SLR Camera Advice

[cookiemonster]

I will be buying a SLR camera, my first, soon as I want to do more photography, especially in nature (helps with the Masters).

Any recommendations for someones first SLR? I was looking at a Canon.


PS. Mods - I may have put this in the wrong bit of CC, sorry.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Depends on your budget really, and what features you want/need (HD video / high speed shooting etc.). My first D-SLR was the Canon EOS 350D and I have now upgraded to the 5D Mark II. The first is available (still) for about £350 (I think) while the latter is nearer the £1500 mark.

 

[Linford]

I've got a Canon EOS1000D and is a great camera on the bottom end of the DSLRs, however, the image stabilising in this brand is done in the lens and this makes replacement len's very pricey.

I'd seriously consider buy one of the Sony DSLRs as they are effectively Minolta's and will take older minolta len's so you can buy decent second hand kit for sensible money, additionally all the image stabilising in the Sony DSLR cam is in the camera body making new len's much cheaper to buy as older len's for Canons don't have the image stabilising in them. The Son'ys also do full HD video as well if you want to play with this side.

It depends on your budget really.

 

[Crackle]

Whichever brand you go for, look first at the price of the accessories and lenses you may well need for naturalist photography (or naturist, whatever you're into) and work backwards from that because they are not all equal in price and range but in terms of image quality, most of the major brands are quite close and with photoshop working for you, are nearly indistinguishable. Buying that 100mm Macro for close ups, for instance, and it's price, might well be your influence for choosing one make over another.

 

[Hacienda71]

I have a Nikon D3100 which is an entry level D-SLR. It takes excellent photos. The one thing I have found though is that the costs of additional lenses often is higher than the camera and basic lens, so choose wisely what lens you get with the camera.

 

[sdr gb]

I have a Canon 1000D and as Linford says, it's at the bottom end of the DSLR range.. Work out a budget and don't forget to include extras such as filters, tripod, and other things you may need. An idea is to go on Flickr and type the camera model into the search facility, to get an idea of the picture quality from each camera.

 

[ttcycle]

Cookie, what do you need it for? Ie what photography are you going to be shooting? Nature as is Macro or will you need a telephoto ie bird photography.

Do you need fast frame rate? ie capturing fast moving objects/sports etc
How large do you need your files to be?
What's your budget etc?
Will you be printing them etc?

 

[ArDee]

ArDee Jnr. just bought a Canon 550D. He's one of these that reads all the reviews and researches everything before buying and decided on the 550D having done all his research. Takes good pictures from what I can tell.
On Amazon the lens, etc. can be obtained at about a 70% discount, he's looking to buy a zoom at present mrp £350 or so on Amazon the lens is £130.

 

[Linford]

Oh, and another thing, if you were to consider wanting a DSLR to film HD video at a decent frame rate, forget using a DSLR.

 

[ttcycle]

Oh, and another thing, if you were to consider wanting a DSLR to film HD video at a decent frame rate, forget using a DSLR.

Not necessarily two thirds of tv adverts and a couple of feature films have been shot with the Canon 5D mark II - You do however need specialist knowledge and kit for this.

 

[blockend]

Not necessarily two thirds of tv adverts and a couple of feature films have been shot with the Canon 5D mark II - You do however need specialist knowledge and kit for this.

I agree, HD video quality is astonishing but you'll need dollies and steadicams and focus pullers if you want a real movie look. The best thing about DSLRs is they'll take all those great old film camera lenses via an adaptor. For stills, I use film.

 

[Linford]

Not necessarily two thirds of tv adverts and a couple of feature films have been shot with the Canon 5D mark II - You do however need specialist knowledge and kit for this.

As I understood it, The TV channels are only interested in footage shot now in 1080P/50

I did look closely at the DSLR's a few months ago, but none could deliver this. I settled on a proper video camcorder (Panasonic SD900) in the end with class 10 SD cards. I would have gone for the Sony Alpha33 or 55 otherwise, but the frame rates are too low for what I wanted, and that is the only DSLR which offers autofocus on the video as none of the other DSLR manufacturers have their translucent mirror technology

 

[ttcycle]

As I understood it, The TV channels are only interested in footage shot now in 1080P/50

I did look closely at the DSLR's a few months ago, but none could deliver this. I settled on a proper video camcorder (Panasonic SD900) in the end with class 10 SD cards. I would have gone for the Sony Alpha33 or 55 otherwise, but the frame rates are too low for what I wanted, and that is the only DSLR which offers autofocus on the video as none of the other DSLR manufacturers have their translucent mirror technology

It's what they tell you and some people do but there's a lot of keeping costs low so a lot gets filmed with 5D II

 

[Dave7]

As others have said.....
what is your budget?
what do you plan to photograph? You say nature but will that be e.g. birds or macro.
Canon lenses & accessories are generally cheaper than Nikon which may be a factor for you.

 

[blockend]

There are downsides to DSLR movie, like drop out and moire effects, but they can be worked round. TV channels demand the latest tech to keep the plebs out - not because the other stuff isn't up to scratch. If you want wide aperture primes and shallow focus, a DSLR will cost you 1/10th of any other movie system. By and large, autofocus is for home movies.