Dilemma in choosing a dslr camera


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animeonegai

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Jun 24, 2008
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Hi,

I'm a new user in clubsnap and a newbie wanting to jump ship from consumer digital camera to DSLR camera.

Need some suggestion from you guys over which camera I should go for...

Have a few cameras that I've zoom down to:

Canon 400D
Nikon D80
Olympus E510 (4/3 system)
All these have about the same IQ. Just a different aspect ratio used (3:2 and 4:3)

I'm looking for a camera that is mainly easy to use (point and shoot kind), landscape and the occasionally events namely PC shows where I can take beautiful pictures. Budget is a major factor for me, so I can only get second hands :( .

I've read the reviews from dpreview for these cameras but I'm still not sure which is better. Therefore need you guys to help me identify which camera I should get. Thanks!
 

hmm.. perhaps you can go down to the shops and have a feel of the cameras you mentioned. From what I learnt here is different brands have different 'feels' of the cameras. Go personally to explore the camera, see which 1 is able to suit you most =)

I have the 400D and I love it. But the bad thing is after I bought it, 450D came out with the live-view function and a 3.0" LCD. I almost stabbed myself. Haha.. Im not sure about the other cameras but im sure different people have different opinions on the cameras you have mentioned =)

and welcome to clubsnap!
 

Will try to go down to shops and try out...

don't really have much time on my hand as I'm busy with my work. And there's one event coming which i'm looking forward to. So will need to get a dslr before that..
 

IMHO, please do take time to go through similar posts in here.
Most would ask you to go to the shops and get hold of one, feel it, and get something that you'll be most comfortable with.

...and welcome to CS!
 

Share with you one technique that i learned from one of the more experienced sports shooter - Kongping.

That is to rent the use of the camera (you can find the contacts of the rental companies on CS).

Rent the camera over the weekends and shoot until you shoot no more. If the desire to buy (whichever brand) is not that great, then drop it. If you start shooting on a particular brand and it 'works' for you, then the camera is for you.

The cost of renting vs the costs of a wrong choice outweights the other.
 

If you dont intend to get many lenses then go for the D40 nikon. It only uses the newer AFS models.

If you want to build lens collection then go for D80.

I think Nikon lens system has easy compatibility with their bodies. Canon have a bit more complex and messy lens system in my opinion.

Plus, flash system for Nikon is better than canon and user menu is more logical.

One thing i dont like about the D80 is the mushy buttons and tendency to overexpose pictures when EV is set to 0. Need to move it to -0.3 or -0.7.

But as a nikon D80 user, I am very happy with it even with no live view. Feature is a bonus to have but not a must.

I think Lens is way more impt to me. :)
 

this coming sunday will try get hold on these cameras.

Btw, is I.S. a good feature in DSLR cameras?
 

this coming sunday will try get hold on these cameras.

Btw, is I.S. a good feature in DSLR cameras?

Just my 2 cents worth.

Definitely. Imagine using a long zoom lens and if you have shaky hands like mine, w/o IS I don't think I can get any good pictures. But do note that lenses with IS will be much pricey than those w/o, so better to get a cam with IS build in the body. In that case, even a cheapo lens comes with IS. ;) Bodies that comes with IS are Sony, Pentax & Olympus.
 

pentax and olympus are using 4/3 systems... heard that printing them out will be a little more difficult..
 

pentax and olympus are using 4/3 systems... heard that printing them out will be a little more difficult..

Get your facts right.
Pentax is similar to Nikon and Sony in having a 1.5x crop sensor, the Olympus 4/3 system has a slightly smaller sensor that gives a 2x crop factor.

There are no problems printing from a Pentax camera.
 

welcome to CS . there are hundreds of posts similiar to yours, which camera to get. there will be no end to answers, Canon will boasts their stuff, nikon will boasts theirs.

I will tell you this : There are no bad cameras out there. I have tried Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm, Pentax as well as Sony cameras and loved them all. Each and every company out there have their flaws and good points. there is no best systems in the world, but best photographer who knows their limits with the camera and find ways to overcome it.

