Hey guys, im really geting tired of my crappy old cybershot which has served me for 4 or so years, i am thinking of a DSLR. My current budget is 500~

What do you guys think of these cameras?

Nikon D40 6.1MP DSLR Camera With 18-55mm Lens Kit 430$

Sony Alpha A300K 10.2MP DSLR Camera With 18-70mm Lens Kit 430$

Canon XS 10.1MP DSLR With 18-55mm IS Lens, Case & 6" Tripod - Silver - Web Only 450$

Sony Alpha 200K 10.2MP DSLR Camera With 18-70mm Lens Kit 450$

Canon XS 10.1MP DSLR Camera With 18-55mm IS Lens, Grip, Extra Battery & Case 500$

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS 10.1MP DSLR Camera With 18-55mm IS Lens Kit 550$

Nikon D60 10.2MP DSLR Camera With 18-55mm Lens Kit 550$

Any goods and bads? which once you recommend, why and which to stay away from. Your help is apriciated, i am not really knowledgeble within this slr department, my dad kind of is, but i need your "professional" opinions based on which is better then the other and which is worth the money.

I am in no rush to buy if price is going to drop or a newer model is going to come out soon for the same price kind of thing.

I know there is plenty of threads around discussing such thing, but i dont want to be an ******* and hijack them for my personal needs.

Thank you!

 

You know this already - but any of those choices will be great. All of them will take wonderful pictures. Nikon and Canon will have more accessories and glass available. If you are moving up from a point and shoot you might want to start with the D40.

Before you buy, find a place where you can "handle" them - a local camera shop for instance. See how they feel in your hand. Which control layout works for you. How the viewfinder looks, etc.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for response, I can get used to any camera and the layout is no problem, its what in side that counts, same goes for girls

I have held my friends dads 10k+ cannon or nikon cant remmember, my arms were sore after that night of shooting my z lol

Now question still stands, if you had the 500$, which package would you choose?

 

d60 hands down .

 

Well, my situation is a bit different. I've shot 35mm since I was in high school. I went straight to digital SLR's - skipping the P&S cameras. I'm a Nikon guy with plenty of Nikkor glass, so I'd go Nikon for sure. From your perspective, I'd choose the D40. It's small and light for an SLR. It can do nearly anything the bigger SLR's can do.

 

Alright i have narrowed my choices down to d40 and 60. Will let you guys know how it turns out! Thanks for the help, i will be checking this thread from time to time if anyone wants to add anything valuable regarding the purchase, thanks!

 

i have a A200

it is amazing and i absolutely love it.. It is an awesome entry level DSLR camera... only real disadvantage is lens prices...

 

easy choice...D60

 

canon but i'm a canon guy soo.... lol. either cam will do you good. definitely stay with canon or nikon though. way more options for future add ons for those vs any of the others.

 

Thanks brothaZ

 

Go to Your local Circuit City -If they're still in business- or BestBuy and try each one of them, see which one You like best.

They're basically the same, the only differences maybe the features.
Starts from what You need, not what You want.

After that happy shooting!
Just stay away from nikon D40 or D60, there's no AF motor in those bodies.

 

AF motor? explain please and i was really looking into the d60 =(

 

the d40 and d60 lack the auto focus motor in the camera body, so you have to buy lenses with the auto focus motor in them unless you want to manual focus everything. I'd suggest a used d50, slightly larger than the d40, and the controls are laid out a tad bit differently, but it has an AF motor in the body.

 

Only AF-S designated lenses will autofocus on the D40 and D60. All others will work, but you will have to focus manually. If you want use non-AF-S lenses, you'll have to move to the D70, minimum (If you're going to do that - go on up to the D90).

Since you don't have a huge stockpile of old Nikon glass laying around, this shouldn't be a problme for ya'.

 

it might not cause a problem, but it will limit his lens selection and he won't be able to use the auto focus available on say used older lenses and correct me if i'm wrong but i believe the af-s lenses are more expensive

 

I just bought a D60 today and so far extremely happy with it, very light and pretty small so it doesn't take up to much room. good luck with your decision.

 

It will limit his selection currently, but more Nikon glass is being updated with AF-S every day. I don't find the AF-S to be much more expensive. The VR is what jumps the price up.

My guess was that as a P&S guy moving up to an SLR, there was plenty of reasonable AF-S glass to keep the OP busy for a long time. Hence the legacy Nikon glass wouldn't be a big problem.

 

Canon G10

 

Small update, after all this time, a week ago i got my self a rebel xs (d1000) canon. Its a great camera and all but one thing bugged me is that it did not come with image stabilization lens, got it forb 700~ at costco that included another 300mm i believe zoom lens again with out img stab.

Played around with it for a week, got fed up with it, images come out blurry due to shaking hands (when flash isnt used). Dont want to get a stand either because i will be shooting things on the go and wont drag the stand along with me.

Result: Returned the rebel xs (d1000) back to costco.

Now looking at sony a350. What are your thoughts on camera? My first thought is that it has image stab built in, so its all up to me to get which ever lens i need to get later and it does not have to have IS built in.

Another quick question, im thinking of getting a hood for the lens one of those that have a part sticking out of top, bottom and both sides (wavy pattern) not just round lens extention type of thing, what is the purpose for them (my guess light patterns when taking pictures of lamps and so on?)

 

Image stabilization can only help so much. And it doesn't really help when you're shooting at 300m with a shutter speed 1/100sec or anything bellow 1/50sec.

I dunno about a350, but I do have the a700 and I can tell You that is one amazing camera. IS works, but not much. User interface and ergonomics-imo- are good.


Lens hood is to minimize unwanted light from entering the lens and reduced flaring. It's mostly used for zoom lenses.