Digital SLR Camera Advice

[Smob]

Man, I certainly am learning about questionable weather on my trip to Kodiak, AK! I have nothing special, but have been keeping the camera under my coat as much as possible, but I worry about it all the time. Today was the first in 3 weeks with sun. On my return to FL, I will get something to protect it. Most of my pic interest is outside.

You guys are REALLY helping me out. Thanx.

[King Leonidas]

I have Canon DSLR and love it. It is not "pro" but it is the only thing you are going to get in the $1k range. The kit that is mentioned above is a great idea. It will contain lower quality lens but if you are jumping from point and shoot it will be more than enough bang for your buck. I use mine all the time and hardly ever wish I had a faster lens. Definitely go with Nikon or Canon. Olympus point and shoot cameras are great, but they are not real players in the DSLR. Not in the cash range you are looking to invest.

[kbmcdowell]

I'm a Nikon guy, always have been since my first FE-2. I used an F3 for film work all through college and beyond. Recently we needed to buy a camera for our church worship dept, and I researched all the Nikon digital cameras. We needed something under $1,000 with zoom capability. I spent a lot of time on Ken Rockwell's very excellent website, and if you have not yet been there, just Google his name, and enjoy. It's kind of like a camera blog/review place, and he is an excellent writer and reviewer.

In any event, largely because of his reviews, I decided to get a Nikon D40 with the standard zoom lens and the 55-200 VR telephoto zoom (vibration reduction). The primary decision maker for me was the great reviews on the D40's light meter, a solid upgrade from the D50 I used to own in 2006, which took bad pics (in my opinion). I sold the D50 after using it for two months.

I got two additional batteries and three 4GB memory cards all for under $800. I love the camera, so easy to use and excellent pics. You can spend more on body or glass, but when you get right down to it, this camera is awesome. Sure I would love a D300 and brighter lenses, like a 2.8 tele zoom, but the D40 does the job for my church, and I am very happy with it. I would highly recomment getting the VR technology in any telephoto zoom lens, it's great.

[[Director] Joseph B]

Once you reach a certain level with equipment it becomes more about the photographer than the camera.
I've used Minolta, Pentax, Canon, Nikon, Rioch, Yashica, and stuff I can't even remember. I did good work with all of them. I use Canon (now) Digital because I am very comfortable with it. I like the way the body feels in my hand. I advised a friend to go with Nikon, he had used Nikon film cameras all his life and had a lot of Nikon glass. It's not so much about the camera as the person behind the lens.

[EricE]

Just a couple other things to add - a wise saying is you only rent the bodies, but your lenses are forever.

Once you get a digital SLR, and you get addicted to high quality, wide-aperture (or "fast") glass, this concept hits home When you have multiple lenses that cost as much or more then your camera body you really understand what they are talking about. I will own my lenses even after I have moved on to my next body - or even several bodies...

So as others said, look at the lenses that are available for the system you are considering, look at the overall ergonomics and feel and then make your decision. To someone who asked about the Sony camera's, my only concern with them is Sony doesn't have as wide a catalog of lenses to pick from, nor is the third party support for Sony there like it is for Nikon and Canon. If they have the lenses to cover your needs (what you have now and where you think you might go in the future) then by all means look at Sony (or Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic, etc.)

Just remember that you aren't just buying a camera, you are buying into a system - and the investment will be substantal over time! I didn't think it was possible to have a hobby more expensive then computers, but digital Photography has shown the error of my assumptions!

Finally, a great resource that I love listening to for ideas while I am commuting is This Week in Photography (twiplog.com) - it's a weekly podcast and a host of good information.