Recommendations for a still camera

[Steve Polley]

Since I have been actively chasing the last 2 years, I have finally decided that I need a more serious camera than my meager Sony Cybershot. What would you recommend for someone that has around $500-750 to spend on a decent camera. I am also wanting to do some nighttime lightning shots as well.

Thanks for your input

Steve

 

[Dan Cook]

In that range I would go with a Canon Rebel XT. IIRC mine cost me around $600 new on eBay last year.

 

[Jayson Prentice]

Just as, if not more important is going to be what type of lens you get with that camera. And for the price range you listed, your best choice is probably going to be one of the 'older' Canon or Nikon DSLR's. This way you can spend ~$400 on the camera body and still have money left to at least purchase one decent wide angle lens.

Sometimes the kit lenses aren't too bad, especially the newer one that Canon has came out with for their XSi. For your price range though, I would suggest the cheap body and one good lens.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

In that range I would go with a Canon Rebel XT. IIRC mine cost me around $600 new on eBay last year.

May as well go higher with the XTi as BHphotovideo.com has it for $540 new right now without the lens. I'm actually pondering this route instead of the XSi. The higher ISO noise performances aren't thrilling me enough to go with the XSi for that much more. Seems like you can only cram so many pixels into the same sized sensor before increasing the noise, and maybe they are fully there with the cropped sensor sizes. Anyway, I'd say that price is the best bang for the buck out there right now in DSLR's. I'd love the upgrade to a couple more mp, bigger lcd, and most importantly, that automatic sensor cleaner(I think anyway).

And if you want to bother with that kit lens, it's $629 with it.

Edit: Then again, maybe the XTi and XSi high iso noise levels are similar. Hmm.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Here is a sample image that I shot last week at ISO 1600 with the XTi. Nothing has been done to the image besides the crop.

 

[D. Hayes]

I've got the Rebel XTi but to be honest I find myself using my Canon A640 more often. I guess what you want to shoot would be the main factor in what camera you need. I shoot mostly lightning sometimes in the middle of the storm with a down pour and mainly at night. I was able to get a Canon waterproof hard case for my A640 for about $130.

Setting up my A640 takes me all of 1 minutes doing this process - custom mode, flash off, manual-infinite focus, ISO 80, and then set f8/15" continuous drive mode. All this while on the tripod and in the waterproof case. Then I aim it at a active area and hit the shutter release and it'll take pictures for about 6 minutes. I normally shoot from my front porch, work, or out spotting with the camera just outside the truck window.

Now there are times I practice with my XTi but I don't have a good waterproof case yet. I do have a few "rain jacket"cases but the lense is still exposed on these. So I'll only use it in dry or light rain conditions. Now for far off shots of approaching storms I will strictly use my XTi. I get a lot better detail and higher contrast plus being able to rapid fire off shots is a big bonus.

My suggestion would be to get a solid point and shoot camera like the A640 with a hard waterproof case.

 

[Chris Allington]

Love my XTi, the settings displayed on the lcd are alot more intuitive than the XT being on that secondary lcd strip right below the view finder.

I like being able to set user defined settings (The wb and sharpness/ contrast, all those other goodies) for different uses in the professional modes (i.e. AV, TV, Manual). So you can quickly change to different combinations that work well in certain conditions.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Anyone have an experiance with a self cleaning dslr? I would be interested in hearing how well a self cleaning system works. I have a Nikon D70 and can only do post processing to remove the dust, and if the reference photo isn't recent forget about.

 

[Jason Boggs]

The Xti is self cleaning. I have had no problems with having to remove dust in post processing. I really didn't guy it for this feature, but I guess it doesn't hurt to have it.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

I thought about trading in the XTi for an XSi this year ... but decided I like it too much, and while the upgrades are tempting, I don't think there are enough of them yet to really warrant a full upgrade. The self cleaning thing is great. I was going crazy on the old 300D removing dust spots. I've probably shot around 4000 frames with the XTi, and so far so good.

 

[Jayson Prentice]

I have never once had a problem with my XTi and dust accumulating on it, maybe it is just that I'm careful when removing/attaching the lens. Either way, it is a nice feature on it and it certainly doesn't hurt anything...

One option that may not be so bad in that price range, what about going with an XTi body, but getting the new kits lens that is featured on the XSi? It would likely be within your range and you would get a much better kit lens than the one that normally comes with the XTi.

 

[Carey Walton]

Just a thought, but you might want to check out RitzCamera. I just noticed that they have a mother's day special on a Nikon D40 with 2 lenses for $549 which seems within your budget and might be a pretty good bang for the buck.

I don't have any experience with the D40 or the lenses, but I'm sure there are plenty of reviews and maybe there's someone on the list that's using one that could comment. I'm sure that Thom Hogan http://www.bythom.com/thom.htm has reviewed these.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

One option that may not be so bad in that price range, what about going with an XTi body, but getting the new kits lens that is featured on the XSi?

Did that for my wife... great combo!

 

[Gordon Spencer]

The new Panasonics are really impressive. My buddy is the buyer for a big Audio Video place in Buffalo and he claims they are the best digital cameras for the moment

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-...as/model.DMC-FX500K_11002_7000000000000005702

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

The new Panasonics are really impressive. My buddy is the buyer for a big Audio Video place in Buffalo and he claims they are the best digital cameras for the moment

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-...as/model.DMC-FX500K_11002_7000000000000005702

I dunno, I don't know your buddy, but I'd submit that they're not -- not by a longshot. The Leica lens is nice, but the sensor and in-camera processing leave a lot to be desired, especially with noise. I mean, it's not terrible for a point and shoot by any means, but you can do better for the money.