Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
G'day photographers.
So here's the story, I've been saving for ages and have just come in to a bit of money. By this time next month I should finally have about £1000 to spend on a DSLR, after two years of saving and waiting. However, this actually represents more money than I earn in about 5 months and there are other things that it would be nice to buy (like a flight ticket to go home and see my folks!). A camera is my priority though - its been a long time coming!
I currently shoot with both a Canon T70 and a finepix 6500fd (I use the fuji most because I'm learning, and learning on the Canon can be a little expensive!) . The major reasons for upgrading from my fuji are:
1) ergonomics / speed of use. The fuji's manual mode is pretty extensive, but everything is in sub menus and it takes a while to adjust even basic settings like ISO rates in manual modes. This makes manual photography useless in many scenarios, which limits potential creativity pretty strongly. The T70 is faster to use -largely because it has far fewer things to adjust in the first place!
2) Focusing speed - there's often a 1 second delay plus between pressing the shutter and firing as my fuji struggles to focus quickly. Playing around with a DSLR in a shop taught me that those things focus fast - even faster than I can manage on my T70! That plus the image processing time - a continuous bout of three shots takes up to 4 seconds to process and store. By which time, I often find my subject has managed to wriggle free 
3) General photo quality (especially in low light): high noise rates, no anti shake, poor sharpness etc have ruined a few potentially reasonable images for me. I hope to have far more time to travel and practice next year and I really don't want to feel like my camera is limiting me anymore. I do (truly) understand that the photographer makes the image, and in many conditions I feel my fuji has allowed me to capture some splendid images (some going up in the next week or so!). But in certain conditions, the camera just isn't up to the job.
On top of these, durability is a huge factor for me, because I won't be able (or willing) to afford an upgrade when the next model comes out - it has to be built to really last. Plus - I travel alot, often on long treks in some very poor conditions, I live in asonably severe climate and intend to get a lot of use out of camera in the next few years.
I've kind of decided to go for the Nikon D90 or Canon 50D, part of the reason being that I read that they are built with magnesium rather than plastic and that they are better 'weather sealed'. Also, to be honest, I have had my heart on one of these cameras for a long long time. I don't know which yet because I haven't held them and - from what I can tell from many different reviews and advice articles - although the Nikon is preferred by many the differences are pretty negligible and handling is the major factor.
The question is though - am I right (given my situation) to want to shell out on such an expensive model? Would an entry level camera actually meet all of my requirements and save me precious pennies? Getting an entry level might also allow me to afford a fixed wide angle lens to match the rather beautiful one that's on my T70, although that said I feel that is less important as I can always buy that in 6 months or so (I'm young, and I've waited years for the camera so a few months for the lens won't hurt!). Plus - the entry level cameras are lighter which would be pretty useful, all things considered, for long treks or bike rides.
I would say the cheaper model will serve you well for the requirements you want Jonny but considering you desire and hanker after the more expensive model, you may in 6 months feel that the cheaper model doesn't quite live up to your expectations and you may not feel truly satisfied with it even though on a technical level it delivers all that is asked.
I started out with a D40 about 3 odd years ago, it did everything I wanted for the first 6 months then in a combination of out growing it and desire I upgraded to the D200, this quenched much desire and felt that it satisfied me far more, I felt much more comfortable with it both for better quality reasons and desirability reasons.
Getting the D40 was a good choice for me as I was a complete beginner so I could try out photography without too much capital outlay but in your case, you are already into photography and maybe getting the cheaper one may be a bit false economy if you are never truly going to be satisfied with it.
Only you can decide really Jonny, sorry.
JP
I have to add here, that my entry into DSLR was the 1000d from Cannon, the rebel in the US. It still lives in my bag, I carry it for my young & beautiful, it does everything that my big one does, but in a different order.
My concern in giving advice here, would be the longevity of the shutter mechanism, which in lower end cameras is given as about 25 000 operations against 100 of thousands for the big boys. The weather sealing on more expensive models will help, I have had two cameras die after taking them into hot & steamy conditions. And a little rain destroyed my first digital.
