What camera offers the most bang for the buck?

[papayafish]

Hey all,

I'm trying to get into digital photography after three years of working just with b/w film. Inasmuch as film photography has been satisfying, I want to move into the digital age.

So here's what the dealio is. I've been using a cheapish Canon A630 which as served well for just getting acquainted to what it would be like to digitally shoot. It allows me to manually set the f-stop and speeds, which trumps the pathetic "auto" setting.

Now I want to head off into the dSLR range to complement my Canon A-E1 film slr, but alas, it's such a stressful thing to look through and pretty expensive.

My budget is about $800 max, although, if I could get a decent dSLR for cheaper, I'd be thrilled.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[66217]

I would recommend staying within Nikon or Canon.

With Nikon you have the D40 ($600) and the D40x ($800). The only difference of the D40x with the D40 is that it has 10 megapixels, shoots faster (3 fps instead of 2.4) and lower base sensitivity of ISO 100.

You could also consider getting a D80, but it is a little out of your budget. $1000 (body only). The major difference between the D40 and the D80 is the build quality and that the D80 has a buil-in autofocus motor. And also that the D80 is a more professional camera (it has some extras that for beginners are not important, but for professionals are essentials).


From Canon you could get the Rebel XT (around $700) or the Rebel XTi (around $800-900). I would really recommend the XTi over the XT. The XTi has some features that could make them a better option for you instead of a D40 also.

I suppose you already have some Canon lenses, so buying a Canon dSLR would be a plus. Also, the Canon XTi has buil-in autofocus motor, and other functions that make it look a bit more professional. They normally compare the XTi with the D80, not the D40.

I would suggest reading http://www.dpreview.com, they have a lot of info there.

I hope this helps you,

 

[robbieduncan]

Also, the Canon XTi has buil-in autofocus motor.

No it doesn't (I have one sitting right here). All Canon EF or EF-S lenses have built in autofocus motors. So no Canon EOS camera has ever needed an autofocus motor...

 

[Digital Skunk]

Used 30D for $800 maybe. Give you film speed and good resolution. Other than that, the stuff Roco and others have mentioned.

 

[OllyW]

I suppose you already have some Canon lenses, so buying a Canon dSLR would be a plus.

The Canon AE-1 uses FD mount manual focus lenses which don't fit the new (20 year old ) EF & EF-S mount EOS auto focus cameras.

I had one of those in the early eighties which I also mainly used for black and white, it was a nice camera at the time but I prefer my 350D (XT)

 

[J'aime]

My two cents would be for the canon XT body + a nice lens. If you buy the body only it should only be 400-something, then you could spend 300-400 on a nicer lens than the kit.

 

[cube]

You can get an ubercool camera for $700:

http://www.beachcamera.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=PKK10D1855

If you buy the 50-200 at the same time, you get an extra $100 rebate, which brings the total to $838 for K10D + the two lenses.

If you want just the basic kit it should be a bit cheaper from Dell after the rebate (which they don't talk about). The 50-200 is more expensive there, so you save nothing if you go for the full deal.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&oc=PK10D

 

[miloblithe]

...With Nikon you have the D40 ($600) and the D40x ($800). The only difference of the D40x with the D40 is that it has 10 megapixels, shoots faster (3 fps instead of 2.4) and lower base sensitivity of ISO 100.

You could also consider getting a D80, but it is a little out of your budget. $1000 (body only). The major difference between the D40 and the D80 is the build quality and that the D80 has a buil-in autofocus motor. And also that the D80 is a more professional camera (it has some extras that for beginners are not important, but for professionals are essentials).


From Canon you could get the Rebel XT (around $700) or the Rebel XTi (around $800-900). I would really recommend the XTi over the XT. The XTi has some features that could make them a better option for you instead of a D40 also....

Are you quoting prices including kit lenses?

body only at bhphotovideo:

Canon XT $480 ($550 w/kit lens)
Canon XTi $629 ($720 w/kit lens)
Nikon D40 ---- ($525 w/kit lens)
Nikon D40x $636 ($700 w/kit lens)
Nikon D80 $875 ($980-1150 w/kit lens)

 

[bousozoku]

If you really want the most bang for your buck, it's not going to be Nikon or Canon. Pentax and Olympus offer better value and more features.

If you just have to have a Canon body for some reason, don't buy the kit lens. Buy the 50mm f/1.8. It's not a piece of rubbish.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I would also not discount the Fuji series cameras. The camera world is not just Nikon or Canon to the open minded individual. The post just above me is correct though. If you must have Canon because that is what your film rig is (I have Nikon digital because my film rig is Nikon) then ditch the kit lens and go for that 50mm for sure. Actually, I'd pick up a 35mm instead so you can at least get that 50mm feel on your digital camera with the crop factor.

 

[66217]

No it doesn't (I have one sitting right here). All Canon EF or EF-S lenses have built in autofocus motors. So no Canon EOS camera has ever needed an autofocus motor...

The Canon AE-1 uses FD mount manual focus lenses which don't fit the new (20 year old ) EF & EF-S mount EOS auto focus cameras.

It is always good to learn something new.

