Indian H
Hi,
Earlier I've posted many questions here. I'm an amateur-hobbyist photographer wishing to become an enthusiast. My understanding of these three terms islike this:
Amateur: Shooting an average of 10 rolls per month with a manual SLR and 2-3 lens combo
Hobbyist: Sending some of the pics to national and state level competitions (won a couple of titles in India)
Enthusiast: Would like to spend a percentage of dedicated time per month towards photography (but not making a livelihood out of it as a professional photographer)
I've used Fully Manual SLRs viz. Pentax K1000, K2000 etc. Later tried various point and shoot digital cameras like Nikon P80 and various Sony cybsershots. Now I want to step into the world of Digital SLRs and I'm not able to make up my decision. I need you people's advise which is technical and logical.
Coming to my question:
I've done some good research on Nikon D40-300 series and some on Canon Rebel series DLSRs.
Somehow for reasons unknown to me, I'm not able to consider the brands like Olympus and Panasonic.
I'd like to know which one of the options below is good. Feel free to make modifications to any of these if that can give me better deal.
1. Investing on entry level D40 with a good set of lenses like 18-55 and 55-200 is sufficient (or)
2. Investing one time on a good amateur camera like D300 immediately (or)
3. Going for mid range like D90 with entry level lens (or)
4. Entry level Canon Rebel DSLR with default lens (or)
5. Any other suggestion from professionals like you.
I cannot invest more than $600 initially. But can stretch by another $300 if any one of you can convince me for a higher end model with some technical points.
Thanks in advance,
Indian
Answer
Your budget should be for more than just the camera. Your initial shopping list should include the following:
1) Camera body
2) Lens(es) appropriate for the kinds of photography you want to do
3) Memory card(s)
4) Carrying bag/pouch/case with room to grow
Probably should get:
5) Tripod for stability and clarity in night shots, landscapes, macros, panoramic stitches
Optional; depending on your intent:
6) Polarising filter (to give more saturation and less glare in outdoor daylight shots)
7) Extra battery
8) Additional lighting for professional looking portraits
With a 1.6x crop body, the most oft-used lens focal range will be between 28-75mm. The kit lens that comes with a camera will usually cover most of this range. To extend the camera capabilities outside of this range will require you to purchase additional lenses. These lenses can range in price from around $200 to over $1000 each. The lenses are usually mostly compatible with other cameras from that same company.
If you shoot landscapes and buildings, you might want to look at a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 (available both Canon and Nikon).
If you shoot insects, plants, textures... you will want to look at a 60 to 200mm macro lens that is capable of 1:1
If you shoot portraits, you may want to look at a 50mm f/1.4 lens.
If you shoot distant wildlife, you will need a 200-300mm telephoto lens.
A Nikon D40 with the 55-200 VR is a good deal and a nice place to start. Canon does not have an entry level package that compares to this in terms of price/value. The closest match to a D40 is the Canon Rebel XTi/400D.
Canon does have the most variety in terms of available extensions and lenses overall. If you have to decide between Canon and Nikon systems, I would have to tell you to go to the store and hold each model in your hands. Try the controls and shooting some pictures with them to see which is most comfortable and which you can manage the controls with most easily.
Then consider if you have friends or family who have already invested in one or other system. Could you share experiences and extensions with them?
Good luck!
Your budget should be for more than just the camera. Your initial shopping list should include the following:
1) Camera body
2) Lens(es) appropriate for the kinds of photography you want to do
3) Memory card(s)
4) Carrying bag/pouch/case with room to grow
Probably should get:
5) Tripod for stability and clarity in night shots, landscapes, macros, panoramic stitches
Optional; depending on your intent:
6) Polarising filter (to give more saturation and less glare in outdoor daylight shots)
7) Extra battery
8) Additional lighting for professional looking portraits
With a 1.6x crop body, the most oft-used lens focal range will be between 28-75mm. The kit lens that comes with a camera will usually cover most of this range. To extend the camera capabilities outside of this range will require you to purchase additional lenses. These lenses can range in price from around $200 to over $1000 each. The lenses are usually mostly compatible with other cameras from that same company.
If you shoot landscapes and buildings, you might want to look at a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 (available both Canon and Nikon).
If you shoot insects, plants, textures... you will want to look at a 60 to 200mm macro lens that is capable of 1:1
If you shoot portraits, you may want to look at a 50mm f/1.4 lens.
If you shoot distant wildlife, you will need a 200-300mm telephoto lens.
A Nikon D40 with the 55-200 VR is a good deal and a nice place to start. Canon does not have an entry level package that compares to this in terms of price/value. The closest match to a D40 is the Canon Rebel XTi/400D.
Canon does have the most variety in terms of available extensions and lenses overall. If you have to decide between Canon and Nikon systems, I would have to tell you to go to the store and hold each model in your hands. Try the controls and shooting some pictures with them to see which is most comfortable and which you can manage the controls with most easily.
Then consider if you have friends or family who have already invested in one or other system. Could you share experiences and extensions with them?
Good luck!
