Focus technique?

[Tzetsin]

it really depends on what you like shooting. I'd stick to the big two though, canon or nikon as those have the most support.

Both canon and nikon make (I hazard to say) equally good cameras. The image quality from a rebel is pretty close to a 1D even, so dont even worry about wich one has better image quality, but stick to the other things like autofocus, low light performance, frame rate, do you care about video ect. compile a list of all the things you want to do with your camera and find the one that best suits that list.

I dont know of any dslr that doesnt allow you to manually adjust shutter, aperture and iso, and thats all you really "need" to make great looking pictures. So you can pretty much just get the cheapest one and still use it untill you need more.

I've got a 60D and a 5Dmk2, The real difference to a newb between the two is the full frame sensor and the low light performance. The price seperation between the two is about 2000 dollars. Where do you think the extra money is going? Construction. the 5D is weather resistant and built to take a hit/fall. In all honestly, the 2000 dollar cheaper 60D is superior to the 5D in many ways, so dont go thinking that just because a camera is more expensive that it must be better because its not always the case.

Going with an even cheaper rebel series wont really upset image quality much from the more expensive models, and they offer manual shooting and raw image formats (you definately want a camera that shoots in raw. Post is so much easier this way) and thats really all you "need" in a camera.

So a recap, even the cheapest DSLR is going to give you everything you need to succeed. As the price goes up, the build quality and the features increase. Not so much the image quality.

The thing that is going to effect the image quality the most is the LENS. People spend their entire life building up a good selection of lenses. Lenses can and certainly WILL eclipse the cost of the camera. A good walk around zoom will easily cost between 500 and 1000 dollars. This lens isnt even a particularly "good" lens, as the image quality is pretty mediocre, even on the most expensive bodies. Its because of this that we say that your "married" to a company. If you buy a Canon camera, then get a couple lenses, your stuck with canon. If nikon comes out with a really great camera and you want to get it, too bad. you've invested thousands of dollars into canon lenses already that wont fit on a nikon. Unless you want to start over, your stuck with canon.

I really encourage you to go to a local camera store with absolutely NO INTENTION TO BUY. Grab a Canon camera, try it out. go through the menus, play with all the buttons. shoot everything in the store for a while. Then do the same thing with a Nikon. Canon and Nikon have really different "feels" when your holding them. this "feel" is really the same throughout their entire line ups. Think of it like the "look" of a car. All Jaguars look kinda the same. Same with porches and just about every other car on the market. they keep that "look" throughout the years. Same with Canon and Nikon. If you like the feel of a Nikon, but buy a Canon, your always going to hate the feel of it, even when you upgrade and upgrade... The "feel" is very important. Remember that Canon and Nikon make really very similar cameras, so you wont really miss out on anything no matter which one you get.

Another thing to watch out for when buying used equipment is compatibility. I just want to mention here that I use Canon and have no experience with Nikon, so all my examples will be canon, but Nikon is just as good, with everything almost exactly the same. Any digital canon SLR that you buy should be an "EOS" camera. Thats the lens mounting type. if you get an old SLR used that isnt an EOS, then you find some lenses for it, then you buy an EOS camera, those lenses are garbage. You might be able to find an adapter ring, but other than that your out of luck. So make sure if you get a canon DSLR then get an EOS. TBH I dont even know if they have another mount type for the DSLR, but if you end up with lenses for your old film camera now, they likely wont work in the future.

OK, the bottom line here is..... FIND THE CHEAPEST USED EOS (or nikon equivilant) camera you can, and it'll do just fine to learn on. After you've mastered the camera, you'll already know what features you want and wont have to ask which camera to look at because you'll already know.

Ok, i'm done rambling on.... sorry ;D hope i answered your question.

[Tzetsin]

Bah, slow internet today, double posted.