Making the most out of $2,500

[SLC Flyfishing]

That is a good one. Keep in mind that a 50mm 1.4 with digital magnification is actually a 75mm (D80) or an 80mm (40D/Rebel), which is perfect for portraiture. Also, I'd pay the extra $200 for the 50 1.4 over the 1.8 because the glass is much better. Many of my friends who are also professional photogs have this lens. Or if they have an extra $1000 to play with they have the 1.2

Be careful there, it's not that a 50 mm lens is actually a 75 mm on a D80. It still magnifies things like a 50 mm on a full frame body would, it just crops the frame so you have the same field of view of a 75 mm lens on a full frame camera. But the magnification doesn't change simply because you mount it on a 1.5x body. This is a common misconception!

SLC

 

[Westside guy]

Be careful there, it's not that a 50 mm lens is actually a 75 mm on a D80. It still magnifies things like a 50 mm on a full frame body would, it just crops the frame so you have the same field of view of a 75 mm lens on a full frame camera. But the magnification doesn't change simply because you mount it on a 1.5x body. This is a common misconception!

While that's technically correct, it is not particularly helpful. All most people care about is the end result - not how you get there.

From a practical point of view, a 50mm lens on a 1.5x crop sensor camera acts just like a 75mm lens on a full-frame (e.g. film) camera.

Believe me, I received my BS in physics which should tell you I enjoy a pointless argument as much as anyone (I've always felt that "BS" was particularly apropos to most physics majors)... but this distinction is pretty much irrelevant to most people.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

I hate how people make the full frame vs. crop body comparison. It doesn't matter what it looks like on a full frame body, because the majority of the photography you're going to be seeing on the internet is off a crop! Nikon only just now released its first full frame dslr, and nobody scans 35mm film. The comparison is moot and the de-facto standard is a 1.5 or 1.6 crop for internet work. A 50mm prime is great range imo - zoom enough for portraits but wide enough for landscapes in most situations.

If anything, people should be doing the comparison the other way (making a fuss that a 50mm on a full frame sensor or 35mm body is not actually 50mm, as compared to a standard crop body)

 

[JFreak]

Buy as good lenses as you can afford, glass holds its value longer than body (and also contributes more to the image quality).

 

[Mechcozmo]

Pentax K10D $700
DA* 16-50 f/2.8 $900
DA* 50-105 f/2.8 $1000
2x 4GB SDHC cards $100

And you're $200 over but can shoot in a hurricane, blizzard, or whatever else nature throws at you with the best zoom lenses I've ever dreamed about. Er. Seen. Yeah, best lenses I've seen...

 

[termina3]

Pentax K10D $700
DA* 16-50 f/2.8 $900
DA* 50-105 f/2.8 $1000
2x 4GB SDHC cards $100

And you're $200 over but can shoot in a hurricane, blizzard, or whatever else nature throws at you with the best zoom lenses I've ever dreamed about. Er. Seen. Yeah, best lenses I've seen...

You're still short on the long (200, 300) side. Did we ever figure out what he's shooting? Cause for portraiture that setup would be great… but if there's any field-sports shooting a 200, 300, or 400 is a must.

 

[RoadieJodie]

There is a lot of great advice in this thread . . .

I'd like to reinforce a few things:

Body:

Nikon D80

Canon 40D

Lens:

You need to get a 50mm Prime, you'll know why after reading your reviews.

50mm f 1/4 or f 1/8

Zoom - This is really up to what you'll be shooting, though I like the 28-70mm F2.8-4 DG from Sigma. Again it's all about what you're shooting.

Just read your reviews, listen to advice and don't think you have to go all out on a setup.

 

[Mantat]

I forgot to mention that I am shooting with a full frame body, so 70-200 is a very good range for almost anything. I shoot flowers, birds, people, sports, etc.. But on a cropped sensor it can be a bit too long.

To the person who said that you NEED to use a flash indoor if you use a f4 lens and that it makes all pictures flat, well, learn to use your flash!!!

I have 3 flashes, 1 speedlight withe ETTL and 2 SunPak which are always in manual mode. As long as you dont put the flash on top of the camera body, your pic will never look flat! Flashes are the easiest/best way to make good pictures in 99% of the environment. the only place I dont use them is when I am not allowed to.

Nothing stop the action like a flash, not even a 85mm1.2 at 1/8000 sec will be able to stop the action as any lens with a flash set at minimum power at optimum Fstop & shutter speed.

The maximal aperture of a lens is only relevant for DoF or in case you cant use a flash. I am not saying that big aperture lens are useless, it is just that they should be used for creative shots, not stoping action.

 

[zdobson]

To the person who said that you NEED to use a flash indoor if you use a f4 lens and that it makes all pictures flat, well, learn to use your flash!!!

I have 3 flashes, 1 speedlight withe ETTL and 2 SunPak which are always in manual mode. As long as you dont put the flash on top of the camera body, your pic will never look flat! Flashes are the easiest/best way to make good pictures in 99% of the environment. the only place I dont use them is when I am not allowed to.

