Entry Level D-SLR cameras

1Fast68 · Oct 6, 2008

I know we have some good camera people on here, anybody care to offer up some advice?

I am in the market for a somewhat entry level Digital SLR camera to take pictures with while I am snowmobiling as well as taking pictures of cars and stuff when i am at the race track in the summer.

I've been looking at cameras like the Canon 400D XTI or Nikon D40x but am open to anything. I have really no experience with much more than a point and shoot camera and have never been happy with the blue snow those cameras produced. So here I am looking for some advice. Obviously durability is paramount as well as ease of use and $$$, I don't plan on dropping the camera, but I have managed to break the screen on one of the old point and shoots I had. (in front pocket of jacket, met handle bars quite hard). I also don't want it to be obsolete in a year so keep that in mind

As far as my price range, I'd like to keep it around about $400-$600 for a body and starter lense. That will leave me able to buy some more items like a nice case to keep it in and I'll buy more lenses later on as I can afford them.

Any advice? I've been doing some reading but am looking for some advice from real people, not big magazines and professionals who talk above my comprehension level.

icr · Oct 6, 2008

I just got a canon rebel xsi, and I'm very happy with it. It has beginner settings and advanced, so you can make it as technical as you want. It would be towards the top end of your price range with a basic wide angle lense but I think you'll be happier buying a nice camera with a cheap lense and upgrading the lense later.

Photoshop can help a lot with color casts as well (ie; blue snow)

brahm · Oct 6, 2008

I started off with a 10d (back when they were new).... but I would avoid a DLSR unless you need one.

I plan on buying a regular point & shoot for this year. Unless I'm going out for the sake of just shooting (which does happen often) I hate lugging around a 60lb bag w/camera lenses, batteries ect ect ect.. then spending my time switching lens instead of just snapping away while my friends are doing something fun and spur of the moment. You can get an upper end P&S that has manual settings so you can set white balance ect.. something like a power shot G9/G10

tomx · Oct 6, 2008

I shoot with a Nikon D50. Picked up on a steal off the intern0t for $319 right before the D40 came out. Got a Nikkor 18-70mm used lens of Craigs for $200 for a lady that worked at a camera shop. The continuous shot kills for sledding shots. Usually I just crank out like 5-9 shots in a sequence and most of the time get a good shot in there.

Sometimes the whole sequence which is super cool, especially on cornice drops and air time type shots. I hope to pick up the 10.5mm fish and maybe a decent 200mm sometime this season, but sled parts come first right now. :face-icon-small-ton

I shoot with it on vacation, misc sports (skateboarding, motorcross, snowboarding, sledding) and just love the results. For a cheap SLR it can't be beat. I bet you could find the body really cheap by some shop that has old stock.

But like Bram said, it's pretty much a pain to lug it out with you. Mine spends more time in the car then it does out on the hill most seasons. I pretty much only take it out on sunny days which basically is never in the PacNW.

I bought a :camera:Olympus Stylus 850:camera: (Waterproof, Shockproof, Freezeproof). Thats the cam I'll be taking out daily this season.

sdobbs20 · Oct 6, 2008

i learned with a canon rebel xti.

they are all pretty basic, and once you know one you know just about the rest of them.

prices have been coming down on them, could probably pick up a 2 year old one for $400 or so, with maybe a lense not that much more.

lenses are going to be most of your expenses- telephotos, fisheyes, fast lenses are all pretty pricey and value depreciates rather quickly.

often, if you pick up a photographer magazine there will be packages that include the camera, a lense (or 2), and a pack for all of it.

the convenience of a dslr is awesome. just set it on auto if you want the ease of just point and shoot just much higher quality, or you can flip everything to manual and adjust it appropriately with the focus, aperture, and shutter speed, as well as iso.

any questions with any thing just pm me.

Dunatic · Oct 6, 2008

If I was you I would spend a little more money on a good weather sealed body, maybe find a used Nikon D200, you wouldn't have to worry about using it in the wet weather. I used to use one, it is a good weather sealed body and gets 5fps, it was originally a $1800 body, now you could probably find one for 7-9 hundred bucks, find a used 18-135 lens.

I use a top load zoom Lowepro bag with a chest harness, I ride with it almost every ride, quick and easy access to get great shots.

some of my favorite shots http://s123.photobucket.com/albums/o291/UtahPix/lucis%20art/?start=all alot of them taken with the D200, I upgraded to the D300

Ancient Sledder · Oct 6, 2008

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-T100. It's not an SLR,but it takes a really good picture and shoots decent video. Small enough to fit in a coat pocket.

dog breath · Oct 6, 2008

Most people buy Canon or Nikon but there are other cameras such as the Pentax and Sony that I believe deserve a look. I suggest you go to http://www.dpreview.com/ and go to buyers guide and search for cameras based on what you want. Most entry level dsl cameras are less than $750.

PowderProject · Oct 6, 2008

The d 40 x is a great entry camera. It takes great shots. No need for anything else unless you are doing sequence shots.

x-guy · Oct 7, 2008

I personally have the Rebel XTI, its a great camera, but one downfall of the canon cameras is the image staibilization is built into the lense, which adds a big cost into the lense, where I believe Sony and Nikon have the image stabilization built into the camera body, so the lenses are alot cheaper if you go to expand.

