Digital SLR Camera Help

[jennilouwho]

I am looking to buy a fairly inexpensive SLR camera. I have a degree in photography, but then got married and had kids and didn't keep up on it. I love doing outdoor portraits and the big thing I'm looking for is a Digital SLR where the aperture settings work well. I'm hoping there is something decent for around $500. Does anyone know of a good one where I will be able to take portraits that actually look like portraits.. (with a fuzzyish background.. )

Thanks!

 

[dawson5]

have you ever checked out dpreview.com

 

[Whitty]

You can't go wrong with a Canon or a Nikon. I have a Nikon D40 and LOVE IT...you can pick one up pretty cheap these days since they've been out for a few years.

 

[gobraves39560]

My dh got me a Nikon D3000 for Christmas for $449.00 and came with the beginner lens. Check out Wal-mart. I am going to upgrafe to the next lens for Valentine's Day. It takes some good pice but does not have live view, which I don't need.

 

[labdogs42]

I go with the brand of camera you are comfortable with. I happen to be a Canon girl, but the major makers all make nice dSLRs. dpreview will give you a lot of great info!

 

[disneymarie]

Andromeda has a special on the Rebel with lens for about $615 shipped. not sure of the spelling/ check it on slickdeals.net

I had been thinking of the SLR purchase and found that Best Buy had it during the Holiday but not sure now. There are packages frequently if you watch slickdeals.net or pricegrabber.com

My second choice is the Panasonic SLR with a 22-200 lens on it. $$$ but the Lumix lens are to be tops.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Agree with Canon or Nikon (though I'm planted in the Canon camp . I have a Rebel XT I used for a portrait business for a few years. You can probably pick one up relatively inexpensively as it's an older model. (My rec would be to buy from a camera store, not Best Buy or the like. They'll back up their sale with service- very handy either when you need help or something goes wrong. I dropped my camera {and fully admitted thereto}. The camera store pinpointed the problem, mailed it to Canon for me and repaired for free. Not getting that sort of help from Best Buy!)

IMO, the kit lens most of the starter cameras come with not worth it. I opted not to get it (again, an option at a real camera store.) Went with a Tamron 28-75mm lens- hardly ever comes off my camera. (Only other lens I have is a "nifty fifty" 50mm.)

As mentioned, dpreview is a great site for comparisons. Would also recommend ilovephotography.com. Their JSO (just starting out) forum is great.

(and, of course should point out, Dis has a photog board, down at the bottom of the list by Community

 

[Iri920]

Agree with Canon or Nikon (though I'm planted in the Canon camp . I have a Rebel XT I used for a portrait business for a few years. You can probably pick one up relatively inexpensively as it's an older model. (My rec would be to buy from a camera store, not Best Buy or the like. They'll back up their sale with service- very handy either when you need help or something goes wrong. I dropped my camera {and fully admitted thereto}. The camera store pinpointed the problem, mailed it to Canon for me and repaired for free. Not getting that sort of help from Best Buy!)

IMO, the kit lens most of the starter cameras come with not worth it. I opted not to get it (again, an option at a real camera store.) Went with a Tamron 28-75mm lens- hardly ever comes off my camera. (Only other lens I have is a "nifty fifty" 50mm.)

As mentioned, dpreview is a great site for comparisons. Would also recommend ilovephotography.com. Their JSO (just starting out) forum is great.

I completely agree with this. I have the same configurations except I have an XTi and I've been really happy with it. It's a great little camera and I've learned so much from it. The Tamrom lens is also my most used one and I wished I'd never gotten the kit lens because I think I've maybe used it once. The only addition I have is a speedlight since the camera tends to have a lot of noise at the high ISO so it helps a lot in low light situations.

Like she said ilovephotography.com has a lot of great information and it's free. I also recommend clickinmoms.com It's a paid site but everybody is really friendly and there's tons of valuable information.