I know of people and even heard of people owning 2 systems and some who like to jumpship often as they were not satisfied. I will say i come from Nikon. It's not bad. I love it. It fits nicely in my hands and i love the UI(user interface) compared to Canon. Peoople will disagree with me but this is one thing important - how does the camera feel to you? You have to try it out yourself. you have to touch, feel and meddle with the camera before deciding as afer the purchase, there is no turning back except for selling it off at a loss that is.

Canon has good noise control and media publicity. i've used a few canon models, I loved it too, i had the oppurtunity to rent the cameras though i had my own system. i've tried pentax too, and loved it so much i almost got it.

at the end of the day, its you. i wont say which brand would suit you, i would say go down to the shops and try it out yourself. If you need people telling you what brand , you're not ready to get one :)

that's my humble 1 cent opinion

welcome again ;)
 

Get your facts right.
Pentax is similar to Nikon and Sony in having a 1.5x crop sensor, the Olympus 4/3 system has a slightly smaller sensor that gives a 2x crop factor.

There are no problems printing from a Pentax camera.

sorry. Didn't read enough

welcome to CS . there are hundreds of posts similiar to yours, which camera to get. there will be no end to answers, Canon will boasts their stuff, nikon will boasts theirs.

I will tell you this : There are no bad cameras out there. I have tried Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm, Pentax as well as Sony cameras and loved them all. Each and every company out there have their flaws and good points. there is no best systems in the world, but best photographer who knows their limits with the camera and find ways to overcome it.

I know of people and even heard of people owning 2 systems and some who like to jumpship often as they were not satisfied. I will say i come from Nikon. It's not bad. I love it. It fits nicely in my hands and i love the UI(user interface) compared to Canon. Peoople will disagree with me but this is one thing important - how does the camera feel to you? You have to try it out yourself. you have to touch, feel and meddle with the camera before deciding as afer the purchase, there is no turning back except for selling it off at a loss that is.

Canon has good noise control and media publicity. i've used a few canon models, I loved it too, i had the oppurtunity to rent the cameras though i had my own system. i've tried pentax too, and loved it so much i almost got it.

at the end of the day, its you. i wont say which brand would suit you, i would say go down to the shops and try it out yourself. If you need people telling you what brand , you're not ready to get one :)

that's my humble 1 cent opinion

welcome again ;)

Thanks for your comment but what i want to know is which camera is great at which aspect. e.g canon good at ISO, sharpness, nikon ??? olympus ???

:dunno:
 

Just my 2 cents worth.

Definitely. Imagine using a long zoom lens and if you have shaky hands like mine, w/o IS I don't think I can get any good pictures. But do note that lenses with IS will be much pricey than those w/o, so better to get a cam with IS build in the body. In that case, even a cheapo lens comes with IS. ;) Bodies that comes with IS are Sony, Pentax & Olympus.

Sensors with stabiliser in built is good if want to save money on lenses (since lenses with stabilisers are much more expensive). But when see through the viewfinder, your image will be shaky, you must pray that the picture shot will be free from blur.

And there's one event coming which i'm looking forward to. So will need to get a dslr before that..

I suggest you quickly buy your dslr and learn to full it thoroughly. Even buying at 2weeks before, to me, is insufficient to get the hang of using a dslr.

Thanks for your comment but what i want to know is which camera is great at which aspect. e.g canon good at ISO, sharpness, nikon ??? olympus ???

:dunno:

Canon's triumph card is at noise control at high ISO levels. Nikon cams, to me, have better build, rubberised body (not plastic). I find that they are more reliable and consistent. I like the menu layout too. For Olympus, their bodies are claimed to be weatherproof, can shoot under rain and their pricing is very competitive.
 

sorry. Didn't read enough

Thanks for your comment but what i want to know is which camera is great at which aspect. e.g canon good at ISO, sharpness, nikon ??? olympus ???

