What D SLR would you recommand?

Question

I really have enough of my little Konica KD310z it's clearly not enough.... I like to photograph a lot of different things but mainly historical buildings, cityscapes, landscapes.....I guess, that all to do with the different lenses. But what camera would you advise me? I'm not expert but want a good margin to progress...
So far, I was told Nokon D40 or 80 (can't remember) or Canon E400 both for around £500. Are there any performant cameras, cheaper and probably more adapted to me and my needs?
Thanks

Answer 1

It doesn't seem that anyone has addressed the proposed usage of the camera and landscape/buildings etc. are not within the remit of a point and press camera at all. The answers above have given the correct choices of Nikon & Canon but there is one oh-so-important consideration before you choose; which one feels right in your hand? Me, I've always been a Nikon person but when I went digital I was open minded but just couldn't get on with the feel of the Canon. So try before you buy is my good advice.

Secondly, the usage you propose will require a special wide angle lens such as the 12/24 Nikkor or a cheaper but very good value lens the Tokina 12/24. Indoors and for buildings and landscape you are going to need the width.

Finally, if you are going to be taking shots inside, you'll need a good flash since the on camera one is nowhere near a powerful as you'll need. Here you'll need the respective manufacturers flash such as in my case the SB600 or SB800. These aren't cheap but the cost should be included in your budget.

DSLR photography isn't cheap to get into, but once you are in then you can add lenses as you learn more. Best of luck

Answer 2

you can't go wrong with hardly any of the new DSLRs. The Nikon D40 or bigger brother the D80 are certainly great choices. Canon's rebels, the 350 or 400 are fine consumer cameras, or their 30D is very nice. You also wouldn't be making a mistake with the Pentax K10D or Sony A100 (formerly Minolta).

If you're trying to stay cheap- do you really need a DSLR? They're bigger, heavier and you'll end up spending more on lenses than the whole camera. If you do landscapes, cityscapes etc, you could consider a compact zoom camera that has great features such as the Fuji S6500 ($300) It has a 28mm-300mm wide angle zoom, versus the longer telephone ranges of most other big zoom cameras. Or- maybe the fun new 18x zoom Olympus SP550 UZ.

For these non-moving objects- you may not need a DSLR.

Answer 3

The D40 is not in the same range as the D80 and the XTi. The D80 and the XTi (400D) are both more expensive than the D40.

My choice is the Xti (400D). Its cheaper the the D80 and it takes about the same quality picutres as the D80. The D80 does have more professional features on it such as the spot meter, but most of the features on the D80 I didnt need like trimming, red eye reduction, small picture, etc. The D80 is a great camera but for the price, I could get the 30D, but I do a lot of sport shots so the 30D isnt the most appealing camera if you dont need the fast FPS. The Canon cameras do take better JPEG files, which are great if you do not want ot do any post production after wards. But at the RAW level, both the D80 and the XTi are evenly matched, from there it depends on your skills and the type of lenses you get. For Canon get their red ringed lenses, I tried one and I couldnt go without one, any Canon with a red ring should have xx-xx mm f/x L <--- the L stands for Luxury which is Canons pro line. For Nikon their gold rings are the best ones they have (I do not know the name for their pro lenses)

Nikon vs Canon, this agrument can go on forever with flame wars. Nikon has better optics in my opinion (my dad owns a film Nikon) and Canon seems to have better in camera firmware than Nikon ( I own the XTi so I am a little biased to my camera).

The D40 I would not recommond. Just get the D80 if your going with Nikon, all lenses work for it and it will blow your mind with the imagine quality.

If your going with Canon get the XTi if you are a starter. If not the 30D is like going from one scoop of ice cream to a ice cream sunday. I didnt need all the features on the 30D like the spot meter so I just got the XTi. Plus the all in one LCD makes it easier to read my settings rather than looking at the status LCD on the top of 30D.


Just remember 80% of chocing a SLR is based on personal opinion (rough est.). If you have used a Canon use a Canon, if you have used a Nikon use a Nikon. Go to a local camera store and try one out yourself and see which one you like.

Answer 4

It sounds like you are getting more interested in photography! I'm not familiar with the Canon designations in the UK, but I think you either need to go with Nikon or Canon, because of their broad lineup of lenses and accessories (from the camera makers and third parties).The last thing you want to happen, is 5 years down the road, when you're ready to upgrade again, need to buy new lenses because you set your sights too low when you made your purchase today!

Answer 5

Go to dpreview.com as noted above. You can compare many different cameras side by side. I really like the Minolta Maxxum 5, which is 35mm, so I am looking at the Minolta 7D. I enjoy the ease of use of the camera and there is always something else to learn about it.
Happy shooting!!

Answer 6

Fujifilm Finepix 5900

Answer 7

I use the Fuji FinePix 6500 (FD).. It's got some great features, and takes some brilliant pics..

I paid £250 from Jessops..

Answer 8

If your realy set on digital slr camera, i would recomend
you look at the price of the lenses they can be more expensive than the camera.

Answer 9

firstly i teach creative digital photography..

Nikons are good, but a good one is 3grand...

Cannon 350d are good but expensive...

have alook at the olympus E500... its meter is far and above better than anything the opposition have to offer... from 8 minutes to 1/4000th on auto! manual extends it to 20 minutes and 1/8000th...

F stop from F2.1 to F22
Film speeds from 50asa to 1600
plus or minus 5stops U/Oexp
3FPS on motordrive.
8 megapixel...
dual memory card slot XD and compact flash.

its got more presets than youll ever use, and the manual focus option works like a dream.. its fast and accurate... and it works in very low light...

and teh flash whilst nothing special is totally adjustable, and i can plug my Metz flash head straight into it... 300feet at F5.6, flash synch at 60th 125th and 180th..

all in all an incredible piece of kit... twin lens setup available for around 350 quid...

Answer 10

Nikon D70 is good.