 

[wenrob]

To get the nice blurry back round will depend more on the lens then the camera. The kit lens won't quite cut it. You'll need something with an ap that can open up a little more, f/2.8 at minimum and preferably hold it through out the range. The Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 is great suggestion, mine is on my camera 90% of the time. It'll run you about $375 on it's own. Most portrait photographers lean towards primes for the bokah and wide aps though.

 

[jennilouwho]

Thanks so much for all the info! I will have to check it all out. That's good to know about the lens too! I only graduated 5 years ago, but so much has changed since then. We had no digital classes at the time, so grateful for all these sites to check out.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

You can't go wrong with a Canon or a Nikon. I have a Nikon D40 and LOVE IT...you can pick one up pretty cheap these days since they've been out for a few years.

Ditto, we love ours. Pics come out like post cards!

 

[MinnieForMe]

Hi:
I'm also in the market for my first SLR. Did any of you have a hard time going from a live feed on a point and shoot to a viewfinder/peephole? I hear almost no one uses the live feed on an SLR. I don't know if that's because only the newer ones have the ability or if it's just not clear enough to judge focus.

 

[Golf4food]

Don't rule out the non-Canon or non-Nikon brands either. Pentax, Sony, Olympus, etc. Just because a brand is most popular does not make it right for everyone. They all feel different in your hands and most have very similar features these days. The processors, menus, etc. are all pretty similar, but some are heavier, some are lighter, some fit better in small hands, some are better for large hands. Then there is internal stabilization vs. lens stabilization/anti-shake and which do you prefer? (IS lenses are expensive, but in body anti-shake works for all lenses so future costs might be lower with an in-body system.)

Don't forget we have an entire photography board here on the DIS!!

 

[dr_zero]

Im a Nikon fan but the Sony family brings some nice features to the table also!

If I didnt already have Nikon lenses to fit my Nikon DSLR I would have went with Sony.

 

[CherylA]

Canon Rebel XS. I've had mine for about a year and absolutely love it. The upgrade to the XSi does not offer enough additional benefits to warrant the price increase. You can, in manual mode, adjust your aperture and shutter speed. There is also a setting that allows you to choose your aperture and the camera chooses the shutter speed for you and vice versa. It's an awesome camera!

 

[KarenAylwood]

Canon Rebel XS. I've had mine for about a year and absolutely love it. The upgrade to the XSi does not offer enough additional benefits to warrant the price increase. You can, in manual mode, adjust your aperture and shutter speed. There is also a setting that allows you to choose your aperture and the camera chooses the shutter speed for you and vice versa. It's an awesome camera!

The bolded comes standard on all dSLRs on the market today, and pretty much every point and shoot camera out there as well.

The XS and XSi have come way down in price since their release, and with the release of the T1i. Here's a comparison of the two:
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/random-thoughts/canon-xs-or-xsi/

The XS on B&H (with kit lens) is $449.95, while the XSi (w/ kit lens) is $589.95. For a beginner, the XS is more than enough. However for me- having the spot metering and proximity sensor is more than worth the $140 extra for me. OP- as a former degreed photographer, you should also understand how important the ability to spot meter is. But that's my opinion, and I use the camera constantly, also in manual (and have invested $4000+ in the hobby in only about a year and a half). They are almost identical in look and feel, just have a few different feaures.

Go to the store and hold both a Nikon beginning dSLR and a Canon. They will look and feel different in terms of grip and layout but I don't think you can go wrong with either.

As for a "fuzzyish" background- the best thing for that is going to be a good portrait lens (more $$). You'll be able to get some ok bokeh with the kit lens (which won't really vary between makes and models) but for really shallow DOF you might want something like the 50mm f/1.8 (nifty fifty) or Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (dirty thirty) which will run you ~$90 and $400 respectively. I have the Sigma 30mm and absolutely love it. Beautiful bokeh.

I also recommend going to the photography board here: http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=97 There's a wealth of information and advice.