Rob1334 · Oct 7, 2008

I have the Nikon d40, and love it. I have used it a lot for going in the field for scenery shots at work, a kayaking trip, and many vacations. Have taken lots of pictures with it at car shows and ther clarity of it is awesome!!!

I am very beginner with cameras and have yet to try manual shots, but have gotten some very professional grade pictures. Lenses will be a little more for it as said above, but nothing to terrible.

I have not tried it sledding yet, but looking forward to it.

Even at Bestbuy you can pick this up in your price range.

RMKcowboy · Oct 8, 2008

Another vote for the XTI, but for sledding it would be kind of cumbersome to haul around (plus my wife would kill me if I broke her camera). I would get a hi-res point-and-shoot cam for sledding.

sabels · Oct 8, 2008

XTI here as well, great camera and after you learn the basics you can take some great pics. Took ours out on the last trip this april and I was scared the whole time that i might bail and land on it so from now on it's the Sony DSCw100 with 8.1mp and the manual mode I can get some decent shots out of it.

Scott · Oct 8, 2008

sabels said:
XTI here as well, great camera and after you learn the basics you can take some great pics. Took ours out on the last trip this april and I was scared the whole time that i might bail and land on it so from now on it's the Sony DSCw100 with 8.1mp and the manual mode I can get some decent shots out of it.

That's what I used.

I use the sea and sand mode on warm sunny snow days.

HighMark Adventures · Oct 8, 2008

Wow thats a loaded question. If your just going to invest in a dslr and keep it on the auto setting it kinda defeats the purpose so I would just go with the point and shoot. If your willing to learn a little then I would go with the dslr. You can get great deals on mid levels cameras with a few pieces of glass for a good price right now. The canon xsi is an awesome camera. Like already said earlier go to a few camera review sites look up what your interested in.

Possibilities are endless with a dslr , with a p&s you are limited. But then again a dslr is bigger,heavier and the glass even bigger and heavier , that becomes a problem for some peeps. Takes more effort to pull it out , more gear to pack ,etc. It really depends on what you want to do "picture wise" If you do go with a p&s make sure it captures raw, lots of them do now. It will give you way more options in pp and you can fix the "blue snow" real quick.

Stay away from the touch screen on the p&s and make sure it has a view finder. On a bright day you can`t see shiat on the lcd. With a view finder you can still look to compose your shot. Hard to explain until you experience it for yourself.

Remember shooting in snow is one of the hardest things to do. Search it on google. Lots of good info on settings ,tips ,etc.

Even the most expensive cameras take bad pictures if you don`t know how to work it.

Good luck.

Feel free to pm me. I would be happy to try and answer any questions you might have. Veedy or Graham would be good choices to hit up also.

1Fast68 · Oct 8, 2008

I am still trying to learn more about whats out there, I am in no immediate rush to run out and buy one and regret my choice later.

I am willing to learn, And i am a college student so photography classes are readily available to me which is a big plus. I like the idea of DSLR cameras and the quality and customization that comes with them but at the same time, When out riding, i want to ride, not spend a bunch of time setting everything up, More just looking to get good quality pics so i can look back on my rides later on.

So I think something like the new canon G10 is really appealing to me. P&S but about as close to a DSLR as your going to get as far as contol.

Thanks for all the advice guys, I appreciate it.

Veedy · Oct 9, 2008

Go DSLR all the way. If you want medeocre shots buy a P&S. The only P&S cams I would recommend are the Canon G7/9/10, S5IS, Nikon P80, or P6000 and there are a few other P&S cams but we wont get into those. The D40x is a great little camera, it's light and compact compared to the next models up, and fairly fast in good light. Same with the D60 and Canon's 400D and 450D, nice rigs for the dough. If your fairly serious get a new or used D200 and 18-200 or faster lens. The D300 is a little more dough, but worth the upgrades to CMOS, etc. ( IMHO ) The 40D canon and now the 50D are very capable cams as well, but they lack the weather sealing that the Nikon's have. Another good look is the Pentax K20D and the 18-250 lens. That camera is weather sealed tighter than a ducks butt and the 18-250 lens is nice and sharp. The camera has in body stabilization so any lens you put on is automatically stabilized. Do some research and check out DPreview.com , the only thing about that site is that the reviews are VERY in depth and takes some photographic knowledge to understand what they are reviewing.
Good luck !

phatty · Oct 9, 2008

just picked up a canon 40D this summer. 70-200MM lens and 16-35 Wide angle lens along with the standard 28-135 lens. Its fantastic and i am very happy with my purchase. Weather sealing is not an issue as the camera wont be out in crappy snowing/raining conditions. If your going to shoot pictures in a snow storm might as well use the P&S kind.

The camera was super easy to learn! Get r done!!!

SledGimp · Oct 9, 2008

I am with Phatty, love my Canon. Remember that P&S cameras dont shoot multiple frames like a DSLR does.

tbeaton · Oct 9, 2008

I always believe that when buying a camera you should buy one made by a camera company like, cannon, nikon etc... my fiance has 2 cannons, on an dslr and one p&s. never hurts to have one of each. i take the p&s to go riding, i don't want to bang up the 1k plus camera.

Entry Level D-SLR cameras

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