Which Digital SLR

well...we ould argue all day on their seperate merits - but suffice to say - I'm happy with my canon, and likewise - I suspect if i had a nikon I'd be happy with that too!

 

....and like wise....when i'm trying to snatch that pic........I'd certainly have your canon any time!

No question about it!

 

Thanks for all the input chaps....definately looking for the 18-200 lens. May get the kit one as well anyway as its just £50 more that the body on its own....just haven't decided which body yet as I want to hold them first.

 

I think that concentrating on the body is the wrong way round. Lenses are more timeless - a good lens selection will outlive several bodies the way things change with DSLRs.

Think about the sorts of picture you want to take - try to get a sense of how the manufacturers ranges mesh with your needs (vague example - I've never managed to mesh with Nikon's lens range, finding what's good is too expensive, and what isn't seems compromised). Also - aperture specs are just as important as focal length, maybe more indicative of quality.

And as people said, see how you react to the physical feel of the product.

 

For me, the quality of the shots is dictated far more by the quality of the lens than by the quality of the body and as pointed out already, lenses will generally last you a lot longer if looked after.

For my money, I would pick up a second had Canon D60 (can be had for around £120-150 in good condition now, but were £1500 in 2002) and put the savings towards a mid range or L series lens

 

I got a 400D a few months ago, it felt nicer than the Nikon D60 to me and although I am no expert, the kit lens with the D400 is actually pretty good as far as these things go.



However..

I spent a few weeks using an old Nikon D100 and got used to the dual control wheels enabling me to set the camera on fully manual mode, i.e. to lock the shutter speed / aperature size and alter the other simoultaneously and completely independantly.

I don't think that I can do this on my D400 or a D450. You can set aperature priority, i.e. to regulate aperature size and give more or less depth of field. Or shutter speed priority to set the fastest possible shutter speed to capture movement / reduce camera shake. In both cases the other parameter is automaically altered by the camera to give an 'ideal exposure'. This is a bit of an issue for me when shooting in low light or at moving targets. I'd like the flexibility to under / overexpose as I choose.

P.S. If I am being an idiot and can do this on my camera please can someone tell me how to do it.

 

scott- put it in "M" mode instead of "Av" or "Tv". All canon models above the 450D line have a second wheel on the back which will control the other parameter in manual mode. On the 400D you will have to press "*" and hold it down whilst turning the main control wheel to alter the second parameter.

 

Isaac

Thanks for that It would have helped if I hadn't lost my manual. I've tried the '*' key and it didn't work, on my version it is the 'AV+/-' button but the effect is the same. Still like a twin control model for speed but think it'll wait a bit longer now

Thanks

Scott

P.S. How's isdac soming along?

 

It's not. I determined two things:

1) If you fix the power supplies on a Lavry DA-10 then it will be better than IsDAC would have been.

2) There is a forthcoming amplifier which will render an offboard DAC useless.

 

Still undecided on this and your helpful suggestion have only served to thow another candidate into the mix - a "superzoom" - like the sound of the Panansonic Lumix FZ18 (18x zoom and according to Steve's digicams almost zero shutter lag) and only around £200!

I really can't see myself carting a large bag with different lenses around. If there was a reasonably priced DSLR with a single lense capapble of say 10X zoom, I'd consider DSLR but right now leaning toward the superzoom....

 

At a given price, the best lens should be a prime lens (fixed focal length). Zoom lenses are an inherent compromise as they are a deal more complex to make so at a price point, the compromise is in the quality of the optics. The super wide range zooms suffer from this most - that's why there isn't a reasonably priced decent 10x zoom lens available.

I've got nothing against fixed lens cameras, but think about whether you really need a 500m equivalent lens. 35-200 for example is still a very wide operating range and all other things being equal, will be much better optical quality.

 

What 35-200 lens would you suggest? Would need to have AF and image stabilization ( as my hands shake like a leaf in a storm)

 

The only one of remotely passable image quality is the canon 28-300L. At 1.5kg though, it's lighter to carry two or three lenses...

 

Something else to bear in mind with "superzoom compacts" is that the sensor size is significantly smaller than with DSLRs. This may impact on performance.

But - everything depends on what you want to do and how you want to do it.

 

the nikon 18-200 is the widest range of zoom lengths ive ever seen on a consumer grade lens like that. I think that combined with a compact camera like a D40x would make a good combination. It's a lens with a decent range of zoom, and yet most reviews state that it doesnt suffer aggressively from distortion etc

 

I disagree- I have one of these and it's great, especially for the price!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-CANON-EF-...ryZ30070QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

75-300 is a perfectly fine lens, but it brings up the problem, that for general every day use, your still going to have to carry two lenses, as 70mm is too long to be useful for a lot of things.

 

true...I've just got a new sigma 30mm f1.4 ex hsm and what a lovely bit of glass it is too...

 

we need pics..

 

here's one for starters...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weardaleone/2556321569/

and here -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weardaleone/sets/72157605371897755/