You have a t70, it has Fd lenses. Here's something I learnt in an expensive way, the FD lenses can be mounted on an adaptor ring to an EOS camera. If you have any good glass, you can keep it in use. I gave away an F1.4 50mm & an F1.8 18mm with my old T70 bodies to a friend, and literally a couple of weeks later discovered the adaptor ring.
Looking on EBAY, there are a lot of FD lenses going cheap. They will only give you manual focus, but we only had that anyway once upon a time.
Any help?
Quote: You have a t70, it has Fd lenses. Here's something I learnt in an expensive way, the FD lenses can be mounted on an adaptor ring to an EOS camera. If you have any good glass, you can keep it in use. I gave away an F1.4 50mm & an F1.8 18mm with my old T70 bodies to a friend, and literally a couple of weeks later discovered the adaptor ring.
Yes - that was incredible advice. I had no idea about that - that would be brilliant as it would let me use my landscape and portrait lenses which really are top notch. I suppose crop factor will be an issue on both, but its still a big bonus! Thanks for that!
And the advice on longetivity was very useful too.
akh - The canon is certainly magnesium - actually I don't know about the Nikon!
The D200/D300 are just a little too heavy for me, especially when cycling (every gram counts!). Plus, I'll be buying in hong kong which is a couple of hours flight away, so second hand might not be a sensible option as return & repair might be difficult. But thanks for the suggestion, whilst I'm there I might pick some up and try them out anyway.
John - thanks for the advice. I suppose I won't know till I pick them all up and have a fiddle. But your right - it would be a pain to spend all that money and then not be satisfied.
I think you'll find that the D90 has a shutter rated at 100,000 frames.....
Thats not to say it will stop working as soon as it hits that figure......
But after that figure it may become less reliable or fail altogether.
Saying that a recent review on this site, Based on the D700, Revealed D700 owners who has previously owned ( or still do ) a D200 model....
One in particular said that according to his " Exif " data, His D200 had clocked up " 400,000 " frames before it gave out.....
Getting on for half a million frames.........Jeez, Just do the maths on the storage alone.....
Whatever.... Its an awful lot of frames.....
Like you I rate durability and weatherproofing quite highly and would want any DSLR I bought to have a realistic life of at least 5 years. For these reasons have you considered the Pentax K-7? Smaller than the two you mention. lighter but quite solid and weather
resistant. For £1000 you can buy the twin lens kit (both lenses weather resistant) in the UK. If buying in Hong Kong I should imagine you would have a useful amount of change.
If it has to be either the Canon or Nikon then given your current Canon setup, that must be the way to go. The EOS50D appears a bargain at the moment as well (presumably it will soon be replaced). Body only costs as little as about £600 -£620 including cashback offer currently on this camera. You could get a decent travel lens with the change. Probably what i would go for in your situation.
Until you're familiar with DSLR cameras, it's best not to spend too much. If you buy something secondhand, you won't lose much if you want to change systems. Even better, borrow other people's cameras so that you develop preferences.
When She-who-must-be-obeyed started as a professional photographer in my business, she used the company kit. A couple of years later, she wanted to leave the partnership and start her own business so she bought her own kit. By this time she had a very clear idea of what she wanted, or rather didn't want.
Changing your camera system is an incredibly expensive business if you have a lot of kit. Something to avoid.
Just to throw in my 50p's worth...
Have you considered a Sony? Warehouse express are selling the a550 with an 18-55mm lens for £609.00, and at the moment, they're throwing in a 55-200mm for free!!.
I've had one since new year, & it's a superb camera. Just check out the specs on Sony's website (up to 7 frames per sec, 3" high res screen, the fastest live-view on the market). It's had various reviews comparing it to the Nikon equivalent, & has equalled it for image quality, beaten it for features, & lost out slightly in handling (possibly as the reviewer is more used to Nikon).
We could all opine about our particular brand favourite, but I think that the best advice here is:
write a list of must-have features.
Go to a shop & handle the camera's, see which one you like the feel of, & which offers all, or as many, of the features you want.
buy on-line & save a packet.
