Yet another 'what SLR should I get?'

mgkdk

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I have crumpled, or faced the obvious, but I think it's time for me to get a digital SLR :mrgreen:

So let the canon/nikon war begin :p

First the money, the $ seem to be low compared to the danish krone, so I have about $1850 to get all the basics, but I don't need to use them all. (just had a look at prices and it's about the same as 2x400D/50D bodies) I would (in time) like to have a zoom, wideangle and a macro lens, and prolly alot of other stuff :D

Second thing is probably going to tip the scales towards the canons, but my bf has a 350D with a 70-300 zoon lens, a macro lens, a flash and warious other bits too, so if I get a canon I could use those too.
My concerns regarding that is that if we're at the same event/vacation/whatever we both need the same lens at the same time, and that would get annoynig pretty quick.

Third thing is a bag, I was at a store in Germany yesterday and saw a couple of crumpler bags and they looks really good, but beeing a girl, those kind of over-the-shoulder-bags have, ehm, a disadvantage, so what would you recommend?

I think that was it, so what should I get?
 
Nikon all the way, and no those bags have no disadvantages if you're well proportioned :p

Have you checked ebay for some stuff shipped out of asia, you can usually get it a bit cheaper and most sellers provide more than ample packing material when they send it.
 
Have you checked ebay for some stuff shipped out of asia, you can usually get it a bit cheaper and most sellers provide more than ample packing material when they send it.

Gah! You have to be VERY careful ordering camera equipment from Asia, as there's a very good chance that the manufacturer will not honor the warranty on those so-called "gray-market" items. I would not order new camera equipment from Asia to save a few bucks, period.

My suggestion, as always, is to go to a local camera store and try out what they have. How a camera feels in your hand is very key, as it's what you'll be carrying around all the time. If the camera feels bad in your hand, you're not going to want to take pictures with it. I hated the feel of the small, toylike 350D, and loved the solid ergo of the Nikon bodies, your mileage and hands may vary.

You really can't go wrong with Canon or Nikon, they both make great systems. The Nikon D80 is my current favorite value-for-money camera, and the 18-135 kit lens is quite good for the vast majority of photo situations. A 70-300VR or a very inexpensive but very good 55-200VR are excellent budget telephotos, although a used 80-200 f/2.8 or Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 can be a good choice if you need the big aperture and can stand the weight. (Those lenses are designed with indoor sports in mind, as they have big apertures and focus quickly. I love my 70-200, but it's heavy.)

If you must go really, really ultrawide, the Tokina 12-24 or Sigma 10-20 are good choices in the Nikon mount. The Canon 10-22 is even better and a no-brainer if you get a Canon body.

Macro lenses depend on how far you need to be from your subject. The Tamron 90mm is a great, super-sharp lens and is very reasonably priced.

The great part if any SLR system is the variety, and you may find what you thought you wanted initially is completely different than what you realize you actually want. I've lusted after long glass (200-400's and the like), but have realized I rarely need the reach, so now I've bought fast primes and am looking at studio monolights. Your mileage, as previously mentioned, may vary.
 
Thanks for the reply BCS

Gah! You have to be VERY careful ordering camera equipment from Asia, as there's a very good chance that the manufacturer will not honor the warranty on those so-called "gray-market" items. I would not order new camera equipment from Asia to save a few bucks, period.

Yeah, no way I'm buying anything of ebay this expensive.

My suggestion, as always, is to go to a local camera store and try out what they have. How a camera feels in your hand is very key, as it's what you'll be carrying around all the time. If the camera feels bad in your hand, you're not going to want to take pictures with it. I hated the feel of the small, toylike 350D, and loved the solid ergo of the Nikon bodies, your mileage and hands may vary.

Well, as god as that suggestion is, my local 'store' has no canons or nikons :p or alot of SLRs to be honest, but on my way home from vacation I was in a store in Germany and had a look at the ones they had. I can't say I hated any of them, but I thought the 400D felt 'funny' after holding a D40 (that was the only nikon they had, but they had 2 :p)
 
Yeah, no way I'm buying anything of ebay this expensive.

It's not as bad as it seems. Ive bought pretty much all of my more expensive items off ebay, of course, from reputable sellers!

From ebay ive bought:

D200 plus battery pack
18-200mm VR lens
12-24mm lens
100-300mm sigma lens
60mm f/2.8 macro lens
SB-800 Flash
loads of filters etc

Ive never had a single problem with any of them, always fast delivery (3-4 days!), and i cant help but think of how much money ive saved by doing this!
 
