trble81 February 12, 2007 Share February 12, 2007 I have been looking to buy a new digital camera so that I can take pics of our tank and the fish that we are getting and I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion for a good one. I have been leaning towards the Canon Rebel XT, but if someone has one that they use and love, I am open to recommendations. Also, if you recommend your camera, try to post examples of pics you have taken with it. Thanks Everyone! ~Heather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch February 12, 2007 Share February 12, 2007 Are you looking for a point and shoot or a DSLR? Whats' your price range? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 February 12, 2007 Author Share February 12, 2007 I am looking for an SLR. Hopefully staying at or under $1000. Most of what I have been seeing and looking at are in the $700 range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch February 12, 2007 Share February 12, 2007 Well I am partial to Nikon, but that's just me... Cannon or Nikon are really the two best choices. I use a D70... with the DSLR your lens choice is going to be more important than Cannon vs Nikon in my mind. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax7774 February 12, 2007 Share February 12, 2007 My wife spent quite a bit of time researching camera's about 10 months ago. She really got into them and compared the features, versus cost, quality and overall performance rating. We ended up with this: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controll...p;modelid=11939 As far as I am concerned, it is the best bang for the buck. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch February 12, 2007 Share February 12, 2007 John... that's a point and shoot (which is why I asked the question up front)... point and shoot or DSLR... That is one of the best point and shoots out there, but the DSLRs these days with the lense you can get for them are in a whole nother category. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax7774 February 12, 2007 Share February 12, 2007 Duh, I read what I wanted to see instead of what was actually there. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 February 12, 2007 Author Share February 12, 2007 Thanks for the reply though madmax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefthomasr February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 I asked my uncle the same question a while back(he is a pro) and he told me that he uses the rebel for all of his personal photos and about half of his pro shots. Even though he has the choice of whatever he wants, he really likes the rebel for the durability and choice of lens. Like dhoch said, the lenses are the most important aspect of the dslr. The body really depends on the way it feels in your hand and ease of use of the most important features to you. In other words, go to a camera shop and ask to play around with them all. Then decide which one feels best to you. Hope that helps. Thomas p.s. I use an Olympus c740 point and shoot and I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 February 13, 2007 Author Share February 13, 2007 I do have a point and shoot now and it is ok, it's just old (only 2mp I think). I have a regular film camera with removable lenses and I love being able to use it for all sorts of different things, I just hate that I have to find a dark place to change out the lense so I don't expose the film. I think I am definately leaning towards the Rebel. Thanks for the opinions and experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 February 15, 2007 Share February 15, 2007 Just went through the same thing after returning my old camera back to Best Buy and having them refund me the original price. I used to have a Nikon Coolpix 8700 8.0 megapixel (I think it was actually 8.3 or 8.6) camera that had problems ALL of the time. It took awesome pictures when it was working, but when it wasn't, ugh. So, anyway, after getting hassled over and over again I finally contacted Best Buy corporate and they sent me a gift card for the value plus shipping plus a little extra to cover the pain in the rear that the store and customer service had been. In the meantime, I asked lots of questions, read reviews, and did a lot of research on different cameras. Lots of people liked the Nikon Digital SLR cameras and I only found one or two bad reviews on the D80. The one common thread with them was that the lens in the package was not a good one and was inferior to other lenses. SO, that said, I bought a D80 without the lens (I bought from Best Buy since I had a huge credit there) and am now looking at the various lenses. Chris Thomas (gadgets143) had suggested the Sigma lens and I'm browsing the online catalog for those. Last time I bought something online I bought from digitalfotoclub.com and they had very competitive prices. That's where I'm looking at lenses but haven't decided which vendor to go with yet. I'm still trying to figure out which one is best for me or if I should get two lenses that specialize more... we'll see how the pocketbook holds up since the camera based on sunken costs ended up being about $20 (not that I didn't spend this money before!). By the way, I found one review from a Canadian company that reviewed the Sony, Nikon, and Canon cameras head to head to head based on them being hobbyist cameras and the D80 was the one that they said was the best as well. Here's another review that goes into tons of detail on different facets of the cameras. It says the Sony is the best overall one while the Canon can be upgraded. It ends, though, with saying that the Nikon is the overall best quality one in terms of being upgradeable and also usable for professional settings as well. The bottom line, it seems, is that you have to know what you want to do in order to choose the best one for your purposes. The D80 has the highest ceiling performance wise while the Sony is basically everything that you can get in one package already. So, money wise, if you have enough funds to buy the right equipment and want to get really specialized, go with the D80. By the way, I don't even have a lens for mine yet so I can't tell you from experience which is the best! Only from reputation and reviews! