I am planning to purchase my very first Digital SLR...?

Question

I am considering either Canon EOS 400D or Nikon D70. can anyone give me helpful ways to narrow down the selection? Thanks!!

Answer 1

I'll add to your confusion. Check the Shutterbug magazine review of the new Pentax K10D in the Aug. 2007 issue. Its available on-line at shutterbug.com. 10 mega pixel, Image Stabilization in the camera body, can use all Pentax K-mount lenses. Any DSLR you buy should have TTL (aka Off-Sensor Flash Metering) and support an off-camera flash unit.

IMO, as a first-time buyer, you should find a real camera store (NOT a store that sells cameras and 1,001 other items) and examine the cameras there. Then, BUY the camera of your choice from that store. The staff at a real camera store is trained and knowledgeable about every camera they sell. They will be able to answer your questions, help solve problems, and offer intelligent advice. Try explaining a problem to, or asking a question of, some CSR in India or Taiwan or Bangladesh. Good luck with that. Since most camera salespeople are on commission, its just NOT right for you to take up their time and then "stiff" them by buying elsewhere.*

There are accessories that, IMO, every photographer should have. First and foremost is a HAZE/UV filter or a Skylight filter - or both - for every lens they own. The HAZE/UV filter removes the haze you see in scenics; the Skylight filter removes the bluish cast seen in shaded mountains or snow and in photos taken in open shade. Most importantly, they protect the front element of your lens. One scratch or acidic smudge or fingerprint and that expensive lens is an expensive paperweight. Replace a $15 filter or a $1,000 lens. Your choice. Next is a circular** polarizer. With it you can darken blue skys and make white puffy clouds really "pop" or just for the visual effect. It also removes glare/reflections from water, glass, snow, sand and painted metal - but not from polished metal. (To save $$$ you can buy a polarizer that fits the largest filter diameter of your largest lens, say 72mm, and then use "step-up" rings so you can use it on a lens requiring a 55mm or 58mm or 62mm diameter filter. Smaller to larger is almost always safe; using a 62mm filter on a lens requiring a 72mm filter would result in vignetting - darkening of the corners of your image.) I've had excellent results with filters from Hoya, Tiffen, B+W. Buy a good lens cleaning cloth such as ones offered by Pentax or PhotoSilk. Buy a locking cable release for those long exposures you'll eventually want to make. Buy a good tripod - you'll need it for those long exposures. Slik, Manfrotto, Bogen, Velbon are all good choices. All are available with a fluid tilt/pan head and a quick release. Make sure the tripod "fits" you. If you're 6' tall and it only opens to 5' you'll never use it. Or, you'll be tempted to extend the center column, which is not advisable. One or two inches, maybe, but no more. If you're 5' tall and it extends to 6', all the better - you won't have to fully extend the legs and its stability is increased. Don't buy more tripod than you need. If its too heavy to carry you'll never carry it. Buy the carry bag or strap if one is offered. Don't waste your money on no-name department store ones. Buy a quality camera bag or backpack. Tamrac, LowePro, Pelican are all good choices, as are many others.***

Sooner or later you'll want to add a flash unit to your arsenal. Buy the top of the line that your camera brand offers for your camera. In 36 years I've found its better to have a feature and not need it than to need it and not have it. Although there are many fine after-market brands, the one designed by your camera manufacturer for your camera eliminates any possible compatibility problems. Buy the top line Off-Camera Flash Bracket offered by your camera manufacturer. Its never seemed desirable, to me, to mount a heavy flash unit on the camera's hot shoe. Plus, mounting the flash off-camera just looks "cooler" LOL!

Go to cameraarmor.com and bonicadive.com and check the protective covers they offer. Buy the one you think offers the most protection. After reading the horror stories in here - "I got my camera wet" or "I got sand in my camera" - spending a few $$$ for added protection seems prudent.

* Many many years ago I worked part-time in a camera store. One Sat. morning this fellow took almost 3 hours of my time as he compared Nikon and Canon. He took notes, wrote down prices, and left with brochures on both. A couple of weeks later he came in, with the Nikon he'd ordered from a mail-order house in NYC, and started asking questions. I told him to ask his questions where he bought the camera. I'd do the same thing today.

** There are two kinds of polarizers: Circular and Linear. The Linear will "mess up" Auto Focus and Through Lens Metering so its to be avoided.

*** The same issue of Shutterbug magazine that reviewed the Pentax K10D also had a Buyer's Guide for camera backpacks.

Answer 2

Edwin, you did the right thing when you told the guy who needed help to go ask for it where he bought the camera. I always say that people who have many questions to ask, including after the sale, need to go give "The Mom and Pop Photo Shop" a little profit to cover the information that they will dispense "for free" and just accept that this is part of the price.

