Anyone have any recommedations for a camera?

[seattle989]

Im pretty much a photography noob but i for sure enjoy taking pictures. i have been looking for a camera for some time but dont have the money usually lol
anyone have recommendations for a well rounded camera to buy? price about 500$ or less. like i said i dont want anything technical just enough to get by or if anyone is selling a camera hit me up. i hear cannon and nikon brands are pretty good but yeah total novice here.

oh and i wanted to show off my blue spotted sea hare. he's got the face only a mother could love

 

[Myteemouse]

my photogaphy buddy that takes all my family pics says a 300-400 $$ nikon with a good lens would be all i would ever need..

 

[roscoe]

You can't go wrong with a Nikon or Canon. I Use to have the Nikon d40 now I have a Canon Rebel XTI. I think I prefer the nikon over the Canon just because it has more onboard features. Either camera with the right lens would be a great choice. Keep in mind photography hobby is just as expensive or even more than our already addictive reef hooby.

 

[gotfish]

In the $500 range, go with a d40. If you're looking for a good website, http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ has pretty good prices. A coworker's son is a professional photographer and he gets most of his stuff from there. One thing though, he says the owners are Orthodox Jews and are closed on Saturdays so if you have any questions you need to call about, don't do it on Saturday.

 

[noonesname124]

x3 on D40. $409.00 shipped from Amazon.com but no macro lense

 

[Bosco83]

We recently got a Nikon cool pix p80 we really like it so far it's not an slr but it does have a lense that does 18x optical zoom and more features than I care to use. It is more in the $300 range.

Brian

 

[colin779]

Personally i am a Canon fan, newegg.com has some good deals, my gf just purchased a Rebel XSi, but she is big into photography, its a pretty spendy camera. Any Rebel in my opinion is a great choice though. You can find them reasonably priced at a lot of places though. A Nikon or Canon is a great choice though.

 

[TWallace]

Personally I'd avoid the D40 and D60, as they both lack an autofocus motor in the body, so only lenses with the motor will autofocus. Granted, most lenses have it, but you'd be missing out on some great lenses like the 50mm 1.8, which is both fantastic and cheap. I use it for all my aquarium photos. Also, both the D40 and D60 lack bracketing, which is very handy if you ever want to do HDR photography.

Instead, I'd get a used D50 or D80. You can find a used D50 on Craigslist, with 1-3 lenses for around $500. Don't be taken in by megapixel count. Anything above 6mp is plenty unless you plan on printing billboards.

You can't go wrong with either a Canon or Nikon DSLR, though. Just remember that lenses hold their value, while cameras lose their value quickly. This makes buying a used camera a great idea.

 

[returnofsid]

As TWallace said, watch Craigslist for used cameras. I'll agree with everyone else that you really can't go wrong with a "Prosumer" Canon or Nikon DSLR. If used, find out how many shutter actuations it has had. Check out these 2 links for great deals also.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/
http://www.fredmiranda.com/

The problem will be the lenses. There are some fairly good quality lenses that are inexpensive. The kit lens for both cameras is mediocre, but works. You can also get a 70-300mm (Macro) for fairly inexpensive for both. Canon and Tamron both make them. Tamron's is better, IMO. It's only a Macro when used above, I think 180mm. The 50mm 1.8 Macro, mentioned above, is a great lens and can be found for both Canon and Nikon, fairly inexpensive. After that, the lenses get expensive!! For instance, I just purchased a USED 100mm Macro for my Canon Rebel Xt. It was $375.00 and a good deal. For Canon cameras, it's probably one of the best Macros you can get, for the price. You'll soon discover that, for reef tank photos, it's a MUST.

If you want new, I'd consider the Canon RebelXti or Nikon D80. If you're willing to purchase used, Canon D40, Xt or Xti can be found fairly inexpensive. There's also the Sony Alpha 100, which has an image stabalizing body, whereas everyone else only offers IS in the lenses. Granted, lens IS is probably a better IS, but Sony's IS is pretty darn good too.

 

[seattle989]

thanks for the ideas ill keep my eyes on CL.

 

[Workaholic]

For that price range I would seriously look into a used Nikon d50-d80. I have a D70S that I use the heck out of and love it. As for macro lenses I have a tamron 105mm fixed macro and it takes amazing pictures, the best part of that lense is its only ~$300 new so its very cost effective. but even the 18-55 kit lense takes some great pics.

Tom