&mode=dcrp_memory