v1nce: What's your budget?

oh lets say 250

*theres the Canon SD 870 IS onsale at futureshop rite now for 299.99. any comment about that?

i need a new p&s...

panasonic tz5
sd870is
ricoh r8
wait for the lumix lx3?

^i ended up going for the TZ4 instead of the TZ5.
2.5" insetead of 3"LCD, and lack of 720P video mode... but i've read that its bugged anyway.

was $230+shipping on amazon.. worked out to $270! sweet deal.

Soo...is your budget 250 or 300? :) Makes a big difference you know!

The SD870IS (or IXUS 860IS) is a solid camera, heck, all the SD series by Canon are solid.

Hey guys, I"m looking into getting into photography and was wondering what a good beginner DSLR would be. I've got about $400 to spend one (doesn't have to be new). I checked out the Rebel XT and it seems pretty good.

canon XSi
Nikon D60
Sony A200/300/350
Pentax K200D

Just don't get the kit lens.

The ones you listed are a bit out of my price range. What do you think of the D40?

The D40 is a good camera, but it is only 6MP. It's good enough for 11x14 prints assuming you have a good exposure. It's also quite small, so that using larger lenses on it feels very unbalanced.

D40 is fine for a beginner. you can progress to intermediate i think using that camera too. but like sennna said, large lenses are gonna throw your for a loop

if you buy the d40, you'll probably want a d90 or d400 within a year.

I agree, I owned a D40X for a few months and then moved up to a D200. With a longer lens and external flash, the D40 is feels unbalanced and not comfortable to hold.

Oh, lets say 300. I think i might go with the sd1100is. i saw a video recording
that it made, it seemed really good. are there any specific stores that would sell this camera cheaper then futureshop/bestbuy?

Go to www.photoprice.ca

It shows prices for any given camera from various Canadian and American retailers. You should be able to find a good deal from there.

I got the D40 today and I absolutely love it!

So what do y'all think of this deal?

http://www.lensandshutter.com/news.lasso?news=70

any advice or new info?? as i'm in the same boat, but im debating between the d60 or the xti.... I mainly wanna do low light night shots of scenery and vehicles, and daytime outdoors of people and the busy city life of china.... any recommendations??

tnx

For street/people photography, you might want to look at the XSi, which is a close successor to the XTi. The "live view" mode would probably come in handy for that sort of thing, where you might not want to be obvious with a camera up to your face.

yup good suggestion.... im looking into the xsi as well, but at first i didnt think the differences with that and the xti were that great to justify the price diff....

i read one of ur earlier posts soundy, and u dont recommend the kit lens that usually come packaged with camera bodies (like at best buy or FS). aren't they packed with the most common lens that everyone could use?? would u recommend just getting the camera body and using the extra money for different lens?? (keeping in mind im a beginner)

I don't recall ever specifically NOT recommending a camera's kit lens. The 28-90 that came with my 35mm Rebel and the 17-55 that came with my 300D are both decent, usable lenses. They're not L-series glass by any stretch, but for what are essentially $100 lenses, there's nothing wrong with them.

They're getting better as well - the XSi's kit lens is an 18-55 with IS, and it's only $100 more for the package (at least at Kerrisdale cameras, $979 with vs. $879 for just the body). And keep in mind, these are Canon bundles, not exclusive to big-box stores. Some stores may sell other "packages" of their own with additional lenses.

If you're wanting to spend the money for a BETTER lens in that same range (say, something like the Canon EF-S 17-55 IS USM f/2.8 at $1200) then there's no need to get the kit lens, but for a starter, there's certainly nothing wrong with the kit lenses.

Edit: oh, and as for price difference: the XSi body is only $230 more than XTi, according to Kerrisdale Cameras' website (http://tinyurl.com/5nuy94) and that bumps you from a 10MP to a 12MP as well. The XSi also uses SD cards vs. the XTi's CF, if that makes any difference to you.

Check here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...s450d&show=all

Im looking for a point and shoot for my girlfriend.
Im tihnking about the Sony DSC-T2, inputs?

sorry soundy, must've gotten u mixed up with another member :p

thanks for the tips!!

im also in the same boat but xsi instead of the xti

anyone have more info on d40x vs d60, xti vs xsi, d60 vs xsi

also im a beginner and am looking for a camera that will last me quite a long time

You can do a side-by-side comparison of camera specs at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sidebyside.asp ... like this:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...n_d60&show=all

But specs will only tell you so much... on paper they're pretty similar: XSi is 12MP, D60 is 10MP; XSi has a slightly larger viewscreen (3.0" vs. 2.5" on the D60); both do ISO 100 to 1600, both have 1/4000s max shutter speed, both use SD/SDHC memory, etc. etc. etc.

You'll get some guys who will argue the differences between CMOS and CCD sensors, the benefits of Canon vs. Nikon lens systems, and other such inanities til they're blue in the face, but at the end of the day, to 99% of the users out there, there's really no appreciable difference in the final product.

What DOES differ from a user's perspective, is ergonomics. The feel of the camera, the way you hold it, how easy it is for you to operate. If a camera is uncomfortable for you to hold, or if the controls are in weird places for you, or the menus are a pain to navigate, then you're less likely to ENJOY using it, and it's more likely to just sit on a shelf rather than getting used... and if that happens, the minute, arguable differences in the specs become completely meaningless.

A good example was the Rebel XT (aka 350D), which a lot of people with bigger hands found too small to hold and operate comfortably. For people with smaller hands though, it was great.

The secret, once you've narrowed it down to two or three different choices, is to go to the store and actually handle the cameras. Play with them, operate them, see how they feel to you, see how comfortable you are navigating them. Make sure you'll actually enjoy USING the camera, rather than getting uptight about the minor differences in numbers.

Note: the one major technology difference between the XSi and the D60 is that the XSi has the LiveView function, which is something not a lot of DSLRs have yet. For some people, that's the deal-maker... for others, it's not so important. Only your own needs will determine whether it is for you.

great write up dude!

i went to broadway camera in richmond to compare the two but the don't have the xsi, sales rep said its on back order

now the think is im a n00b with slr's so should i just go with the cheaper d40 or xti? will i be wanting to upgrade after a couple of yrs since these 2 cameras are getting quite old? or should i shell the extra $ and go for d60 or xsi?

any more suggestions would be great, btw price range is 1000-1500 for camera and at least one lens