[jhurren]

Hey everyone, my name is Joel, i'm from Toronto, Canada.

Looking for some advice on D-SLR's. I have been doing some research lately as I have won a few photography competitions at school, and really enjoy taking pictures, so am looking to take the next step up from a P&S in the near future.
I have been looking at these 3 cameras:
Canon Digital Rebel XTi (leaning towards this one)
Nikon D40x
Sony Alpha A100


Any others recommended for beginners that are not 2 expensive.

Also, with lenses, Will the basic kit lens be enough? or would it be worth maybe looking on ebay to see if there are any deals on lenses with the camera?

Thanks Very Much, Joel

[futurikon]

Originally Posted by jhurren

Hey everyone, my name is Joel, i'm from Toronto, Canada.

Looking for some advice on D-SLR's.
..........

I have been looking at these 3 cameras:
Canon Digital Rebel XTi (leaning towards this one)
Nikon D40x
Sony Alpha A100


Any others recommended for beginners that are not 2 expensive.

Also, with lenses, Will the basic kit lens be enough? or would it be worth maybe looking on ebay to see if there are any deals on lenses with the camera?

Thanks Very Much, Joel

the camera:
the canon xti is the most promising contender here. i myself hav one and couldn't ask for more. plenty of very useful features...take some time and read reviews at cameralabs, dpreview, etc.

the lens:
the kit lens does its job well, and you would be happy with it for atleast quite some time.
when u get used to the various available features of the xti, and the limitations of the kit lens, you would want to go for a lens upgrade.

The upgrade could b expensive, if u are considering Image stabilisation(IS) and Ultra Silent/Sonic Motor (USM).....just for comparision, sony has antishake built into the camera instead of into each lens like canon, and lens upgrades are therefore significantly cheaper...but then u get more choice with the wide canon range.

to sum up: you wouldn't go wrong with either of these cameras, all are equally superb.

From personal experience, I am happy and would very gladly suggest you the canon xti though.

Good Luck.

[Dave]

Good advice from futurikon there. Any of htese cameras are excellent, so best to go down to a dealer & find which one feels best for you. Have you also considered any late deals on Canon Rebel XT / 350D...these are still extremely competent cameras

[sejanus]

Another possibillity, as you're concerned with optical quality, is the Sony R1. I've just posted a review that you may find helpfull: http://www.pixalo.com/reviews/showpr...uct/237/cat/39

[garys]

Take a look at the Pentax K10 if your looking for 10meg. The K110,100 have alot of features also with good prices. But just like futurikon said if you can get them in your hands first go for it.

[peteer01]

Originally Posted by jhurren

Hey everyone, my name is Joel, i'm from Toronto, Canada.

Looking for some advice on D-SLR's. I have been doing some research lately as I have won a few photography competitions at school, and really enjoy taking pictures, so am looking to take the next step up from a P&S in the near future.
I have been looking at these 3 cameras:
Canon Digital Rebel XTi (leaning towards this one)
Nikon D40x
Sony Alpha A100


Any others recommended for beginners that are not 2 expensive.

Also, with lenses, Will the basic kit lens be enough? or would it be worth maybe looking on ebay to see if there are any deals on lenses with the camera?

Thanks Very Much, Joel

Make sure you get each of these cameras in your hands, because you may find that you have a distinct preference based on size, weight and button placement. The D40X, in particular, seems very small in my hands. (I have a Nikon D80, which I love the way it fits my hand.)

Also, regarding the lens kit, it depends on budget and what you want to shoot and how much post processing you want to do. For example, the 18-70 and 18-135 kit lenses for the D80 are excellent (for a kit lens) in most areas except vignetting, where they can have a pretty noticeable amount. If you don't mind using software to correct vignetting (which can be pretty much automatically removed by software like DxO) then it's a non-issue, but if you'd be bothered by vignetting in shots out of the camera, then you may want to do some more research into the costs and benefits of a non-kit lens.

(I personally bought a D80 with the 18-135 kit lens, and brought it back and exchanged for the body only and a 18-55 Sigma F2.8 Macro...worth the extra money for my tastes.)

PhotoZone has some good statistical data that might help, but remember that those numbers hardly tell the whole picture of whether a lens is good for you or not.

(Also, one last thing, if you have reasonably big hands, you may want to consider the D80 instead of the D40X when comparing Nikon to other brands.)

Edit: - sorry -link broken as we do not allow links to competitor sites to Pixalo.
Dabhand16
Pixalo Crew