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A slightly different "which one should I get" thread...

M

motherduce

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 3, 2005
262
0
Houston, TX
Okay, I've read through half the "Which one should I get" threads on these forums, so I know what you guys recommend for the most part, and I know as a rookie photographer it won't really matter all that much as long as I like the grip and take smart shots.

However, just for reassurance purposes, I'm trying to determine which cam I should drop my $ on. My budget is $500-$800, so the D70, D70s and D80 are a little out of my reach, and the Canon XTi is just barely attainable...

I've been looking at the D50, Canon XT, and the Olympus e-volt E-500. They are all priced close to the same, but one thing I noticed is I could get the Olympus with 2 lenses...and wondered if the lenses were decent, and if the value was better because I was getting a wider angle lense and a zoom lense...or if I should just get the D50 body and buy a single lense myself.

Choices:
1. Nikon D50 kit is 6MP with an 18-55 lense ($500-$600)

2. Nikon D50 Digital Camera with Nikon 28-80mm G Autofocus Lens ($515)

3. Olympus Evolt E500 is 8MP with 14-45mm f, 3.5-5.6 & 40-150mm f, 3.5-4.5 Zuiko Lenses ($650)

And then of course, there's the Canon XT and XTi's, which I'm leaning away from.

Any tips/thoughts/opinions (as long as they are constructive ;) ) are welcome!
 
I jumped from a Dig. Rebel recently to an XTi and I've been very happy. I used just the kit lens with the rebel until adding the cheap 50mm in addition. Very usable combo.

I'm now on to a couple different lenses. Just to confuse you, of course ;)
 
Have you had a look at reviews of each camera, say at http://www.dpreview.com or http://www.imaging-resource.com? There may be some at http://www.dcresource.com as well.

I have not had any experience with the Olympus Evolt, so can't really speak to the useability/quality of that camera body and lenses one way or another, but I can definitely recommend the Nikon D50. As for lenses, the 28mm-80mm would cover the mid-range area but doesn't provide anything in the way of wide angle or telephoto capability. The 18-55mm kit lens at least would give you a bit of a wider angle at the one end, extending into mid-range at the other....and you could then go with the reasonably-priced 55mm-200mm lens for your telephoto reach. A lot of first-time buyers do that and then later on they can expand their lens horizons by going into the more specialized ones such as macros, wider angle lenses or longer telephotos, whatever. In the Nikon system there is a lot more flexibility as far as adding lenses than there is in the Olympus Evolt series because of the Evolt's specialized four-thirds mount.

Good luck with your decision!
 
If you're leaning away from the Canons, I would suggest Nikon. They have a better line up of lenses and accessories for your future needs. Plus, to many people they have better ergonomics
 
motherduce said:
Okay, I've read through half the "Which one should I get" threads on these forums, so I know what you guys recommend for the most part, and I know as a rookie photographer it won't really matter all that much as long as I like the grip and take smart shots.

However, just for reassurance purposes, I'm trying to determine which cam I should drop my $ on. My budget is $500-$800, so the D70, D70s and D80 are a little out of my reach, and the Canon XTi is just barely attainable...

I've been looking at the D50, Canon XT, and the Olympus e-volt E-500. They are all priced close to the same, but one thing I noticed is I could get the Olympus with 2 lenses...and wondered if the lenses were decent, and if the value was better because I was getting a wider angle lense and a zoom lense...or if I should just get the D50 body and buy a single lense myself.

Choices:
1. Nikon D50 kit is 6MP with an 18-55 lense ($500-$600)

2. Nikon D50 Digital Camera with Nikon 28-80mm G Autofocus Lens ($515)

3. Olympus Evolt E500 is 8MP with 14-45mm f, 3.5-5.6 & 40-150mm f, 3.5-4.5 Zuiko Lenses ($650)

And then of course, there's the Canon XT and XTi's, which I'm leaning away from.

Any tips/thoughts/opinions (as long as they are constructive ;) ) are welcome!
Click to expand...

Between #1 and #2 I'd go with #1. A 28mm lens is not wide enough. You will need a lens that goes close to 18mm. Most of the time the 55mm is long enough, simply walk closer
As for a second lens for the D50, wait a while until you see what you want. You may want the 50mm f/1.8 or one of those cheap telephoto zooms but wait until you've shot a few thousand frames with the 18-55

Olypus makes good stuff but if you are on a budget then you might be wanting to buy used lenses. There are many more Nikon and Canon used lens deals, maybe 100 times more. The D50 will mount many very old manual focus lenses too, most of these sell for under $100 and are very good quality.
 
A bit redundant, but here would be my logic: If you are already down to the 3 you listed, go with a Nikon as dllavaneras said. And between those two, I'd get the 18-55, as the quality of this lens is far superior to the 28-80, from everything I've read.

You might also want to consider getting a D50 body only, then getting a 50mm f/1.8 lens, everybody's favorite.

Don't wait too long, as the D50's are getting harder and harder to find.
 
ChrisA said:
Between #1 and #2 I'd go with #1. A 28mm lens is not wide enough.
Click to expand...
Me too. I'd also consider a D40 if it has a better price, but I do love the D50 a lot. :)

Out of all the DSLR makers, I think I like Olympus the least. I'm not one to be extremely picky about noise, but their cameras are noisy and have the smallest sensors, and of course they use their 4/3rds system, which I also don't like (although I think it's generally a good idea, what with the one mount and all). Same with Panasonic's DSLR (an L1? I forget the model). Olympus lenses are supposed to be great though, as are the kit lenses. :)

Out of the 3, I'd get the Nikon with 18-55 mm kit lens.
 
