Aaarrrggghhhh!!! **update and question

[ElizK]

So I'm trying to narrow down WHICH of the gazillion dSLR cameras that I want to purchase. Thought I knew what I wanted (Nikon D40), but I read some things in reviews that made me think that maybe I ought to keep looking. I'm interested in the Olympus E-510, but quite a few users talk about problems in lower light that their point-and-shoot would have been fine with.

I know there's no such thing as the perfect camera, especially in the price range that I'm looking at, but how the heck am I to choose? I'm more confused now than I was when I started the whole process. I've even seen it suggested that my high-end (though older) point-and-shoot might be better than some of these entry dSLRs. What's a girl to do????

I've been in a couple of stores to handle cameras a bit, but no one has a wide selection (Ritz only had 3 in that price range!).

Anyone have advice to offer? or Xanax?

 

[MICKEY88]

what price range exactly.. what do you plan on taking pics of, that will help narrow it down..

have you checked out the sony A200 and A300

 

[kenny]

Im am in the same boat. I think I narrowed it down to the Nikon D40 or Sony A200.

What did you not like about the D40. The 2 major things I see is that you can only use the newer lens if you want auto-focus and that it is 6.1 MP. Did you hear of something else that was bad?

Post back what you choose. Maybe you can influence me one way or another.

 

[sherry7]

I just ordered my first DSLR camera (it'll be here tomorrow!), so I recently went through this same decision making process.

I had the opportunity to play around with a Nikon D40, and really liked the picture quality. However, what scared me aware was the high price of the VR (vibration reduction) lenses. That spooked me away from Canon as well. Plus, the Nikon D40 was only 6MP. Now of course, 6MP in a DSLR means a lot more than 6MP in a point and shoot...but I was worried since I tend to crop my photos a lot.

I ended up deciding between the Olympus 510 and the Sony A300. (There's a new Olympus model out too, I think it's the 520.) I ultimately decided on the Sony A300. Both the Olympus and Sony had LiveView, but reviews seemed to state that it worked a lot better on the Sony. Both had in-body stabilization as well, so the lenses are less expensive. Both had a dust reduction feature too. The Sony has a tilting LCD screen, which I figured may come in handy. But the major decision factor was that the Sony Alpha DSLR's are compatible with the older Minolta alpha mount lenses...which can be picked up used on ebay or keh.com. Of course, there are regular Sony lenses as well, but they're not as inexpensive.

My Sony A300, with the 18-70mm kit lens, was $599 on Amazon. If you don't care about having LiveView, the A200 is almost the same camera, and it's $100 less.

Look for reviews of cameras at dpreview.com and stevesdigicams.com. Good luck in making your decision, it's definitely hard!

 

[ElizK]

In the $500.00 (give or take) range.

I've looked at the Sonys (online, anyway). I'm interested, but I keep reading where the lenses aren't as good as some.

Here's a link with a number of cameras I am comparing:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/com...,oly_e510,pentax_k200d,sony_dslra200&show=all


See why I'm overwhelmed?

 

[ElizK]

Im am in the same boat. I think I narrowed it down to the Nikon D40 or Sony A200.

What did you not like about the D40. The 2 major things I see is that you can only use the newer lens if you want auto-focus and that it is 6.1 MP. Did you hear of something else that was bad?

Post back what you choose. Maybe you can influence me one way or another.

Nope, it was exactly those two things you mentioned. And I still haven't ruled it out, I guess. But I sure am less sure now than I was when I began all this.


Oh, and I mostly like taking portraits.

 

[sherry7]

In the $500.00 (give or take) range.

I've looked at the Sonys (online, anyway). I'm interested, but I keep reading where the lenses aren't as good as some.

Here's a link with a number of cameras I am comparing:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/com...,oly_e510,pentax_k200d,sony_dslra200&show=all


See why I'm overwhelmed?

From what I read, the consumer level lenses are pretty much the same. It's when you get into the Prime type lenses, that things start to change. But, I'm not planning on spending $1,000+ for a Prime lens anyway.

 

[MontanaZoo]

How I decided is that I decided I wanted to have good lenses and if the body wasn't the highest of quality, that was ok - I'd rather take a reduction in price on the body than on the lenses. So I have the canon rebel xti.