Just don't discount the other makes, is the message here. D-SLR's aren't just made by Nikon & Canon.
Quote: Just don't discount the other makes, is the message here. D-SLR's aren't just made by Nikon & Canon
LOL.....
Quote: I've kind of decided to go for the Nikon D90 or Canon 50D,
The original OP's own words......Now we must assume he knows what he's doing thus far, Hence the other brands have not been mentioned.
However.... Several of us have mentioned another brand to consider aka Pentax.....
But if we take it that the OP has narrowed his search to a Canon Or a Nikon, Its probably fair to say he has ruled the other brands out of the equasion, Therefore not based that choice on " Pure " price or other glitter such as a free lens.......!!!!
Quote: You have a t70, it has Fd lenses. Here's something I learnt in an expensive way, the FD lenses can be mounted on an adaptor ring to an EOS camera. If you have any good glass, you can keep it in use. I gave away an F1.4 50mm & an F1.8 18mm with my old T70 bodies to a friend, and literally a couple of weeks later discovered the adaptor ring.
Yes - that was incredible advice. I had no idea about that - that would be brilliant as it would let me use my landscape and portrait lenses which really are top notch. I suppose crop factor will be an issue on both, but its still a big bonus! Thanks for that!
And the advice on longetivity was very useful too.
Converse to what you might expect, the Canon FD mount is one of the least compatible and adaptable to Canon's EOS used on Canon DSLRs. This is due to the short lens throat to image plane (42mm) in the FD whereas the EOS type mount uses 44mm. This means that the FD lens at best would be mounted 2mm further from the image plane, making infinity focus impossible without intervening optics to correct the image which adds cost to the adapter and degrades the image quality. Also, IIRC the FD mount's girth makes adapting even harder.
However, the good news is that Nikon, Olympus, PK, Leica R, Contax RTS, M42 and array of others all have longer plane>mount distances than EOS so you can easily and cheaply source adapters that allow infinity focus without optical correction.
When I had a 300D I used my Zuiko (24, 28, 40 f2 and 50 f1.4) and Nikon (50 f2) primes along with a brace of fast Tamron primes (90 f2.8 macro, 105 f2.5, 135 f2.5). All worked and performed well and are available ate decent prices (apart from the Zuiko 40 f2 pancake which is very rare and costs a packet these days).
info here
Hi all.
Quote:
The original OP's own words......Now we must assume he knows what he's doing thus far, Hence the other brands have not been mentioned.
However....Grin Several of us have mentioned another brand to consider aka Pentax.....Smile
But if we take it that the OP has narrowed his search to a Canon Or a Nikon, Its probably fair to say he has ruled the other brands out of the equasion, Therefore not based that choice on " Pure " price or other glitter such as a free lens.......!!!!
Yes, thats a fair assessment. The main reason being that I am used to prime lenses and will have to shop for some at some point where I live - and here there just aren't an array of lenses for any camera apart from Nikon or Canon. And if you've ever seen a Chinese postal truck swerving asround the place - you'd know why ordering worldwide isn't really an option either . So yeah - Canon or Nikon it is. Although if I'm shopping, I'll definately have a play with as many as possible (gonna be a long, long shopping day!)
Seems there is as many different opinions as there are posters! Although, I can see an erring towards making the extra investment, especially after comments on realability.
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
Login or Join Now
New to ePHOTOzine? Join ePHOTOzine for free!
Join Our Free Newsletter
Awards
Current Competitions
foliopic 'Movement' Competition
1st May 2012 - 31st May 2012
This month's competition theme is 'Movement' which can be interpreted in a number of ways. You could photograph an animal running, a person walking or a car speeding...Featured e2 Photo
Featured Directory Listing
May's Photo Month
Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to unveil new photography tips, treats and techniques.
Interact
Photography Gallery Photography Forums Recent Forum Activity Members' Meetings Members' BlogsSearch ePHOTOzine
Having trouble or would like to make a suggestion? Create a report
Calibrate your monitor so you can see 16 different shades.
ePHOTOzine © 2001 - 2012 Magezine Publishing | Contact Us | Site Map | Top