Thinking about buying a DSLR (on a budget)

I personally have a lowly XT but I have several lenses and the biggest factor in my shooting is my Speedlite 580EX II. It is amazing!
 
I went on a trying different cameras spree last month and ended up picking up a D40. I love the quality of the pics and mostly the clarity. Manual mode is pretty easy once you understand it. It took me an hour to figure it out.



Go to Ritz camera and try different ones out. They do not charge any return fees and you can return things within 10 days for an exchange. Don't bother with personal reviews online as most of them are biased regardless of either brand. Try them yourself.



If I had to do all over again, I would buy another Nikon.



If your looking to get a Canon, get an XSI at the least.
 
Grrr this is the second time I'm writing this cause autopia went down and my post got lost. But I currently own only a "lowly" Olympus sp-350 it's a compact but has all the features I regularly need. It's 8 mp, has good sensitivity, a hotshoe, full manual controls (albeit in the menu options), and uses AA batteries. I can take great shots with it even though it's only a compact because it's got an easier to use manual mode than other compacts and a real aperture. The plus side is I can always have it with me. Plus knowing how to take pictures is and how lighting works is the secret to good shots. Take for example these, I can't exactly take pics of my car but this'll have to do.



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This is in full auto mode, still slightly better than other brands including canon's which focus fast in low light but it's still hit or miss and exposure tends to introduce lots of noise in canon mini's when the iso is upped. Not in mine. Focusing tends to take a little longer but when it's locked you'll get a clear shot and noise is kept down by opening the aperture.



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This is with my FL-36 flash bouncing off the ceiling and a low 100 iso and exposure compensation set to +.7 ev. Knowing how to set a camera on the fly for the given condition is something tough to learn and takes practice but is necessary to really take it to the next level. The sad part is that most camera manufacturers set automatic point focus's exposure to make caucasian people appear less pale, consequently they make browner people like me very dark and shiny. Great for cars not for people of color. Spike Lee himself says Hollywood just does not know how to light colored people to make them look good, they're either over made up and just look like tanned white people or they look too dark and oily. In real life they never look like Hollywood movies, I've seen some black stars up close and Lee is right. In his movies they are the right skin tone. So even some pros can't decide how to take a picture. So pick one that you're comfortable with and that easily lets you take manual control of things (some of the lower end canon's make accessing manual controls tougher than need be) and you'll be fine.
 
My wife bought me a Nikon D60 w/lens for my birthday last month. She paid $499 at DigitalLiquidators.com. It's a fantastic setup. I think the vibration resistant lens is worth it, so I would suggest either the D60 package that comes with the VR lens or the D40 camera body, and then buy a VR lens for it. As others have said, don't worry so much about megapixels.
 
Thanks for sharing advice everyone. I appreciate it. Wow Joel_MD, DigitalLiquidators.com has some really great prices. XSi, D60, and the D80 are priced a decent chunk lower than other places! :drool:
 
Hmm, about every review I see refers DigitalLiquidators.com to being a nasty bait & switch operation, although a lot of the reviews are several years old.
 
I bought a Nikon D60 a couple months back and absolutely love it. Probably the best purchase I have ever made.



I walked into the store intending to buy a D40, but liked the VR lens and self cleaning sensor on the D60.
 
I got a Nikon D80 kit with 2 lenses and a bunch of extras for $888 shipped on ebay -$250 rebate from the microsoft live deal. Stack a 10% off ebay coupon next time the deal comes around and you're well under $600 for a D80.
 
shine said:
Hmm, about every review I see refers DigitalLiquidators.com to being a nasty bait & switch operation, although a lot of the reviews are several years old.
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Yep. Plus they're gray market cameras. You can't even pay Nikon USA to service it. They refuse to touch 'em.



Not too big a deal if you have a local repair shop that could handle it, as the warranty was only a year in the first place, but be mindful of this fact.
 
Gopher, that eBay deal looks like a steal, but to bad its not current. I'd hate to have something major go wrong with a gray market camera...



My current Canon will no longer be mine in the next couple days, so I'm gonna need one pretty soon. I'm pretty set on getting one with a VR/IS lens as I think its worth the cost.
 
Well, I've done it. Murdered my budget, that is. :nervous: Made the purchase through Amazon, so I can take advantage of the 30 day price guarantee--if they lower the price on any item purchased in the last 30 days of shipment, your entitled to a refund for the difference. It was going to be the D60, D80, or XSi. I liked what the XSi had over the D60, and the D80 is more dough, atm. So here it is:



-XSi with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens

-EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens
 
Just got a d40 and really love it. its great for those who are learning digital photography. what gets me is that there are people out there who have digital SLRs and never take it off auto (i know several in my car club who i talk to at our national gathering in SLO). if you have a d80 and never take it off auto, thats like having an automatic porsche, or a porsche with touring tires on it -no fun!!



if you dont intend on using the manual features get a nice point and shoot. if you really want to use it and learn how to manually take great pics, i highly recomend the d40 as a great starter. dont worry about anything bigger or better until you master it first as it is quite capable, very affordable, and easy to learn on. the d60 is not worth it for the extra money. the d80 is what you want for 10 mp, but not a starter camera.
 
shine said:
Well, I've done it. Murdered my budget, that is. :nervous: Made the purchase through Amazon, so I can take advantage of the 30 day price guarantee--if they lower the price on any item purchased in the last 30 days of shipment, your entitled to a refund for the difference. It was going to be the D60, D80, or XSi. I liked what the XSi had over the D60, and the D80 is more dough, atm. So here it is:



-XSi with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens

-EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens
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Congrats you will love it. I also have the 50mm 1.8. I used it a lot before I got the 18-55mm IS, but since then I have not touched it. The 18-55mm has replaced it in my collection.



Photoshop Lightroom is great editing software.
 
Great choice! The XSi is an awesome camera, and the 18-55 IS is a great lens to start out with. Check out the EF-S 55-250mm. It's only $260ish, and has been getting awesome reviews! I picked one up and it's extremely sharp, and rather small/lightweight, too.
 
Yea, bang for the buck the 18-55 IS is amazing. Super sharp, good colors and contrast.



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Matt@Autogeek said:
Great choice! The XSi is an awesome camera, and the 18-55 IS is a great lens to start out with. Check out the EF-S 55-250mm. It's only $260ish, and has been getting awesome reviews! I picked one up and it's extremely sharp, and rather small/lightweight, too.
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Evenflow - that's what I'm currently using as well! It appears you have some minimal sensor dust. I'd suggest researching DIY sensor cleaning if you haven't already to be aware of all the necessary precautions, and maybe pick up a LensPen SensorKlear - I use one and it's cheap, easy and effective.
 
Matt@Autogeek said:
Evenflow - that's what I'm currently using as well! It appears you have some minimal sensor dust. I'd suggest researching DIY sensor cleaning if you haven't already to be aware of all the necessary precautions, and maybe pick up a LensPen SensorKlear - I use one and it's cheap, easy and effective.
Click to expand...



How can you tell I have sensor dust? I just bought the camera about a month ago is it possible to get sensor dust that quickly? Also, any pics you have with your Rebel XT? I want to see what I can get my pics looking like!
 
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