Camera Recomendation

#1

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6/28/09 at 9:21am

drobbins
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My daughter's 15 birthday is coming up and she would like a "real" camera. She has had a auto pocket camera for some time and basically wore it out. I bet she has over 3,000 pictures on her hard drive.

So we are looking at either the Canon EOS Digital Rebel or the Nikon digital SLR. I have a few questions:

For a 15 year old, how much difference will there be between a 6.1, or a 10.1 or a 12.9 MP camera? In the short term she will probably only put the pictures on her MySpace page, but if I am spending this much money on a good camera I would also like it to last her many years into the future. She has expressed interest on a possible career in photography.

I read that the Niko lenses fit the Cannon, but not the other way around. Is this correct? The Nikon can make movies, but the Cannon can't.

I am looking for input, so what do you think? Any recommendations?

Cave Country Weather

#2

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6/28/09 at 6:14pm

Scott Merryfield
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Re: Camera Recomendation

Nikon and Canon lenses are not interchangeable between companies. Each company has a completely different lens system.

Both Canon and Nikon make excellent dSLR cameras. Also, both Canon and Nikon make models that can take high definition video, if that is something she wants. For a beginner camera, anything 8MP or higher would probably be fine. Your best course of action would be to take your daughter to a camera store and let her handle both camera bodies to see which she is more comfortable with.

Also, do not look just at the camera body, but also at the lens choices and other accessories for each brand. If your daughter gets serious about photography, the camera body will be a very small part of the cost of a photography kit that will include lenses and flash units. While camera bodies quickly become obsolete, lenses do not -- so she may keep certain lenses for many years while owning several camera bodies. The lens choices and costs are what steered me towards Canon, but others with different needs may find Nikon's offerings and features more desirable.

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#3

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6/28/09 at 7:10pm

Will_B
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Re: Camera Recomendation

Could you be more specific about which two you are choosing between?

There are a few different Canon Rebels, and a few different Nikons, so I'm curious.

The Nikon D5000 is probably the best choice of newer models, imo... but the Canon EOS Rebel T1i is neck and neck. You'll find MANY websites directly comparing these two specific cameras, since they were both released at the same time, and are the same price. But for me, the swiveling screen of the Nikon D5000 is what puts it ahead...on the other hand, Canon's LCD doesn't swivel but is much larger and sharper!

I agree with Scott, she should handle them in store. And then buy them online for best price.

Bear in mind some of the models you may find in stores are nearing the end of their lives -- the D5000 and T1i are the newest "entry level" and you mentioned wanting a camera that will be state of the art for several more years to come, so that's why I mentioned them. But if you can't afford either of those, and end up choosing between 2 older models, tell us which ones and we'll opine!

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#4

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6/30/09 at 10:12am

Sam Posten
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I'd get a used D40/D60 or older rebel and see how she does. If she sticks with it THEN go whole hog and get something like a D90 and up.

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#5

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8/3/09 at 12:54pm

Brian Kleinke
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It's possible to obtain a D40 quite cheap (for a DSLR)- it's a great camera and the fact it's only 6MP isn't really an issue.

Check out this page for all kinds of details (and the rest of the site is a pretty good Nikon reference - he does talk about Canon - but mostly about why he prefers Nikon) www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm

#6

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8/3/09 at 8:18pm

Sam Posten
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LMAO. NO!

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#7

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8/4/09 at 4:58pm

Craig S
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Posten

LMAO. NO!

Yeah, last time I checked in on ol' Ken, he seemed to have almost sworn off digital and was pushing everyone to move back to film. He's a hoot and a holler.

If you want good, extensive Nikon info, check out Thom Hogan's site, or visit the Nikonians online community.

#8

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8/5/09 at 5:52pm

Sam Posten
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Both of those are good, tho Nikonians charges for the good stuff. There is also NikonCafe which is great if you don't mind the Stepford Wives forced happy thoughts.