I want your guidance on DSLR & Lens available ?
phatkar
I want to purchase DSLR, I am new to digital photography & want to purchase one good camera along with one lens.
Mainly I want to use it for day to day photography, surely not for fashion or wildlife photography.
After looking at catalogues related to cameras & lens, I am confused & not able to make my decision.
I like canon EOS 400D & 450D with good zoom capabilities (may be 30X) but not sure about Nikon & I have no idea about lens & its functions.
Can all masters here suggest me one ??
Budget 30000 Indian Rupees
Answer
The Canon 400D and 450D are very good cameras. The 450D is newer and it has more megapixels, a slightly larger LCD screen, and it has Live-View (which lets you use the LCD screen to take pictures). These are minor improvements, but nice to have. The image quality and all of the other important things are the same.
Canon also makes a 1000D model. The 1000D is also newer than the 400D, but these two cameras are almost identical. And like the 400D, it is cheaper than the 450D.
Personally, I think that the only real advantage of the 450D is the slightly larger LCD screen. I would not pay the higher price for that. (In the USA the price difference between the 400D and 450D is $80.)
Instead, I would get either the 400D or the 1000D - whichever one you can find cheaper in India. In the USA the price is almost the same... because the camera is almost the same.
Lenses...
All three of these cameras can be purchased as a kit with the Canon 18-55mm zoom lens. This is only 3x zoom, but that is enough for about 80% of what most people photograph. You can buy lenses with a lot more zoom range, but that would go over your budget. For example, Canon has an 18-200mm zoom (11x zoom) and Tamron has an 18-270mm zoom (15x zoom) for Canon cameras. (This Tamron lens has the biggest zoom range of any lens for a dSLR camera. A 30x zoom lens does not even exist.)
If you want to get the most zoom range within your budget, purchase the camera with two lenses: the 18-55mm and either an inexpensive 55-200mm lens or a cheap 70-300mm lens. But since you do not mention anything that requires a lot of zoom range, I would start out with simply the 18-55mm lens. You can always purchase an additional lens later on.
Nikon...
The Nikon D60 and the cheaper D40 are also within your budget. The D40 is actually cheaper than all of the Canon models, but it is also the least advanced of all of these options. Still, even the D40 can produce fantastic images. The only thing that it really misses compared to the rest, is that it only has 6 megapixels. This matters if you want to create large prints (larger than a full page) but otherwise it's not that important - the number of pixels says nothing about image quality.
If you have the opportunity, compare some of these cameras in your hands at a camera shop. You might find that you prefer the way a particular brand feels or works. If so, let that be the deciding factor, because this image quality and the important functions are the same with all (five!) of these cameras.
If price alone is the deciding factor, I would get the Nikon D40. It is perfectly good and it is the cheapest of the bunch. This would leave the most money for (extra) lenses or other items.
The Canon 400D and 450D are very good cameras. The 450D is newer and it has more megapixels, a slightly larger LCD screen, and it has Live-View (which lets you use the LCD screen to take pictures). These are minor improvements, but nice to have. The image quality and all of the other important things are the same.
Canon also makes a 1000D model. The 1000D is also newer than the 400D, but these two cameras are almost identical. And like the 400D, it is cheaper than the 450D.
Personally, I think that the only real advantage of the 450D is the slightly larger LCD screen. I would not pay the higher price for that. (In the USA the price difference between the 400D and 450D is $80.)
Instead, I would get either the 400D or the 1000D - whichever one you can find cheaper in India. In the USA the price is almost the same... because the camera is almost the same.
Lenses...
All three of these cameras can be purchased as a kit with the Canon 18-55mm zoom lens. This is only 3x zoom, but that is enough for about 80% of what most people photograph. You can buy lenses with a lot more zoom range, but that would go over your budget. For example, Canon has an 18-200mm zoom (11x zoom) and Tamron has an 18-270mm zoom (15x zoom) for Canon cameras. (This Tamron lens has the biggest zoom range of any lens for a dSLR camera. A 30x zoom lens does not even exist.)
If you want to get the most zoom range within your budget, purchase the camera with two lenses: the 18-55mm and either an inexpensive 55-200mm lens or a cheap 70-300mm lens. But since you do not mention anything that requires a lot of zoom range, I would start out with simply the 18-55mm lens. You can always purchase an additional lens later on.
Nikon...
The Nikon D60 and the cheaper D40 are also within your budget. The D40 is actually cheaper than all of the Canon models, but it is also the least advanced of all of these options. Still, even the D40 can produce fantastic images. The only thing that it really misses compared to the rest, is that it only has 6 megapixels. This matters if you want to create large prints (larger than a full page) but otherwise it's not that important - the number of pixels says nothing about image quality.
If you have the opportunity, compare some of these cameras in your hands at a camera shop. You might find that you prefer the way a particular brand feels or works. If so, let that be the deciding factor, because this image quality and the important functions are the same with all (five!) of these cameras.
If price alone is the deciding factor, I would get the Nikon D40. It is perfectly good and it is the cheapest of the bunch. This would leave the most money for (extra) lenses or other items.
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Title Post: Which entry level DSLR?
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