Hey guys! I am in the market for a digital SLR. I have no experience buying cameras like this, but after doing a little research I have narrowed it down to a couple of choices: Cannon rebel xti Cannon rebel xsi Nikon D80 Nikon D200 If anyone has experience with any of these cameras and would like to give me an opinion it would be greatly appreciated.
Check out http://www.dpreview.com/ for reviews. And couple other article you should read: http://www.popphoto.com/popularphotographyfeatures/5190/scouting-report.html http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/5220/bargain-bin-closeout-dslrs.html I would recommend Pentax. Built-in shake reduction, good lenses selections, well built body.
Isn't Jeff the moderator like...a badass photographer? Might try asking him. But aside from Jeff, I recently purchased the xti knowing the xsi was coming. I picked it up with the kitlens and it all ran for roughly $600 and I got a 1gb card too. I can't speak for the nikons but from my own research, the main difference of the xti and xsi is... xti is 10mpx where as xsi is 12mpx. ppl will debate "ooooo bigger is better" but not ncessarily. it just means you have a bigger picture size. you can crop better yes, but the size of your picture will be bigger so you'll need a bigger CF card. xti does not have live view, whereas the xsi does. this just lets u take pictures not only through the viewfinder, but the lcd. big whoop. works well if your taking pictures in funky angles and cant see thru the finder. the kit lens is a lot better on the xsi, but if *kinda* know what youre doing, don't settle for kit lens. get the 50mm f1.8 for around $70 bucks. its super fast, it doesnt zoom like the kit, but the picture quality is SHARP. and thats what you want from your slr. for me just being out of school and working a fairly entry level bank job, money was a bit tight on me. i ended up gettin an OK body (the xti) and blew the rest of my money on a sweet macro lens (100mm f2.8) and the 50mm prime. from personal experience and being kinda new into photography, id tell u that the body isnt all that matters. its the lens. buy your camera body "into" a camera system. if youre really into portrait stuff, stick to nikon. they supposedly take GREAT portrait shots. now canon does great portrait shots too, but i took a roll of hte dice and went with them because the 100mm macro lens is awesome, their wide angle lens ( 10-22mm which is my next purchase) is sweet and fast, and their L lens series is top notch. ok im rambling. obviously im a canon fan, but its your choice on where you go. check this forum out if you have other questions that need to be answered. theyre super friendly (but not as cool as the ppl on this board ) texas photo forum oh, and if you want some suggestions on places to shop at, do NOT go to bestbuy, ritz or wolf. they will rip you off. shop online at adorama or b&h photo for a good deal. or hell, buy used. goodluck!
