Thread: Assistance/advice on SLR selection.

for what its worth (not much really!) will your mate loan/rent you decent lenses? or is there a decent shop in your area that rents "big glass"? if so, you might take this into consideration if you are non-committal about selecting a system. As for those on off journeys or special events, it is certainly worth considering a rental of a nice lens... even better if you can get em for free

Originally Posted by A Commodore cant 4x4

Its not that I will be making lots of A3 prints. It would be nice to have the choice to do so if I wish.

The reason I said I liked my mates was, it has about all the things in a camera I am looking for. Its in the right price range, and was comfortable to use.

It is only a template, so I can say "this is what I like. What else is there like it for about the same money?"

Anyway, I went and has a look at a few cameras today, whilst my gf is at work. I Found the Nikon D80 was a bit less arkward to hold, but seemed almost too big for my hand over the Canon.

The other cameras I looked at were the Sony Alpha a350, and the Canon 450d.

The Sony has a really cool adjustable lcd screen, which, I imagine, could become quite popular. It pops out, and can be tilted up or down, for low or high shots. The screen itself seemed not bright enough, and I had trouble seeing it in the stores lights. And 2.5 fps seems a bit slow.

The only downfall of the Nikon d80 that I saw was there is no 'live view'. If it had live view, I would be more inclined to consider it.

The 450d's problem, is no Macro setting. You have to get a seperate lense to do that. Its 3.5 fps is pretty sweet too. I love motor racing, mountain biking, and anything that goes fast enough to be a danger to your health, so that speed would be quite nice. I know there are faster fps cameras out there, but they cost a fair bit more.

ISO rating on the Canon is up to 1600, but the other 2 are up to 3200.
All have 1/4000 - 30 sec shutter speeds.

Most other stuff is fairly equal. It is early days in camera hunting yet, but at least Im getting a feel for what is out there, and getting to see and feel the differance in cameras.

-Joel-

exactly! you can print A3 from a 10.1 thats what i'm saying dont limit your self becasue you think you can't and can only get a A3 out of a 12mp.

as for the nikon I have the D80....I think its a great camera...if you have trouble holding it does that mean I have man hands and you have girl hands?

seriously i think If i had anything small which the D60 nikon is slightly smaller than the 80 I think it will feel light and awkward. The D90 also has what your after including the option to video in Hi Def.....but it is more expensive it has the bigger sensor which will give you the quailty which is what I think your actually after for your big prints not the MP.

but its whats right for you at the end of the day.....like echidna said try hiring, you might think money lost but not as much as if you brought a camera that you were happy with to start and then after a few shots thought you made a mistake

obviously NM the D90 is better but if your only getting into photography the D80 will erve you well and will cost alot less.....I think its a great camera

Originally Posted by Dinty

G'day All, Whatever happened to real SLR cameras in 35mm and medium format, love em, yeah I use a digital but in my heart it will never replace the real thing cheers Dennis

I guess they became obsolete. The real thing is now digital. If you took away digital and replaced it with 35mm, think of all of the things you then couldn't and wouldn't do with it. I for one don't have film in the freezer anymore and I do click off a lot more photographs for memories, records and to share.

Originally Posted by A Commodore cant 4x4

Hey everyone. After many years of not having a decent digital camera, and still managing to get some good pics from my 3.2mp mobile phone camera, ive decided to get a proper digital SLR. I used to play with my dad's 35mm SLR, and loved it.

The only one I know of at the moment, is the Canon eos 400 d. At around $800, its not cheap, but its about the price I will pay, but I being fairly tight fisted, will shop around for months to get a good price.

The reason I have written the Canon, is one of the guys at work has it, and he & I think its great, although I must say I havent played with it too much, but seen many impressive photos this guy has taken.

Its features are about what Im after. I would rather 12mp, over 10.1 for no particular reason, but the ability to print clear A3 is good for me

I like the varying shutter exposure too. Up to 30 seconds is fine for me.

Self timer - yes, I want that.

Continuous shooting - yes!! the Canon is 3/sec. That, I would say is a minimum. 5 would be great. The Canon shoots 25 (I think) in a single burst, and keeps ALL of them. My dads camera only keeps the last 3 pics taken in the burst.


If anyone has suggestions on an SLR that is about the same specs at the Canon, please throw your opinions this way!


Much appreciated.

-Joel-

Joel, don't get too tied up in outright specs and speed. You'll find that probably down as "low" as 4mp will give you photos that are good enough for A3 printing. The great advantage of having lots of mp is that you can crop until the cows come home, but it uses memory and can lower speeds depending on what you're doing - there is a compromise. This is a 2.6mb picture I took using an EOS350D, 4.15mp???, 2.6mb to give you an idea of how it comes out.
http://www.slunnie.com/coppermine/al...c/IMG_2302.jpg

As for speed, depending on what you want to photograph and the speed of the lenses that you use, that 3fps will be enough. Try counting 3fps against the second hand on a clock and then compare it to 5fps. I hope the 5fps has the memory buffer to deal with that rate too otherwise the sequence will be short lived, something I find to be a problem with using this while a 4WD drives an obstical or similar. 30sec shutter is pretty standard as is timers. You'll probably also take kindly to remote controls and bulb exposures (you click open, and then click closed again with the remote) for extra long exposures.

What I have found though, is that its not so much the body that makes a great photo, but the lenses. If you want quality, thats where you will need to spend. I am a huge fan of Canon and I have spent a lot of time also gathering the fast L series lenses and they really bring out the photos and give you flexibility.

If money is tight, I can recomment some of the Ebay suppliers from HK. I'm not sure how the $ compares these days, but it was definately worthwhile for me. The ones that have 100% records and are large volume traders I have found to be good, and so far customs haven't caused any concerns for me.