Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

Hey guys,

I am in the market for a good high quality digital SLR or SLR type camera. I am tired of getting out in the woods and not having enough zoom to get good pics or just having pictures that truly don't represent what I saw. Because of this I have decided to break down and get a good camera, one that isn't going to be old news three months from now. I have been researching several cameras and would like any real world experiences that you have had with them...

Kodak P712
Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D
Nikon D40
Nikon Coolpix 8800
Olympus E-300
Panasonic Lumix DMCFZ50
Pentax K110D
Pentax *ist D
Samsung Pro 815
Samsung GX-1L

I am open to opinions and I would like to thank you in advance for any help that will be given.

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

I dont have any experince with the cameras you have mentioned but have had a Canon 300D(6.3 MP)since they first came out 3 years ago. It has been a great camera and has taken some great pictures. As an SLR type, you can use the automatic mode, shutter priority,apeture priority etc to get the picture yoiu want. On the down side, to get good zoom ability it takes a good lens and they are not cheap. Alot depends on what you want to do, but with the digitalSLR you can do jusr about anything with a creative mind.

My 300D travels with me everywhere I go and it's always good to have a couple of memory cards and a spare ni cad battery pack as well a coupke of lens.

Personally I would opt for a Canon or a Nikon.

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

Buck magnet,

That is where I am I have a digital from the school where I teach but I take a picture and it looks farther away in the picture than it really is. I asked out computer tech. guy this question. I want a digital to take pictures of things that are up to 100 yards away and closer and I dont want them to look 300 yards away. He ask my price range. I told him 2-300. He got back and told me this one Fugifilm S5200. This guy also does photography on the side meaning wedding kids pictures and photo contest. So he knows his stuff.

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

I'm partial to Nikons but just to show I'm not bias, I use Canons in the field for videography.

I'd stick with the Nikon the reason being; the next step in your quest for that "minds-eye" pic will be a good lense (s). There are more good (and fast), used lenses on the market, also after-market stuff i.e. Tamron. You'll have more to choose from to fit your Nikon. Canon lenses are very expensive.

Hope this helped.

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

I've used Pentax 35mm SLRs for years, and they have always performed magnificently. I'm still waiting for the $$$ to drop before I go digital.

For good wildlife pics, you will need a fairly large zoom. I use one that zooms to 275mm. But you still have to get close, probably 35 yards or better to take decent wildlife pictures.

For late evening work and with anything larger than a 300mm, be prepared to use a tripod.

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

Im biased because I own a Minolta 5D. Bought it right after Sony took over Minolta Cameras. Wish I could have waited and save a hundred bucks or so. But I think the camera is worth the money and then some. I just wish I could use it to its full abilitites. However, Im working on that everytime I use it.

Here is the two best links to just about everything you can think of on cameras. I have a few more if you need them just holler at me.

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

I have almost a thousand bucks in my 5D and 300mm lens. I bought a package kit offEbay,then bought the 300mm at Circut City on sale. I have yet to get any good deer pictures as it always been at first light and dusk when I have my camera ready. I got a couple and when I figure out the f-stops and ISO and when to use what, I'll have a few more.;)

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

We have the Konica Minolta 5-D. I like the quality and ease of use on the camera. Lenses are a bit scarce right now. It is worth the money. Good Luck

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

I notice that several of the cameras on your list are not SLRs. I would recommend a SLR for sure. I picked up a Nikon D70S this fall. It seemed like about the best bang for the buck IMO. I paid $800ish for it with the 20-70mm kit lens and since then I've picked up a 70-300mm lens for it off ebay used. There are a ton of lenses out there on ebay for the Nikons.

Here's a reasonable pic I got with it earlier this fall around the house. I'm just outside of Lubbock, Texas and we don't have many deer so I was excited to get a picture. They were about 100 yards away in this picture and running.



I'm a rookie at photography though.

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

I bought a Nikon D50 a year ago. I took the 28-200mm lens off my 35mm and I've been using it almost exclusively. I take the camera everywhere: on the boat, snowmachine, hunting, fishing, hiking, you name it. The lens has just about the right amount of zoom, without being overly huge. I took over 8500 pictures this year.

Last I checked, you could get the D50 body for $549 and the 28-200 Quanta-Ray lens is about $200 at Ritz Camera. Pick up a few 1GB SD cards when they go on sale, and you'll be all set for about $800.

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

BM, i did extensive research on cameras before i bought mine. I found that canon cameras are second to none. I also called several photographers and inquired about their equipment... the majority of which recommended canon. Also many of the photographers for the univ. of oklahoma use Canon cameras as well. I have been extreely pleased with mine, good luck.

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

I have been contemplating upgrading my digital point/shoot for awhile as well. Either a x12 extended zoom point/shoot style: Sony H5, Canon G3 or Pan Z50 or just going with a NikonDSLR and using the lense I have for my Nikon 35mm SLR. One thing I will say Nikon do make very good SLR cameras and as mentioned lense choice is second to none. My 35mm nikon has produced some amazing photo's and I couldn't be more pleased with it or the investment. Here the overwhelming majority of professional photographers run Nikon DSLR's so that must say something about their positioning.

As far as reviews I have found when it comes to the point and shoot styles Canon seems to be the odds on favorite. My mom has a G3 thats a few years old and it has been flawless, she isn't a picture taker or techy so must say Canon must being doing something right!! Though reviews are subjective and I would reccomend you getting your hands on them and finding what you like, you'll find when you disect the reviews most major brands get good marks but it is styling/fit/features of the reviewer that skew the final score. You can almost tell which ones have been canon, nikon, sony, etc users as they are used to their bells and whistles soanything short will make them downgrade them. My Nikon SLR is all metal body so it has some meat to I liked that my sister didn't and chose the canon instead. Putting photos side by each you usually can't tell, one exception is macro mode where my nikon is a clear winner based on the glass that the lense uses. My wife is a flower person so we actually use the macro feature a lot for photographing bloom stages, etc but on the other hand it is rarily used in my sisters case. So in the end personal preference and use should be the main focus not only what a 3rd party may say.

Good Luck

RE: Digital SLR Camera help.....
 

Yeah, Canon and Nikon really are at the top of the list when it comes to DSLR's. Olympus, Pentax and some of those are pretty close on their heels though.

It is a no brainer decision if you already have any Nikon lenses. All their film lenses from like 1996 forward are 100% compatible with their Digital cameras. The lenses dating all the way back to the 70's will work if you want them to, but that was way back in the day of manual focus! ;) Their micro lenses are phenomenal.

Although I didn't have any Nikon film lenses I felt that Nikon really was smart in making their DSLR's fully backwards compatible with their old film lenses and that made me more comfortable that they wouldn't leave me with a handful of obsolete lenses sometime in the future like several of the other camera manufacturers did with their film lenses with the start of the digital age. It doesn't take very long to end up with more $$$ in your lenses than you have in your camera. I'm already there!