Whos got the best entry level SLR digi cam

[beet]

sony, nikon ?

[duey]

nikon, and/or canon would be .o2

I personally use a nikon d50 and love it.

[The Snowman]

I like my Olympus E-Volt E500. Eqasy to use and takes awesome pictures. And you can't beat the price. You can get an outfit that comes with 2 different zoom lenses (14-45mm and 40-150mm) for under $700.

[OreoGaborio]

just buy a Nikon so you can say "WILL WAS CHECKIN OUT MY PEE PEE!!!"

[RyanNicholson]

stick w/ a nikon or a canon....they both make models that are very well equipped entry level cameras. and they have the best glass of any of them. its all about the lenses.

[benVFR]

Buy whatever your friends and/or family members already have.. then you can share/swap stuff.

[markbvt]

If you already have a film SLR, stick with whatever brand you've got so you can use the same lenses. If not, you'll be fine with either Canon or Nikon. They're roughly equivalent in image quality and build quality. I have a Canon Digital Rebel XTi and love it -- small enough to still be reasonably convenient to carry, but the image quality is way way way better than a point-n-shoot camera.

If you don't already have a film SLR and corresponding lenses, then you'll be tempted to buy the kit that contains the camera body and a zoom lens. Don't do it. The zoom lenses included in those kits are cheap pieces of shit. Buy the camera body only and a separate lens -- it'll cost a little more, but you can choose the right lens for your needs. Some of the third party lenses (Tamron especially) offer very good quality at a much lower price than the equivalent-quality Canon or Nikon lenses. When I bought my Rebel XTi I also bought a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 lens; it's noticeably sharper and contrastier than the Canon 28-105 zoom I already had for my 35mm SLR.

And do yourself a favor and set your camera to shoot in RAW mode -- you'll have to process the images with software after downloading them to your computer, but the image quality is much better than the camera's built-in jpeg conversion.

--mark

[RyanNicholson]

yea hes right about 99% of that. ^ the raw image isn't entirely necessary but its definitely something to keep in mind. dont be super worried about the body, you could buy a low level body and a high end lens and get REALLY good pics.

i'm not a photographer myself, but one of my best friends is a well known fashion/glamour photographer and i help him out a lot on post production work and setting up shoots. i learn all i can from him

he just sold his nikon D200 a little while ago and got a canon 5d with this incredible 70-200 lens (forget the f stop but its super fast) and his pics are incredible. sorry, i know that isn't entry level stuff but the quality blows my mind.

[nefarious]

70-200 2.8L Great lens.

Go hold and play with them. I simply don't like the controls on the nikons. Like others have said, spend you money on glass up front.. hell even if you could get a used 10d or 20d with good glass youll be okay and once you want to advance past entry level, you will still have a decent back up body.

What are you looking to spend?

[Tricky Mike]

70-200 2.8L Great lens.

+1
I sprang for the IS, too... really saves my ass every now and then when there's no photographer's pit, the room is packed and I can't flash.

75mm, 1/250th, F4.0, ISO 400:

[markbvt]

yea hes right about 99% of that. ^ the raw image isn't entirely necessary but its definitely something to keep in mind.

Have your buddy shoot in RAW + JPEG mode and process the RAW images in a really good app like Capture One or RAW Developer (don't bother with Adobe Camera Raw or Canon's own shitty Digital Photo Professional), then compare them side by side with the jpegs. The difference in image quality is huge.

Sure, a DSLR's jpeg mode still looks way better than a point-n-shoot's, but if you're going to lug around a big, expensive camera with big, expensive glass on it, why wouldn't you want to get the best image quality possible?

--mark

[nefarious]

Because for some people RAW is just a hassle.

[nefarious]

+1
I sprang for the IS, too... really saves my ass every now and then when there's no photographer's pit, the room is packed and I can't flash.

75mm, 1/250th, F4.0, ISO 400:

Yeah sorry I meant the IS version. Loved mine, and I am sure I will have another one day soon.

[The Snowman]

Have your buddy shoot in RAW + JPEG mode and process the RAW images in a really good app like Capture One or RAW Developer (don't bother with Adobe Camera Raw or Canon's own shitty Digital Photo Professional), then compare them side by side with the jpegs. The difference in image quality is huge.

Sure, a DSLR's jpeg mode still looks way better than a point-n-shoot's, but if you're going to lug around a big, expensive camera with big, expensive glass on it, why wouldn't you want to get the best image quality possible?

--mark

Then make sure you're packing a lot of big storage card space, since RAW images on the entry level dSLRs takes upwards of 15MB for each image.

[nefarious]

Storage isn't really an issue, you can get something like the epson or argos media drives fairly cheap.

Raw has its advantages if the end user is good with Capture One etc. If not the pictures will always look less sharp and not packing as much contrast compared to the in camera processing.

[markbvt]

Raw has its advantages if the end user is good with Capture One etc. If not the pictures will always look less sharp and not packing as much contrast compared to the in camera processing.

Wow. Not my experience AT ALL. Even the newest DIGIC 3-based in-camera processing sucks compared to any of the RAW processing apps.

I dunno, maybe I just take it seriously enough to put the effort into creating images of the highest quality possible. If I want quick and convenient, I'll use my Canon SD400 point-n-shoot, which has the added benefit of being tiny enough to put in my pants pocket. If I'm going to lug the SLR around, I treat it like I did when I used to shoot film: select the best shots and process them individually for maximum quality.

--mark

[nefarious]

lol trust me i think i take it just as if not more serious then you.... but i am not talking you vs me... i am talking someone with say a 5D and no idea how to use any of the various RAW converters, doesn't understand curves or sharpening techniques.

[beet]

Under a G thanks you guys helped.

[nefarious]

I believe Jaynus just found a good deal on a 20D package for under 1000

[markbvt]

i am talking someone with say a 5D and no idea how to use any of the various RAW converters, doesn't understand curves or sharpening techniques.

I would hope that people like that would not spend $3k on a 5D when they can have equally good results with an $800 Rebel XTi. But of course there have always been plenty of people with more money than sense.

--mark

[Jaynnus]

I believe Jaynus just found a good deal on a 20D package for under 1000

Yup.....and priced it elsewhere for almost double.