Digital Photography

[hamrlik]

Any amateur/pro photographers out there able to recommend a good digital slr? Looking to get either a Nikon or Canon. I like the price of either the Canon XT or XTi or the Nikon 40d or 40dx, but am wondering if in the long run getting the next step up of those (canon 30d or 40d or Nikon d80 or even the d200) would be a better investment. Majority of the pictures would be outdoor scenery/wildlife and pictures of my daughter and dog.

[Cryptin]

Get the Nikon d40. I bought one recently and it's a wonderful camera for anyone who is starting out new in digital photography. Even tho it only has 6 MP I find that is that is more than enough. Later on I would suggest getting a better lens kit for it.

[BacardySmooth]

Buy a Rebel XT or XTi... Without a doubt. They have the best lens and gear selection and the price is right. Don't worry about "upgrading" to a 30d or 40d etc. You're money is FAR better spent in a good Canon IS lens than in "upgrading" said cameras. Plus, the upgrade doesn't buy you that much more camera anyway. You can take pictures a little bit faster and there are just a couple little odds and ends that are different. Big deal. The only difference I see is that the 40d etc. weigh more than my sexy XT and while I travel around weight is a big deal.

In conclusion, save money but a great lens. Cameras are only as good as their lenses.

Oh and spend the time/money on becoming a better photographer. Buying awesome pecils/paper and laptops will not make you a better author.

[prescient63]

The rebels are nice cameras but make sure they are comfortable in your hand. I went to get a rebel, but ended up with the 30d because the rebel was too small in my hand to really feel comfortable. So just make sure whatever you get is really comfortable to use.

[Tea on tuesday]

Can anyone recommend some photography books to read for someone who has no idea what they're doing? I would like to know as much as I can so start from the basics and work up.

[Candiarie]

I've heard good things about both the rebels and the d60s and d80s. I'm much more comfortable working with film though so my next purchase will probably be an F100 once I play around with them some. I use an old as hell AE-1 now that isn't super but it gets the job done and has some decent lenses.

Re-reading the OP, for what you need to take pictures of the earlier posters' recommendations are probably better - rebels/d30s, I'd probably go rebel. As far as the photography books - I learn the most from going to photo exhibitions and speakers (Nachtwey was here last year and it was off the damn chain) and looking at the work of much much better photographers. To start you off, you can't go wrong with most of the Magnum books that are collections of a bunch of their photographers' work. For technical stuff I mostly learned it in class, but I'm looking at picking up Amazon.com: Basic Photographic Materials and Processes, Second Edition: Books: Leslie Stroebel,John Compton,Ira Current,Richard D. Zakia to fill in some gaps that I missed. Most of the reviews seem to highly recommend that or the hardback version.

[Nark]

nikon d50 all the way, i have been using one for two years now , amazing performance for the price, I dont use the software they provide, i just load photos using windows's photo loader and then organize folders myself on external hardrives (500gig) x3