The all famous question - Which camera
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Unregistered guest | I am looking at getting a new camera. I know it is hard for people to answer the question which camera should I get, so I will list 4 that I am looking at and what I would like to do with it and hopefully I can get some helpful feedback: 1. Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D) - $949 CAD 2. Nikon D50 - $849 CAD 3. Olympus Evolt (E-300) - $849 CAD 4. Pentax *ist DL - $849 CAD I initially intend on using it to learn about photography with different settings, etc. Also, I am not opposed to gadgets or learning post-processing, however it needs to have a "point & shoot" capability for my wife as she will definitly use it and has no interest in settings or editing in photoshop. Ultimately, the main reason why I have started considering dSLR's is because I would like to progress into digital astrophotography. Because I am a newbie, and have no interest in getting into photography as a career, budget is very important. I realize that I could get a really expensive specialty camera for astrophotography but I am not willing to dump that much money into it. Any help would be great. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4604 Registered: Dec-03 | Check out this discussion https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/photography/69132.html |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4605 Registered: Dec-03 | Personally, the only toss for me would be between the Canon (if Canon ever comes out with a Rebel replacement) and Nikon. I have no experience with the Olympus Evolt so I cannot make a fair assessment. The Pentax ist is no where near the same caliber as the Pentax of olden days. The AF function is very glitchy and cannot focus very well and seem to do an extended amount of hunting. Power hungry as well. The Canon Rebel is a little older but it was king in its day. Very lightweight and excellent auto functions. However, I did not like its metering properties. Some did not like its overly toy like handling and its very plastic like appearance. The Nikon D50 is newer and has lot better user controls with a better meter. Nikon probably took the Rebel and made significant improvements to make the D50  minus some of the D70 features to make a more affordable consumer level Digtal SLR. It tracks moving objects a lot better than the Digital Rebel. Newer product lower price. I can't wait to see what Canon will have up their sleeves to trump the D70 and the D50. I'm sure it will send Nikon up on their toes once again. Canon marketing - "We hear you and we will make what you want!" Nikon marketing - "We hear you, but really, THIS IS what you want!" or so it seems |
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Unregistered guest | Actually, those were the 2 that I was "leaning" towards, however because most of the threads I have read on the subject just take regular photography in mind where I need a little advice on low light/long exposures. I had already previously read "most" of that thread (thank you though). However, I get my main concern is the type of astrophotographs I would eventually like to take. I am more interested in nebula's and stuff like that which produce brilliant clouds of gases (ie. red, orange, pink, green, etc). As mentioned before I am not going to do this for a living so the pictures just have to look good to me, they don't have to be absolutely perfect. I would like to see amazingly brilliant colors which honestly I assume both cameras will deliver. But the camera does also have to have an effective auto mode for my wife. I have heard mixed reviews in that the CMOS sesors are not as good as CCD but I have also heard that the CMOS sensor would be better for low light/long exposures (minutes/hours). I am open to both, I would just like to know which one might be better for my purposes. The D70 is definitely out due to the price tag. Jim |
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Unregistered guest | Actually, those were the 2 that I was "leaning" towards, however because most of the threads I have read on the subject just take regular photography in mind where I need a little advice on low light/long exposures. I had already previously read "most" of that thread (thank you though). However, I get my main concern is the type of astrophotographs I would eventually like to take. I am more interested in nebula's and stuff like that which produce brilliant clouds of gases (ie. red, orange, pink, green, etc). As mentioned before I am not going to do this for a living so the pictures just have to look good to me, they don't have to be absolutely perfect. I would like to see amazingly brilliant colors which honestly I assume both cameras will deliver. But the camera does also have to have an effective auto mode for my wife. I have heard mixed reviews in that the CMOS sesors are not as good as CCD but I have also heard that the CMOS sensor would be better for low light/long exposures (minutes/hours). I am open to both, I would just like to know which one might be better for my purposes. The D70 is definitely out due to the price tag. Jim |
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Unregistered guest | Actually, those were the 2 that I was "leaning" towards, however because most of the threads I have read on the subject just take regular photography in mind where I need a little advice on low light/long exposures. I had already previously read "most" of that thread (thank you though). However, I get my main concern is the type of astrophotographs I would eventually like to take. I am more interested in nebula's and stuff like that which produce brilliant clouds of gases (ie. red, orange, pink, green, etc). As mentioned before I am not going to do this for a living so the pictures just have to look good to me, they don't have to be absolutely perfect. I would like to see amazingly brilliant colors which honestly I assume both cameras will deliver. But the camera does also have to have an effective auto mode for my wife. I have heard mixed reviews in that the CMOS sesors are not as good as CCD but I have also heard that the CMOS sensor would be better for low light/long exposures (minutes/hours). I am open to both, I would just like to know which one might be better for my purposes. The D70 is definitely out due to the price tag. Jim |
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Silver Member Username: ClaudermilkPost Number: 263 Registered: Sep-04 | Definitely stick with Nikon or Canon. Those two have left everyone else in the dust & you will have a lot more options with them. For astrophotography I would lean strongly towards Canon; their sensors are known for handling noise better. This is one of the major factors in my decision to go with a 20D over the D100. The entry level DSLRs have a lot of automatic functions for less experienced users, but of course to get the best out of the tools, you need to learn more about photography. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4610 Registered: Dec-03 | If noise is a concern, you may want to go with the Canon as Chris stated, they have the sensors that can handle the long exposure noise associated with the type of photography you are planning on doing. The Rebel also has a better automatic point and shoot feature than the D50. |
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Unregistered guest | Thank you for all of your input... I will go with the Canon. Now all I will have to do is learn more about photography to get the most out of it. jim. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4617 Registered: Dec-03 | Wonderful! Let us know how you make out with your new found hobby. Enjoy! |
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Jim Thornton Unregistered guest | So far, so good... However, I took a picture of my can and the Autofocus focused very nicely on the head but the body was kind of blurred. I tried playing around with some other settings but I couldn't get it any better. I read in the manual and I think it has to do with the apeture setting, can anyone shed some light on this? JIm. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4622 Registered: Dec-03 | Jim, Check out the discussion I pointed out earlier. You have a lot of reading to do https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/photography/69132.html |