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#9

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8/6/09 at 4:34am

Scott Merryfield
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In order to provide balanced information for the opposition (Canon

), you can check out http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ or the Canon section of www.fredmiranda.com .

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#10

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8/25/09 at 4:55pm

drobbins
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Well I just sprung for this package for her Christmas present. cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll
What do you think? Good deal?

Cave Country Weather

#11

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8/25/09 at 6:35pm

Scott Merryfield
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Quote:

Originally Posted by drobbins

Well I just sprung for this package for her Christmas present. cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll
What do you think? Good deal?

Most of the accessories in that package are not worth anything, IMO. The tripod looks very cheap, and the extra lenses are very low-end. The 58mm "wide angle lens" and "58mm 2x telephoto lens" are not lenses, but teleconvertors that attach to a lens -- neither will give you decent image quality. It's impossible to tell about the filters, but considering the other items included, it's fair to assume they are low-quality items, too.

This package is pretty typical of a lot of less reputable online dealers. They will include a bunch of extra, useless junk to make you think you are getting a lot for your money. You are better off buying just the camera and kit lens from a more reputable dealer for much less money. B&H Photo and Adorama are two I've used and trust, as well as Amazon. You can pick up an extra battery from Sterlingtek and memory cards from Newegg and still save a bunch of money.

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#12

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8/26/09 at 6:44am

drobbins
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Yea - I figured that some of the stuff is nonsense. Wow they are throwing in a lens cover!!

. I priced out the items separately and the total comes up good. You say the extra lenses are low end - would they be OK for a 15 year old learning and then upgrade later? Until I see her using this stuff, I don't know how really interested she is. She has a small everyday camera that she uses all the time and she takes really good pictures with it. This package would take her to the next level where she could really get into the hobby or decide that all the lenses and stuff are too much to mess with. Is the camera a solid choice?

Cave Country Weather

#13

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8/26/09 at 7:20am

Scott Merryfield
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The camera is a solid choice. I am not familiar with the two Tamron lenses, so you may get acceptable results. However, they are pretty old lenses, so it is questionable whether they will auto focus with a newer Canon body (I know some old Sigma lenses will not). The 500mm mirror lens will not auto focus, and those types of lenses usually give very poor results. The Canon 50mm lens appears to be the EF 50mm f/1.8, which I happen to own. I never use the lens anymore due to its very poor auto focus response, but for low light portraits it may be a decent learning tool for a 15 year old just starting out. It also is very poorly constructed, though, so if she drops it the lens will most likely break.

I honestly doubt she will use any of the lenses other than the kit and maybe the 50mm f/1.8, so you are really spending extra money on items she will never use (except possibly as a one time experiment). Better to put that money towards either a better flash, better tripod or a better telephoto lens IMO.

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#14

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8/26/09 at 10:39am

drobbins
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Scott,
Thanks for your insight. What lenses would you recommend with that camera for her to learn with?

Cave Country Weather

#15

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8/26/09 at 10:59am

Sam Posten
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I'd keep the canon 50mm that comes in the kit and sell the rest and buy a Tamron 28-75 F2.8

Others might suggest one of the higher quality canon kit lenses, but my experience with those was over 2 years ago and they were all kinda terrible until you got to the $1000 range (24-105 F4IS). I don't know how good Canon's 18-200IS is, that was added after I moved away from Canon, the Nikon 18-200VR is fantastic but pricey.

The 500mm might actually be fun to play with once or twice taking pictures of the moon, not sure what the quality of something like that would be but would be worth a shot. I can't see it working for sports birds or other wildlife tho. I've been wrong before tho so experimentation will be key.

