Im sick of blurry photos with the old point-n-shoot so I will be buing a SLR. Any recommendations? Whats everybody else using? I called Kits customer serivce and they recommended the D40. Its actually one of the less expensive SLR's at 550, since they go up into the thousands....
Buying a SLR
- Thread starter BCT182
- Start date
Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:
roscoe
Well-known member
Brett I have the nikon d40 and I love it. I'm still trying to learn how to use it. Great camera for the price.
Herefishyfishy
Smart Bass
Many here swear by the Cannon Rebel XT and XTi with a macro zoom
roscoe
Well-known member
Remember the bad pics is not because of the camera it is the user
Scooterman
Well-known member
I have a Nikon D70, wouldn't hesitate to get the D40, they are nice, it is the lenses that make the biggest diff. & a little knowhow!
That said & still use my canon G5 & it is a macro machine from what I'm told!
That said & still use my canon G5 & it is a macro machine from what I'm told!
Snowboarda42
Cirrhitichthys falco
Rebel xTi gets my vote
surf_buddy
Well-known member
I was shooting with the D50, but all my camera gear was stolen when my house was broken into last week. Luckily my fish were ok, but my super cool duncan pics are gone. My buddies are pushing me over to Cannon, so I think a Rebel xTi would be nice. However if you want a Nikon, buy it this week since there are great package deals at just about every store out there. Also, I hear the Cannon holiday sales promotions will be next week. Good luck!
Blazer88
Well-known member
I've been shooting Canon gear for a while now and really like the stuff. If budget is an issue, meaning you don't want to spend thousands, I would look into a used 30D as the price has been dropping since the introduction of the 40D. You can snag a used 30D now for like $700 and it takes fantastic shots. The XT/XTi will definitely get you by but the 20/30/40D all will make the XT's feel like a toy. All of the pics on my site were shot with Canon gear (either 30D or XT):
http://parchen.smugmug.com/aquariums
http://parchen.smugmug.com/aquariums
Snowboarda42
Cirrhitichthys falco
Awesome link, I was wanting a big collection of your pics for my screensaver
loohunter
Fish lover
i went to kits looking to get the canon xti and they sugested the sony a-100 over the canon
Blazer88
Well-known member
I would stick with either Canon or Nikon, they have the majority of market share for a reason. Another thing to consider is the availability of lenses and accessories, which are easily found for Nikon/Canon, but may be more difficult to locate for a Sony.
loohunter
Fish lover
well sony bought out minolta so it uses all the minolta lenses, but i understand what you are saying
Katchupoy
Well-known member
I am a Nikon D50 user. But I really want to play canon sometime in the future.
Katchupoy
Well-known member
Very good Brett. Thats a nice choice. A little bit on the dark side but its really good.
tamarindthai
Well-known member
good choice and welcome to the nikon fan,,after afew hundred of shots i love my d200 ,now,,enjoy it
and welcome to the nikon fan,,after afew hundred of shots i love my d200 ,now,,enjoy itBrett, you'll love your D40. I shoot a Canon Rebel Xt. When I was shopping for a DSLR, I was undecided between the Rebel Xt the D40 or the Sony A100. One selling point for the Sony is the Stabilizing body. You can get better stabilizing results with stabilizing lenses on the D40 or Xt. However, they're not at all cheap...lol. Keep your eye out for a quality 50mm Macro lens. Macro lenses are amazing for tank shots.
You're absolutely right. With your DSLR, you're starting into a whole new hobby. One that's as expensive, if not more, than reef tanks and has an even greater learning curve...lol. Study up on your manual settings. You'll eventually want to use Manual, Apeture Priority or Shutter Priority. I use Manual and set my Apeture and Shutter speed for each shot. This gives you the most control...once you learn the camera. Also, learn how to use your custom white balance settings. That's critical with reef shots. The camera's pre set WB settings never work with our reef lights.
The pic you posted is great! Once you get a tri-pod, you can use a slower shutter speed to gather more light and the pic won't be quite so dark.
LOL Keep in mind the most confusing part about SLRs. Apeture settings are confusing in that lower numbers indicate a larger apeture opening....allowing more light in. Slower shutter speeds also allow more light but need a more steady hand or a tri-pod. When taking pics of moving fish or waving corals, the slower shutter speed won't help much and you'll need a larger apeture opening instead.
Welcome to the DSLR club!! You'll love it. I ended up joining as many photography forums as reef forums...lol. Here's links to a couple great ones. There's also a link to my Flickr photo page in my signature. A lot of those pics were before I got the Canon.
http://www.fredmiranda.com/
http://www.shortcourses.com/
http://www.photoshopsupport.com
You're absolutely right. With your DSLR, you're starting into a whole new hobby. One that's as expensive, if not more, than reef tanks and has an even greater learning curve...lol. Study up on your manual settings. You'll eventually want to use Manual, Apeture Priority or Shutter Priority. I use Manual and set my Apeture and Shutter speed for each shot. This gives you the most control...once you learn the camera. Also, learn how to use your custom white balance settings. That's critical with reef shots. The camera's pre set WB settings never work with our reef lights.
The pic you posted is great! Once you get a tri-pod, you can use a slower shutter speed to gather more light and the pic won't be quite so dark.
LOL Keep in mind the most confusing part about SLRs. Apeture settings are confusing in that lower numbers indicate a larger apeture opening....allowing more light in. Slower shutter speeds also allow more light but need a more steady hand or a tri-pod. When taking pics of moving fish or waving corals, the slower shutter speed won't help much and you'll need a larger apeture opening instead.
Welcome to the DSLR club!! You'll love it. I ended up joining as many photography forums as reef forums...lol. Here's links to a couple great ones. There's also a link to my Flickr photo page in my signature. A lot of those pics were before I got the Canon.
http://www.fredmiranda.com/
http://www.shortcourses.com/
http://www.photoshopsupport.com