If you do just make sure they have good feedback (some of the places have 98%+ feedback with over 2000 items sold)
 
For me, I'd go for canon because your bf already has equipments... Let me tell you, these little gizmos and what nots run up a high price tag!!!!! a new lens? $1000! a new flash? $500!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I mean, if you have money left after your mortgage, savings, retirement, then ya use it and buy new toys. But as for me, who is already atleast $70k in debt from student loans, I'd go with the canon.

of course i use a 350d with 10-22mm, 28-75mmf/2.8, kit lens, 50mm f/1.8, and a crumpler bag. I need a flash next and I will just add it more to my loans!
 
I can't say I hated any of them, but I thought the 400D felt 'funny' after holding a D40 (that was the only nikon they had, but they had 2 :p)

These were my thought exactly when I decided to go for the D50 I own now. I don't know whether they're still available, all I can say is that it's a marvellous entry DSLR. I just upgraded from a Sigma 18-50 to the 18-135 Nikkor mentioned by Berserker as a standard lens and have to say that I'm very satisfied with it as it covers nearly everything you need. (And for those other few occasions I've got a cheap 70-300mm to cover other things as well).

Needless to mention that your choice of lenses is limited to newer lenses only if you go for the D40 I suppose, but if you're starting without any equipment you could use you probably won't have to bother about that, with your budget the D80 is the better option anyway.

Having said that, it really is a matter of personal preferences in the end as all those cameras are on a very high technical standard anyway and only differ in minor details.
 
So, I've been looking at some reviews of the 400D and the D80 and all of them say that the D80 is a little better... so at the moment I'm leaning towards that. Then I was looking around at prices here and noticed that there were both a kit with the 18-135 lens and also one with a 18-70 lens, the last one is a tiny bit more expensive and that made me wonder if that is better :think: At the moment I think I'm only going to buy the body and one lens, the rest can come later, so which of those would you recommend?

/noob-mode off :p
 
The 18-70 should be the better lens, but as you're planning to get only one lens for the start the 18-135 might be the one that offers more flexibility. Really depends on what you're going to take pictures of. I went for the 18-135 in order not to swap my lenses every 2 minutes and didn't regret it so far.
 
That was my thoughts too, and if I change my mind the 18-70 is not that expensive to buy afterwards (not that I think I would do that, but you never know)
 
Bump :p

No I haven't bought anything yet, haven't got the money yet, but I get them at the end of this month, still don't know exactly how much I get, so I might buy a macro too :D

The new thing I wanted to ask is if anyone has the crumbler bag they made for nikon (the shoulder one) I like the looks of it but I can't find any good pictures of it (both inside and out) and can't really visualize how big it is.
So does anyone have it/some pics of it, I'd really appriciate it :D
 
Bump :p

No I haven't bought anything yet, haven't got the money yet, but I get them at the end of this month, still don't know exactly how much I get, so I might buy a macro too :D

The new thing I wanted to ask is if anyone has the crumbler bag they made for nikon (the shoulder one) I like the looks of it but I can't find any good pictures of it (both inside and out) and can't really visualize how big it is.
So does anyone have it/some pics of it, I'd really appriciate it :D

I'll have it within reach from three hours from now. I'll post a pic then.
 
Bump :p

No I haven't bought anything yet, haven't got the money yet, but I get them at the end of this month, still don't know exactly how much I get, so I might buy a macro too :D

The new thing I wanted to ask is if anyone has the crumbler bag they made for nikon (the shoulder one) I like the looks of it but I can't find any good pictures of it (both inside and out) and can't really visualize how big it is.
So does anyone have it/some pics of it, I'd really appriciate it :D

There you go:
http://img508.imageshack.**/img508/6838/img8584qj6.jpg

It just fits a D50+Nikon 18-135, a Tamron 70-300 and a Nikon 50mm. Don't expect to put big and/or bulky things into the front pocket as it is quite narrow. (A mobile and ar keys will be okay though).
 
Thank you :D

Looks like a good size, now I just need my money 8)
 
Okay, final question, I swear, almost, well, uhm, last one today anyway :p

I was looking at sd cards and I want atleast 4 gigs, I was mainly looking at kingston and sandisk, but with the sandisk there is more than 14 weeks delivery for the 'ultra' and 'extreme' editions (4 gb sdhc), and for a bit more i could get a kingston (class 6, 8 gb sdhc).
For some reason I've always bought sandisk but I'm thinking it isn't worth it in this case.
So what do you think?
 
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