Recommendations for a digital SLR camera for a beginner...?

Question

I am interested in exploring photography as a hobby and I'm eventually going to buy a digital SLR camera - probably in the next 6 months. Can you recommend a camera that will be good for a beginner and still be useful down the road. Would your recommendation also work well in place of a point and shoot or would you recommend also having a point and shoot camera for taking snapshots?

Answer 1

Any camera can take good, professinal looking images, and every camera can be used to take snapshots. A new class of camera has come out, lead by the Nikon D40 and D40x. These are entry level DSLR cameras that have lots of shooting (Idiot) modes to try and dumb down a DSLR. While I hate all these modes, as you can probably tell, they do put these on. These entry level cameras include the Nikon D40 and D40x, Pentax K100D/Super/Samsung model, Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, and the Olympus E-410. All these cameras are designed for people like you in mind, especially the Nikon D40 and D40x.

Let me start off with Nikon. The D40 and D40x are very good, solid cameras. The image quality is amazing and the LCD is one of the best I've seen on such a cheaply priced camera. The features are great as well. These two cameras have a flaw, though. Well, it may seem this way, depending on how you look at it. You see, Nikon left out an in-camera motor, which auto focuses the lens. This means no Nikkor lens without a motor inside will not AF on it. Sure, it will work fine and all, but just no AF. This might seem like a huge downfall, and it is, if you look at it from the perspective of an experienced shooter with a lot of older lenses. When you look at it from the perspective of a digital point and shoot user, it becomes much more clear. The reason Nikon left the motor out is to, 1) Cut costs, and 2) Make the camera even smaller. This sucks, but they knew what they were doing. When they made these cameras, they knew that the target audience would be moving up from point and shoot cameras, not have any older lenses, and do not plan to buy anymore lenses. When you look at it this way, it becomes more understandable why Nikon left out the motor. If you want to auto focus on a much more wider selection of lenses, look into the much better Nikon D80 or maybe even the D200. The D80 has the motor, more features, and will serve your needs much better for far longer.

Now onto Canon. The Canon EOS XTi is known for it's image quality, not much of anything else. Thanks to it's 10 mega pixel CMOS sensor, it has some of the best image quality in the business. However, it skips on a few things. For one, it feels like a toy; I'm not exaggerating. This has held true for the entire Rebel series from film, to digital. Actually, you can pick out a Canon from a line-up just by the way it feels. Trust me, you'll know what I'm talking about if you compare an XTi to the D80. Another flaw I find with Canon are it's lenses. Canon has a great range of lenses, unlike Nikon, but on the lower end, their lenses are not so good. The first lens you'll encounter with a Canon is the 18-55mm kit. You might as well just buy the camera body, skip on the lens, and buy something else. This is about all I have to say for Canon. If you plan to buy, get a EOS 40D or a 5D, if you have the money.

The next is the Pentax K100D/Super. This is a great camera for people who want great quality and the ability to shoot in AUTO mode. In fact, it was designed for people like this. Just look at the type of batteries it uses: AA, not a better dedicated battery pack. This brings us to the first major flaw: It's battery life. The K100D/Super suffers the worst battery life on the market. Also, I heard that there are internal problems with the top mounted LCD. Some big pluses is the fact that it can use any Pentax lens ever made. If you want more quality and bang for your buck, get the prosumer model, the K10D. All the problems with the K100d are not found in this camera. I forgot to mention, the Samsung versions are the same camera as the K100d and the K10D, only they have different names. This would be a good way to shave off a few hundred dollars. The Samsung name uses the same Pentax mount as well.

Lets not forget the Olympus E-410. Maybe we should...? Anyway, the E-410 is the smallest DSLR on the market today, and probably should remain so. A DSLR is made to be big and chunky, not lacking a good grip and hard to hold. It looks pretty nice, I think, but like I said, it's more difficult to use because of its small size and poor layout. The lenses use the 4/3 system which means if you have a 50mm lens, multiply it by 2, and that's really what the lens will shoot like. So, this 50mm lens will now be a 100mm lens. This is unlike Canon, Nikon, and Pentax, who use the 1.6x and 1.5 crop, not the 2x. This can be good and bad, depending on how you look at it. The lenses, I hear, are quite good, but they lack range and are harder to find. The big downer is it's image quality. You see, the images suffer from the worst noise on a DSLR I've ever seen. Also, the images are very soft and lack detail. The camera's software is not to good, either.This is an issue on both the E-410 and the E-510. They're worth a look, but I would suggest the pro model, the E3.

I almost forgot Sony. Sony has a good reputation, but they use the same bodies as Minolta, since Minolta sold their company to Sony:( Too bad, since Minolta was one of the greatest. Anyway, Sony is good, but it's images are over saturated and suffer from a bit higher amount of grain. There is the Sony Alpha and the 700.

Back to your original question, I suggest the Nikon D40 or D40x if you want a good, solid camera for pointing and shooting, but also with the possibility for more controlled work. For better features, bigger build, and AF with all those great Nikkors, get the D80.

Wow, I can't believe I wrote that much. Well, I had to do something while my painting is drying.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Try looking at Sony, Canon and Nikon.

I would recommend the Nikon D40x. It has all the guys of the higher D80 & D200 models. It's 10megapixels and takes wonderful photos. The D40x kit comes with two lenses going from 18 to 200 settings. (one 18-55 and the other 55 to 200).

The price is $599 at costco and a few other places. Canon and Sony make SLR models in this price range as well. The Sony would be my second choice and Canon last. However, Canon has a huge following from the 35mm cameras in which the 35mm lenses will work on the digital slr models.

Good Luck with you new hobby. You will enjoy it emmensely.

Answer 3

I also agree with the nikon d40x. I just got one a few days ago. Mine came with one lens. a 18-55. Its a 10.2 mp and has a ISO of 100 at the lowest were the d40 (exacly like the d40x) has a ISO of 200 at the lowest and is a 6mp.

Answer 4

Canon Rebel XT.
Nikon D40x.

Answer 5

This kind of question gets asked dozens of times. My fingers are too sore to type a long explanation. Just go with the D3200.