I have been watching from the sidelines since about October/November and (like a gazillion others on here) started posting on the first. The reason I was waiting is because I don't really have a decent camera. Then I decided not to let that hinder me and picked up my fiance's Fujifilm A360 point and shoot deal. Its just a pocket sized gadget and I think I have done pretty good with it for what it is.
Having said all of that, I am in the market for a machine. I have not owned a digital slr before and I'm looking for your opinions. I like what I'm reading about Fujifilm and flesh tones, low lighting, etc. I will mostly use this camera for portraits and stills, but maybe with the kids running amok as well. There are two I have my eye on, they are as follows:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/s3-pro.shtml
this is from the professional line and does not have a fixed lens. The technology is a few years old so I can afford it. But I don't know that I want the expense of buying lenses if I can get the job done with this:
I can't tell you much about the two cameras that you mention here but I can tell you to check out Canon's line of SLRs.. Even the most basic and cheapest canon can do amazing things.. I started out on canon film cameras and also shoot with canon digital now.. they are amazing cameras and very easy to operate once you get the swing of things.. hope this helps.. good luck on your endeavor.. also.. you can check places like craigslist and sometimes get really good deals on used equip.. just make sure you look at the camera first and shoot a few frames to make sure it's working properly!
A DSLR will change your life, it did with me, it really is the next step in your photographic journey and will make such a big difference, you have the ability to control all aspects of lighting, camera setting and lens. It really opens up the field.
I have a Canon 500D, I started a few years back with the 350D, in terms of DSLR's there are only 2 players, Canon and Nikon. The other contenders put up a good effort but ask a professional and nobody will use anything else. The Fujifilm may seem like a cheaper option now, but when you want to start buying accessories (and you will) you may find it hard to find availability of quality items at a reasonable price. That is the main benefit of Canon / Nikon purchases for entry level consumers, so many people use them there is a lot of add-ons on eBay and the like for a reasonable amount of money.
The low end Canon range is exceptionally good, i believe the EOS 1000D does all the good bits of SLR's at an entry level price.
Good luck with your purchase, I hope you have as much enjoyment out of it as I get out of mine.
I think you need to look at Nikon or Canon, in the end a little more money will give you many more options down the line. When choosing a DSLR think about long term, if you start with canon you will probably have canon your whole life, its just too expensive to switch once you get started.
Between the two? Go to the store and play with them, hold them in your hand, make adjustments, both are great bodies, both companies have their high points and low points in the end everything will even out but what you can't change or work around is how it feels to you.
With all that said I'm a Nikon guy and love my D90, also had the D60 that I loved.
@erin weekes Canon 1000D VERY easy to navigate around the menus i spent £400 on one recently, doing Media at college i needed a D-SLR for good quality pictures and 1000D hasent let me down yet, very good and i would say aswell Nikons are good but very hard to navigate around, but definatly go with the 1000D !
Good to read this. I also use a point and shoot fuji finepix. I just started getting into taking pictures, so I am NOT going to go out and buy an SLR yet in case it's a passing phase. My goal is to make it through this project. If I can take a year's worth of photos and still enjoy taking them, then I will buy a good camera. In the meantime I love reading what all you photographers have to say about your cameras.
Thanks for all your input. Tara, I was once paid to take pictures, LONG ago, but i was shooting a medium format film camera. Don't be too impressed, it was just a glamor shot deal, but I also did several weddings. I put photography down for more than a decade and found myself without even owning a camera these last few years, so this is kind of an exciting time for me. Like I said, this will be my first digital slr.
I emailed a friend of mine today who is a successful natural light photographer in Charlotte, NC, USA, and asked her opinion. She says Pentax all the way. I haven't heard much about Pentax dslrs at all...but she swears by them and does amazing work. Anyone know anything about the Pentax KX or the Pentax K200?
I honestly feel that no matter the brand you pick you get what you pay for, and again in the end they will all even out when comparing them so the feel of the camera and the support you will get from each brand are things you can not buy, make, or learn.
Like everyone said, choose Canon or Nikon. You can't really go wrong with either, but once you pick a line, you'll have to stick with it since the lenses are brand-specific.
