I'm gonna buy a camera. I don't understand your lingo. I know some basics, but that's about it.

I'm almost definitely going to get the cheapo canon rebel whatever. Cause it's my first one and I'm a poor student. The $500 one that comes w/ the 18-55mm lens.

I do a good deal of hiking, so I'm looking at nature photography, some landscapes, vacation stuff, and my doggies.

What else should I consider in terms of lenses/hardware? What else do I need to know? Would you recommend something other than starting with the canon cheapy?

I'd like to keep total cost down below $750 or so.

After that, steer me in the direction of some kind of tutorial or good beginning book or something I can work through to learn what the hell I'm doing.

I'm sure there are threads, but 1. i have a midterm on monday and can't be bothered searching and 2. i'm a mod and therefore above searching and 3. i know even if y'all ##### at me, Kim will help me out :flower

Thanks folks

get a nikon

Extra battery and a bag to carry it around in to top off your budget.

In the meantime, don't listen to these jokers.

no for real. if you're never going to go pro, get a nikon.

Not sure what's off the wall about getting an extra battery and a camera bag...

this one's fun:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-T1i-Digital-18...7933&sr=8-1

Pentax k-x

around $500 with 18-55 lenses. $700 with both 18-55mm and 55-300mm

Reviews here.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxkx/

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/pentax_kx_review/

Got myself one, and are very satisfied, only bad thing there are no visible AF points in viewfinder, but since i mostly uses spot focus and recompose, it's not so much of an issue.

Dude, it was a joke.

Jen - I'd go with the Rebel T1i if I were you. Strangely enough the price has gone up slightly in the past couple of months, approaching the release of the T2i. The body is around $650 at most dependable sites, including Amazon. I think the price for the T1i has not dropped yet because the T2i is in such high demand and supplies are limited, so it's either unavailable or under back order all over the place. If you want to wait for that to change, the price on the T1i might drop in the near future.
You could buy just the body and a better lens than the 18-55mm separately, but that kit lens may be good enough to start with (I haz no idea). Extra battery is always good to buy along with a large memory card.

That's all I got for now.

I have nothing to add, I just wanted to quote this:

Regardless of which one you get, get a fixed lens like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camer...3640&sr=8-1

Anybody can take amazing pictures with that lens. It gives you the crazy depth-of-field (where something is in super sharp focus and everything else isn't) that the pros have. There's a nikon equivalent for about the same price if you go that route.

Or:
Canon Rebel XSi - Here's one with a nifty fifty for $500
Canon 28-135 - Here's one for $260
bag

You ought to be able to get that combo for less than $750 and the 28-135 is infinitely better than the typical 18-55 kit lens.

50mm on a 1.6x crop DSLR isn't very useful. It's good to have one, but not a top choice, imho.

And +1 to the 28-135mm, it's my general purpose lens.

Yeah I'd suggest a standard zoom or super zoom as far as the lens goes-- it's just a pragmatic choice.
Plus the Sig 50mm is better anyhoo

nikon d40x is a sweet dslr. especially for the price.

why?

nikon sensors have better color than canon imho. super light and really reliable. plus i think it's around $500 with a 18-55mm.

thats Pure opinion and 2sec fix to adjust WB in post process. I can say that Nikon color makes all the images I seen from them look fake and plastic like. I myself dont like the files made by Nikons so how does that do anything to help someone choose.

uh oh, that's a long line of canon gear in the signature. actually the d40x is a ccd so the difference isn't that big. it's the nikon cmos sensors that are super sweet.

little more then CCD there that separates it from the decent ones

More sigma in my gear then Canon

kinda like ford or chevy i guess. the one you grow up with is the one you think is better. had a d40 as a backup body and loved it. have a bunch of friends both pro and amateur who love ther d40's as well. i'm sure canon has it's fan club too.

I grew up with a Pentax..

i'm sorry. jk. i had a pentax 6x7 that i absolutely loved.

I grew up with a holga. lol.

I grew up with a Canon A1, then I "upgraded" to a Rebel (film era) and decided that Canon's flash didn't get along with me, so I traded it on a Nikon N80. It's totally Ford-Chevy. Both are fab and you won't know which best fits your outlook on automation and ergonomics till you buy one and shoot with it for a while.

If only I could use Canon lenses on my Nikon D200 body...

Non-hostile correction...Sony makes those sensors you like so much. Same with some other brands like pentax. Pretty sure they made a couple for use in Canon bodies if I'm not mistaken, actually.

Not sure about that..pretty sure canon makes all in house.

Well I'm not certain, but it looks like there was a problem period between 2002-2004 where there were sony sensors in certain Canon camera models. I don't doubt they make all their own today, though.

Edit: not certain lol

imo, buy a used Canon 30D and a 28-135 lens.

and i dunno why nikons are better for beginners - i just heard that somewhere and decided to post it. i think the feature line-up in their lower end is better than canon or something. also, i heard they do a better job of keeping dust off the sensor.

but it's pretty much subjective.

I had the Canon 28-135 IS and it's awesome; for film at least. 28 mm isn't very wide in the Digital Era. And most manufacturers make entry level cameras including Nikon. And all manufacturers' entry level bodies include dumbed-down, full automatic point and shoot modes. Canon jumped into the fast and silent focus motor with USM way before Nikon and I've found their lenses to be less expensive. To me, that makes Canon a better beginner choice. But it is totally subjective.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...T#ht_706wt_1165 ?

have you checked www.photography-on-the.net? they have a good marketplace section. the ebay camera isn't a bad deal, but if it were me i would try to find a better lens set.

yea i read up on the lens a bit after i posted that and didn't find the most positive reviews.

not familiar with that site i'll give it a look.