Also, should we expect that Nikon would eventually switch to all lenses having auto focus motor?

Are you quoting prices including kit lenses?

Yes, I was quoting with lens included. But it seems you got some better prices there.

 

[seenew]

Holga
http://www.adorama.com/CZHFN.html?searchinfo=holga&item_no=6

$36.00

edit: whoops, didn't read your post, haha, just the title. Ignore me.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I picked up my Canon Rebel XT for $560 with the kit lens. B&H photo is selling the body only for around $490.

I would also recommend the Pentax K100D. It's just as good as the Canon and Nikon cameras IMO, and has built-in anti-shake.

 

[cube]

The same rebates apply to the K10D and the K100D. The K110D and the Super have no rebates.

This puts the basic K100D kit at $409. The Super has dust removal and ultrasonic lens support (so it's more future-proof), but it's not such a good deal at the moment, and for a bit more you get the K10D which is 10MP and weather sealed.

The K10D is in the Nikon D200 league. It just doesn't have a metal body.
To get weather sealing on Canon you have to go all the way to the 1D.
It was a great deal when it came out and much more so now.

 

[regan2]

you'd be hard pressed to find a difference between the canon and nikon offerings in that price range. for me, it was the nikon d40. the kit lens is completely adequate and enjoyable.

the d40x, if you consider it, is said by many to not be worth the upgrade. save your cash for a new lens.

Hey all,

I'm trying to get into digital photography after three years of working just with b/w film. Inasmuch as film photography has been satisfying, I want to move into the digital age.

So here's what the dealio is. I've been using a cheapish Canon A630 which as served well for just getting acquainted to what it would be like to digitally shoot. It allows me to manually set the f-stop and speeds, which trumps the pathetic "auto" setting.

Now I want to head off into the dSLR range to complement my Canon A-E1 film slr, but alas, it's such a stressful thing to look through and pretty expensive.

My budget is about $800 max, although, if I could get a decent dSLR for cheaper, I'd be thrilled.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[papayafish]

Wow, this is kind of over-whelming. Thanks so much! I'm going to take some time to look through all of these. It probably won't be an immediate purchase, but I like to research ahead of time. Again, thank you!

 

[taylorwilsdon]

The 350D aka Rebel XT was recently on sale for $369 for the body only. Thats the best bang for your buck by any count.

 

[bousozoku]

Wow, this is kind of over-whelming. Thanks so much! I'm going to take some time to look through all of these. It probably won't be an immediate purchase, but I like to research ahead of time. Again, thank you!

You should probably read the other 40 or so threads on trying to buy a new dSLR, also, but you might have to request threads from 1 year ago or newer to view all of them. There is a lot of good advice (and some not so useful) available here.

 

[cube]

The 350D aka Rebel XT was recently on sale for $369 for the body only. Thats the best bang for your buck by any count.

Maybe by megapixel count. Only.

The K100D body goes for $329 after rebate. It has spot meter, 11-point AF and image stabilization.

Wow, this is kind of over-whelming. Thanks so much! I'm going to take some time to look through all of these. It probably won't be an immediate purchase, but I like to research ahead of time. Again, thank you!

The Pentax rebates go on until September 30. But probably some others will come for the holidays, as these have been coming and going in the last year or so.

 

[apple_iBoy]

after deliberating between Nikon and Canon for several months, I ended up going with a Sony Alpha A100 with a 18-200mm lens.

No complaints at all.

 

[colorspace]

Sony DSC-R1

You probably won't hear much about this camera, but it has one GREAT feature, the most important one I think, the Carl Zeiss lens is AMAZING and you can find these used for cheap.

In the original dpreview.com review of the sony this stands out:

"Superb 24 - 120 mm F2.8 - F4.8 lens is worth the $999 alone"

Several other pages pointed to the fact that to get similar quality from Canon or Nikon you would pay at least $1,500 just for lenses (no body). And now these can be had for $500 or so...

 

[filmamigo]

The K10D is in the Nikon D200 league. It just doesn't have a metal body.
To get weather sealing on Canon you have to go all the way to the 1D.
It was a great deal when it came out and much more so now.

K10D has a metal alloy body with a polycarbonate skin -- still pretty tough.

 

[cube]

The K10D has a metal chassis, not body.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PentaxK10D/page3.asp

 

[compuwar]

I would recommend staying within Nikon or Canon.

With Nikon you have the D40 ($600) and the D40x ($800). The only difference of the D40x with the D40 is that it has 10 megapixels, shoots faster (3 fps instead of 2.4) and lower base sensitivity of ISO 100.

I'm pretty sure that the base ISO of all the Nikon DSLR bodies is 200, with ISO 100 being done in electronics.

 

[jaduffy108]

From a Nikon fan...

I would have to suggest the Canon XTi for under $800. The D80 is where Nikon gets "interesting" IMO....and the D80 is going for $875 these days. In case you're open to expanding the budget..the D80 with a 18-70 lens from bhphoto.com...$1200. Killer combo.

Check dealmac.com. I saw new XTi's going for $679. Also sites like fredmiranda.com are a good source for used gear.

good luck

Edit: I like Digital Skunk's idea...but get a used 20D for even less!