Don't always think you need the newest one either. I don't yet have a dslr, but am looking to buy a Canon XSI with the kit lens as my first one. It's last year's model and considered a "beginning dslr", but it got great reviews I think it should be easier on my wallet and will still give me the added features that I need.
Pentax seem to be popular because of the better lens support (they never change their lenses, so if you've been using Pentax for 20 years you've made the right choice). Otherwise Canon or Nixon all the way, you won't have any problems finding lenses (unlike my Fuji with it's 55mm mount...)
Until someone more qualified answers :-) Yes BUT
- You may need adaptors to simply make it fit on.
- The distance between the sensor and the lens may not be the optimal distance, so you could run into clarity and vignetting problems.
- Many film lenses are too poor quality to be used with digital cameras.
So a good quality film lens with an adaptor that places it at the right length will work, otherwise the quality drop will make you wish you just got a digital lens to begin with. Also I think Canon and Nixon place the image stabilization in the lens while Pentax place it in the body.
Even though most people seem to prefer Canon or Nikon dues to the heavy marketing push, there ARE other alternatives to these two brands. I shoot with Pentax equipment, the K-7 to be specific. These cameras have the ability to use EVERY Pentax lens ever made dating back to the first removable film lenses, including the screw mount lenses (with a readily available adapter of course). AND, the advantage of the in-body image stabilization means that ALL Pentax lenses are image stabilized when used with the K-series of DSLRs. Neither Canon or Nikon can make that statement with their lenses. Other cameras, such as the Sony A series also feature in-body image stabilization as well.
Anyone who has uses the Pentax K1000 film camera can testify as to the quality of the optics and images. The current models employ the great image quality that can stand up to the Big Two any day of the week. :)
And I made the decision, actually before I read your post, Alex. I bought the Pentax Kx. I was the proud owner of a Pentax K1000 for over 10 years in my youth and I LOVED it. In doing my research, what I found was that any pentax lens I had laying about would work for this camera. Any used one I find on ebay or at a pawn shop will work and how much money would THAT save this single mama?! I have placed the order, it will be here on Wednesday. I found a bundle for a REALLY good price too, I'm getting the body, the normal lens, and a 50-200mm.
Congrats, Erin! Now I'll expect to see some dynamite images from you soon! :)
If you can swing it, for all around general use, get either the Pentax or Tamron 18-250mm superzoom. This lens will pretty much take care of the majority of your picture taking needs. It is not a fast lens (F3.5-6.3), but it takes some great shots in the daylight. Check out this page here on 365 to see what this lens can do...
I'm a Canon nut. Don't know how much money you're looking to spend, but I highly recommend starting with something lower in the D series (10D-50D) - right now the 30D seems to have the best bang for your buck, IMO. If you want to move beyond that, you certainly can, but many professionals use those models.
The move to DSLR will likely also mean a need to invest in lighting equipment. If you like macro, you'll need a ring flash. For general photography, you'll probably want a good dedicated flash. These can be expensive, but are necessary for most styles of photography.
In my opinion, you can't go wrong with Canon or Nikon. I have a bottom-of-the-line Canon DSLR and have been able to capture some pretty cool stuff. Well, at least I think it's the cheapest. It's an Canon xsi.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get good results.
A friend of mine had a Nikon and was shooting at the beach when salt water splashed up on it and fried the camera. That will never happen with your Pentax because it has been ruggedized, with water tight seals. I shoot in the rain snow whatever without giviing it any thought. Mind you it isn't water proof but it is made to "take" more abuse than the other guys. And the pictures they produce are every bit as good.
Pentax all the way! I love my Navy Blue Pentax K-x! It's versatile, takes amazing pics, and inexpensive. I got mine via Amazon for about $650. It comes in many different colors too!
I use to say choose between Nikon and Cannon. But now when people ask me, I only suggest Canon. The main reason is because Nikon can get a little confusing between there lenses and camera bodies as far as whether the drive motor is in the lens or on the camera body. Plus, when comparing some basic lenses (i.e. 50mm), the Canon lens is much cheaper.
