Nikon D3000 vs Canon 1000D. For a beginner

[skyunicorn]

Pentax only has a 50/1.4 at ~$546. It is of a better build quality and faster (f1.4) than the 50/1.8s that you mentioned.
There are loads of manual focus 50/1.4, 50/1.7(~$120), 50/2 (~$65) in the 2nd hand market if you do not mind manual focusing (in which again, Pentax does offer AF confirmation).
The other options are the FA35/2 (~$700+) or the Sigma 30/1.4 ($750)
The high ISO performance of the Kx will help you for indoor shots, but I would advise you to more importantly learn how to take advantage of available light (eg. window light ). Large aperture lenses (any brand) of any type is a double edged sword. It allows you to shoot in lower light conditions, but the shallower depth of field can mean more missed/blur/OOF shots.


As for Pentax user base. You can check out the sub-forum yourself
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=76

There is always a monthly gathering for chit chat, sharing and photography. This has been one of the long and consistent brand based user gatherings on CS, though users of other brands are welcome as well (there are a few regulars in fact). There will be one on the 14thAug
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=736700
Do bring along whatever camera you have and check out the cameras/lenses/etc yourself.


Pentax history and legacy is here :
http://www.photoxels.com/history_pentax.html
The first Japanese SLR manufacturer with many firsts through its long history.

This was exactly what I found out by looking at the price guide last night. I was pretty set on getting the Pentax thanks to all your recommendations and am intending to get the Kit II set after I actually see a Pentax in person.

However the price of the 50mm f1.4 is soooo expensive compared to the canon 50mm f1.8. To me I think that f1.8 is more than enough for me. On the other hand $899 for 2 lenses seems like a great deal. I do not see the aperture for the kit lenses on the price guide, does anyone know?

I see ourselves visiting the zoo quite often when our baby gets older and can walk, would the 1000D kit lens be able to work? 55mm seems pretty short when you want to take a cool photo of my favourite white tigers.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

This was exactly what I found out by looking at the price guide last night. I was pretty set on getting the Pentax thanks to all your recommendations and am intending to get the Kit II set after I actually see a Pentax in person.

However the price of the 50mm f1.4 is soooo expensive compared to the canon 50mm f1.8. To me I think that f1.8 is more than enough for me. On the other hand $899 for 2 lenses seems like a great deal. I do not see the aperture for the kit lenses on the price guide, does anyone know?

I see ourselves visiting the zoo quite often when our baby gets older and can walk, would the 1000D kit lens be able to work? 55mm seems pretty short when you want to take a cool photo of my favourite white tigers.

Yeah 55mm is kinda short From what I see of people posting their photos of the white tigers, I think the common focal length on a crop camera (such as 1000D, D3000, K-x, etc) would be in the range of 150-200+ mm. I'm not sure what other lens is in your kit II, but I suspect it is something like 55-200mm, which would do just nicely!

 

[skyunicorn]

Yeah 55mm is kinda short From what I see of people posting their photos of the white tigers, I think the common focal length on a crop camera (such as 1000D, D3000, K-x, etc) would be in the range of 150-200+ mm. I'm not sure what other lens is in your kit II, but I suspect it is something like 55-200mm, which would do just nicely!

Yup ! it's a 50-200mm lens

Is a 50mm f1.8 ish kind of lens really necessary for indoor shots?

 

[daredevil123]

Yup ! it's a 50-200mm lens

Is a 50mm f1.8 ish kind of lens really necessary for indoor shots?

No lens is necessary. No lens is fixed to do one kind of photography.

It is up to you to understand the characteristics and capability of each lens, and use that lens to meet the end result you want.

 

[pinholecam]

This was exactly what I found out by looking at the price guide last night. I was pretty set on getting the Pentax thanks to all your recommendations and am intending to get the Kit II set after I actually see a Pentax in person.

However the price of the 50mm f1.4 is soooo expensive compared to the canon 50mm f1.8. To me I think that f1.8 is more than enough for me. On the other hand $899 for 2 lenses seems like a great deal. I do not see the aperture for the kit lenses on the price guide, does anyone know?

I see ourselves visiting the zoo quite often when our baby gets older and can walk, would the 1000D kit lens be able to work? 55mm seems pretty short when you want to take a cool photo of my favourite white tigers.

Yes, in many cases its a law of diminishing returns for lenses.
Then again, look at it this way.
1. It really is faster when you need it (a slower f1.8 lens cannot be faster).
2. It is not greatly expensive (ie. $500+) wrt other lenses that cost $800+ to over $1K.
3. Build quality is better. Metal mount which does not wear. Not plasticky like a budget 50/1.8. Likely to last very very long.