:dunno:

Read more and understand that SLR is not like Point&Shot where all features are fixed in a cam and cannot be changed. SLR offers changing of lenses and adding additional components.
Read which feature comes from which part of the cam (body, lens, filter etc.) and also check about dependencies (crop factor, Autofocus etc.). Only if you know enough details you can make a good decisions. Quick buy? Can work but chances of big disappointment and loss of money are not small. Also: keep in mind that dSLR needs more learning and understanding of a cam than using PnS.
As others said: there is more than Nikon and Canon and there is no bad camera in the dSLR range. It's merely a question of personal preferences / taste and some technical details that might work for you or not.
 

Hi,

I'm a new user in clubsnap and a newbie wanting to jump ship from consumer digital camera to DSLR camera.

Need some suggestion from you guys over which camera I should go for...

Have a few cameras that I've zoom down to:

Canon 400D
Nikon D80
Olympus E510 (4/3 system)
All these have about the same IQ. Just a different aspect ratio used (3:2 and 4:3)

I'm looking for a camera that is mainly easy to use (point and shoot kind), landscape and the occasionally events namely PC shows where I can take beautiful pictures. Budget is a major factor for me, so I can only get second hands :( .

I've read the reviews from dpreview for these cameras but I'm still not sure which is better. Therefore need you guys to help me identify which camera I should get. Thanks!

Differences that I know:
Canon 400D - no spot metering, use CF card, no top LCD, auto sensor cleaning, light smaller body (feel like toy to me), better noise control at higher iso
Nikon D80 - Has spot metering, use SD card, top LCD, solid bigger body (subjective), iso usable at 800 (subjective).

All cameras are good. Just how you would like the feel of the camera and the camera user interface and the weight.

Oh Yah, maybe you can look for prosumers cameras (G9 is good) since you looking for one which is easy to use.

Just my 2 cents thought.
 

why dont you choose between Canon 450D, Nikon D60 and Olympus E510? but still, the decision lies with you. IF you have decided to get the 400D, i would strongly recommend 450D instead. go down to the shop, feel the camera for yourself. feel how it fits onto your hands, and then, the feature comes in. ;)
 

Let me come from a different angle from the rest...

You're considering to go into DSLR, so let me open the door for you...

1. Buying the camera body with or without a kit lens is JUST THE START.
Its very different with buying a prosumer camera that comes attached with 1 and only 1 lens and pop up flash... also its weight usually is light enough and its size small enough to move around in any bags....

2. You should be look at "SYSTEMS" meaning look at the type of flash, lens it has, the price the lens are, and what are the alternative, and of course the clarity of it.

3. When considering systems, be mindful of a few thing.

Recycle time of flash if u do need one. Lens size. Lens type (the bigger the aperture the more expensive... but you have higher shutter speed) gears like wireless control over the flash and wireless data transfer is a plus...

4. Colour reproduction varies from brand to brand... and don't think you can get away with using AUTO mode... the get the most out of the DSLR using manual rather than let the camera do the thinking...

5. Printing size can be a consideration if u intend to just print out of the camera... and just 4r... using a 3:2 format will still need borders and cropping for different sizes like 5r and 6r. its just a ratio things. And anyway borders always makes the picture look more presentable.

6. Last but not the least... u must hands on the camera... the menu can be a killer if you don't like it... don't charge into it...

Do a search... ur question has been answered many times over in CS.

Welcome to clubsnap :bsmilie:
 

If you have no time, just get a prosumer.

Canon S5IS, Panasonic FZ-18, Olympus SP-570UZ, Fujiflim S8100fd, Nikon P80 or Sony DSC-H50.
 

Thanks for your comment but what i want to know is which camera is great at which aspect. e.g canon good at ISO, sharpness, nikon ??? olympus ???

:dunno:

For sharpness, ask yourself how much money you're willing to spend. A DSLR is more than the body, it's the lens. You want razor-sharp? Get a Sony A700 with a Carl Zeiss 24-70. Your main priority is High ISO? Get a Nikon D3.

It's all a matter of $$$.
 

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