Good starter camera for RAW?

[asherman13]

What's a good starter camera for somebody who wants to begin to get into high-end digital photography and use RAW photo editing (via Lightroom or whatnot)? I'm looking for a low price, preferably a DSLR (but not mandatory), and obviously RAW capability.

Thanks!

 

[form]

Most entry level dSLRs are good now. Nikon's D50, D70s, and Canon's Digital Rebel XT are probably the most inexpensive. All you have to do is choose what company you're going to be biased in favor of; neither one is bad.

 

[jared_kipe]

As far as I know all DSLR's have RAW support. Maybe not some of the really early ones.

 

[asherman13]

As far as I know all DSLR's have RAW support. Maybe not some of the really early ones.

Perhaps a non-DSLR camera that is less than $500 or around that price but has RAW support?

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Perhaps a non-DSLR camera that is less than $500 or around that price but has RAW support?

The only one that comes to mind is the Olympus SP-350, of a current model. My Olympus C-8080 does RAW, and IIRC the older S70 (perhaps the even the S50 and S60 models) did RAW.

I may be selling off the C-8080 kit I have (C-8080, battery grip, extra battery, FL-36 flash w/Stofen dome, the CLA-8 adapter with a the wide angle convertor, the RM-CB1 remote switch, and a ThinkTank Speed Demon bag). If interested, let me know your offer in a PM.

 

[ChrisA]

What's a good starter camera for somebody who wants to begin to get into high-end digital photography and use RAW photo editing (via Lightroom or whatnot)? I'm looking for a low price, preferably a DSLR (but not mandatory), and obviously RAW capability.

Thanks!

Seems backwards to say "I want a camera so I can use lightroom." what are you planning to photograph and what will you do with the edited photos? From there you can work out your needs.

For example if you interrests are wildlife, people or flowers then people could recommend something. But from what you say ANY DSLR would work fine. With the low price now for DSLR there is no point attempting serious photography with a point and shoot.

I've seen Nikon's D50 sell for as low as $499 from a reputable shop. What lens to get with your DSLR depends on the inteded subject. While the D50 is Nikon's lowest priced DSLR don't think of it as a "starter" camera. For many people there is no need to upgrade later.

As for software be sure and check out Nikon's "NX". It looks like it will be "something new", different then Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture. Knd of a mix and I'm guessing a resonable price too.
http://www.digitalreview.ca/cams/NikonCapture_NX.shtml

I'm finding that for many shots I don't need to use RAW format. It is usfull only if you intend to do lots of post processing or if the light is tricky and you know you may not be able to get a good exposure. Thre is not much need for routine use of RAW format

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I've seen Nikon's D50 sell for as low as $499 from a reputable shop.

Working for a dealer, I can't see this as a "legit" price for anything but a body alone.

 

[andrew050703]

don't know if its suitable for your wants; fujifilm have some good compact dSLRs (i.e. no lens changing, though you can get fisheye and telephoto adapters); I have the S7000, and although its old, its still 6MP w. good lens. Its functions make it quite versatile (inc 640x480 movie mode which is sometimes useful); and it takes AA batteries which proves useful in an emergency. On the downside, it doesn't have a true through the lens optic system but an EVF - i've not found it a problem, but i'm sure it wastes battery more. Also, the shutter is limited to 30s, and the ISO speeds aren't great (but fine for my use). New ones have undoubtedly been released, so check them out if you're still looking (they should also be well within your budget). oh and it does RAW of course.

 

[Pistol Pete]

Nikon D50 Pwns.

 

[Silentwave]

Working for a dealer, I can't see this as a "legit" price for anything but a body alone.

Body only, and I think even body+SD card sold for as low as $484 from reputable NYC dealers (B&H+Adorama) about a month and a half-2 months ago. Sold out all the time

 

[epicwelshman]

Perhaps a non-DSLR camera that is less than $500 or around that price but has RAW support?

The Fuji FinePix S5200 is now at around $300. It's 5.1, 10x optical zoom, etc., but also shoots in RAW. So that's one fairly inexpensive option.

 

[Butters]

The Fuji FinePix S5200 is now at around $300. It's 5.1, 10x optical zoom, etc., but also shoots in RAW. So that's one fairly inexpensive option.

I'm getting the S5200 (also called S5600) for my birthday next week and so I've obviously been doing a lot of research into it lately and trying it out in stores

and it is certainly a very good camera with RAW support for an extremely affordable price of around £180(UK) on the net ..if you're looking for something inexpensive I'd strongly reccommend giving the S5600 a look

 

[pooky]

I'm finding that for many shots I don't need to use RAW format. It is usfull only if you intend to do lots of post processing or if the light is tricky and you know you may not be able to get a good exposure. Thre is not much need for routine use of RAW format

I would dissagree with that. One of the advantages to raw is that it is lossless. Even if you are doing very little post processing, you have all of the information. You pay for it by having to do extra work, but for some of us, it's worth it. But I hate using lossy compression, and I have lots of disk space, so that's my personal preference.