I knew I wanted canon though more because everything I have that is canon has been absolute the best quality and the powershot I have takes great pictures. I looked at the reviews and agree I couldn't really narrow it down from there since everyone rated them differently. Once I picked a brand (cause with SLR, you are pretty married to it once you get lenses), it was a matter of narrowing down what body would be the best. I ended up not getting the xti kit lens, just getting the body and then picking what lenses I wanted that I could afford.

 

[handicap18]

Im am in the same boat. I think I narrowed it down to the Nikon D40 or Sony A200.

What did you not like about the D40. The 2 major things I see is that you can only use the newer lens if you want auto-focus and that it is 6.1 MP. Did you hear of something else that was bad?

Post back what you choose. Maybe you can influence me one way or another.

[soapbox]
The auto-focus isn't as big a deal as people are making it out to be. Right now there are about 80 lenses between Nikon, Sigma and Tamron that will auto focus on the D40. The big lens that people point to is the 50mm f/1.8 because it is cheep at $120. Ok point taken. Canon has a similar lens for $80. Pentax's version (50mm f/1.4) is $200 and the one for Sony (50mm f/1.4) is $350. On a quick search for Olympus prime lenses I didn't see anything in the 25-40mm range with an f/1.8 or so aperture. There were a bunch of f/2.8's and a 50mm f/2 that is $500. Otherwise there is Sigma's 30mm f/1.4 which is also available in a Nikon, Canon and Pentax mount. So even still unless someone goes the Canon route, they are going to be paying a lot more money for the "cheep" low light lens.
[/soapbox]

As for the 6.1MP, not a huge deal. I've made 20x30" enlargements from my 6.1MP dSLR and I've made cropped enlargements into 11x14" prints with no issues.

If you found yourself doing a lot of cropping in the past with a PnS you have to know what your limits were on the zoom. With a new camera should you be looking for a lens with a longer reach to get you a better composition of your looking for. Also you can shoot RAW which is a larger file to start with, then crop that RAW file and end up with a larger cropped final image.

The land of dSLR's can be very confusing and very intimidating. In some ways it should be. Now your forced to do more research into what you are getting to be sure it is right for you. Your not buying just a camera. Your buying into a system.

 

[ElizK]

Ya'll are being a big help, and I appreciate it.

My initial desire was for a Nikon D40 (don't think I can afford any of the higher ones). From what I've read nothing beats the image quality, and that's really what's most important.

BUT. And there's always a "but", right? It doesn't have the dust reduction system that the Olympus and another I was looking at (Sony maybe??) have. And it doesn't have the VR in-camera. Am I placing too much importance on these features? Should I just focus on image quality alone?

Good to know about the 6.1 mp not being a problem. I wondered.

 

[handicap18]

The dust reduction thing isn't a big deal. VR/IS is great to have, but for how many decades did photography go without it. A good tripod or monopod will do fine too. I use a monopod with my older 70-210mm f/4 and get great images at the long end. It also means I don't have to carry around the camera as much. I can put much of the weight on the monopod instead of in my hands and around my neck. I'll even use the monopod with my 70-300mm VR lens with the VR off sometimes.

There have been times where having VR on wide shots in low light would be nice, but when you never had it before how can you really miss not having it.

 

[MontanaZoo]

I do find the megapixels a big deal but only for entering photo contests.

 

[elizke]

I know exactly how you feel. It's just a good thing I don't have the budget yet, cause I just can't make up my mind.

I've decided on the Canon XSi, no, maybe the Sony Alpha 300, or oh wow the Pentax 200, then the Oly 420 or 520, and now sometmes I think I just want newer bridge camera that I can put in my big purse and forget about the whole lens thing. Then I start the whole process over again, deciding on each camera and moving on again.

I read every review, and they all have good and bad. I follow forums and look at all the posted pics on DPR. I know the best thing is to handle them in person and see how they feel, but around here I've only been able to find the Canon and Sony.

It's just hard these days, with constantly changing technology and too many choices. I think the camera manufacturers know what they are doing. Release cameras that are not quite perfect, and then release another a year later that is SOOO much better, but also not quite perfect. Keep us eternally not quite satisfied and we'll keep upgrading.


