Hi,
I'm thinking about switching from a Point-and-Shoot camera to a DSLR camera due to the terrible quality issues from a PaS that I bought a year ago. One of my friends had bought a DSLR last month but I did not inquire on the brand/specific model of it.
I have a budget constraint of $500 to absolute maximum of ~$570. What brand should I get (Nikon/Sony?) and which DSLR should I start with that is at a reasonable price?
Thanks,
Rekhyt
I highly recommend the Olympus E-620. I think you can get a new one for 579 right now at Dell. That's a steal.
OK key things: on Olympus, all their lenses are specifically designed for the sensor that's in the E-620. That means you can buy their best lens and it will not be "cropped" when used with the E-620.
Unfortunately, with Canon or Nikon, unless you are buying a so-called "full-frame" camera, then you cannot purchase their best lenses without cropping your lens. I.e. 50% or more of your glass is wasted.
Also, the E-620 has a fully articulating swivel screen with excellent outdoor functionality, a very well-implemented live view feature, an excellent and fast menuing system, great Mac support, built-in stabilizer (that works even with old manual lenses, which you can put on with an adapter), wireless flash control, light metering with any lens (even old manual ones), real time white balance compensation preview, "art filters" (real time applied Photoshop-esque filters like Soft Focus and Grainy Film), multiple aspect ratio shooting, multiple exposure, and a very effective anti-dust system on the sensor. Oh yeah, and it's smaller than D5000, D3000, or Rebel series.
Frankly, the brand-loyalty BS where people say it has to be either "Canon" or "Nikon" is total BS. That's like saying you have to buy an "HP" or "Dell." Olympus is like the Apple of the camera market... they only have a 15% market share, but meanwhile, their products lead the industry in ease of use, features, build quality, innovation, and intelligent design. They are optimized for the purpose of doing what they are made for, and they do not compromise on features even on "lower-end" models. You don't hear people say Nissan sucks and that you should only buy a Honda or Toyota. Etc.
Now you will notice that there are websites such as DPreview, which is a much over-hyped, self-important, blow-hard blog that spends all their time taking pictures of "my collection of globes, toy robots, and Bailey's bottles in my cupboard" and pieces of paper with lines on them. They are paid by Canon and of course review all of Canon's cameras the instant they are released to market, and meanwhile, often wait a year or more to review comparable Sony or Olympus products, further perpetuating the single- or two-brand myth.
I have shot professionally on my Olympus gear for awhile now, and I have consistently gotten comparable, if not better, results than my colleagues although my gear is smaller, lighter, and less expensive since I am not purchasing lenses made for a 35mm-sized sensor. Rather, the 4/3 sensor is exactly half the diagonal size of 35mm, and all the lenses made for it therefore can be half (!!) the size. Plus, they are optimized for digital, and Olympus uses their medical-grade ED glass (extra-low dispersion) in even the basic, included lens, which has been rated (even by the biased DPReview) as being the best of all included lenses with mid-range DSLRs.
I might add that even DPReview gave the E-620 a mark of "Highly Recommended," and it gets 4.5/5 stars at every owner-rating site I've seen (amazon, google, dpreview [which is owned by amazon], etc.).
Now, you can't go wrong with Canon or Nikon, or even Sony for that matter, but frankly I think if you actually look at the FEATURES, IMAGE QUALITY, ERGONOMICS, SCREEN QUALITY, LENS THAT ARE NATIVE TO THE SENSOR IN THE CAMERA, and all the things that actually matter, then you will find that the E-620 and its included lens is really the best camera/lens combo under $1000.
PS -- I should note, if you want to know who you are buying a camera from, just look at what the main other products are that their company offers. For example, here is Canon's primary business: industrial and office printers (e.g. copiers/digital printers/presses). Olympus's primary business: medical imaging equipment, (e.g. microscopes, microscopy camera systems, endoscopy systems). When you go to Kinko's that's Canon. When you go to the hospital for knee or heart surgery, though, they use Olympus. Just remember that.
Oh and if you are going to look at Sony, well, everyone knows their primary business. Everything. LOL... they own the movie studio, they own the factories that make the movie cameras, for Hollywood, they own Hollywood, yep. Part of it anyway. They bought Minolta when it went belly up because they felt like it. It's come a long way in a few short years but once again, unless you're going "full frame" you're not getting their best stuff.