Digital SLR Camera recs please...

Basebalbride

Hi everyone...I only have a point and shoot camera and I am looking into buying a digital SLR camera soon. I want to stay around $600 use this for family pictures, and I am also an event planner so take pictures of the events I coordinate..

any rants or raves on the Nikon D60 or Cannon EOS XS?? TIA!

weemz

This is a nice list.

Brands are often a personal preference.  You should go to the store and hold the Nikon and the Canon and pick which feels better in your hand.  The quality is comparable.

Basebalbride

Great list thank you! I'm going to try to drag DH out this week to check a few out!

katydid17

I have an Olympus dSLR and LOVE it.  My best advice though, don't invest too much in the camera body, save your money for the lenses you want and put your $$ toward good glass. Both Nikon and Canon make fabulous lenses, so I don't think you can go wrong with either that you mentioned. :-)  Consumer Reports also put out a good comparison earlier this summer...

ericandmarie

I have the Canon XS (but I'm bias and only buy Canons) and I love it. It's extremely easy to use and figure out, being my first DSLR that was a big deal to me. I thinks it's wonderful for beginners.

  from me.

RhymesWithOrange

I have the Nikon D40 and love it. The D60 was too big of a jump in price without being really worth it IMO.

Mrs.DW_instead

I got a Nikon D40 two years ago and I LOVE it. You can't go wrong with either of those cameras. I would definitely recommend going into a store and holding both and take a few pictures. When I was getting mine, I was down to the D40 or a Canon, they both were very similar on stats, but when I held the cameras, the Nikon just felt better in my hand.

joelen&louis

I recently purchased a Nikon D60 and love it for what I use it for (food photography.) Do you know any professional photogs? That is what finally swayed me with Nikon because my good friends are both prof photogs who use Nikons and could help me if I needed it.

I played with both Canon and Nikon as well as did my research:

Nikon was more ergomonic for me and I felt I could work the settings well with how everything was placed on the body.

Nikon lenses are interchangable on most if not all lens mount and they seem to have a bigger range of lenses that fit all budgets, even many less than $100

Nikon was easier to handle for shots - not a lot of finessing and the trigger pressure is great!

Canons seem like more work for me to set and capture the shots... possibly because they didn't feel as comfortable to handle in my hands as the Nikons.

Canon lenses aren't always interchangeable like the Nikons.

I really wanted to get a Canon because my other photog friend who works primarily with Canon had some lenses and a speedlight he would give me... but I eventually went with Nikon even though I had to purchase everything.

In the end you will have to decide which camera feels the best in your hand and is easiest for you to navigate the cameras menu. The pics you take have much more to do with your skills not the hardware you have to work with. There's no point getting a really good camera if you don't know how to use it appropriately. Research based on what you plan on using your camera for and test out a few cameras before you make a purchase. Don't be afraid to ask questions too - the more you ask, the more info you gain to help with your decision. Good luck!

something_clever

I have the XSi which I absolutely love.  It's $620 or so at Amazon right now.  There are newer versions out, namely the T1i, which shoots high definition video.  If you're looking for just an entry level DSLR though, they all have the same basic features that allow you to control your shots.  Also, I highly recommend getting the book Understanding Exposure (link below).  I wouldn't have been able to capture half of the shots I did when the wife and I were in Europe.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Updated/dp/0817463003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253143371&sr=8-1

MicheleLouise

zoegirlTX:

Ditto the PPs.  I'm not sure what you can get with that budget.  Not to be snarky, but do you know how to use the manual controls and get your $$'s worth out of a dSLR?  For $600 you might only be able to get a kit lens. Check out Nikon & Canon, but understand you will need to added lenses in the future- zoom and a wide angle at least.

 I agree with this.  You will get a lot more out of the camera when you learn how to use it off auto and when you upgrade beyond the kit lens.  

Keep in mind that the lowest end Nikons (like the D40) do not have autofocus in the body, which means you have to pay for it in each lens, which means all your future lens purchases for that camera (assuming you want to autofocus) will cost extra.  And trust me that you can easily spend FAR more on lenses than on camera bodies.  I would consider expanding your budget just a little if you decide to go with Nikon and consider something like the d90.  