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevil February 16, 2007 Share February 16, 2007 (edited) If you serious about an SLR, you will, in my opinion, soon realize that your camera is an accessory to your lenses. I've invested over $3500 in lenses for my Canon setup and only about $800 for the camera bodies I've had (10D, Original Rebel, Rebel XT). I was able to do this by trading up on my camera bodies at the right time - found good deals, and was still able to sell the camera body for a little under what I paid originally through ebay. I decided to go with a Canon SLR setup primarily due to the overall quality and rating of Canon glass (which, in my opinion is of slightly better quality than Nikon) but the flexibility and range of 3rd party lenses was also a factor. At the time, I was also considering a Caonon digital video camera that could also use the Canon SLR lenses which ultimately made my decision. Although at this point I think all the 3rd party manufacturers make lenses for both the major brands (Tamron, Sigma, Tokina), but their quality is still dubios (although Sigma isn't that bad). If you aren't going to invest in performance lenses, then seriously, just get a point and shoot with non-interchangeable lens. If you have nothing invested, flip a coin and buy a Nikon or a Canon setup. Your eye will ultimately determine if you are a good photographer, not your equipment... Edited February 16, 2007 by stevil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 February 16, 2007 Author Share February 16, 2007 Thank you so much davelin and stevil. That was exactly the information I was looking for. I think I am just going to have to go to the store and see which one "feels" better. I know that the lens/lenses I choose will make more of a difference in the long run anyway. And I completely agree stevil, if you can't see what makes a good shot, the camera doesn't matter at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 February 16, 2007 Share February 16, 2007 If you are going to do it, I'd go to a real camera store and use their demo models (I went to Best Buy since that's where I had the credit and didn't have a great impression because I was using cameras that not only had tons of wear and tear on them, but that also didn't have the equipment that I was going to use on them). Also, bring along a memory card that will fit into the camera (my guess is that they've mostly gone to SD as it seems like all cameras are using that form of memory now), one for each if you have enough! That way you can see how your pictures actually came out once you get home versus having to judge based on what you see in the store on the small LCD. Steve's advice, by the way, I totally agree with. Even if you have a thousand options for making your pictures better, unless you know how to use them and actually take the photo, they're no good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest beatle February 18, 2007 Share February 18, 2007 I agree on the investment of lenses. I spent $500 last summer on a Rebel XT and I expected to get good shots out of a $300 Tamron 18-200. I was woefully disappointed. A fair amount of it was user error, but I've also seen what good glass will do for pictures. In the end, I wound up spending 2x what I originally budgeted for the setup, but the speed and flexibility that an SLR gives you is something you'll never get from a P&S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsaavedra February 18, 2007 Share February 18, 2007 I have been looking to buy a new digital camera so that I can take pics of our tank and the fish that we are getting and I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion for a good one. I have been leaning towards the Canon Rebel XT, but if someone has one that they use and love, I am open to recommendations. Also, if you recommend your camera, try to post examples of pics you have taken with it. Thanks Everyone! ~Heather Hi Heather, I have a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT w/standard 18-55mm, 28-105mm and 75-300mm. I really like my camera, click on the banner on my signature and look thru that thread 95% of the pict on that thread were taken with DSLR. Hope it helps. Raf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 February 18, 2007 Author Share February 18, 2007 Raf, let me start off by saying that with a tank like that, you could use any camera and it would still look amazing! I wish we had half the corals in our tank that you have. At least then I would have more to take pics of. Anyway, the pictures you have do look great though and that is exactly what I want to be able to do. Thanks for the IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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