what the difference?

Question

ok im looking into buying a nikon. but there are so many brands which one is the newest one? which one should i buy ? im planning on doing weddings. please help..theres so many types im confused on the deifferences .

thanks

Answer 1

You really need to do your research. I suggest starting at http://www.dpreview.com

You sound like a beginner so you may want to look at the D50, certainly no more than the D70s (the later should be coming down in price soon because of the launch of the D80).

Take a read and see what you think.

Answer 2

I'll fall right in line with everyone else and recommend the Nikon line. I get a sense that you'd like to do wedding photography, but you are still kind of new at this photography game, so I will make a single suggestion with the understand that this is "FOR NOW" only and you will either add to it later or give up wedding photography.

Start out with the Nikon D80. It is darn close to the D200 is capability, but $700 less. I'd rather see you have a great lens and a good flash for your photography than cut corners on those essential items.

Get the (expensive) Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 lens. This will allow you to do some dramatic available light photography because the wide f/2.8 opening is constant throughout the entire zoom range. This is not a "killer" zoom capacity, but since you will be mostly confined to indoor spaces, it will usually be more than enough.

Get the Nikon SB 800 flash. It is very powerful and extremely versatile.

Get at least two memory cards. I would suggest at least two 2-GB cards and I like Sandisk or Lexar high speed cards. A popular favorite (for good reason) is the Sandisk Ultra II. If you use continuous shooting, which you may for good candids, you might want to extra speed of the Sandisk Extreme III.

I've just spent about $3,000 of your money and it was fun. Thanks.

P.S. OMG mentioned an alternate lens, but spelled it wrong in his excitement. "Sigma" is a decent line of lenses. He left out the "g." I just don't want you to go looking for Sima lenses without finding them. His answer is excellent, by the way, and if you have more expereince than I have guessed, I agree with every word he said. I am thinking you can get the D80 now and then, if you continue as a wedding photographer, you can buy a D200 or whatever is more current, and use the D80 as your backup body. Maybe you'd even want to move into the high-priced spread by then, too.

Answer 3

The current line of Nikon and Canon dSLR cameras are all good enough for wedding photography - they will all take great shots that you can enlarge to at least 8x10 inches - from the humble $550 Nikon D50 to the $8000 Canon 1Ds Mark 2.
As with everything, you get what you pay for, but for wedding photography I doubt you'll have much need for 8 frames per second, etc.
Pro wedding photographers should have backup equipment for everything, including the body. They might use a Canon 5D with a 30D, or 2 x 20D, or a Nikon D2X with a D200, a D200 with a D70, a pair of D80's, etc. The Canon 20D and the Nikon D70 seem like popular choices at completely different price points (mid-range vs. entry level). Both of these models were discontinued this summer and can be found for amazing prices now. If you're willing to spend, the Canon 5D delivers superb image quality for around $2800.
The bigger question is what lenses? If money is no object, both brands have a great 17-55mm f/2.8 lens for you main body (not for a Canon 1x or 5D) and a 70-200 f/2.8 lens for your backup body. Add a fast 85mm for formals and churches that don't allow flash, and a 24-70mm ish backup zoom.
If money is a bit of an object, look into the Sima EX line for constant f/2.8 zooms, or the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 which is getting great reviews. Replace the 85mm prime with a used 50mm f/1.4.
And even if money is a huge object, try to resist the temptation of cheap all-in-one lenses.
Then add 2 flash guns, a tripod, a ton of rechargeable batteries, a small stack of memory cards, perhaps a circular polarizer, a reflector, and a carrying case.

Answer 4

Just bought the Nikon d200. it is awesome. Very user friendly,high quality, professional photos. I just upgrades from the d70 in my studio, much better camera. The only other one I would recommend is the d2x, but it is very pricey.

Answer 5

Most Megapixels, and the most zoom, but brand does matter sometimes.