What is a good, yet reasonably priced digital SLR?

Question

Say $800 or under?
I want an SLR but I am on a small budget.

i dont really want to buy it through ebay but i will look it up

i have a canon rebel 35mm...i would like to stick to canon so i can use the lenses.
is a canon rebel a good enough camera to use if i plan on going to college for photography?

Answer 1

To be honest there isn't any *bad* DSLR. If you've already got a Canon then one of the Rebel lineup would be most appropriate as the controls would be similar and you would probably be able to re-use any lenses you already own.

You can get the Rebel XT with the kit lens (18-55) for just under $700 on Amazon. That'll leave you some money left over to get an extra battery or two - buy a generic (Sterlingtek, Lenmar) as they work just as well and are half the cost - and a good sized (1gb or more) memory card - try Sandisk Ultra II, 1gb for about $40-50.

I have a Rebel (300D) and a new 30D and they are both great cameras. I've had the 300D for over 3 years and it's still going strong. Photo quality is excellent, I routinely make 8x12 prints and I've gone as large as 16x24.

The only way the XT would be unsuitable for college photography classes is if you've got an annoying instructor who insists that you use film. In which case you've already got your film SLR too.

Answer 2

I agree with the suggestions to get the new Rebel XTi, a.k.a. 400D (10 mega-pixels, $800) or the previous model, the Rebel XT, a.k.a. 350D (8 mega-pixels, roughly $630).
The first incarnation of the digital Rebel was known simply as the Rebel, or 300D. One answerer mentiones this model, but that was a pretty sluggish camera. I'd avoid it. The two later models are both great.
Your lenses will work fine on all digital Rebels, but due to the fact that the electronic sensor is smaller than a frame of film, your focal length will appear magnified by 1.6x. So a 50mm lens will effectively become 80mm. A 28-70 zoom will magically become 45-112mm, etc. This may require you to get a new wide-angle lens. Your cheapest option would be to buy the camera as a kit with Canon's 18-55mm lens (effectively 29-88mm) for $100 extra. There are many better options, but they all cost considerably more (10-22, 17-40 L, 17-55mm, etc).
The suggstion to get a spare battery is good advice. Batteries last for 100s of shots between charging, but Murphey's Law seems to be in effect and you always seem to run out at critical moments. If you make it a habit to recharge after long shoots, you can probably do without a spare.
As for memory, I use two 2 GB cards. When you take hundreds of pictures a week, it's nice to have some extra space. Particularly is you shoot RAW (uncompressed files) vs. smaller JPG files. I can recommend SanDisk Extreme lll cards.The Extreme lll is faster and more expensive than the Ultra ll line that TriniSalt suggests, but with dSLR cameras the extra investment pays off in terms of performance. But again, If you make it a habit to upload to your PC every night, you can probably get away with a single 1GB card.

Answer 3

Any of the Canon Range!
Like the REBEL!(For instance)
When you get more of a budget you can get an Array of Canon Lenses(Which Happen to have the Best Optics in the world!)
I have been Professionally Using Canon Cameras and Equipment for nearly 20 years!-And have never been let down by Hardware or software!

Answer 4

The best digital camera out there right now is the Canon PowerShot S2 IS which runs about $290. That's definitely my top choice in cameras. Others that are worth looking at if you don't like that one are the Fujifilm FinePix S5200 ($250), the Fujifilm FinePix E900 ($300), and the Kodak EasyShare C875 ($200). Good luck.

Answer 5

you should look for a 8 mega pixel cannon rebel. They just released the 10MP version a month or two ago so the 8MPs are much cheaper now. Take a look at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Brand=1213&Submit=ENE&Manufactory=1213&SubCategory=12&N=2070070012+50001213&Category=7&PageStyle=%23
they have the 8MPs for $600-700, or a 10MP for $850.

the best part is that if you get a digital rebel your current lenses will be compatible with your new digital rebel.

Answer 6

I agree with the Rebel XT choices. If you have canon lenses stay with canon.

There are other good choices under $800 (street prices)

in order of my preferance...
Pentax K100D with lens $700
Olympus E500 with 2 lenses $800
Nikon D50 with lens $700

Answer 7

Nikon d80 is the BEST ...i plan to buy that by next month.

You can find this camera at amazon....but i would suggest buying through ebay...e.g. a seller is selling it at ebay below for $900 plus $50 shipping:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-D80-10-2M-Camera-Body-1GB-SD-Gifts_W0QQitemZ200039242064QQihZ010QQcategoryZ43456QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I would say buying this camera would be a GREAT investement