Thread: Help with picking out a DSLR camera

The D-80 with lenses might be out of the price range, but I have been using the girlfriends D-80 quite frequently. Easy to learn, for a novice's point of view. The quality is excelent & the results are far better than I have a right to expect. It is amazingly expandable with more options than anyone could ever need.

Originally Posted by Bloodyswimmingpool

wow looks like i have a lot more research to do. It sounds to me the top players are Nikon and Canon. I fall into the hobbyist category. I have always enjoyed being the camera man whenever i could, but just never had my own camera. I've been looking through the ebay stores and they have good package deals on all the cameras that everyone has mentioned. Thanks everyone.

Be very careful purchasing from an ebay store. Several will substitute non nikon or canon lenses, batteries, etc or remove those items from the package entirely in order to appear to have a low price.

I would suggest going through B&H Photo as they have been very easy to deal with. I used them after asking a professional photographer for suggestions on where to purchase online.

Also, I would suggest going to a store and actually putting your hands on any camera you are thinking about. I did that and it is what made me steer away from the Nikon D40/60 as they felt too small in my hands.

Thanks for saying first, Moose. You saved me a lot of typing!

B&H has excellent service and are about the only online outfit I'd consider buying photo gear from online, short of the major chain online outfits (Wolf, etc...) The staff at B&H are super knowledgable. I just bought a 52MM Soft F/X 1 Glass filter for portrait stuff. Before I bought a brand new one at $39.95, the rep found me a 9+ used one for $23.95, shipped! Their used gear dept is second to none. And their catalogs are like when you were a kid and got the Sears Wishbook at Christmas. Yummy!

And Moose... Remind me to have you on my side in a back alley brawl. If your hands make a D60 feel small... :

New to the forums but saw this and thought I should post. I have been using a cannon 50D and I am pretty happy with it. I use Corel's photo paint to touch up all the photos and it is a great combination. If you plan on taking pictures with the flash I suggest a buying a flash attachment as I have found the l one on the camera to be very inadequate.