Dslr choice question.

[Steve Pedersen]

Howdy,
i have roughly 550 to 650 bux to spring for my camera.
i have been going through all the "help me decide on a camera threads' here and on other forums and i have a question or two heh..
the types of photos I will take the most will probably be landscape panoramas and a sprinkling of stationary objects like cars,people and things like flowers or buildings.

My first is this
would it be a good idea to pick up an older full frame dslr with around 10mp but with a full size sensor then going with a new say like the cannon T2i that has a smaller sensor but higher mp ?

tyiav
Steve

[OsmosisStudios]

I'd actually go with the newer higher MP body: If you're just starting out, it'll be cheaper, for one. Higher MP will also give you more resolution to work with.

[Professional]

Wait a little bit more and save for something better, say 7D, you need about double the price of what you have already or slightly more, i can recommend you to go with 60D or 600D and similar, i am not sure about Nikon models equivalent because i don't shoot Nikon, but i started with a cheapo camera and didn't wait any long time to replace it with more advanced camera, i learnt faster and it made my job/learn easier than that cheapo one.

Good luck!

[ceremus]

If this is your first DSLR, don't worry so much about the body unless there are specific features from one model that you absolutely require. Worry more about the lens(es) you'll need to get the kind of shots you want. The glass is just as important as the body in getting the images you want, if not more so. You can start out with a kit lens, nothing wrong with that, but at some point you're probably going to want lenses of higher quality, or ones for specialized purposes (macro, telephoto, ultrawide, etc).

[Preeb]

The T2i is a great body to start out with. You don't need a full frame or a 7D or 60D to learn how to take great photos. Like Ceremus says, better glass (lens) is far more important. The T2i is a very capable camera if you put a good lens on it. Even starting with the 18-55 kit lens is fine while you save for better glass. I'm using a T1i, one generation older than the T2i, and it is still serving me well. I've made a point of getting good lenses to put on it, and not worried about upgrading the body.

Buy what you can afford now, then start practicing while you save for a better lens.

[Midnighter]

I started with a cheapo camera and didn't wait any long time to replace it with more advanced camera, i learnt faster and it made my job/learn easier than that cheapo one.

[Preeb]

Originally Posted by Midnighter

I started with a cheapo camera and didn't wait any long time to replace it with more advanced camera, i learnt faster and it made my job/learn easier than that cheapo one.

The T2i isn't a "cheapo" camera. It has a lot of great features and takes great pictures. Once you learn how to use those features, then moving up to a pro or pro-sumer body will be just that much easier. In the mean time he still has a quality camera to take photos with and learn the ropes. I shot for a year with the T1i, and now I've just moved up to the 60D. I doubt that I'll ever go beyond that. I learned a lot about digital photography with that T1i.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Steve Pedersen

... would it be a good idea to pick up an older full frame dslr with around 10mp but with a full size sensor then going with a new say like the cannon T2i that has a smaller sensor but higher mp ?...

Depends. If you wanted to do landscape/studio work exclusively, maybe. But. You don't really have the budget for going full-frame. The 5D (classic; Mark I), used, still goes in the $1000 price range used for the body. And having to limit yourself to EF lenses, since EF-S lenses won't mount and can't be used), will drive the cost up even farther, particularly for wide angle choices, like the ones you'd typically need for landscape shooting.

Crop bodies are lower-cost, can use cheaper lenses, and image-quality wise are much closer than those who've never shot a full frame are liable to believe. A full frame gives you an advantage in high iso performance, tonality, and dynamic range, but in each case, this advantage is marginal, not anything like an order of magnitude as the hyperbole might suggest.

My recommendation would be on the budget you've got, to go with a crop body camera.