which camera to buy??

[giselet]

Good day,
I am new at photography, but my fiancé and I love it. We are looking to buy a new DSLR, but have no idea what to buy. We were looking into the Olympus E-510 (but heard the lenses are expensive and sometimes hard to find?) If anyone has this camera, is it worth the price? Good quality camera?

We've alsolooked at the Nikons.. the D-80 and 200. Does anyone prefer one over the other?
We love taking nature shots, as well as macro.
All help is appreciated. :)
thanks

[kirbinster]

Not sure what you are planning to use it for or your level of expertise, but I recently bought a Nikon D40 and absolutely love it.

[Saralonde]

All the cameras you are considering are good cameras. In general (although I'm sure someone will find exceptions), it is easier to find inexpensive and also a greater variety of lenses for Nikon and Canon due to their popularity. This does not reflect on how good all the cameras are, however.

Some questions you need to ask yourself when deciding what to purchase:

What is my budget?
What do I like to shoot?
How do each of these cameras feel in my hand?
Is a DSLR really what you want or would a point and shoot or almost DSLR work better?

[jdepould]

Some questions you need to ask yourself when deciding what to purchase:

What is my budget?
What do I like to shoot?
How do each of these cameras feel in my hand?
Is a DSLR really what you want or would a point and shoot or almost DSLR work better?


This is the most important thing, if it doesn't feel good then it doesn't matter if it can make pancakes and manage your 401k, it'll be useless.

[giselet]

i'll definately have to hold them to see...good idea.
I take a lot of outdoor shots (nature, landscape), and also macro shots. Is there a big difference in quality between the D80 and D200?

[whitemug]

in terms of brand, you can't go wrong if you choose the more popular brands available on the market. personally, i'm a canon user, but nikon, pentax, sony, panasonic, and yes, olympus are all excellent options for you.

if i were in your position, i'd try to narrow my choices down based on the following points (or criteria):

- what's my maximum budget?
- what are my must-have features (e.g. large lcd screen, megapixels, weight, etc)?
- availability and accessibility of compatible accessories (e.g. lenses, flash)?
- presence/location or authorized service centers?

hope this helps you out