1st DSLR Purchase
 

I am looking to purchase my first digital slr for outdoor and nature photography. I would like to use longer lenses around the 400mm range. I am comparing the Pentax IST DL; Nikon D70/D50; Canon Rebel XT; Olympus E-Volt 500, & the Nikon D70/D50. All of these are in the price range for me to buy. The Olympus E-Volt 500 seems like a nice piece of kit with two ZUIKOl lenses. Any opinions on my plan, there are alot of digital slr's to choose from but I will use it mainly for birding/wildlife, thanks.

As you will be told any of the above cameras would be a good buy - there are'nt really any bad DSLRs in your list. So it does come down to which one feels best and has the right feature set up for you. The only minus about the Olympus models is the lack of affordable lenses - although Sigma are now producing some - so getting long telephotos for birding is'nt as easy. I am now using a Nikon D50 and previously used a D70 - for general use I would advise the D50 as this leaves more of the budget for lenses. For bird photography I can't say I've noticed any difference between the two cameras - except the D50 is slightly smaller and lighter. If you're talking budget 400mm then I can recommend the Sigma APO 135-400mm. If you've got a bit more to play with then it's probably worth exploring the Canon route as their L series lenses seem to be the favourite of many bird photographers!

I cant add anymore to what Greypoint has already stated. Try to avoid purchasing a Canon this or Nikon that, look at each camera on its merits relative to you and your application. Personally I dont like where the on switch is located on the Canon's. Nikon's rotary switch on the shutter release is much more sensible and faster to locate in a hurry! Image quality will be marginal so feel and feature set become more important in any choice. Choose carefully as you probably live with the brand for the rest of your photographing days due to lens legacy. Lenses far out live any camera body.

Choose carefully :)

I think that you've contradicted yourself a bit there - I'd agree that buying a camera based just on the brand name might not be wise, as the handling of a dslr is very important. However, as you've stated, due to the longevity of lenses this purchase is likely to set all further camera purchases to eth choosen brand.

I think it's important to consider thr big picture when buying a dslr - look at other models by the same manufacturer, thes could be your next camera... look at the cost and availability of branded and third party lenses and accessories. This is what I did when going digital (and it's why I moved away from Minolta) and I decided I'd be happy with Canon or Nikon. The final deciding factor for me was that a friend uses Canon, so by going the same way we can now use eachothers lenses...

When I went digital I got an EOS 300D and have since changed to a 350D - for bird photography the fast wake up time, good shooting rate (3 fps) and big buffer of the 350D have all been great improvements over the 300D. The 350D also performs very well at high ISO, delivering great results upto ISO800 and acceptable ones at ISO1600, this is a huge help in keeping shutter speeds high. The biggest problem I had with the 350D was the handling, though adding a battery grip soon solved this.

My recommendation is to take your time making this decision. Look at all the angles, try them cameras yourself (don't just rely on reviews), and don't be swayed by people like me telling you how great a particular camera is (we almost all love our own kit).

For me, the choice was a simple one.
I already owned a 35mm canon slr, and a 100-400mm lens, so it was far easyer and cheeper for me to get a canon DSLR, than another brand.

Thanks for the great advice. Will the Nikon D50 accept lenses other than nikon.

It will accept third-party brands such as Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, etc. as long as they are supplied in a Nikon mounting. It will not take other camera manufacturer's lenses such as Canon, Pentax, Olympus, or third-party brands in non-Nikon fittings.

Duncan.

Great, thanks. I can get the D50 at a good price so I may go with this purchase.

I just purchased a Nikon D-50 and am VERY happy with it. I was given the Nikor 300mm and the 35-70mm lenses along with an old Nikon SLR film body so I sort of went with Nikon by default. But after just one day of handling it I knew I was a Nikon fan for life!

Sorry, but not taking the time to read everyone else's opinions I'm not sure if this has been said. But, especially considering the recent announcement about Minolta, I would strongly recommend getting only one of the 2 leaders in DSLRs - Canon or Nikon.

Once that is decided, consider your proposed uses of the camera and what lenses you may need. Then look at each brand and see what lenses are offered. Personally, I decided on the Canon 20D with the 100-400mm zoom lens (among others).

Good point about Minolta, thanks Jim.

JTF. what camera did you eventually get, we haven't seen any of your photo's yet in the gallery.

Hmmmmm ..... If I was doing it over again, I'd buy it backwards. In other words, I'd ignore the camera side of things and figure out which lenses I was going to buy over the next few years. You will wind up with vastly more money sunk into lenses than the relatively small amount you'll spend on the camera, and your lenses will last you for a long, long time, where you will probably replace the camera with a newer model before too long.

Work out which lenses you want (think a couple of years ahead) and then buy whichever camera will suit them.

I agree with Tannin, start with the lenses and then buy a body to suit.

Without adopting that approach specifically, I realise thats what I've just done. I sold my Film SLR kit (Contax 139/Tamaron 28-80 & 70-210/Vivitar 400) and have been using a Minolta A2 for just over 12 months. That has been a good camera and packs a lot into one package but I've been wanting improved low light focusing accuracy & speed and reduced noise at higher ISOs so I decided DSLR was the way I'd have to go. I looked at the 18-55mm kit lenses supplided with a number of DSLRs and concluded that while I'm not particularly a wildlfe photographer, a) the zoom range would soon leave me wanting more and b) a number of write ups commented on the image quality not being as high as some of the manufactures other lenses.

Admittedly Nikon offer an 18-70 which gets v good write ups from the quality point of view but I was still looking for greater zoom range. Their new 18-200 VR looks quite an attractive proposition but I wonder what the image quality would be like at the extremes on a 10x zoom. This lead me ineviatably to the Canon 17-85 IS as the ideal main lens (for me) with the option of adding the 70-300 IS when funds permit so that the two lenses give a 35mm equivalent range of 28 - 480.

That then reduced the choice to 350D or 20D and while there is about £250/300 difference with the kit lens, with this lens the difference reduced to ~£150. From what I've read there is v little to choose in terms of image quality and I felt that the 20D handled better with this lens and to me, that, and the (slightly) improved speed/feature set, were worth the extra.

It arrived yesterday and tomorrow evening will be the first opportunity to have a real play. Hope the weather improves before then :D

Hi Gidders

So pleased for you, use your new equipment in good health and may you find fair light and weather.
Had a look over your gallery, which already has some great shots in it, and look forward to seeing the photographs from your new outfit.

Cheers

Brian

Congratulations, Gidders! I bought my 20D two weeks ago and so far I'm delighted. It came with a 18-55 zoom and I added the 70-300 zoom. I would love to have a x2 converter and a macro lens but they won't be in the budget for quite a while I'm afraid.

1st results posted in my gallery here

Still getting to grips with all the controls and options, but I just can get over how fast the camera is and the quality of the 17-85 lens is stunning. :D