The kit lens is a good deal. The 18-55mm (f3.5-5.6) and 50-200mm (f4-5.6) zoom should suffice for most zoo outings.

Yup ! it's a 50-200mm lens

Is a 50mm f1.8 ish kind of lens really necessary for indoor shots?

Certainly not. In fact indoors, I often shoot stopped down to f3.5 to 5.6 using bounced flash.
Here is a thread I started a while back on taking children photos. Hope you will find it useful.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698116

 

[Rashkae]

If by then nothing new is out, I will go for whatever is available then, because I can't wait to start practicing taking photos !

A390 is in shops already. Much better grip.

 

[skyunicorn]

A390 is in shops already. Much better grip.

oh no ! more choices !

is it a better bang for buck camera than the K-x ?

Actually I am quite worried that the K-x is not as user friendly (dedicated buttons for setting the aperture, iso, shutter speed etc). I have yet to check one out in person, went to courts and the sales guy was like "why you want to buy pentax ! that is so old technology you know. nobody buys pentax anymore ! buy olympus !" Grr i hate such pushy hard salesmen.

 

[torak]

oh no ! more choices !

is it a better bang for buck camera than the K-x ?

Actually I am quite worried that the K-x is not as user friendly (dedicated buttons for setting the aperture, iso, shutter speed etc). I have yet to check one out in person, went to courts and the sales guy was like "why you want to buy pentax ! that is so old technology you know. nobody buys pentax anymore ! buy olympus !" Grr i hate such pushy hard salesmen.

Each brand has something special to offer.

Pentax k-x has a very good high ISO performance.

Sony has the fastest live view of all systems, plus their LCD screen can tilt up or down, thus making it easy to compose ground level photos as well as over head photos. Good if you are in an event and there's alot of people standing in front of you. See the below picture, the photographer tilts his LCD down, and compose his picture thru the LCD.

Nikon D5000 also can adjust their LCD, but its live view is very slow. Sony's tiltable LCD, combined with fast live view, allows much better use of this function.

 

[skyunicorn]

Each brand has something special to offer.

Pentax k-x has a very good high ISO performance.

Sony has the fastest live view of all systems, plus their LCD screen can tilt up or down, thus making it easy to compose ground level photos as well as over head photos. Good if you are in an event and there's alot of people standing in front of you. See the below picture, the photographer tilts his LCD down, and compose his picture thru the LCD.

Nikon D5000 also can adjust their LCD, but its live view is very slow. Sony's tiltable LCD, combined with fast live view, allows much better use of this function.

I can see how it is really useful for pro shooters who cover events. :thumbsup:

however I am a super boring person who hates crowded places. :embrass: So I don't go to events. I see crazy kids gathering to catch glimpse of some korean pop group, I will quickly walk the other way to avoid the crowd.

 

[qwerty628]

This is a great piece of advice ! Since it has become obsolete then I guess the only logical way to go will be the Nikon right? Since I can still see posters of the D3000 advert everywhere.

They're both obsolete. Its just that 1000D is more obsolete. ;p

D3000 does have a cute 'guide' mode that's pretty useful though. But i suggest you hold till their replacements come out

 

[qwerty628]

A390 is in shops already. Much better grip.

Second the sony. Sony is one of the most value for money brand. And they're catching up with canon and nikon with every new release

 

[skyunicorn]

Second the sony. Sony is one of the most value for money brand. And they're catching up with canon and nikon with every new release

even more value for money than the pentax k-x ?

I thought the k-x is by far the most value for money liao?? :dunno: so mind boggling....

 

[pinholecam]

oh no ! more choices !

is it a better bang for buck camera than the K-x ?

Actually I am quite worried that the K-x is not as user friendly (dedicated buttons for setting the aperture, iso, shutter speed etc). I have yet to check one out in person, went to courts and the sales guy was like "why you want to buy pentax ! that is so old technology you know. nobody buys pentax anymore ! buy olympus !" Grr i hate such pushy hard salesmen.