I recently bought a nikon d70 on a local auction site it was a barmy £10.00 lol cost me my lunch but its a great starter i have done a few shoots with it and its works a charm.. shop about you will be supprised what you can turn up...
@onarom ... although i'm a canon user, i do have to say that although canon have cheaper primes (like that f1.8 Shifty fifty), nikon primes are known to be better...
@gadwallakm do all pentax come wiht weatherproofing or is it just the high end ones? I'm not sure but if they do that's great. Both my canon 7D and 5D3 are weatherproofed (and my lenses too) so that wouldnt happen to me either
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A DSLR will change your life, it did with me, it really is the next step in your photographic journey and will make such a big difference, you have the ability to control all aspects of lighting, camera setting and lens. It really opens up the field.
I have a Canon 500D, I started a few years back with the 350D, in terms of DSLR's there are only 2 players, Canon and Nikon. The other contenders put up a good effort but ask a professional and nobody will use anything else. The Fujifilm may seem like a cheaper option now, but when you want to start buying accessories (and you will) you may find it hard to find availability of quality items at a reasonable price. That is the main benefit of Canon / Nikon purchases for entry level consumers, so many people use them there is a lot of add-ons on eBay and the like for a reasonable amount of money.
The low end Canon range is exceptionally good, i believe the EOS 1000D does all the good bits of SLR's at an entry level price.
Good luck with your purchase, I hope you have as much enjoyment out of it as I get out of mine.
Between the two? Go to the store and play with them, hold them in your hand, make adjustments, both are great bodies, both companies have their high points and low points in the end everything will even out but what you can't change or work around is how it feels to you.
With all that said I'm a Nikon guy and love my D90, also had the D60 that I loved.
i would have said the same
@erin weekes Canon 1000D VERY easy to navigate around the menus i spent £400 on one recently, doing Media at college i needed a D-SLR for good quality pictures and 1000D hasent let me down yet, very good and i would say aswell Nikons are good but very hard to navigate around, but definatly go with the 1000D !
good luck choosing!
I emailed a friend of mine today who is a successful natural light photographer in Charlotte, NC, USA, and asked her opinion. She says Pentax all the way. I haven't heard much about Pentax dslrs at all...but she swears by them and does amazing work. Anyone know anything about the Pentax KX or the Pentax K200?
Don't always think you need the newest one either. I don't yet have a dslr, but am looking to buy a Canon XSI with the kit lens as my first one. It's last year's model and considered a "beginning dslr", but it got great reviews I think it should be easier on my wallet and will still give me the added features that I need.
- You may need adaptors to simply make it fit on.
- The distance between the sensor and the lens may not be the optimal distance, so you could run into clarity and vignetting problems.
- Many film lenses are too poor quality to be used with digital cameras.
So a good quality film lens with an adaptor that places it at the right length will work, otherwise the quality drop will make you wish you just got a digital lens to begin with. Also I think Canon and Nixon place the image stabilization in the lens while Pentax place it in the body.
Anyone who has uses the Pentax K1000 film camera can testify as to the quality of the optics and images. The current models employ the great image quality that can stand up to the Big Two any day of the week. :)
I'm just all giddy!
Thanks everyone for your help!
If you can swing it, for all around general use, get either the Pentax or Tamron 18-250mm superzoom. This lens will pretty much take care of the majority of your picture taking needs. It is not a fast lens (F3.5-6.3), but it takes some great shots in the daylight. Check out this page here on 365 to see what this lens can do...
http://365project.org/alexm555/365/2010-01-14
This was taken with the Pentax K20D and the Pentax 18-250mm zoom I mentioned.
I used the same lens with the new Pentax K-7 and came up with this pic:
http://365project.org/alexm555/365/2010-01-10
Enjoy your new K-x!
The move to DSLR will likely also mean a need to invest in lighting equipment. If you like macro, you'll need a ring flash. For general photography, you'll probably want a good dedicated flash. These can be expensive, but are necessary for most styles of photography.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get good results.
Best of luck with the new camera.
These were taken with the very same camera