Looking to buy a Low End DSLR - $500 or so -

[termina3]

has auto focus,

Autofocus is a big, big range to talk about… I can't speak for anyone but Nikon, but every Nikon SLR has autofocus.

The D40(x) must use an AF-S ("silent wave") lens, which has an in-lens motor. These lenses are also the priciest and fastest focusers.

Most of the other bodies have focus motors, so they'll drive autofocus lenses that don't have built in motors… albeit those can be painfully slow compared to AF-S.

And then you've got the lenses without autofocus–but no modern day cameras. But hey, unless you're doing a fast-paced event, manual focus is good too.

 

[dabirdwell]

I like the Olympus stuff

For the money, I have very much liked my E-500, the predecessor to the current Oly lineup. Of course I have their excellent 14-54 2.8 lens also, so I'm sure that makes my experience nicer than many who have kit lenses (although their 40-150 tele is a steal at $150 or so, or in a kit).

One semi-crazy thing to think about is going with the older Oly pro body, the E-1. I'm thinking of selling my newer E-500 and going to that. The bodies now sell for near the same price (about $400) and I have seen some phenomenal images come out of the E-1. It's 5.5MP count with giant photosites trounces the dynamic range of my 8MP E-500, and enlargements look great. Plus the thing is damn near indestructible.

Oly will give you some nice contrasty, punchy images if you learn to shoot to your strengths.

 

[66217]

But hey, unless you're doing a fast-paced event, manual focus is good too.

I prefer manual focus than autofocus in many occasions. Obviously macro is one, but also for almost all the other shots where I have the time to focus manually. It can be much more better than auto focus, I frequently find the auto focus of my D40x focusing in the incorrect spot.

And I also find manual focus more fun, I really don't know why.

 

[RaceTripper]

I frequently find the auto focus of my D40x focusing in the incorrect spot.

If it's under warranty you should send it to Nikon for adjustment. My D200 was having problems with metering (underexposing about 2/3 stop) and it was slightly back focusing. I sent it to Nikon for service. They cleaned it up, adjusted exposure and focusing, and even replaced a couple worn parts (I've done about 20K shutter activations in the past year). It came back much better. I just got a 17-55/2.8 DX lens for it and the shots are coming out focused spot on and exposure seems excellent so far.

There's no reason you shouldn't be getting good pictures with AF, although I can see using a focusing rail for macros. For motorsports I want accurate and fast AF. Manual focus is not really an option.

 

[termina3]

about 20K shutter activations in the past year).

I'm nitpicking, but 20K actuations. Sorry… I feel like a complete jerk

 

[RaceTripper]

I'm nitpicking, but 20K actuations. Sorry… I feel like a complete jerk

Yeah that's what I meant to say. But yup, that is being picky.

Anyway, with four major auto race events, 20K is not hard to reach.

 

[JNB]

Yeah that's what I meant to say. But yup, that is being picky.

Anyway, with four major auto race events, 20K is not hard to reach.

When you said 20,000 activations, I thought you were confusing this with a Windows XP thread...

 

[66217]

If it's under warranty you should send it to Nikon for adjustment. My D200 was having problems with metering (underexposing about 2/3 stop) and it was slightly back focusing. I sent it to Nikon for service. They cleaned it up, adjusted exposure and focusing, and even replaced a couple worn parts (I've done about 20K shutter activations in the past year). It came back much better. I just got a 17-55/2.8 DX lens for it and the shots are coming out focused spot on and exposure seems excellent so far.

There's no reason you shouldn't be getting good pictures with AF, although I can see using a focusing rail for macros. For motorsports I want accurate and fast AF. Manual focus is not really an option.

I'll try and see, but more than being a malfunctioning unit, I think it is just that the AF sometimes gets confused. I don't know if the problems is that the D40x only has three focus areas, instead of the many more that the D200 has.

I mean, the photos come up pretty good focused with AF, but sometimes I see that with MF I can get a better result. For example, sometimes the AF won't be centered with respect to the eyes, and instead would focus on the nose, so the eyes won't be sharp. I know, it is not that bad, but something is something.

 

[RaceTripper]

When you said 20,000 activations, I thought you were confusing this with a Windows XP thread...

That's probably the pain I was feeling. Or it's the number of times I've said "I have no idea WTF you just said" while on the phone with Dell support.

 

[termina3]

with MF I can get a better result.

Of course! That's because the definition of a better result is the result you want–right?

Manual focus gives you more control, allowing you to come closer to what you really want. Auto gives you a free ride out of work, but sometimes it'll cost you.

 

[RaceTripper]

I'll try and see, but more than being a malfunctioning unit, I think it is just that the AF sometimes gets confused. I don't know if the problems is that the D40x only has three focus areas, instead of the many more that the D200 has.

I have no experience with the D40x, so I can't say, but I have not heard of focus problems with that camera before.

But if you have a couple weeks to spare without the camera, it can do a lot of good to send it in. I'm really glad I sent mine back. After about 16 days worth of shooting at race tracks I'm sure the cleaning alone did it a lot of good.

 

[Airforce]

Wife ended up buying me an Olympus e410 kit Gotta love an early Christmas!

 

[dabirdwell]

Congratulations!

