Am looking to get into Digital Photography..
was wondering if anyone could suggest a decent starter kit as I do not have the slightest idea what brands are reputable, what hardware/software i might need, etc..
can someone get me started? thanks in advance!
What sort of pictures will you be taking? How serious are you in terms of convenience, capability, flexibility. Where will you be taking pictures? Will you be printing many images? At what size?
Canon and Nikon both have about 40-45% of the DSLR market. Canon is a much larger company than Nikon, and their high-end lens prices tend to be a bit lower in most countries- a consideration if you're looking at $1100-1700 lenses. Nikon's kit lenses tend to do a bit better, a consideration if you're just looking to take snapshots. Nikon's AF modules tend to be a bit better regarded. Nikon's lower-end bodies won't AF with a fair portion of the older and non-upgraded lenses (not a huge issue unless you either don't want a mid-range body or want to buy cheaper used lenses.) Nikon's flash system tends to be better-regarded for indoors work with multiple flashes.
Sony was the only other major manufacturer to offer "full-frame" cameras, and had gotten somewhere between 8-12% of the global DSLR market. Sony Semiconductor is apparently considering shutting down FF sensor production, and it remains to be seen if long-term Sony will stay in the DSLR market and what sort of update cycle they'll be on if they do.
Hoya bought the Pentax brand to get its endoscopy business, and their CEO originally said they had no interest in the camera part- then he backpedaled, however last year he publicly said Hoya couldn't go it alone in the DSLR market. There is a small chance that Canon may buy out Pentax to get it's Medium Format SLR business, though in that case I can't see them floating the traditional Pentax DSLR business for too long (though if I were them, I'd be looking much more strongly at Mamiya.) Because the CEO doesn't seem to strongly support Pentax as a major self-sustaining business unit, I'm wary of their long-term viability.
Olympus makes the smallest sensor size DSLRs, and it's not clear to me that they will be able to successfully float both their 4/3rds SLRs and their Micro 4/3rds range for the long term. However, if portability is a big criteria, they offer smaller options at a slight cost in IQ (both in terms of having to enlarge more to get the same sized print as well as in terms of *very* slightly inferior lens designs for wide angles that offer compactness over total IQ.) I would strongly suggest going Micro 4/3rds if you go this route, as not only do you have more manufacturer options than just Olympus, but it's likely to be the mount that survives if one of them must be gotten rid of or Oly has issues.
In pure terms of value, Sony, Pentax and Olympus will have more features per unit of cost than either Nikon or Canon. In terms of choices, both Nikon and Canon have significantly wider ranges of choices and upgrade paths.
Truthfully, all of the above manufacturer's cameras for the last two or so generations at least will take wonderful images. There are differences, but if you're a casual shooter who's just taking pictures of friends/family/vacations it is a small enough difference that you'll likely be pleased with anything you purchase once you learn to use it. If you're printing up to about 11x14, the differences will be noticeable but relatively small between any body made by any of the above. If you're printing larger, then you'll see differences depending on what you're shooting, how it's printed, etc. If you're just posting to Facebook a DSLR is probably overkill and one of the new EVIL cameras is probably going to be a lot easier to carry around.
Paul
