Choosing a SLR camera?

[buckeyegal32]

Hi everyone,

Going to take the leap and go from my old point and shoot to a SLR camera. I am new to this and learning alot from this web site. Just needing to get some advice on what type of camera would be best. Would like one that is easy to use and would grow with me. I love taking pictures outside of landscapes and of course, pictures of my family.

Would like one that has auto modes that I could use until I feel comfortable to "play" around with the settings on my own. The brand isn't a factor for me, just would like to purchase one that I can buy accessories for in the future.

So any ideas?

1. Ease of use for newbie
2. Able to grow with me as I learn more about using the camera
3. Price..under $1,000 for body and lens

There are so many options out there..Just looking to find one that I can use straight out of the box and also be able to use it as I gain more knowledge about photography.

Thanks for any info..

[autofocus]

There are lots of good choices to go with in the Nikon and Canon lines. Most of the lower end Nikons, however, do not have the auto focus motor built into the body, so you will be somewhat limited in the choice of lenses available. For that reason I think a D90 would be a good choice as it has the focus motor built into the body. It also has dual, front and back control wheels for setting your exposure settings. Once you move away from shooting in the full auto modes, having individual wheels to control your aperture and shutter speed is a real plus. It's also within your budget (but just)
Nikon D90 SLR Digital Camera Kit with Nikon 18-105mm VR 25448
Canon also has a nice lineup in the Rebel series and the new T3i would be in your budget. What can be a smart thing to do is to visit a store that sells both, and see how each feels in your hand.
You'll also have to be prepared to do some photo editing as most images that come out of DSLRs will need some tweaking. It's somewhat rare that an image straight out of the camera (SOOC) will be perfect. Just something for you to think about when considering this new purchase.
Hope this helps a little

[dlambert]

Almost any new camera is going to have the features you're looking for, so I think the thing to try to wrap your head around is that you're buying into an entire system with a DSLR -- not just the camera, but also the lenses, flashes, and a million other little things. If you have the first clue what sort of lenses you might eventually be interested in, take a look and see if there's a lineup that seems to suit your needs better than others. If not, don't worry; the major brands are fairly competitive with one another.

As Vince mentioned, one of the most helpful things you can do is go hold some cameras and fiddle with the controls. With any luck, you'll find one that jumps out at you. If you're in the Columbus area, I'd make a stop at Midwest Photo Exchange on High St. -- they've got a decent selection of both lines, and their prices are decent, too.

[buckeyegal32]

Thanks for the info..I am not to far from Columbus, so I will check out the place on High street when I am up that way again. As far as lenses are concerned, I am clueless about them. I hope to find a camera that I am comfortable with and just go from there. I will check out the Nikon that was suggested also. There are so many to choose from. It will be a lot easier when I can go to a shop and see some of them. I already have Photoshop Elements 10 installed on my computer and been playing around with that some. Will keep reading and looking around till I find my right fit.

[RichardTaylor]

Re lenses:
You may find this multi part tutorial helpful.

Lenses #1 - Introduction to DSLR lenses.

[buckeyegal32]

Richard...your photographs are absolutely beautiful..

[RichardTaylor]

Thank you.

[inkista]

The general advice is to go with Canon or Nikon because their systems are the most popular, and have the best availability and 3rd-party support in terms of the range of "accessories". Given what you like to shoot, nearly any brand would work for you. But I would recommend looking at the Big Two, and knowing for certain if you don't go with them, that the system has everything you need.

The thing here is that you're not just buying a camera body. You're buying a camera system. The analogy I overuse is that a P&S camera is like a swiss army knife: small, compact, cheap, and does a range of things pretty well. But a dSLR is like a big red toolbox: big, heavy, expensive, and you still have to fill it with tools, but if you can get the right tool for the right job, unbeatable in function.

So, you have to consider the system overall. Lens offerings is the biggest and most obvious. The problem is you don't know what lenses are good for yet. :-) So, learning about the glass is the first step. Flash differences are more subtle, but basically Nikon has the best flash system, but the others aren't very far behind, and Sony/Minolta is the only system at a disadvantage by not using a standard flash hotshoe (adapters galore if you go Strobist).

Realize, too, up front, that this is going to be a lot more expensive and time-consuming that using a P&S camera. Most of us post-process images individually. We buy software and hard drives and upgrade our computers. We spend two to three times (or many multiples more ) than what we did on the camera body on the rest of the system: lenses, bags, tripod, flashes---it all adds up at an alarming rate. That $1000 budget could be just the beginning of your spending.

[bigben6]

All good advice, all solid points, the biggest one i have to emphasize is HOLD them in your hand before buying. Glass is Glass pretty much all the cannon/nikon glass is great, all the 3rd party is cheaper but they have their points worth looking at.

[jdepould]

+1 for Midwest, they're awesome.

Consider a mirrorless system (Sony NEX, Micro Four-Thirds) instead of a full-blown SLR. They're cheaper, and give you comparable image quality in a smaller package.