Post a few images if you get a chance. I haven't seen the 410 in person, but I do love my E-500. As long as I don't bump the ISO too high, images come out great. I'd be curious to know a little more about the sensor in that model, considering that mine is a CCD and yours is a Live MOS.

I'm serious about the 14-54 being a HUGE improvement over the kit wide zoom. It is sturdy, sharp and bright, and will focus as close as you could ever want it to. For $400, it's on par with L lenses from Canon. Well worth it if you find that you really get into photography.

 

[Westside guy]

For $400, it's on par with L lenses from Canon.

I'm not a Canon shooter, so I don't have a personal stake in this - but what are you basing this statement on?

 

[jolton]

Have you thought about a Nikon D40?

I know that right now Amazon has a great deal for around $500 and change for the kit plus a 55-200mm lens and some extras...

 

[stcanard]

From what I understand, live-view on an SLR lowers the quality of the images due to focusing issues and most photographers don't use it.

I'm not weighing into the brand wars (I love my Nikon, my dad loves his Pentax, I've got friends that love their Canons) but wanted to put my 2c here.

What I've read (I've had no chance to confirm) is that live view increases the noise in the image -- when you're driving the CCD constantly it heats up.

So if you're using live view you might not get the same kind of high-ISO performance most people rave about on DSLR's.

 

[Airforce]

So far, life with this camera is great! Still learning it of course, but even the scene settings come out fantastic!

Post a few images if you get a chance. I haven't seen the 410 in person, but I do love my E-500. As long as I don't bump the ISO too high, images come out great. I'd be curious to know a little more about the sensor in that model, considering that mine is a CCD and yours is a Live MOS.

I've taken nothing, but family and Christmas pictures via .jpeg format and about three raw, so once I get something worthwhile to post, I will. First thing I did was to grab up a 4GB 133X CF card and a tripod. Next...who knows. The only thing I hate right now is how long it takes to charge the battery; looking at about two hours or so. I think they make a quick charger, so I may grab one of those or an extra battery or two. Not a huge ordeal since the battery lasted much longer than I expected.

I used live view for a bit, but quickly moved to the viewfinder. I took a few panoramic photos and family portraits with the timer with it, but other than that, it wasn't worth the delay. This really did surprise me due to me using the lcd of a P&S since I've had Digital cameras.

The amount of adjustments available when using the .orf format (Olympus' raw format) is excellent in CS3! I've never owned a camera that did such a thing, so I've only worked with over-processed jpegs. I have a lot to learn, but it doesn't seem too challenging

 

[termina3]

I've taken nothing, but family and Christmas pictures via .jpeg format and about three raw, so once I get something worthwhile to post, I will.

If you don't already have a photo sharing website, may I suggest SmugMug?

Other than the awesome features, unlimited bandwith and uploads, there's the amazing service who usually replies within the hour (and overnight if you email them after 11pm)--I've got a story to tell.

After the first day of school this year, a freshman went home and committed suicide. Nearly a year previous, I had been hired as the photographer for a party that he was at. I thought it would be a nice gesture to give the family some photos of Grayson. I looked through my archives, found a few, uploaded them to SmugMug and placed the order late Thursday evening--problem was, I needed to get the photos to the family by the services on Saturday.

I emailed SmugMug Help explaining the situation late Thursday evening; they moved my order to the top of the queue and upgraded my shipping to Saturday AM--all of this free of charge (well, I originally paid ~$10 for the prints and ~$25 for next bus. day shipping). I had the photos in hand by 8AM Saturday and was able to get them to the family in time. ASTOUNDING customer service. The best I've ever experienced.

Try 'em out (there's a free trial)--hopefully you'll understand why more than 80% of their customers stick with 'em.

Now for the shameless plug: save yourself $5 and me $10 by using this code: AD2YtsjXceosE . Feel free to check my SmugMug out at http://www.NickensPhotography.com .

 

[Airforce]

Shutter: 1/6
Aperture: f.5.6
Focal Length: 42mm
ISO 100

lamp light

 

[Edge100]

get a used 10D or 20D and a 50mm 1.8. Older stuff, but can be had at amazing prices.

I agree with this. I had been shooting with an Olympus P&S (and sometimes an old Fujica film SLR), and then bought my brother-in-law's old 10D (he has since upgraded to a 30D and a 1D mkII).

That, coupled with a 50 1.8mkII and a 17-40 4L (which I also bought from him) has been a wonderful introduction to the dSLR for me. Yes, the 10D could have a little less noise, or shoot higher than 3fps, but I'm learning to take better shots, and when I need to upgrade, I'll move to a newer model.

You can get a used 20D for very little these days.

 

[LaJaca]

I am also looking at getting a DSLR for my myself, I'll probably end up going out on boxing day and picking one up. As for camera type, I haver heard great things about the Nikon D40, and Canon XT, also the steps up of those, which would be the 40x, and the XTi. Another good one to look at is the Pentax K100d, which is a great price, and has auto focus, correct me if I am wrong.

Anyways, I'll still need to do my research, im still leaning towards the Nikon D40, or D40x is there is a sweet deal

D40/D40x are great cameras. Are they better/worse than Canon, Olympus, etc? All in the eye of the beholder. I own a Nikon D50 and swear by it. I'm a nikon man for life, for no other reason than I'm a convert. It's actually like saying mac or windows - very hard to sway the minds of those who are set in their ways....