as a newbie, which dslr camera should i buy? A100 - D80 - 400D - 350D? or non digital?

Question

I am really new into photography

and for those suggesting film slr, please suggest which model

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/page21.asp
this comparisson shows some clues but i need general user opinion

THX

or if u have any other model of dslr please suggest - such as pentax or fuji?

How about pentax K10D? it seems low budget high features folks?

Answer 1

Film or digital? Get a digital body - over the next few years you'll save a metric crapload on film & development costs. Film is (still) better for black and white photography and digital is better for low light situations, but under most shooting conditions the image quality and resolution are indistinguishable. With digital you also get instant gratification: you can retake a tricky shot untill you get it right, you can (retouch and) email that picture the second you get home, etc.
It looks like you did your homework. Not a lot of people find that dpreview feature on their own. You mention two Canons, a Nikon, a Sony, and later on a Pentax. There's quite a price difference there, and I don't think it fair to compare them all head on. Here's the current prices at BeachCamera.com / BHphotovideo.com (body only):
$497 Canon 350D
$655 Canon 400D
$700 Sony A100
$919 Pentax K10D
$929 Nikon D80
At the cheap end, between the Canons, the main advantage of the 400D is a better AF system. Minor extras are 10 megapixels vs. 8, a (moderately effective) dust-removal system, a larger LCD screen, and so forth. In my opinion, they're equally good value for money. Pay for the extra features if you need them. Other contenders in this price range are the Nikon D70s (discontinued, as is the Canon 350D) and the Pentax K100D. For even less, you can get a Nikon D50 / D40. The D40 can only use a limited selection of Nikon lenses, however. The great thing about the Pentax K100D is that it has image stabilization built into the body. If you want image stabilization with Canon or Nikon, you'll have to use premium Canon IS / Nikon VR lenses. The down side with Pentax is that they have a poor upgrade path. If you think that one day you'll want to use professional quality zoom lenses, or a camera that can do 8 frames per second, get a Canon or Nikon now. They already have all of that pro gear and you can upgrade bit by bit.
Midprice. I'd ignore the Sony. It doesn't offer anything unique, it's not particularly good value for money, and Sony has a terrible upgrade path. (The A100 is their one and only dSLR, and they havn't done much with the Konica-Minolta lenses yet.)
High-end. The Pentax K10D and the Nikon D80 are considerably more expensive than the other models. This price differece is justified by extra features, but again: only pay for those features if you need them! If you compare the Canon 350D with the Nikon D80, the D80 has a larger viewfinder, a spot meter, two more megapixels and a few other extras. These are all nice improvements... but perhaps not worth an extra $432. That extra cash could also be put towards a great lens. Between the Nikon D80 and the Pentax K10D, the Pentax is better value for money. On the other hand, my story about cameras as a system still holds - the K10D is Pentax's top of the line camera and the D80 is just one Nikon's entry level models. Nikon also has fantastic macro lenses, portrait lenses, landscape lenses, long telephoto lenses, etc. Whatever you need, Nikon's got it in three flavors. It's pretty much the same with Canon. Not so with Pentax. Speaking of Canon, in this price segment you should also consider the Canon 20D. Canon retired this model earlirer this year and they've gradually reduced the price since. The 20D is 'only' an 8-megapixel camera, but you get 5 frames per second vs. 3, you get a metal body, you get a shutter that's rated for 100,000 shots vs. 50,000, and so forth.
One thing I can't tell you however, and what the specs and reviews can't tell you, is how these camera feel. (To me, the Canon 350D feels like it rolled of the Fisher Price assembly line, but others praise it for it's small size.) Considering that they're probably all good enough to get the job done, the feel could/ should be an important factor in your final decision.
What I suggest you do, is ignore any models that don't have specific features you need, and visit a shop to try them out.
Cheap and short term:
Canon 350D / 400D, Pentax K100D, Nikon D50 / D70s.
Cheap and long term:
Canon 350D / 400D, Nikon D50 / D70s
Expensive and short term:
Nikon D80, Pentax K10D, Canon 20D
Expensive and long term:
Nikon D80, Canon 20D
I'd go into the lenses, but if I were to provide a few selections for three different brands, I'd still be sitting here tomorrow. Suffice it to say that lenses influence image quality much more than the body does, and that 'kit lenses' are generally poor.

Answer 2

Excellent choices all of them! Personally I own the D50 and the D80, I love them both to bits. Main thing I didn't like about the 350D/400D was the feel of them in my hands, the hand grip for the right hand below the shutter is too small for my taste. I seriously do not mean to rubbish the product though.

I already had a reasonable Nikon Lens when I considered my first DSLR. I had a bad experience with the Fuji S9500 so Nikon was therefore my natural choice.

I know people who own all of these cameras and they all love them.

This choice may well simply come down to holding each of them in your hands and testing them for control placement, overall feel and balance. although be aware that the balance changes when you upgrade lenses, as a decent lens will be larger and heavier than the "kit" lens supplied with the camera.

Have fun! Seriously you will not go wrong.

I would not go film these days as I only like one in every 500 shots I take. To pay for that much film would outweigh the cost of the camera. Even if you don't own a computer, the photo store can help you printing directly from the memory card.

