Need advice. Digital SLR Camera

[kenr08]

Hey guys. I finally figured it was time to step up and buy a really nice digital SLR camera. I have seen some amazing photo's on this site of you and your families enjoying your toys and it pushed me to finally take the plunge.

We have a point and shoot digital camera that is fine, but I really want to get something better. I have no illusions (at least at this point) of becoming a great photographer but would like something that I can take really good pictures of our kids and family's events.

Here is what I am kind of looking for:
- Easy to use but with capability to expand
- Good selection of lenses
- Good reliability
- Good track record
- My kids are involved in a lot of sports and would like to capture action shots
- Price? Understand these are expensive so not so worried about price but looking for good value.

So the question is, what brands and features should I be looking for? Any suggestions or comments on specific models?

Thanks!!!!

[turbonine]

I just got the Canon 40D and have been really happy with it. I think the best feature about it is the 6.5fps sequence mode. The Nikon and the rebel models would only do 3fps. For sports and action this is a big plus.

This pic was shot using the 40D by someone who had never used an SLR before.

It came with a 28-135mm lens, I think it is f3.5, which makes it perform rather well in lower light situations.

[talltigeguy]

I have the Rebel XT and am pretty pleased with it, but I notice on the wakeboarding sequences, I get usually 4 shots from lift off to landing, as you can see Turbo got better than that. I only rarely have taken any sports shots where I wished it had more, but I might not know what I am missing.

The thing that I have learned, is that the lenses can cost more than the camera and can make an amateur look more like a pro. Get a good lens and any of those cameras can do very well.

Cost was an issue for me, so to get my camera and lenses for $600 seemed pretty good. The Rebel XTi is an upgrade, and I thought it did more FPS, but I could be wrong.

[G-MONEY]

I have been looking in to getting one and it looks like I'm getting the Cannon 40D....

[Moki]

I have the Canon Rebel Digital XT as well and love it. I spent a lot of money on my lenses and get very good results.

[dogrocco]

I have the Canon rebel also and it kicks...

[ragboy]

I have the first gen rebel XT, and its great, the newer ones and the XTi are even better.

[jwanck11]

Wow a loaded question!!

Keep in mind that any camera body you buy will be quickly outdated! You will want to focus on the lenses available and what your threshold for money outlay pain is.

What else are you looking to do with your camera other than shoot sports? What do you plan to do with the pictures (internets, 3X5, 8X10, bigger?)

Start there and that will help with providing advice.

Be careful with this as much of digital will likely go to an FX format (35mm or perhaps greater) and you don't want to get stuck behind (especially with lenses) at this point.

[jwanck11]

BTW... I shoot with a Nikon D80 and have the following lenses:

70-200 f/2.8
24-70 f/2.8
85 mm f/1.8
18-200 f/3.5

All of my lenses are pro-glass except for the 18-200 (but it is an awesome unrivaled lens for the price/versatility/walkability perspective) They are also all FX format except the 18-200 which is a DX format (1.5) crop factor. I am nicely positioned to move to FX when budget will allow.

Keep in mind though that great pictures can be taken with a disposable... The camera will make less difference than you might think...

There are a lot of things to consider(!!) to take your time with this purchase.

[chpthril]

X2 on the lens, it will make the best camera seem like a POS - A friend of mine bought a Rebal DSLR a few yrs back and got an off brand 300mm lens that was cheaper then the Canon, based on the recommendation of the sales guy, he said they were virtually the same. He quickly found that the camera would not get the action shots he thought it should. He attended a workshop at the camera store a few weeks later and asked about the poor action shots. The pro giving the class explained about the motor speed in the lens for the Auto Focus. Needless to say, the store Manager swapped out the lens for the Canon and eat the diff.

[raythompson]

Having used many cameras, film and digital, for professional purposes I will splat my opinion on your screens.

Basically there is not a hill of beans difference between any of the cameras unless you have a specific purpose. Nikon (pronounced Knee-con) has a really good flash system if you get into multiple flash use (few do). Canon has good frame sequencing if you really need it (few do). Fuji tends to have slight richer colors which are not noticeable at most printing venues used by most people as you need a calibrated lab and profiles to get the best performance. Olympus tends to have really good glass and vivid colors. Sony also has good glass and auto color balance works really well.

Don't get caught up in megapixel wars. 5 megapixels is good enough unless you crop severely. 10 megapixels will serve you well for all but the most severe crops.

Get a camera with onboard flash. Yeh, it is weak and causes red eye problems, but is really helpful when you are without your big flash and need just a little kick for fill light.

Find a camera that fits your hands, with controls that seem natural to you. The human ergonomics are more important than the individual specifications. Get a large, bright viewing screen. Live view, while useful at times, does come with a performance cost. A single lens with an effective zoom range of 25mm to 150mm is really about all you need. Long zooms are hard to hold and generally suffer from low light transmission unless you pays the big bucks.

If you get an external flash, and you really should, get the flash that is part of the system. Don't mess with a Quantum or Metz flash with a Nikon camera. A dedicated system flash will serve you much better.

Don't get suckered into a circular polarizer which is high profit for the dealer. Get a linear polarizer as they will work well with all current cameras. Focusing and exposure is not an issue as some counter clods would have you believe.

Don't get suckered into high ISO range cameras. They are expensive. If not expensive the noise will be fairly severe. You will not use the high ISO that much anyway.

Oh, and whatever you buy will be cheaper or supersceded six months (or sooner) after you buy the camera. Live with it and don't regret it.

Basically buy what feels good to you.

[hoopykat]

Ray knows of what he speaks...er...types. No need to add much more to his great advice. I bought a Nikon D60 kit with the 18-55mm AF lens, and the 75-300 AF telephoto lens, and between those two, I get a wide range of photo type coverage. Sports shots (my son swims and I got some really good photos of him in action), pics taken while on the boat, nature shots and everyday kid pictures come out very nice. It's a 10MP set up, and typical photos come out around 4-5MB each. A good quality storage card (SDHC) of 4GB or more gives you over a thousand photo storage capacity. Just make sure you get a card reader that is SDHC card capable. The camera has a built-in flash, and pops up when needed to add the correct lighting. And finally, with regard to lenses...you get what you pay for. Don't scrimp if you can at all avoid it. Crappy lenses will turn your SLR shots into Instamatic quality.

-Mike

[TeamAllen]

I use the Nikon D60.

[dogbert]

Canon Digital Rebel XT all the way. You won't be disappointed.

[LovinPowell]

I have a Canon XTI and love it.

Be careful with this as much of digital will likely go to an FX format (35mm or perhaps greater) and you don't want to get stuck behind (especially with lenses) at this point.

What is an FX format? Will my XTI convert to it?