Whats a Best Buy for a DSLR? Wanting to buy asap

[scottie]

I must admit I am a total novice when it comes to DSLR models but we just arrived back from a Disney cruise and DW has spoken and wants me to buy her a DSLR camera asap! If I was going to buy something today or tomorrow from a large retailer (maybe Circuit City or Best Buy) what would be your recommendations for a cemara/lens combo in say the $400-$800 price range?

 

[DueyDooDah]

Go in, see what they have and have you DW hold them. The feel of the camera is very important. Make sure it fits the hands and the buttons/wheels, etc. are positioned comfortably.

You may not get a very large selection going to these stores so you may want to try a local camera store to get the right item. You don't need to buy there, but you can at least try out the different models.

You may want to shop online,also. You may find better prices than at the stores and certainly at the camera shops. Try looking at the model you want at adorama.com or bhphotovideo.com. Both are reputable and have good prices.

 

[scottie]

Thank you for the info! After looking online I was eyeing up the Olympus 410 or 510 or maybe the Sony A200 or A300. Any goods or bads that anyone can mention?

 

[ukcatfan]

My first advice is to slow down. You need more time to research your purchase. Different brands have different features and available add-ons like lenses, flashes, etc. It is a system you are buying into, not just a camera.

Kevin

 

[beefpile]

Congrats on wanting to make the jump to a more serious camera. However, the advice here already is excellent! Get your hands on the cameras and try them out, I tried out a bunch of cameras and in the end chose the Pentax K10D over the Nikon D40x. One other thing to consider is, do you have a old film SLR camera? Many of the lenses for film SLR's will fit their modern day digital cousins. You would need to do some research to know for sure, but it can help if the lenses are compatible, potentially reducing your initial costs!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What is it that made your wife want to buy a dSLR all of a sudden?

What do you like about the cameras you mentioned? Were they recommended by someone?

 

[scottie]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I believe we both wanted to step up to the next level with cameras and really get to know how to shoot a great pic with a camera that could offer us many options. It seems DSLR is the way to go for this.
We have always used point and shoot digital so do not have any accesories from older SLR cameras so we will be starting from scratch basically.
Oh and the reason I was wanting to do this soon was due to a sweet deal I ran across from Circuit City for an additional 20% off so with most the cameras on sale for the holiday and the discount expiring today or maybe tomorrow I wanted to try to land a good camera at a good price.
I did go to the store tonight to get my hands on the DSLR models for the Olympus 410 and 510 and the Nikon D40 and D40x.

 

[WISH@WDW]

I just got a Canon Rebel XTi at Circuit City. I have always had good results with Canon SLR cameras. This is my first digital SLR, so I'm still getting used to it.

 

[michellem1118]

If you can wait 4-6 weeks, prices will drop on a lot of the existing line as the new cameras are released. I'd guess the price of the Canon XTi will drop when the XSi hits stores in April, and Nikon will likely drop the price of the D40x when the D60x hits in March. Sony has also announced a new camera for the spring, which likely means the pricing on the existing cameras will drop.

We've been struggling with the research & decision-making for a dSLR for over a year now. We're waiting on the Canon XSi to hit stores in April, and if we like it, that's the one we're getting. But at this price point, its not a decision that can be made in a day or two.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

So I agree you probably need to launch into some research before jumping in. Start with dSLRs in general, then move to the brands you mentioned and others.

I will offer what little I know from researching this myself recently, in particular because you mentioned the Olympus models which I was interested in too.

There will be a learning curve with whatever you buy. How steep this is depends on your experience and knowledge of photography basics. There is a book called Understanding Exposure which can help you learn the basics if you need help with that.

The Olympus E-410 is very small but lacks in body image stabilization and is a bit akward to hold. (BJ's had a great deal on this camera around the holidays.) The E-510 is a bit bigger, but still small-ish and light compared to other dSLRs. It has in body image stabilization and a more comfortable hold. This lightness of body comes at a price: they have a smaller sensor than most dSLRs and utilize a 4:3 aspect ratio. With that said, they are nice cameras nonetheless (though not always popular among many) that are affordable and also offer live view LCD, great kit lenses and built in sensor cleaning, among other features. They take CF and XD cards. If you want to buy more lenses you must buy those that are compatible with Olympus cameras with a 4:3 aspect ratio, and some of these can be expensive. Beach Camera has the E-510 with two lenses for around $650.

If some of the features of the E-510 interest you, you might want to consider waiting until April when Canon releases the EOS Rebel XSi (@ ~ $899 w/ 1 lens) which has some of the same ones (lens IS, not in-body), and also takes SD cards, has a larger sensor, 3:2 aspect ratio and a 9 pt AF system (compared to the Oly's 3 pt). This is what I'm leaning towards now myself since I had to wait anyway and have been using a Canon S3 for a while now which will hopefully help my learning curve (not to mention I have tons of SD cards).

I don't know anything about the Sony or Nikon.