The salesman is just that (a sales man) . I bet he does not even carry Kx in the store :thumbsd:.
He's the one who is outdated

Here are test shots of Kx high ISO capability at ISO3200 (warning- large files)
Kx - http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/KX/FULLRES/KXINBI03200.HTM
D5000 - http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D5000/FULLRES/D5000INBI3200.HTM
A380 - http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/AA380/FULLRES/AA380INBI3200.HTM

 

[skyunicorn]

The salesman is just that (a sales man) . I bet he does not even carry Kx in the store :thumbsd:.
He's the one who is outdated

Here are test shots of Kx high ISO capability at ISO3200 (warning- large files)
Kx - http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/KX/FULLRES/KXINBI03200.HTM
D5000 - http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D5000/FULLRES/D5000INBI3200.HTM
A380 - http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/AA380/FULLRES/AA380INBI3200.HTM

yup ! they don't carry pentax.

that guy is full of bs lah. so hard to find nice sales man nowadays, the nicest one is from SLR Revo so I am definitely going to buy from them. No need to go and ask around liao. Must reward those who bother to be nice and patient to you.

wow wow wow. first time I can see an obvious difference in test shots ! Those that I see from dpreview to me really not alot of diff to convince me to suay any direction.

But from those 3, the best one to me by far is the K-x, the other 2 are so noisy !

 

[qwerty628]

yup ! they don't carry pentax.

that guy is full of bs lah. so hard to find nice sales man nowadays, the nicest one is from SLR Revo so I am definitely going to buy from them. No need to go and ask around liao. Must reward those who bother to be nice and patient to you.

wow wow wow. first time I can see an obvious difference in test shots ! Those that I see from dpreview to me really not alot of diff to convince me to suay any direction.

But from those 3, the best one to me by far is the K-x, the other 2 are so noisy !

D5000 noisy??? I've never known the d5000 to be noisy... It uses the d90 sensor which is supposed to be one of the cleanest around(for crop of course)

 

[qwerty628]

yup ! they don't carry pentax.

that guy is full of bs lah. so hard to find nice sales man nowadays, the nicest one is from SLR Revo so I am definitely going to buy from them. No need to go and ask around liao. Must reward those who bother to be nice and patient to you.

wow wow wow. first time I can see an obvious difference in test shots ! Those that I see from dpreview to me really not alot of diff to convince me to suay any direction.

But from those 3, the best one to me by far is the K-x, the other 2 are so noisy !

K-x is goood though. Ask the salesman to have a reality check. Olympus? They have one of the smallest sensors around! And are generally noisier

 

[zaren]

This was exactly what I found out by looking at the price guide last night. I was pretty set on getting the Pentax thanks to all your recommendations and am intending to get the Kit II set after I actually see a Pentax in person.

However the price of the 50mm f1.4 is soooo expensive compared to the canon 50mm f1.8. To me I think that f1.8 is more than enough for me. On the other hand $899 for 2 lenses seems like a great deal. I do not see the aperture for the kit lenses on the price guide, does anyone know?

I see ourselves visiting the zoo quite often when our baby gets older and can walk, would the 1000D kit lens be able to work? 55mm seems pretty short when you want to take a cool photo of my favourite white tigers.

you can buy the Canon EFS 55-250mm IS lens at $300 later to shoot the white tigers in the zoo. Small, cheap and sharp lens.

 

[zaren]

Yup ! it's a 50-200mm lens

Is a 50mm f1.8 ish kind of lens really necessary for indoor shots?

for a cropped sensor, a fast 35mm lens is more useful than a 50mm lens indoors. The most value for money fast 35mm lens is the Nikon AFS 35mm/1.8 ($350) which would work great on a D3000 or D5000.

A fast lens allows you the flexibility to shoot in natural lighting, as well as the option to use bounced flash (as pinholecam illustrated earlier).

 

[qwerty628]

Indoors: Get afs 35mm f1.8 dx nikkor. If not using nikon get sigma 30mm f1.4. Comes in mount for every manufacturer.

k-x try get the twin lens kit w/ 18-55 and 55-200. This two plus sigma 30mm will be enough for you to go zoo and indoors

 

[torak]

even more value for money than the pentax k-x ?

I thought the k-x is by far the most value for money liao?? :dunno: so mind boggling....

As a sony user, i would still say k-x is more value for money if u wanna compare specs wise, or if u want the best high ISO among the sub $1000 DSLRs. But high ISO performance isnt everything.

Sony does has its advantages, its up to individual how valuable it is to him.

For example, some people dont use live view at all, cos their live view is too slow to shoot anything other than still life.

But Sony's live view is actually fast enough to capture moving objects with no problem. I can even photograph running kids and pets with the live view. Not to mention with the tiltable LCD, I dont hv to lie down on the floor to compose ground level shots. All these are worthless to people who dont use it, but invaluable to those who knows how to make creative use of these functions.