Rebel T1i, D90, A550

[Joe Butch]

I'm having trouble deciding which dslr camera to buy. This will be my first dslr camera.

Can anyone help sway me towards one of the above cameras?

[jdepould]

Could you give us a little bit more info? My gut reaction is D90, because it's one of the best consumer-grade cameras on the market. It has all the guts from the D300 in a lighter body.

[inkista]

Have you looked at the lenses? What do you plan to shoot and what lenses do you want? The camera bodies are going to make the decision tough, because they're all good these days, and often quite equitable so that you're looking at small feature differences.

Remember that when you buy a camera body, you're more or less locking yourself into a mount system. So looking at the lens lineups and what the lenses cost is another way of figuring out which system may be a better fit for you.

A camera body is now computer equipment. Like most computer equipment, you're likely to feel the need to upgrade every 3-5 years. The glass is going to be a more permanent purchase and can last you decades. Learn about lenses; they're the other half of your decision, and will probably eventually cost you two to three times what your camera body will.

One more thing--go play with them in a store and evaluate handling ergonomics and menu logic first hand. That may also help weight one camera over another.

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by jdepould

My gut reaction is D90, because it's one of the best consumer-grade cameras on the market. It has all the guts from the D300 in a lighter body.

My recommendation too until Canon comes up with a consumer version of the new 7D.

[Joe Butch]

I want to get started with a good portrait lens (50mm 1.8/f ~ iirc ) and whatever zoom lens that comes with the kit. Shortly after getting a macro lens and telephoto lense. spending around $350-650 each hopefully for the macro and telephoto.

How does the d90 lenses compare to the sony lenses? I haven't found any good site with this information except sonystyle.com

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by Joe Butch

How does the d90 lenses compare to the sony lenses?

Pros have been shooting with Nikon F bayonet mount lenses since 1959 with the Nikon F series SLR.

[Joe Butch]

Originally Posted by LoveDSLR

Pros have been shooting with Nikon F bayonet mount lenses since 1959 with the Nikon F series SLR.

Ya, I figured they're awesome..what about the cost compared to sony for similiar lenses? right on par?

[inkista]

Canon's current Lens Lineup

Nikon's current lens lineup

Sony/Minolta's current lens lineup

Let's just look at the Macro lens possibilities. Prices from Amazon (with one from B&H because it's so new Amazon hasn't got a listing yet).

Canon has six macro lens choices with a 1 yr. warranty:
EF 50 f/2.5 Compact Macro (which only does 1:2, not 1:1) $280
EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro $400
MP-E 65mm f/2.8 Macro (which does 5:1 mag) $985
EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro $500 (when it's in stock)
EF 100mm f/2.8L USM IS Macro MSRP $1050 (L glass, new 2-way stabilized) announced today.
EF 180mm f/3.5L USM Macro $1350

Nikon has four macro lens choices with a 5yr. warranty:
AF Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8D $480
AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED $550
AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED (ED glass, stabilized) $900
AF Micro-NIKKOR 200mm f/4D IF-ED $1775

Sony has three macro lens choices with a 1 yr. warranty:
AF DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro $200 (B&H, not available until November, does 1:1).
AF D 50mm f/2.8 Macro $480
AF 100mm f/2.8 Macro $680

Canon's got the most exotic stuff and the highest magnification, but Nikon's got the longest and a 5 yr. warranty, while Sony's got the widest and cheapest, but Canon's the cheapest on the most commonly used macro focal length (100mm) and gives you the option of between paying more for stabilization.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by LoveDSLR

Pros have been shooting with Nikon F bayonet mount lenses since 1959 with the Nikon F series SLR.

Yeah, but you can't use the pre-AI lenses on a D90, so you can really only use the ones from 1977 or later unless you convert them.

You can use pre-AI lenses with no problems on a Canon EOS dSLR with an adapter ring. AND they still meter correctly, even on the lowly XS.

[Pen]

ok kinda a stupid question but on canon's lens line up what is the difference between EF and EF-S? thanks!