If you REALLY want to learn how photography works, take just the canon 50 1.8, put it on Manual, Aperture and Time priority modes each for one day, walking around, experiment with different depths of field and have fun. The sad thing is most people buy SLRs for all the wrong reasons and never get to this point, not realizing that the tradeoff for the flexibility that an SLR gives you is that YOU have to decide how you want things to come out and not letting the camera make all the decisions for you.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=414088

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#16

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8/26/09 at 11:49am

Scott Merryfield
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Posten

I'd keep the canon 50mm that comes in the kit and sell the rest and buy a Tamron 28-75 F2.8

The only issue I have with this suggestion is that 28mm is not nearly wide enough on a crop sensor, IMO. Personally, I would just start with the 18-55mm IS kit lens and 50mm f/1.8 prime until she figures out whether she likes photography, learns the basics and determines what types of shots she will be taking (low light, portraits, landscapes, sports, macro all can require different lenses).

The other option would be to keep the 18-55mm IS kit lens and add the Tamron suggested by Sam. You could then forget about the Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime, since the Tamron would cover similar uses. That would get her decent reach, something for portraits, low light and cover the wide angle.

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#17

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8/26/09 at 5:11pm

drobbins
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Thanks for the input - Well we will cancel and start over.
For some reason today our email is also flooded with spam. I don't know if the e-bay purchase had anything to do with that or not.

Cave Country Weather

#18

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8/26/09 at 8:38pm

Sam Posten
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Sorry that it sounds like a do-over... Again those are just my opinions, everyone's journey is different. Scott makes some good points about 28 being not too wide and i concede that is a minor weekness of this lens. I personally worked around it by backing up more but I desired a true WA lens and went and bought the pro line 14-24 and plan to pair it will a full frame camera eventually. But that's $5k away from the starting line vice a $350 lens =) Baby steps!

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#19

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8/27/09 at 12:40am

Man-Fai Wong
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Dave,

I tend to agree w/ Scott's recommendation to go w/ the inexpensive 18-55 IS kit lens for a starter kit for your teenage daughter. She will inevitably want more/better later, if she sticks to photography, but the 18-55 IS is cheap enough (and yet also fine enough) that you wouldn't be wasting significant $ no matter what she ends up doing in the long run.

Sam's suggestion would definitely be worth considering for someone who's further along in photography -- and would understand the pros and cons of going w/ the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 as the first/primary lens on these digital APS-crop bodies.

Either way, you may or may not wish to add the 50 f/1.8 -- maybe add it a little later perhaps. That's also an inexpensive lens that can be very useful at times -- and it will also reveal what you/she might be missing in terms of PQ (and photographic control/capability) from most of the lower end zoom lenses.

Like Scott, I rarely use mine (for Nikon), but there are occasions where I do use it -- and it's so affordable that it's one lens I (and most others) don't mind owning even though I don't use it much. Personally, I find either 28mm or 35mm along w/ 85mm more interesting/useful and would suggest checking those primes out in the future.

And if you really can cancel that eBay purchase, definitely do so.

_Man_

Just another amateur learning to paint w/ "the light of the world".

#20

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8/27/09 at 4:14am

drobbins
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I sent them an email canceling last night. I don't know anything about cameras and it looked like a lot for the price. But if it not worth buying... That's why I asked for all your advice. It is a while till Christmas so we will look into the recomendations posted. There is a Shutterbug 45 minutes from here that we will have to spend some time in. I do prefer too hold and touch items that I am spending a lot of $$ on.

Cave Country Weather

#21

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8/27/09 at 4:39am

Scott Merryfield
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong

Either way, you may or may not wish to add the 50 f/1.8 -- maybe add it a little later perhaps. That's also an inexpensive lens that can be very useful at times -- and it will also reveal what you/she might be missing in terms of PQ (and photographic control/capability) from most of the lower end zoom lenses.

Like Scott, I rarely use mine (for Nikon), but there are occasions where I do use it -- and it's so affordable that it's one lens I (and most others) don't mind owning even though I don't use it much. Personally, I find either 28mm or 35mm along w/ 85mm more interesting/useful and would suggest checking those primes out in the future.

I'll second Man's recommendation for an 85mm prime as a future consideration (but not to start out). I bought a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens a few months ago, and really love it. The focal length works well in my kit, the auto focus is smooth and quick, and the image quality is outstanding for a lens at this price point ($380, plus $20ish for the hood).

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