I'm glad to see this quesiton, beause I get a little more mileage out of my stock answer.

First of all, unless you have some kind of super deal, don't look at the D70. It was replaced by the D70s, which is an update and a more worth competitor for the 400D. But, as MixedMojo suggests, please look at the current model, the D80. It is a good bit better than the D70 and, in my opinion, also better than the 400D. Read on for my standard answer...

The February 2007 issue of Popular Photography has an article where they compared the top 10 MP DSLR's. I took the scores and ranked the cameras similar to the way Formula 1 gives championship points. I just gave 5 for 1st place down to 1 for last place, splitting the difference when cameras tied in their catagories.

They evaluated Image Quality (giving this twice as much weight as anything else), Ease of Use, Control, and System Flexibility.

The final order and my scores are:

Nikon D80 - 17.5 points
- BEST in Image Quality, Control and System Flexibility
Canon Rebel XTi (400D) - 13.5 points
- Tied for best in System Flexibility
Pentax K10D - 11 points
- Tied for best in Ease of Use
Samsung GX10 - 11 points
- Tied for best in Ease of Use
Sony Alpha 100 - 7 points
- LAST in Image Quality, Ease of Use and System Flexibility."

Then again, this is the same magazine that put the Sony Alpha 100 dead last in this comparison named it the camera of the year in the previous issue! (In a follow-up to this seeming error, Pop Photo published the explanation that only the D80 and the Sony had been tested by the end-of-year deadline for choosing the Camera of the Year. Sony won on the strength of low price and built-in image stabilization. The other 3 that beat Sony in shoot-out were not tested until after the Camera of the Year was selected, because they were not yet available.)

Go to the original question and read the responses for more opinions.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiG00eHyd0oq5b.X7J.jiULzy6IX?qid=20070113133139AAHWJY0

If you want to get the "best" for the real world, consider the Nikon D200 or Canon 30D if you can afford it. For about $300-500 less, look at the results of the recent PopPhoto test and choose from that list according to your taste.

Personally, I use a Nikon D200 and would recommend it without hesitation to someone who has some knowledge of photography. For someone who wants the "best," but is starting with somewhat of an "entry level" knowledge base, I'd suggest the Nikon D80.

There are people out there who will state their preference for the Canon cameras and I will not argue with them. The Canon 30D and 400D are excellent cameras as well. You would have to visit a camera store or camera department and pick them up and see what you think.

This article is available online at:

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3569/10mp-dslr-shootout.html

Here's another reference from outside the photographic press. Consumer reports compared the Nikon D80, Canon Rebel XTi and Sony Alpha. Personally, I'd say that the Nikon came out on top here, also. It beats the Sony in "noise-free ISO" with an acceptable rating at ISO 1600 (kind of optimistic, I think...) compared to the Sony's ISO 400. It beats the Canon (in my opinion) by having a spot meter that the Canon does not offer.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/news-electronics-computers/november-2006/shootout-10-megapixel-digital-slr-cameras-11-06/overview/0611_digital-slr-shoot-out.htm

Here's another comparison of interest:

http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Canon-Rebel-XTi-vs-Nikon-D80-vs-Sony-Alpha-A100-Head-to-Head-to-Head-Digital-Camera-Review-.htm
[Note the navigation menu near the top of the review]

The next thing to consider is what lens to start with and where you go from there. If you are new to this, I'd say to just get the "kit" lens, which seems to be the 18-135 lens for the D80, and get started. Once you know where you really want to go with your photography, Nikon has an almost unlimited family of lenses to choose from.
~~~
See XTi, D40, D40x, D80, XT: http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4473/top-selling-digital-slrs-for-june.html

Answer 3

I can make it harder for you. Sony has one for the same price but it has image stabilization :)

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Thank to whom ever voted me down for no reason. I guess they're just mad they had to buy a 2,000 dollar lens that had image stabilization.

As for the guy at the bottom with the review from the magazine. dpreview.com compare every camera talked about here each one was about the same and quote"No huge surprises here, a virtually identical resolution/detail response from these two cameras " (sony and d200)

They're all about the same just pick what features you need. All so what price you can get it for and what lens you can get it for. Remember a good lens will cost you as much as the camera.

Answer 4

Canon or nikon, pick one and build a system around it.

They are both great so decide what name you want to associate with for the next x many years and get one.

try dpreview.com

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Answer 5

Get a nikon D80, it costs a little more than both of those camera's, but you'll thank yourself later. Trust me.