Answer 3

I have the Nikon D200 and love it. The D80 is a stripped down version of the D200. I have friends that use Canon equipment and they take very good photos. I love my Nikon and I have Nikkor lenses. Eventually your investment in lenes will far out weigh the body choice, so you will need to decide which road to take Nikon vs. Canon. Go to a higher end camera shop and see which feels better in your hands. If you want additional NIKON info go to the Nikonians Forum http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi and check it out. I'm sure Canon has a forum also, just Google "Canon Forums". Visit the Galleries section of Pbase to see some excellent photo's http://www.pbase.com/ Enjoy your new camera!!!

Answer 4

OK, first of all have fun which ever one you choose. SoI'll toss inmy 2 cents.

in 10 Meg DSLR's
Pentax K10D blows them all away....
Here is proof

http://neocamera.com/feature_compare_10mp_dslr.html

As for lens quality here is proof

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-02-05-02.shtml

in the sub $1,000 cameras (even up to $1500) you can't find a better, more featured, camera

Answer 5

Canon 400D (XTi), best bet for beginner and the money. save the rest of you cash for the 28-135 IS lens, great piece of glass.

Answer 6

I'm going to stitch together two answers for you. The first one tells you not to bother with the Sony so that rules that one out. The second one talks about the D80 vs. the 400D. I prefer the D80, but it becomes a matter of personal preference at this level. The 400D is newer and better than the 350D that it replaces, so we won't bother with a comparison there.

Nikon vs. Sony?

Which would you choose - a Nikon or a Konica/Minolta? Sony basically bought out Minolta and put their name on the camera. This is Sony's first DSLR and the D80 is simply the latest evolution of Nikon's years of experience. I wouldn't want to own anyone's "first ever" product, even if it was named "Camera of the Year."

When it comes time to buy lenses, do you want to be stuck with the limited amount of lenses that fit the Sony/Konica/Minolta mount or the endless selection of Nikon and Nikon-compatible lenses?

Yes, my bias is showing, but I'd buy the Nikon in a heartbeat over the Sony.

See the noise level in the Sony at this page:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/page27.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=sony_dslra100%2Cnikon_d80&show=all

Click on "Our in-depth review" and "Read owner opinions."

In the owner opinions, I gleaned a few interesting comments, even from positive reviews:

"If I had the bucks, I'd go Nikon."

"I have some noise issues at ISO400 and above... for professional use only ISO up to 200 seems acceptable."

"...please start performing at your full potential as soon as possible.We all know you can perform better."

"This seems to say, 'Sony doesnt care about photography, Sony cares about money'."

"I think this camrea is a nice beginning for Sony, but not the camera I will buy."

"Would like dual aperture and shutter control dials... [instead of a single dial for everything]."

~~~~~

Nikon D80 vs. Canon 400D/Rebel XTi

Check this page:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/page21.asp

The first thing I notice is that the Canon does not have a spot meter. I thought they added that in the XTi, but I guess past criticism was not heard at Canon.

The Nikon user-definable Auto-ISO is an interesting feature that lets you define a couple of parameters about what's acceptable to you and what's not. I don't think this would be the tie-breaker, though, if you can't decide between cameras.

The D80 has a pentaprism and the Canon uses mirrors. "They" say that mirrors are getting pretty good, but I would expect the pentaprism to be a brighter viewfinder.

The Nikon lets you do actual multiple exposures in the camera and some people think this is pretty cool.

Click "next" and move to page 22 and you'll see some image comparisons. Click "next" a couple more times to see more direct comparisons on page 25. Click "next" a couple more times to see some noise level comparisons on page 27. It looks to me like the D80 has actually tamed the noise better than the XTi, but read the comments about image softness.

Click one more time and see that the D80 is clearly the winner in image sharpness.

Go on to the next page and read the conclusions.

You can go to the side-by-side at

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_eos400d%2Cnikon_d80&show=all and also click on "Our in depth review" and "Read owner opinions" for each camera.

The last line in the Nikon D80 review reads, "If you're a more discerning photographer who can see the advantages offered by the 'all round' D80 you may well consider the extra money well spent."

The last line in the Canon 400D/XTi review reads, "Thanks to its blood line and low price the EOS 400D will no doubt be a huge success for Canon. However unlike the EOS 350D, for me it's no longer the first or obvious choice, so before jumping on the bandwagon make sure you've weighed up the competition."

In other words, you've selected with the two best cameras in their price class.

Canon is probably saving a little money using their CMOS sensor and this will bring them some market share. Whether the sensor and images are better or not is open to wild debate based on personal preferences. Whether one camera feels better in your hands might just be the determining factor. You have got to go to a real camera store and handle them both. I guess Costco, Circuit City or Best Buy would also have actual samples on display, but you may not get as much help from the staff.

As far as lens choice, I'd rather see you start with one decent lens instead of the kit lens, although Nikon's kit lens (18-55) has actually tested pretty will. (Canon's has not.) For Nikon, I like the Nikkor AF-S 18-70 f/3.5-4.5G ED DX. This costs about $300. I bought this for my wife on her D50 and liked it so much (for the money) that I bought it as a backup for one of my cameras. For Canon, one of our best answerers (Panacea) recommends the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. This costs about $500, so there goes the $200 price difference.

Of course, you'll need a decent memory card and I recommend a genuine Sandisk Ultra II (60X) or Extreme III (133X) of at least 1GB - preferable 2 GB - for either camera. Lexar is another excellent card supplier and they have the "Professional" 133X as well as the Platinum 80X to choose from. Both Lexar and Sandisk come with image recovery software and limited lifetime warranties.

Answer 7

Fuji S9000, Why spend more money on additional lenses.