Advice and Recommandations.

[dreamerexe]

Hi Guys, recently i am trying to buy a digital SLR. BUT i am a total newbie to this hobby of mine.

Firstly any gd recommandation of SLR, irregardless of BRAND.

Secondly read from the price list thread, there are (body) & (kit), what are the differences?

thirdly my budget is around 1.5k to 2k

thank you for the help of you brothers

dreamerexe

[petetherock]

You will need a lens and a camera body, either as a kit or a body only with your choice of lenses.

The D80 plus kit lens 18-135 is in your budget

The Canon 400D plus a 17-85 IS is also around the upper limits of your budget

IF you really want to save, get a D40 kit (not the D40x) and use it first < 900$, then buy a good lens later


Try both, their ergonomics and see

I have been using Nikon for 18yrs (film) and I just got my first DSLR

I waited til I feel D SLRs can be as fine as my old Nikon and Nikkors

Technology has come to a nice maturity.

See the feature count and feel the equipment, there is not a lot of difference in the CCD / type of chip, the mega-pixel is not that important, but the type of lenses and their quality is.

Stick to your budget and take whatever you buy out for a spin... Whatever you buy, remember its the eye and brain behind the camera which captures the beautiful shot.

[Heliopanuser]

Get the D80. Period.

[petetherock]

Depending on which forum you ask, you may get different recommendations

This a summary from a D80 review:

http://www.bythom.com/d80review.htm

"Pentax K10D. A clear bargain for the impressive feature set. (But I reserve judgment to change its place in this list if the image quality doesn't match or exceed the D80's.)
Nikon D80. Slightly more responsive (very fast shutter lag, for instance) than the others, no glaring faults. Excellent image quality in all ways I test, and perfectly usable at ISO 1600.
Canon Digital Rebel XTi (400D). The low-price leader, but it shows, I think. Just compare viewfinders with the above two. Canon no longer has the high ISO image quality advantage.
Sony Alpha 100. Should be priced like the Canon, but the biggest liability is the higher ISO image quality, which doesn't match that of the other cameras.
But I repeat: you won't go far wrong with any of them. "

[dreamerexe]

Thank you Brother pete for the useful information..... may i ask if theres any shop in singapore that holds a good reputation of selling nikon SLR??

dreamerexe

[petetherock]

MS Color, CP, Lords John etc compete well on service and price, each has their following, see the price guide for an idea of price then go down and ask for yourself.
P

[jnet6]

It's off topic for here to ask any brand since this is a Nikon subforum.

Answer to your second question. (body or kit)
-body means just the camera body alone.
-kit means a "standard" lens to be package with the body.

Before you start to jump to any DSLR.
Do take note that it will be necessary to buy certain accessories:
- Dry Box
- Camera bag
- Filter
- External flash
- Extra batteries for camera/flash
- Extra storage cards(eg. CF/SD)
- Blower
- Microfiber cloth
- Cleaning brush

Anymore things did i miss out??? Do help to add it in.
All this "small small" accessories added up will scretch your budget over 2k.
So do keep in mind.

[petetherock]

I agree it is a Nikon subforum, but experienced and senior members should keep it objective for the new ones, so we don't just diss other brands and direct them to the other subforums, don't you agree?

Cheers

I would add:
- polarising filter
- bean bag (acts as a mini tripod)

[spazzer]

Originally Posted by dreamerexe Hi Guys, recently i am trying to buy a digital SLR. BUT i am a total newbie to this hobby of mine. Firstly any gd recommandation of SLR, irregardless of BRAND. Secondly read from the price list thread, there are (body) & (kit), what are the differences? thirdly my budget is around 1.5k to 2k thank you for the help of you brothers dreamerexe

ok firstly think about it a dslr is not a cheap investment and if it would to be kept in ur drybox might as well don buy and i rather u rent one with and rent lenses if u were to buy and use it often than it would be money well spent and a good camera to start off with would either be a second hand d70 <1.5k with money to keep for some lenses and maybe a d80 with kit(18-135mm) and i think a 50mm 1.8 should cost about 180 so taking the body of a d80 kit at about 1.8k plus a 180 it should be less than 2k?

[dreamerexe]

thank you bros for helping... i am very sorry for posting this question in here ...

well actually in my mind i wanted to by nikon brand thats y i am in this sub forum .. but sadly to say i knew too little about SLR ... so thought of asking in here.. then came the idea y dun i ask to c if any brothers here can help with the brand.. as in seniors should have used a couple of brands before ....

Well the information that you brothers gave is very very useful for a newbie like me.... thanks alot ... i will settle for D80 kits . . . .

but to learn about how to use SLR i think i got a long way to go .. so i think i will get the SLR first then slowly slowly learn it ...

i hope when i have problems with my NIKON D80 u brothers can help me in this forum ... thanks alot brothers ...

dreamerexe

[jnet6]

Not a problem and do read your manual first before asking some questions.
Sometimes the answer is just right in front of you(in yr d80 box)...
No harm to do a search on certain terms and question too.

[psychobiologist]

Originally Posted by dreamerexe thank you bros for helping... i am very sorry for posting this question in here ... well actually in my mind i wanted to by nikon brand thats y i am in this sub forum .. but sadly to say i knew too little about SLR ... so thought of asking in here.. then came the idea y dun i ask to c if any brothers here can help with the brand.. as in seniors should have used a couple of brands before .... Well the information that you brothers gave is very very useful for a newbie like me.... thanks alot ... i will settle for D80 kits . . . . but to learn about how to use SLR i think i got a long way to go .. so i think i will get the SLR first then slowly slowly learn it ... i hope when i have problems with my NIKON D80 u brothers can help me in this forum ... thanks alot brothers ... dreamerexe

this thread covers a lot on the D80

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=290533

if you have any questions feel free to ask

[dreamerexe]

thanks you guys for ur valuable comments n advice...

hope these valuable comments keep coming in... but notice that D80 pictures produce quite alot of noise... izzit due to ISO? or maybe some kind of lens can reduce it? =)

[jnet6]

Grab a camera do test shot and print out.
Don't just see 100%(Zoom) from yr LCD/CRT.
It is always too noisy to see at this size.

[dreamerexe]

Bros ... i saw a D80 Kit in harvey norman .... 2,334 $$$ is that way too Xpensive ?

[jnet6]

Originally Posted by dreamerexe Bros ... i saw a D80 Kit in harvey norman .... 2,334 $$$ is that way too Xpensive ?

Since u said is harvey norman, mostly they sell the things @ RRP. So do you think that is expensive?
At least is not over the RRP provided by Nikon.
http://www.nikon.com.sg/productitem....901-a80db46ea3