I think you misunderstood me about the flash. I was saying that most people aren't good with flash, not all people. If you're on a tight budget, you don't want to spend 20% of that on a speedlight. The flash setup that you just described would cost almost half the budget of $2500. Yes, it is important to know how to use a flash, I do it all the time, but IMO, good glass is where money is best spent.

 

[Mechcozmo]

You're still short on the long (200, 300) side. Did we ever figure out what he's shooting? Cause for portraiture that setup would be great… but if there's any field-sports shooting a 200, 300, or 400 is a must.

I've found myself rarely shooting at the long ranges of my lenses, but needing the weather sealing more often than not. With the 1.5 crop on the K10D, you can get to 157mm on the far end with those lenses. Not too close, but when it's raining...

Besides, the question was vauge. I answered how I'd spend it.

 

[soms]

Two questions - one broad, one not as.

1)

If you had to build some sort of DSLR setup from the ground up, how would you go about it?

2)

Would the D300 with the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G get outclassed by a D80 with a 70-200mm f/2.8D and a 18-70mm DX in tote?

If you can get a good deal on a D300 then go for it, otherwise get a D80 or used D70s and some VERY nice lenses.

The D300 is a great camera, but if its your first DSLR it might be TOO much of a camera for you. Arguably it has many of the features of the new D3 as well as improvements from the great D200.

Bottomline: Unless you can get a killer deal on a D300, or unless you have tons of money to spend, otherwise get the D80/D70s.

 

[wattage]

Two questions - one broad, one not as.

1) If you had to build some sort of DSLR setup from the ground up, how would you go about it?

2) Would the D300 with the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G get outclassed by a D80 with a 70-200mm f/2.8D and a 18-70mm DX in tote?

We just got our first DSLR for Christmas and were looking in your price range, we bought:

Nikon D 80: $830
18-200 VR Lens: $800
SB-600 Flash: $200
2GB cards: $100
Xtra 2 Yr warr.: $83
Card Reader: $30
D80 DVD: $30
plus other small thrown in items like camera bag, lens cleaning kit, clear lens cover, etc.

Grand Total $2230. Very Nice setup and something we can grow into.

 

[MattyMac]

Bank it!

 

[termina3]

I would suggest actually not spending the full $2500... yet.

Today, I'd get:

D80 @ ~900 and
18-200 VR @ ~800
memory ~80
cheepo tripod ~20
=1800
700 remaining

The D80 is a great camera that you can grow into. As a beginner, a D200 or D300 is probably too much. The D40 would be the optimal choice, but it wouldn't last you long enough to be economical.

The 18-200 VR is high-quality glass that gives you a huge range. Most importantly this will allow you to get an idea of what you want to shoot. Even if you go out and get pro glass later, you'll hang onto the 18-200 for its amazing focal range.

Once you know what you like to shoot (macro, sports, landscape, portraiture, et. al.) you can go out and put the remaining $700 towards a new lens, flash, grip, monopod, tripod... whatever.

 

[Hutch98R1]

Canon 40D kit with the 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens - $1429 from Amazon

72mm UV Filter - $16-$30 depending on brand from Amazon (I personally don't think it really matters what brand you go for)

Fast 2gb CF card - about $40 from Amazon (133x or so)

At this point I'd call it a day and pocket the money. You'll be happy with the versatility and the quality of the images you are able to take.

Further down the road, you might consider these items:
50mm Canon prime lens
300mm telephoto lens
Circular polarizer filter
Battery grip

+1 Exactly

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

We just got our first DSLR for Christmas and were looking in your price range, we bought:

Nikon D 80: $830
18-200 VR Lens: $800
SB-600 Flash: $200
2GB cards: $100
Xtra 2 Yr warr.: $83
Card Reader: $30
D80 DVD: $30
plus other small thrown in items like camera bag, lens cleaning kit, clear lens cover, etc.

Grand Total $2230. Very Nice setup and something we can grow into.

This is a nice set-up, only thing I'd add is a good external hard drive to keep an updated back-up to.

 

[epicwelshman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/3A110a Safari/419.3)

actually, do we know whether this $2500 is for JUST camera stuff, or computer accessories as well? I.e., does the OP need things like card readers or hard drives as well?

 

[Shacklebolt]

Don't need a card reader, and memory cards are cheap enough. I'm not too worried about accessories for now.

 

[avincent52]

FWIW I just bought a minty used D200 and a mint used 18-70 for just under $1100 in separate transactions on Nikonians.
I'm going to add an SB-600 and a Stofen Omnibounce for $185 and I'll be set.
I've got a bunch of old AIS lenses which I'll use some (my reason for buying the D200). I lens should get me about 95 percent of the shots I need.
As some have suggested, long teles are overrated except for specialized uses in sports and nature photography. I had a 300 mm and a 180 2.8 for my film camera bodies, and I used them maybe 10 percent as much as my 20mm super wide angle and my 28 mm wide angle.
(Note, these are full frame focal lengths- the 300mm film lens would be about a 200DX and the 28 mm film would be about a 17mm)

best
Allen