(Hopefully all of my information is accurate, but if it isn't, I'm sure someone will correct me.)

Good luck with your purchase. Let us know what you get, and hopefully you'll be sharing lots of your pictures here.

 

[Groucho]

Even with a 20% coupon, it's unlikely that Circuit City or Best Buy will be able to touch the price that you can get from a quality online retailer like Beach Camera.

The models you should be considering are the Nikon D40/D40x, Canon XT/XTi, Sony A100, and Olympus E410/E510. Normally the Pentax K100D/K100D Super would be my favorite recommendation but Pentax will be releasing the K200D in the next couple weeks and the K100D and K100D Super were selling like crazy so are sold out in many places. The Pentax K10D is still available many places and is still an incredible deal but is not an entry-level camera and may be a little much if you're not used to a DSLR - there's no Auto mode, scene modes, etc.

Other than that... the Sony A100 and Olympus E510 (and all the Pentaxes) offer image stabilization with all lenses, whereas the Canon and Nikon require you to buy special (expensive) lenses if you want stabilization. The Olympus is, I believe, the smallest but has the most expensive lenses and the fewest choices. The Sony and Olympus have slightly worse high-ISO performance than the Canon and Nikon. The Nikon won't autofocus with some lenses (mostly older-design and prime lenses), though many such lenses are being updated to focus properly. The Canon is often knocked for ergonomics and build quality, especially of the kit lens. (The kit lens that will come with the new XSi is supposedly much better optically but still built very cheaply. Similarly, the XSi will finally get spot metering, which has been sorely lacking from the older Rebel models.)

Point being, no DSLR is quite perfect, yet you'll rarely find an unhappy DSLR owner of any make as they are excellent and a big jump over a point-n-shoot.

 

[MICKEY88]

as far as Sony goes, I'd skip the A100 and look at the A200 or if you wait a month or so the A300 or A350

 

[MICKEY88]

If some of the features of the E-510 interest you, you might want to consider waiting until April when Canon releases the EOS Rebel XSi (@ ~ $899 w/ 1 lens) which has some of the same ones (lens IS, not in-body), and also takes SD cards, has a full size sensor, 3:2 aspect ratio and a 9 pt AF system (compared to the Oly's 3 pt). .

full size sensor...????

 

[ukcatfan]

full size sensor...????

I believe the comparison is to a full APS-C sensor and not a full frame sensor. It seems like it was just bad wording.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

full size sensor...????

Post edited to reflect the Canon's sensor is larger than the Olympus'.

(Short of that, have no idea if it's full size or not. )

 

[scottie]

Wow everyone hear is a wealth of great knowledge, thank you! I do foresee myself ending up with a Nikon model when all is said and done but I believe I will hold off for the time being and research a bit more. I do know we will stick with using the stock kit lens for quite a while with whatever camera we decide on.
I may just wait on the arrival of those new models for the various manfs over the coming weeks to see how pricing drops on the "old" models and pick one up at that time.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

the Canon and Nikon require you to buy special (expensive) lenses if you want stabilization.

I'm glad you brought that up. For that reason, I'm not yet ruling out the e-510. I also really like the feel of it.

I see that Beach Camera has dropped it's price as well, to $639 w/2 lenses. Hmm...

 

[ukcatfan]

Wow everyone hear is a wealth of great knowledge, thank you! I do foresee myself ending up with a Nikon model when all is said and done but I believe I will hold off for the time being and research a bit more. I do know we will stick with using the stock kit lens for quite a while with whatever camera we decide on.
I may just wait on the arrival of those new models for the various manfs over the coming weeks to see how pricing drops on the "old" models and pick one up at that time.

Another thing to consider is why you want a DSLR. If it is for low light, then you need to consider that the kit lens is better than a p&s, but not the best option. For that, you should consider a fast, wide aperture, lens (usu. a prime lens). For most brands this would normally be a 50mm wide aperture (~f/1.4-1.8). If you go with a Nikon D40, D40x, or D60 then the typical inexpensive option is out the window, if you want to auto focus, b/c the body does not have a focus motor in it. You need the lenses to have it built in. That does not mean that you are out of luck, but you will have to spend more for a compatible AF wide aperture prime lens.

Other brands have other shortcomings, which is more the reason to really study before buying. I have a Pentax K100D.

Kevin

 

[Groucho]

Post edited to reflect the Canon's sensor is larger than the Olympus'.

(Short of that, have no idea if it's full size or not. )

If we want to compare "full size", we could point out that the Canon APS sensors are smaller than the APS sensors in the Pentax, Nikon, and Sony DSLRs. (1.6 vs 1.5 crop factor. And no, it's really not enough to make much of a difference in the real world, though it does mean you'll have a little less at the wide end and a little more at the long end.)

 

[scottie]

I have completed visits to local camera shops and did some major reading online and find myself leaning towards the Nikon D40 with the 18-135 lens kit. Any thoughts on this combo?