But enough ranting. Right now I am leaning toward one of the Olys. I like the pictures I see posted on DPR, and I like the camera sizes, effective dust reduction, and in-camera IS. I really love the crisp, striking Pentax images, but the size and weight would probably make me take my point and shoot along too often. But maybe....arrrrrgggggggggg!



I know I am no help at all.

 

[ElizK]

Ok. I THINK I've decided on the Olympus E-510. It feels "right", has some great features that I hope to one day be able to figure out , and it's in my price range.

Now then. I found this web site:
http://www.us1photo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=4686
The price here is anywhere from $50-150.00 less than other places. It comes with two lenses. Doesn't look like it comes with a memory card, but my Fuji pns uses XD, so I actually already have that.

Does anyone know anything about this web site? The price is significantly lower, but it's not worth it to try to deal with a disreputable company.

And then the final step... convincing myself to whip out that credit card.

Thanks in advance. I appreciate you allowing me to mooch off of your experience.

 

[ElizK]

Or what about BroadwayPhoto.com? They have the same set up for $100.00 less!!!

http://www.broadwayphoto.com/viewproduct.aspx?id=3659803


eta....nevermind... I did checking around on them. What crooks!

 

[wenrob]

Found this third down on a Google switch:
http://forums.photographyreview.com/showthread.php?t=13289
Found this fourth down on a Google search:
http://thoughts-of-dave.blogspot.com/2008/04/can-you-trust-us1photo-aka-us1camera.html
Usually if it sounds too good to be true it is. Stick to well known sellers. The more seasoned people here can help you out better then I can but I've never had a problem with Beach Camera, Adromada (sp?) or Cameta Camera.

 

[sherry7]

Ok. I THINK I've decided on the Olympus E-510. It feels "right", has some great features that I hope to one day be able to figure out , and it's in my price range.

Now then. I found this web site:
http://www.us1photo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=4686
The price here is anywhere from $50-150.00 less than other places. It comes with two lenses. Doesn't look like it comes with a memory card, but my Fuji pns uses XD, so I actually already have that.

Does anyone know anything about this web site? The price is significantly lower, but it's not worth it to try to deal with a disreputable company.

And then the final step... convincing myself to whip out that credit card.

Thanks in advance. I appreciate you allowing me to mooch off of your experience.

Or what about BroadwayPhoto.com? They have the same set up for $100.00 less!!!

http://www.broadwayphoto.com/viewproduct.aspx?id=3659803


eta....nevermind... I did checking around on them. What crooks!

Broadway Photo is a well known bait-and-switch store. Stay far, far away.

Not sure about the other one. Look them up on resellerratings.com.

B&H Photo is reputable. Try Amazon as well. Best Buy (and Circuit City too I think) has a 10% off coupon for this weekend, so that's an option too.

On another note, I just received my new Sony A300 yesterday. I absolutely love it! Now, I just need to learn all of the various features, and buy myself a telephoto lens (once I figure out which one I want).

 

[ElizK]

Broadway Photo is a well known bait-and-switch store. Stay far, far away.

Not sure about the other one. Look them up on resellerratings.com.

B&H Photo is reputable. Try Amazon as well. Best Buy (and Circuit City too I think) has a 10% off coupon for this weekend, so that's an option too.

On another note, I just received my new Sony A300 yesterday. I absolutely love it! Now, I just need to learn all of the various features, and buy myself a telephoto lens (once I figure out which one I want).

Hey! Congratulations! Can't wait to play with my new toy, too.

Thanks for the input.

 

[ElizK]

Found this third down on a Google switch:
http://forums.photographyreview.com/showthread.php?t=13289
Found this fourth down on a Google search:
http://thoughts-of-dave.blogspot.com/2008/04/can-you-trust-us1photo-aka-us1camera.html
Usually if it sounds too good to be true it is. Stick to well known sellers. The more seasoned people here can help you out better then I can but I've never had a problem with Beach Camera, Adromada (sp?) or Cameta Camera.

Thanks! I will check out the sites you suggested.

 

[sherry7]

Hey! Congratulations! Can't wait to play with my new toy, too.

Thanks for the input.

Thanks ElizK. I'm having fun with it so far. My cats and son are getting sick of having their picture taken though, lol.

BTW, I considered getting the Sony A200, but didn't because it doesn't have LiveView. However, I noticed that the price dropped by $100 yesterday on Amazon (now $599 for the kit with 2 lenses). What a deal!