Kingstonite.ca

Hey There,

Would like to step it up with photography, my wife has also too. I'm pretty set on the Nikon d90, but would like to hear what you all think and what you would suggest likes and dislikes. Can you please take a minute and give some information that might help us make the right decision. Looking to spend just over 1000 I think.

Also, currently looking for a Panasonic DVX100 if you know anyone who may be selling theirs or wants to.... Let me know!

Thanks Everyone,
Eye

Not that I know much about this but some more information from you might help our experts answer your questions:

- You say you'd like to "step it up with photography". In what way? How are you going to use your camera? Do you have any particular photography you'd be interested in (wedding, nature, street, landscape)?
- Would you be doing photography indoors or outdoors? Do you need good low-light capabilities?
- Do you know people with DSLRs? What brands do they have? Would they be able to share lenses with you?
- Do need or want video?
- Based on your needs, do you even need a DSLR? There's great "pro" point-and-shoot cameras that are much easier and "set it and forget it" than DSLRs.

That's all I can think of to start..

The other thing that you need to think about is what lens(es) you are going to want. In the long run, you are far better to spend your money on the lenses.

For sure it's important. That's part of why I asked about what kind of photography will be done as well as whether it's more for indoors or outdoors.. <.<

Hey There Guys,

Sorry for the slow response. I almost just went out and bought a D90 today, but then hesitated and wanted to actually sit down and do some true research. When I say step up I mean maybe take some courses and try to take it more seriously and professionally.

It's actually going to be both my wife and I using the camera. She has expressed an honest and serious interest. Not to mention she has an eye for it for sure! I myself am more of a video guy, which by the way I did get my hands on and bought a Panasonic DVX100b... sure its not HD, but I am very pleased!

For the most part when we first get the camera I think its going to be alot of Nature and landscape and abstract stuff being done. My wife loves to do group and friend photos and modeling and all of that though. I know that I would like to do weddings and what not in the future, but want to have more knowledge than what I do now. So yeah... just some experimental and fun photos at first. Eventually getting into the more technical aspect of photography.

I have a friend with a D70 and a few lenses, Im sure he would lend me here and there.

Video would be nice just to have the option and from what I have seen and read it seems like Cannon had a handle on that! All an all yeah I think I would like the option to have it.

So I am tossed up and doing my research on Cannon,Nikon and actually Panasonic. What are peoples and professionals opinons and view on the Panasonic G2 camera? This thing seems to do it all and looks to be impressive and you can get a great package for about 1000 bucks and thats with a couple of lens. Any information and opions I totally invite. I want to make the right choice. Thanks everyone!

I currently shoot Nikon and I love it. I've never really liked Cannon or Panasonic. I have friends that have both and maybe it's because I've almost always shot Nikon but I don't like the feel, the setup or the presentation of either Cannon or Panasonic. Of course I'm a bit biased against then as I shoot Nikon, just like a Cannon person will be biased against Nikon. With that in mind I will keep my "opinion" on DSLR as unbiased as possible.

I've shot everything from a Coolpix 885 right up to the D2X. I haven't really looked at the newest offerings from Nikon as I am quite happy with my current camera.
First off let me say having a nice camera is great but knowing how to use the camera is better. I have pictures that I took with my old 885 and 4500 that are far better than some stuff I've taken with my current camera as I am still on the learning curve of what I can do with it. Plus the camera like the 4500 have a far greater out of the box range than a DSLR (more on that later).

A DLSR will certainly give you more range in the long run but that range comes at a price tag, glass is not cheap, good glass is certainly not cheap. If you are spending money on a good camera, you will want to buy good glass. Plus once you have good glass you need to buy good filters because you don't want to put cheap plastic/glass in front of expensive glass, that defeats the purpose of expensive glass.

When pricing a camera look at the kit lens, check out the focal distance. Is it going to be enough? Are you going to be able to take close range pictures? Will you be able to take long shots? For Example the D40 comes with an 18-55mm kit lens. A great starter lens but 55mm isn't very far. Also keep an eye on the Aperture range. It might not matter when you start but it will mater. Most if not all zoom lenses will have a range again the 18-55 has a range of 1:4 to 5.6. The lower and tighter the range the better. I apologize if you already know this stuff. Consider getting a longer lens when you purchase your camera, also consider a polarizing filter especially if you wear polarized sunglasses. I made this mistake once. I could figure out why the awesome vista I was seeing wasn't being captured by the camera, I took my sunglasses off and the awesome vista disappeared.

A P&S camera with PSAM (Program Auto, Shutter & Aperture Priorities and Manual), and the ability to add filters will give you a great all around camera. The Coolpix 4500 is maybe my favorite camera of all time. You can get a P&S into places you've never put a DLSR. I once put my 4500 on a rock in the middle of a river below a waterfall with stacked ND filters to take some long exposure of the running water. Would I do this with my DSLR? No way, currently it's lens heavy and would need a tripod.
Another plus of a P&S is that they often fit in your pocket. Going on vacation and having to lug a DSLR is a pain in the ass and asking a stranger to use a DSLR to take a picture of your group is an adventure all on it's own.

As far as combining cameras and video let me put it this way. You will have to send in your DSLR for work at some point, even if it is just a cleaning do you want to loose your video camera too? Combo tech is a bad idea all around in IMHO. What's that old saying? Don't put all your eggs in one basket?

I recommend checking out DP Review. Their Side by Side comparison of camera will make picking the right camera for you as easy as can be.

TLDR; Borrow some camera's (DSLR and P&S) from friends for weekends or a day of shooting, be honest about what you will be doing with the camera, check out DP Review and their comparison.

Well, I ended up going with the Nikon D90 Kit with 55-105 lens. I did really like Cannon, but went with my Gut on this one. I really like the Nikon Build. Pretty excited to have this camera.

You'll love the D90, trust me! I love more and more every day and I've had mine for less than a year. With 10,000+ shots, it is like day 1.

Check out my Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28424401@N07/

I can totally see the truth behind what you said PureRockFury! I had it out today for the first time today and I'm totally loving it. Now I have a long way to go to learning photography and what not, but i'm stoked! Checked out your Flickr page and I'm amazed, you really know what you are doing! You shots are awesome. If you dont mind I'll have to hit you up sometime for some tips sometime.

That is no problem! Get yourself a Flickr and add me as a contact. Flickr is a great place to host images from a dSLR. They honour colour profiles, they don't compress the images so you can see them the way they were supposed to be seen.