Since you are already looking at a used camera with no macro lenses, my advice is to look at the Nikon D40 (not the D40S). It's small, light and fast, plus the 1/500th flash sync is wonderful for difficult flash situations. That said, if it's aquarium photography you're after, you need a macro lens (or at least you will need a macro lens). In that case, the D40 won't meter with older (read: affordable) Nikon macro lenses.

^^



She already listed what's she's going to use it for and aquarium photography isn't one of them.

Canon 20D body for $250
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=833681

haha...hiya vic. didn't see those.

sorry vic, I did see those as well, i was just a little drunk last night and didn't acknowledge them ><

I would suggest going to a camera store, picking up each camera and getting an Idea what you are comfortable with, all of the cameras @ $500 Will eventually perform in a similar way and most couldn't tell you if an image were from a Canon, Nikon or a Scanned 35mm Negative. Look at buying your first DSLR as an investment, IE what starts with $500 could add up to $2000 in a short while. Pickup up the camera, get some new glass, half decent bag, battery needs a backup now... wish I had that nice big speedlight...

It would suck to get all of these things purchased and paid for only to find out you would have been more comfortable shooting with a camera you never picked-up as you had decided before you actually played with any of them.

If you have already done that then disregard this message... !

EDIT: Also look at lens reviews, there is a lot of emphasis placed on what the body can offer. I made my decision to shoot based off of the lenses I was going to be using... And many will agree that they have spent more on glass than the initial cost of the body.

It's all good POTN is a great place to buy used Canon gear though.

My budget might be increased a bit. I'll find out tomorrow.

Have you considered getting an advanced P&S and not a DSLR? There are some great ones out there in your budget that will do everything in your list very well and are very compact for traveling purposes. Just suggesting it since it seems you are more concerned about budget than about building up different lenses and optimal quality. There are higher end point and shoots out there that will be easier to operate and take a better photograph with less fiddling than an older, used DSLR stuck on auto.

No. Ick.

I'm more concerned about getting a starter camera and multi-purpose lens. XSi, T1i, T2i, D5000, D90...all of them are plenty high quality for someone just starting out w/ a DSLR. I'm not looking for an impressive accessory so I can just look cool and leave it on auto. Where on earth did you get the idea that I don't want to learn how to use whatever equipment I purchase?

I'm not talking about building up different lenses because I'm talking about an initial purchase that will fulfill my purposes for a few months until I feel I know what I'm doing with the camera, know what else I want to do with the camera, and can intelligently shop more lenses.

Not sure where you got the idea I was getting an older used DSLR? I've only mentioned one used camera, and it was a T1i. The one vic mentioned is an XSi with ~6k clicks. Not sure I'd call those older...

I don't mean to be rude, but please, take your inane & insulting assumptions about me elsewhere.

OC, don't make this a major life changing decision, just buy one of them

can't really go wrong when its a base model

haha I'm incapable of not over-analyzing every decision I make lat.

I think the bigger decision at the moment might be what lens or two to get to start off with for all-purpose use until I know what on earth I'm doing.

buy the xsi with starter lens its great. i paid 520 shipped buyitnow on ebay.

OC, I think perhaps you're taking my post the wrong way. I saw a couple of posts regarding used 20Ds or 30Ds and based on your original post thought that you should consider a G11 or something of that nature instead. It would fit in your budget nice and it would be easier to carry when you're hiking around doing landscape stuff and/or playing with your doggies. And like I said, the results would be the same if not better than an older used DSLR. Again, based on your original post you state that you don't know much about cameras and these P&Ss can be great to learn on.

Just cause this is the photo forum, don't assume everyone is out to insult you. I actually meant my post to be helpful in case you hadn't considered another option.

Im a hater of kit lenses, but theyre good enough to start out with, I just think they're a waste of money

I like body only + sig zoom/ 2.8, costs a few hundred more, but at least you don't have the 18-55 f/10000 kit lens

either that or get the kit lens and a $100 50/1.8 so you can see why wider ap faster lenses are better

IME, its better to just save up a little longer and start in the mid range (sorry I don't know canon's hierarchy, but the nikon I'd be referencing is the d90 level)

it just ended up costing me more to have the d40 for a few months and need to move into something better very soon afterwards

Nah, you're the only person I've found insulting thus far.

I assumed that since I'm going to buy a DSLR and not a high-end P&S, the fact that I was interested in learning how to use the DSLR didn't need to be stated. Silly me.

Anyway, I'm not going to fight with you about it. That's what the lounge is for.

If it helps, the XSi is the best price/performance camera Canon makes. I have both a XS that I use for astrophotography, and a T1i. Despite the jump in MP's, I don't really see the T1i as being worth the extra money.

You would have to jump to the 7D, which is closer to $1699, to get a camera that really produces better quality photos.

Whichever you chose, never use the camera on auto and learn how to use the manual focus points. Forget about the P&S, I had purchased 4 different P&S's before I got my XS. Now I'll never use a P&S.

Get the 18-55mm kit, you can always sell it for $90. Consider an additional flash. My next purchase will be a set of rings so I can cut the focal distance for macro shots.

I used the FZ50 for about a year which was a super zoom P&S and it was a wrecking ball...much better than a lot of DSLRs with kit lenses
...just saying...