Thanks for all the tips guys. Your comments were basically what I expected, and I will be getting the D50 if I can get my hands on one.

Appreciate the responses. I'll be sure to post some pics once I get one!

Cheers,
MD
 
Just ordered my D50 kit from the local shop...should get here Thursday or Friday if I'm lucky. I'm terribly excited now...already have a job shooting some profile shots for a newsletter.

Been looking at Crumpler bags. Anyone care to chime in on those bags, or another one you prefer? I'm looking at the 5 Million Dollar home bag, looks like it's big enough for an extra lense and some gear, but not so big it's annoying.
 
motherduce said:
Just ordered my D50 kit from the local shop...should get here Thursday or Friday if I'm lucky. I'm terribly excited now...already have a job shooting some profile shots for a newsletter.

Been looking at Crumpler bags. Anyone care to chime in on those bags, or another one you prefer? I'm looking at the 5 Million Dollar home bag, looks like it's big enough for an extra lense and some gear, but not so big it's annoying.
Click to expand...

I highly recommend the LowePro Slingshot 100 bag...it is awesome—its got the best ergonomics and has space for a spare lens and speedlight, as well as straps to add on up to 3 velcro lens holders. It is also very comfortable, and with a Nikon D80 and 18-200 lens, feels weightless.

Enjoy the camera...
 
enjoy the camera. it's better (value, kit lens, ergonomics, but not actual sensor) than any canon offering. if I were looking for a first prime, I'd go for 35mm, not 50mm. the 35 is the same as a 50 on a film camera, and is closer the the perspective eye. still, if you shoot a lot of portraits, the 50mm can be very flattering.
 
spyderracer393 said:
I highly recommend the LowePro Slingshot 100 bag...it is awesome—its got the best ergonomics and has space for a spare lens and speedlight, as well as straps to add on up to 3 velcro lens holders. It is also very comfortable, and with a Nikon D80 and 18-200 lens, feels weightless.

Enjoy the camera...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip - found one on Amazon for $60, and had a $50 gift certificate from my birthday - worked out great...camera arrives later this week, Lowepro arrives mid-February due to shipping delays, but I'll just be extra careful with it until then.

Thanks again!

I know now I need to get an extra battery. I've already got a 2GB SD card waiting...any other tips?
 
Why are you leaning away fron Canons?

I mean if you are buying into a system, the price of the body will be negligible when you compare it to the lenses which you eventually end up buying. Canon lenses seem to be more advanced technologically than Nikons IMO (although Nikons have better glass) :D
 
iW00t said:
Why are you leaning away fron Canons?

I mean if you are buying into a system, the price of the body will be negligible when you compare it to the lenses which you eventually end up buying. Canon lenses seem to be more advanced technologically than Nikons IMO (although Nikons have better glass) :D
Click to expand...

Already ordered the Nikon D50. I was close to getting the Rebel XTi, or the older XT if I could find a deal, but I tried them out and the grip was a bit small - so much so that I noticed it right away, and knew it would bother me... besides that, my father-in-law also has a D70s, and a coworker is getting a D80, so I'll be able to borrow lenses from them until I can buy my own.
 
The second battery can probably wait, since the battery that comes with the D50 is great, and has never come close to depleting itself whenever I've gone out shooting. I can honestly say I've never experienced a camera that has the battery life of the D50, and it recharges in a couple of hours. I can take the camera out for several different sessions, days apart, and the battery indicator still shows plenty of juice. Whenever it drops down the first bar, I just charge it for a couple hours, and I'm good to go for at least a week, or longer.

Still, if you have the spare money, you may as well get a spare. I'm just saying it isn't the priority I thought it would be...
 
pdxflint said:
The second battery can probably wait, since the battery that comes with the D50 is great, and has never come close to depleting itself whenever I've gone out shooting. I can honestly say I've never experienced a camera that has the battery life of the D50, and it recharges in a couple of hours. I can take the camera out for several different sessions, days apart, and the battery indicator still shows plenty of juice. Whenever it drops down the first bar, I just charge it for a couple hours, and I'm good to go for at least a week, or longer.

Still, if you have the spare money, you may as well get a spare. I'm just saying it isn't the priority I thought it would be...
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for the tip - I was about to purchase one. If the battery life is that long, I can't see myself needing a new one until I go on a trip. I appreciate the heads up.
 
One other thing I neglected to ask about was software.

I have a 1.83 Core Duo Macbook (Original) with 2GB RAM.

I played around with Aperture and Lightroom demos, but never really got very far. Any suggestions/opinions?
 
motherduce said:
One other thing I neglected to ask about was software.

I have a 1.83 Core Duo Macbook (Original) with 2GB RAM.

I played around with Aperture and Lightroom demos, but never really got very far. Any suggestions/opinions?
Click to expand...

If you're going to shoot raw, Capture NX is really good. If you prefer the workflow, PS CS3 Beta, which you can get a limited time copy of if you own CS2 is almost as good results-wise, but I find the workflow better.

Aperture is good for organizing, but Iphoto should work fine for that too. Really I'd work a bit with the camera and see how much you shoot, if it's raw or jpeg, and what sorts of changes you need to make often or in batch before doing the "trial version" off the range of tools
 
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