Digital SLR Advice

[12bar1]

After seeing all the cool photographs from around the world that get posted here I have decided it is time to upgrade from my little point and shoot camera and get something a bit more serious. I have been looking at the Nikon D70 and the Canon 20D, I can get the Canon on sale with a free IP 6000 D printer and 18 – 55 Autofocus Zoom lens for $1,099. The Nikon is $999.99 with 18-70 Autofocus lens and no printer. Both packages come with free lessons for 2 people. I don’t have a clue which is better all I know is they both seem easy to use out of the box and still have a lot of features available after I learn more. Any suggestions or comments would be really appreciated.

[toner87]

Canon or Nikon? Liberal or conservative? There are people with very strong opinions when it comes to cameras and the Nikon vs. Canon debate is like the Hatfields and McCoys....
Our resident pro here, Taosports, shoots with Canon (he had his 5D on our last NorCal ride, but I think he was using his Canon point and shoot, too.)
I have a 20D and love it. Go hold a Canon and a Nikon in your hands and I bet you will feel that the Canon is built better. More solid. Lenses twist on and off in the right direction...
I bought mine on the recommendation of a family friend who's a professional photographer and he said that Canon is just way ahead in the field of optics. I'm approaching 20000 shutter actuations and I've had it since Xmas 2004.
Not a single problem with it. You will need to learn how to clean your sensor, but it's not as hard as it sounds.
Go Canon!
T.

[rph802]

Do you have a film SLR?? From what I hear the digital Canon Rebel and film version use the same lens, so if you already have those or can get your hands on a set, not a bad deal.

I have a Canon G5 digital camera. Certainly not a professional base but suits my amateur needs quite well and I got a sweet package deal for two bags, car charger, tripod, macro lenses, filters and cleaning stuff for about $700. That was a couple years ago so I'm sure there are bigger and better stuff out there.

[munchmeister]

... in a review as well as forums full of users is at http://www.dpreview.com. A great site, one which I went to time and time again before I bought the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D. KM sold its camera business to Sony recently, which should insure continuation of the KM mount for cameras. If you are new to SLR photography, you should check out the side-by-side comparison feature on dpreview.

As others have said, folks get almost religious about their brand loyalty. Canon is considered the top of the line, having taken over that spot from Nikon, which is still one of the world's great camera makers at #2. Sony got into the DSLR market and has an advantage of making the CCD chips used in all cameras. And they have huge marketing presence. We'll have to see how they do with the KM assets they bought. FWIW, many, including Canon and Nikon owners, love the "feel" of the KM 7D and it does have great ergonomics in the hand, as well as many outstanding features, such as "anti-shake" and "time lapse" that others don't have. If there is a particular feature you are looking for, the dpreview site will be very helpful. If you are not sure what all these DSLR featuresa are, you can't go wrong with either of the cameras you mentioned.

My $.02

[taosports]

Jim,

Good advice in previous posts. Like munchmeister mentioned http://www.dpreview.com is a great site. Check here for a side by side comparison of both cameras you're interested in.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare ... d&show=all

Looking at this comparison, shows that both are very similar however I give the edge to the 20D because it gives you more pixels and a faster motordrive and buffer.

Canon is THE leader in digital SLR's and lens optics so you can't go wrong with them.

[rdsmith3]

There is an incredible array of products availabe for Canon SLRs, especially lenses. You can find a lot of good buys on used bodies and lenses at these two forums, and also lots of good advice:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/


I bought a lot of my stuff used, for budget reasons, and also because I am just a beginner. Canon makes great products.

[Airman]

Gee guys, lets have some balance here.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/

You'll see some excellent reviews on Nikon SLRs and lenses.
I have a Nikon D70 and a couple lenses. I love this camera !

[12bar1]

First of all I want to say thanks to everyone for all the information, once again the members of this board are a wealth of knowledge. I have looked at all the links and compared just about every DSLR on the planet and have decided the Nikon D70s is the best one for me, it fits my budget and it feels right in my hand. I have been informed by my lovely wife if I come home with one before my birthday it won’t be good , so I will have to wait a couple of weeks to call one my own. Stay tuned for lots of pictures and maybe even some good ones.

[Airman]

First of all I want to say thanks to everyone for all the information, once again the members of this board are a wealth of knowledge. I have looked at all the links and compared just about every DSLR on the planet and have decided the Nikon D70s is the best one for me, it fits my budget and it feels right in my hand. I have been informed by my lovely wife if I come home with one before my birthday it won’t be good , so I will have to wait a couple of weeks to call one my own. Stay tuned for lots of pictures and maybe even some good ones.

Did you decide to buy the kit lens (18-70) or buy something else ?
The 70-300 is a good compliment for the kit lens. The digital multiplier means the 18-70 is like a 35mm 28-105, and my 70-210 computes to 105-315 mm. Combined with the kit lens it give me a decent range for most shooting. On my list is the SB-600 flash.
Good shooting, The D70s is a good choice.

[12bar1]

Yes I did but it as a kit it comes with two lenses, 18-70mm and 55-200mm and it should be here by the end of the week . I can't wait to get my hands on it and start taking pictures while out on the bike. Every time I ride I see something that I think might make a good picture so stay tuned. DJ and Kristi have set the bar really high but I will do the best I can to make them proud.

[garylspolar]

Fantastic Nikon/Nikkor lens here, at $750 or so. 18-200mm with VR (vibration reduction)... you'll probably never need another lens.

http://www.epinions.com/NIKON_18_200MM_ ... ikkor_Lens

Good luck trying to find one in stock! They're selling faster than the D70S right now.

[Airman]

Yes I did but it as a kit it comes with two lenses, 18-70mm and 55-200mm and it should be here by the end of the week . I can't wait to get my hands on it and start taking pictures while out on the bike. Every time I ride I see something that I think might make a good picture so stay tuned. DJ and Kristi have set the bar really high but I will do the best I can to make them proud.

DJ uses a simple digital camera set on the lowest resolution. (I think) The difference is that they have these great rides to photograph. And they seem to have an eye for it.

One of my favorite ride reporters is Shogani over on Advrider. She has these wonderful photos she takes on the road with a point and shoot. I saw where she bounced the camera down the road trying to get one of those wheel level shots, so there's places you don't want to go with the D70.
(The camera survived by the way)

I've found I need a small camera as well as the DSLR on rides. The little camera is handy, but the 3x telephoto is useless in my estimation. And many suffer from poor low light performance.

I bought a 1gb Flashcard, (it doesn't come with one) but two 512's might be better. The 1gb card holds a LOT of pictures, and will take a while to load on the computer. I tend to let them stack up.....
A note on those lenses; still think about the 70-300. It's a great lens for the money, and you will want the extra reach at some point

I'm sure your long suffering wife doesn't want to hear about more equipment, but the SB-600 flash is a good addition. The onboard flash is ok, but it's still a postage stamp compared to a real flash.
And, you know this already, you're going to love this camera.

[Dr. Strangelove]

ditto on all the advice--esp dpreview

I just got the d200 nikon with the 17-70. I love it. I was choosing between it and the Canon 30d. What was the deal maker was that I have 30+ years of Nikon lenses that fit the d200 and work fine. Of course, I am showing my age suggesting that I know how to focus.

Got mine from KEH as a kit--the only way they had it in stock.

John