pro photographers...what do you think the best mid priced digital slr is?

Question

what about generic brands, are they just as good as the equal counterparts?

Answer 1

A quick review of your answers so far:
Lhynne: Canon dRebels are entry level dSLR cameras and the Fuji S2 is a point & shoot. I'm sure this setup works fine, but it's hardly mid-priced.
itai_one: Canon 5D. For roughly $2800, this is the perfect camera for weddings. For general use, I'd place the cheaper Nikon D200 in the no. 1 spot, however.
Dr. Sam: The Nikon D200 ($1700) is a great mid-priced camera. Dr. Sam has one. I have one and I love it. For general use, it's a fantastic camera and it fully deserves all the awards it's won. For weddings it would only be my third choice though... after the Canon 5D and 30D, which are both a bit better at low light photography. Image quality at high ISO is important for those available light shots in poorly lit churches. The Nikon D80 is a great camera for the price, but I'm not sure I'd call it mid-priced... it's pretty close to the latest Canon dRebel in terms of price and performance. The 'perfect' mid-priced dSLR would be a Nikon D200 with a Canon 5D sensor.
Sunseker: Again, dRebels are entry level dSLR cameras, not mid-priced. The end result will look the same as with a 30D (or an older 20D) most of the time... but not always. With the 30D you pay extra for the better build quality, better handling, better performance, and more features (the shutter is rated for 100.000 actuations vs. 50.000, you get 5 FPS vs. 3, you get spot metering, more buttons for faster access to the settings, better AF, etc.)
Mahatma Kupad: The theory of CCD vs. CMOS is fascinating, but all that matters are the results. True, Zeiss is making a bunch of primes for the Nikon F-mount, but they're insanely expensive, they're all manual focus, and the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 (with AF) is a stellar portrait lens to begin with. Also, if you want to use Zeiss lenses with Canon, you can - there are adapter rings for this.
By the way, the wide selection of pro-lenses go a long way towards making Canon and Nikon the top two brands. For professional applications, look no further. Umm... unless you need the 'stealth' of a Leica rangefinder, or the mega-resolution of medium/ large format cameras. Here's my final suggestion though:
1) Nikon D200 ($1700)
2) Canon 5D ($2800. Top choice for low light photography)
3) Canon 30D ($1300. Or the discontinued 20D for less)
4) Nikon D80 ($1000)
5) Canon 400D ($800. Or the discontinued 350D for less. Yeah, yeah, these are entry level dSLR cameras.)
Next comes the really fun bit: what lenses?

Answer 2

I'm not a pro, but If price truly doesn't matter, get a Nikon D200 and a good lens. If that's too steep for your budget or your learning curve, get a Nikon D80, which has the same processing engine. 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. 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. An "Extreme" is faster, but I doubt anyone would notice the difference except a pro.

Someone else will 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 3

I'll have to second Horatiu on the camera suggestions (although not on the memory card claim). For Canon you'll probably be looking at the 40D or 50D and for Nikon it'll probably be the D90 or D300. Brand-wise, choose the one that suits your personal taste. I can't stand the way Nikons feel so I will only ever have a Canon. Other people are the opposite. Model-wise, get the one that suits your budget. If you're serious about photography and don't already have lenses, there's absolutely no reason to go with a brand other than Nikon or Canon.

Answer 4

That depends where the middle is! The Canon EOS 5D is definetely top on the list. Its a 12 megapixels full-frame camera which is used by a lot of pros who prefer spending money on great lenses rather than a more expensive body. The 5D goes for 3000 USD about, this is less than half of price of the 16 megapixels Canon 1Ds Mark II and more than twice that of the 8 megapixels Canon EOS 30D. So, I would say this qualifies as mid priced. If you intend to buy one you should look at Canon's double rebate plan, it can save you 500 USD on a camera and lens, but it expires in January. See the link below.

Answer 5

Ok forget generic.

Remember digital SLRs are all based on electronics, making them more susceptible to damage caused by moisture, impact and erratic temperature change. The seals, housing and insulation's have to be the best for your unit to withstand everyday abuse. Branded units have a name to protect and do have good after sales service.

Mid range? I usually stick to Nikon and/or Canon

D200, D100, D80, D70 &
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, EOS 30D

I'm more biased to Nikon, cause they use CCDs as compared to Canon; CMOS ( have much more noise at higher ISO ratings compared to CCD) although they consume much less battery.

CCDs are the sensors used by most high end video cameras. 3ccds in fact.

You might want to consider the Sony® α (alpha) DSLR-A100K Camera they actually have a Carl Zeis lens for this.


Oh yes and if you check out B&H Photo, they have 2 new
Carl Zeis lenses with the Nikon mount, pricey though.

Ciao

Answer 6

My friend took photos of my son's baseball game and I was amazed that the Canon Rebel took photos just as nice as the 20D, and there's a big price difference. I believe the price difference is for the features 20D offers the advanced user the Rebel does not.

Answer 7

A Canon Rebel D and the upper end of mid-range is a Fuji FinePix S2 Pro. My fiance and his mom are wedding photographers and this is what he recommended. Best of luck!

Answer 8

Nikon D80 gets my vote.....

Based on Price vs performance....