Topic: so..the mrs. wants a new digi camera for x-mass.....

[ellaguru]

....& ive got no idea what im looking for   

budget : $1000 or so....can go a couple hundred higher
most certainly digital and she tends to do alot of photography while im busy manning the recording gear @ shows.
all the #'s associated with lens descriptions mean nothing to me...i dont understand them at all, so any guidance would be mucho appreciated !!

thanks again!

chris

[spreetaper]

are u thinking DSLR or a P&S?

and you want to be able to do concert photography and general stuff as well ?

[ellaguru]

are u thinking DSLR or a P&S?

and you want to be able to do concert photography and general stuff as well ?

DSLR for sure...
yep..all kinds of photography but needs to be descent in low light situations...

chris

[spreetaper]

well first thing to decide is Canon or Nikon

 I prefer Canon but thats just me


your standard basic low light lense is the 50mm F1.8 (approx $50) - best value low light lense there is
so basically the lense is 50mm (fixed lense with no zoom) and the F stop is 1.8
you can go down to 1.2 and 1.4 but they are generally very pricey
you need to be relatively close to the stage with this lense though

another good lense for concert shooting from the tapers section at most shows is the
85mm f1.8 (approx $300) - also a fixed lense but you can be a little further back from the stage to FOB and your going to get good results.. this is also an excellent general use lense for the price range

as for the camera body - my advice is to just get that
dont buy a kit.. as the lense that comes with the kit is usually a waste of time

so basically your gonna be spending about 400-550 for the body
I run the Rebel XT which is 399 (8 megapixel) and I am very happy with it

i get all my gear at B&H here in NYC..
i can give you links for all the stuff if you want too..

one other thing you can do is go on a site like flickr.com and you can search for the camera and the lense and see picturs that people have taken with those setups...

[stirinthesauce]

are u thinking DSLR or a P&S?

and you want to be able to do concert photography and general stuff as well ?

DSLR for sure...
yep..all kinds of photography but needs to be descent in low light situations...

chris

kind of redundant as I tyed this before spreetaper did but here it is.

canon or nikon.  You decide.  I like canon, probably because I shoot with it both film and digital.

canon route, the rebel xti is a very nice one.  More on the pro side, the 40d is around that range (body only).  The xti will be a little cheaper.  As for lens, f2.8 is a must for a zoom lens for low light.  Fixed lens, f1.8 or better (lower).

My recs for around 1kish, a canon rebel xti (body only) and a sigma 24-70 ex dg f2.8.  The lens is a nice one (I own it, among others) but is half the price of the comparable f2.8 canon lens of same focal length.  Of course, if you want the shit    spend the dough on canon lens.  The reason I say 24-70mm focal length is because that will be a good walking around lens with that reach and good for the clubs.  If you want a lot of reach, the canon 70-200L series lenses are fantastic but spendy (1k+).  The 30d's, just now replaced by the 40d, is another route as the bodies can be had for great price at bhphoto as they still have some in stock.  The 40d is better, but will blow your 1k budget.


myself,  I shoot a 20d and a rebel xt as a backup.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

There is a lot to be said for costco's no-penalty 90 day return policy. Unfortunately I just let my membership lapse.

As a baseline, I'd strongly consider a d40+lens kit from costco for $500 + a supplemental lens or two. Maybe study up on that and then decide if there is a better choice within your price range. 

Can't link direct to the nikons but just search for nikon:

http://www.costco.com

[spreetaper]

i also agree that sigma lense is a great deal for concert use and general use (sigma 24-70 ex dg f2.8.)

Rebel XT - body only $399
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/371189-REG/Canon_0209B001_EOS_Digital_Rebel_XT.html

Rebel XTI - body only $544
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/457506-REG/Canon_1236B002_EOS_Digital_Rebel_XTi.html

Canon 50mm f1.8 $75
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-USA/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html

Canon 85mm f1.8 $315
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12182-USA/Canon_2519A003_85mm_f_1_8_USM_Autofocus.html

Sigma 24-70 ex dg f2.8 $429
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/350974-REG/Sigma_548110_24_70mm_f_2_8_EX_DG.html

[ellaguru]

this package doesnt seem too bad, since it does have a 2nd lens...opinions?

http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/SLR1160.htm

thanks again!

chris

[spreetaper]

hmm that cam is only 6.1 megapixels thats a bit low
plus the add doesnt tell u that F stop for the lenses.. my guess is they are atleast 3.5-5
neither of them would be good for low light...

[ellaguru]

hmm that cam is only 6.1 megapixels thats a bit low
plus the add doesnt tell u that F stop for the lenses.. my guess is they are atleast 3.5-5
neither of them would be good for low light...

i was concerned about the low # of mp's as well...ill keep looking...

thanks again for the guidance

chris

[spreetaper]

yeah generally you will be fine with an 8.. its not like you are going to be printing out poster size images ;-) 10 MP is nice too.. anymore than that is overkill in my book

apparently dell has a special right now as well for the Digital Rebel XT body $382

[it-goes-to-eleven]

yeah generally you will be fine with an 8.. its not like you are going to be printing out poster size images ;-)

Then what's the point of the new tech and all that cash?

My film based shots go poster size quite well.

[spreetaper]

yeah generally you will be fine with an 8.. its not like you are going to be printing out poster size images ;-)

Then what's the point of the new tech and all that cash?

My film based shots go poster size quite well.

check out this site.. that should help ya

http://www.design215.com/toolbox/megapixels.php

"You can make nice 8" x 10" prints with a 6 or 8 megapixel camera, but to make a true photo quality 16" x 20" print, you need between 24 and 30 megapixels"

[Frank in JC]

kind of redundant as I tyed this before spreetaper did but here it is.

canon or nikon.  You decide.  I like canon, probably because I shoot with it both film and digital.

canon route, the rebel xti is a very nice one.  More on the pro side, the 40d is around that range (body only).  The xti will be a little cheaper.  As for lens, f2.8 is a must for a zoom lens for low light.  Fixed lens, f1.8 or better (lower).

My recs for around 1kish, a canon rebel xti (body only) and a sigma 24-70 ex dg f2.8.  The lens is a nice one (I own it, among others) but is half the price of the comparable f2.8 canon lens of same focal length.  Of course, if you want the shit    spend the dough on canon lens.  The reason I say 24-70mm focal length is because that will be a good walking around lens with that reach and good for the clubs.  If you want a lot of reach, the canon 70-200L series lenses are fantastic but spendy (1k+).  The 30d's, just now replaced by the 40d, is another route as the bodies can be had for great price at bhphoto as they still have some in stock.  The 40d is better, but will blow your 1k budget.


myself,  I shoot a 20d and a rebel xt as a backup.

Good recommendation, but if you're talking Sigma on a DSLR, I would go for the 17-70 f/2.8, not the 24-70.  The latter is good if you're shooting film, but for digital, definitely the 17-70 (~$400).  Phanophish is a fan, I believe. 

If I was buying a DSLR for a woman, based on style considerations alone, I would probably get her a Canon.  I think the curves of the Canon bodies are more "feminine" than the traditionally harder lines of Nikon.  (No, that is absolutely not a dig on you Canon guys!)

[ellaguru]

she already had an ae-1 and a canon rebel so i think canon it is....that 10mp one from b&h is prob the way im headed....time to break out the credit card   

big thanks again for all the help here...im a total nOob when it comes to camears...

chris