Personally I have always shot canon, and I am very happy with my camera, I had a rebel XT when I started.  

anglyn

I have a Nikon d5000. I like it. All of my friends have Nikon D40s and they love them.

joelen&louis

MicheleLouise:

zoegirlTX:

Ditto the PPs.  I'm not sure what you can get with that budget.  Not to be snarky, but do you know how to use the manual controls and get your $$'s worth out of a dSLR?  For $600 you might only be able to get a kit lens. Check out Nikon & Canon, but understand you will need to added lenses in the future- zoom and a wide angle at least.

Keep in mind that the lowest end Nikons (like the D40) do not have autofocus in the body, which means you have to pay for it in each lens, which means all your future lens purchases for that camera (assuming you want to autofocus) will cost extra.  And trust me that you can easily spend FAR more on lenses than on camera bodies.  I would consider expanding your budget just a little if you decide to go with Nikon and consider something like the d90.  

FWIW, I spent $550 on a brand new Nikon D60 less than 3 weeks ago and it was for both a body and 18-55mm lens which has an autofocus, along with 11 other settings. Since Nikon has released the new D5000 line, I think they stopped producing the Nikon D60 so you can find it priced low so they can slowly phase out. In fact, I purchased mine from Best Buy and it was lower than prices I found online. Note, because it may be phasing out, it doesnt mean the quality is any less... just new models with extra features are now on their product line they'd like to promote.

MicheleLouise

FWIW, I spent $550 on a brand new Nikon D60 less than 3 weeks ago and it was for both a body and 18-55mm lens which has an autofocus, along with 11 other settings. Since Nikon has released the new D5000 line, I think they stopped producing the Nikon D60 so you can find it priced low so they can slowly phase out. In fact, I purchased mine from Best Buy and it was lower than prices I found online. Note, because it may be phasing out, it doesnt mean the quality is any less... just new models with extra features are now on their product line they'd like to promote.

Those models do autofocus, however the motor for it is in the LENS not the body, most cameras have it in the body.  Which means if you want to always be able to autofocus you have to buy the lenses that have the motor in them.  There are more of those than their used to be, but they cost more that the equivalent without the motor and the higher end lenses do not (because the higher end cameras have the motor built into the body).  My point being you maybe be saving up front but you will pay for it on the back end with future lens purchases. 

joelen&louis

MicheleLouise:

FWIW, I spent $550 on a brand new Nikon D60 less than 3 weeks ago and it was for both a body and 18-55mm lens which has an autofocus, along with 11 other settings. Since Nikon has released the new D5000 line, I think they stopped producing the Nikon D60 so you can find it priced low so they can slowly phase out. In fact, I purchased mine from Best Buy and it was lower than prices I found online. Note, because it may be phasing out, it doesnt mean the quality is any less... just new models with extra features are now on their product line they'd like to promote.

Those models do autofocus, however the motor for it is in the LENS not the body, most cameras have it in the body.  Which means if you want to always be able to autofocus you have to buy the lenses that have the motor in them.  There are more of those than their used to be, but they cost more that the equivalent without the motor and the higher end lenses do not (because the higher end cameras have the motor built into the body).  My point being you maybe be saving up front but you will pay for it on the back end with future lens purchases. 

Ah, gotcha. I guess it really depends on what the original poster plans on using the camera for and to what extent she'd like to get into digital photography. Thanks for the info! I don't plan on getting any other lenses anytime soon but it's good to know for future reference!

katydid17

MicheleLouise:

Those models do autofocus, however the motor for it is in the LENS not the body, most cameras have it in the body.  Which means if you want to always be able to autofocus you have to buy the lenses that have the motor in them.  There are more of those than their used to be, but they cost more that the equivalent without the motor and the higher end lenses do not (because the higher end cameras have the motor built into the body).  My point being you maybe be saving up front but you will pay for it on the back end with future lens purchases. 

FWIW, the same goes for image stabilization.  Some cameras have it built into the body, some have it in the lens - the lenses with that feature are way pricier than those that don't... that's part of the reason I went with my Olympus, the auto focus and image stabilization are in the body. :-)  IS makes a huge difference in your image quality when you're shooting in low light situations and need a longer shutter speed, etc.