Help me choose a DSLR

Alright so, as some know I am in to photography now and only have a P&S. I want to take it to the next level so I decided to get a new camera. I was going to go with an SLR-Like, like the Fujifilm S2100HD. The more I have looked at DSLR, the more I realize that if I'm going to get a camera I minds well get a good one the first time. My price is about $550, it's going to be after christmas before I can get it probably around tax time(I spent all my money on Christmas gifts for family/friends ) I'll list the ones I am interested in and you list you're opinions on them or suggest something else.

1. The Pentax K2000 - I can get it for $485 and it comes with an external flash. I could probably get this one next week sense I could make payments on it. I was also wondering how this one does on macro shots.

2. Canon EOS Rebel XS - Will cost me about $480, it has live view which would be nice considering I am used to live view, because it's all my P&S has.

3. Sony A230 or A330 - $460(A230) and $550(A330). I don't know anything about either one, and was wonder how they stack up to others on my list, and what is the difference between the A230/A330.

4. Nikon D40 - Cost me about $470. I have had this camera before but the sensor messed up and I sold it on craigs list. I didn't care a thing in the world about photography then so I basically have no knowledge of what this camera can really do.

5. Nikon D3000 - I can get it for about $550(maybe less), I haven't done to much research on it, but from what I do know it's one of the best entry level DSLR's.

So there they are. I don't need it to be the best, but I want something that is going to be a good beginner camera, and allow me to add on to it for a couple of years. Right now I really like the K2000 but it seems to lack a lot of features. The Rebel XS is really appealing because of the live view, but I don't want to make my decision on just that. I'm sure I can get used to a viewfinder.

Any help is really appreciated, I'm starting to get a headache thinking about this.


Edit: I also wanted to add the Pentax K-x, it seems like a really good camera. I can get the white on for about $600 which is a little more then I wanted but seems almost worth it.

Thought I would give this a bump before I go to bed. Although it seems like I have already made my decision.

The more I look at the K2000, the more I like it. It seems to be the perfect camera for me as a beginner. It seems like it has all that I need plus more. Also there is a good variety of lens for it, and they are super cheap and get good reviews.

i suggest either the canon or nikon. i have the XS and it's a great for newbies to DSLR's. it's pretty light as well. forget the sony's, they have image noise issues says my cousin who's a professional photographer.

jnskyliner34 said:

i suggest either the canon or nikon. i have the XS and it's a great for newbies to DSLR's. it's pretty light as well. forget the sony's, they have image noise issues says my cousin who's a professional photographer.

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Yea, I think I'm going to go with the XS. I don't think I am going to get anything better for the price. I was liking the K2000 but then I seen that the image quality was some of the worst in it's price range. Although the quality was good for $5 more I can get the XS and better quality.

I just got my Canon EOS 1000d, was having a hard time choosing between the Nikon D3000 and it, but in the end went with the Canon due to the Live View, the fact that it fits really nicely in my hands and that I got it really cheap at about 35% off.

So I went to Wolf Cameras(local camera place) today and tested all of these(expect D40). The ones I like the most is the K2000 and D3000. The sony's were terrible, I felt like they would break in my hand. For some reason I didn't like the fell of the XS(1000D) I almost dropped it a couple of times(glade I didn't) because it didn't fit my hand right.

I tested a camera out that I had not bothered to check out, which is the Olympus E-420. I have to say I am really surprised by this camera. It solid and fells perfect in my hands. It is small and light weight but has the fell of a quality more expensive DSLR. The pictures it take's are a little soft, but not that bad( http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse420/page31.asp ). It's also priced about $100 lower then the others. The only thing I am worried about is there is a limited number of lenses for it and the ones that are available seem to be priced high compared to it's Pentax, Nikon, and Canon counter parts. I really like the camera but I'm not sure it would be a good camera future wise because of the limited number of lens and flashes. Also there is the really big thing I didn't like about it which is it does not use SD/SDHC memory cards which really turned me off.

I thought the trip to the camera store would help me out but it just confused me more. I like the K2000, but it lacks in the image quality. The D3000 was nice but I didn't like the menus all that great. The XS(1000D) took really sharp photos, but didn't fell right in my hand. The Sony well lets just not go down that road. The the E-420 which for the price proved to be a comfortable, easy to navigate, well rounded camera. Although the non support of SD/SDHC cards, and the limited number of lens really made me think twice about it.

Well, you know my views about the K-x

I've not had much exposure with the Olympus. Hoenstly I stay away from them, at least their P&S cameras. Perhaps their dSLRs are much better, but I've always found their smaller cameras to be lower quality than similar priced/spec'ed camera. I guess that review kinda hammers that down though, eh?

Nikon's are nice, and tend to have very cheap lenses in comparison to other brands. And yeah, the Nikon's menu's can be confusing (well, thinking about my D40) but it's not so bad once you get used to it.

I wish the Pentax K-x wasn't so difficult to find. I'm actually quite pleased with it. I was afraid I wouldn't like the feel of it, but it's got a really nice grip on it and the weight is right around that of the D40. Hehe... I guess if you REALLY wanted to, you could always try mine

The_Other_One said:

Well, you know my views about the K-x

I've not had much exposure with the Olympus. Hoenstly I stay away from them, at least their P&S cameras. Perhaps their dSLRs are much better, but I've always found their smaller cameras to be lower quality than similar priced/spec'ed camera. I guess that review kinda hammers that down though, eh?

Nikon's are nice, and tend to have very cheap lenses in comparison to other brands. And yeah, the Nikon's menu's can be confusing (well, thinking about my D40) but it's not so bad once you get used to it.

I wish the Pentax K-x wasn't so difficult to find. I'm actually quite pleased with it. I was afraid I wouldn't like the feel of it, but it's got a really nice grip on it and the weight is right around that of the D40. Hehe... I guess if you REALLY wanted to, you could always try mine

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I agree the Olympus P&S are awful. My sister has one and it is just terrible. My cell phone camera takes better pictures. Although from the reviews I have been reading there DSLR cameras seem to be highly liked. Especially the
E-420 and E-620. Like I said though they are not that big in the market and I will be limited to lenses.

So far the K2000 is at the top of my list. Even though the JPEG quality lacks a little then others. It's such a good looking camera, and has a very nice menu layout.

The K-x is just awesome, the camera place I went to carries the black and white one, but was out of stock(they even sold the display model). If I have the money for the K-x then I wont even think twice about getting it. IMO I think the K-x is the sexiest camera I have ever seen.

If you was to let me try yours out I really don't think you would be getting it back

take this for what its worth:
your buying an entry level camera and reading reviews from other people who have done the same. The problem with that is they have also upgraded from a p&s, so their reviews on any brand or model dslr are going to be good. because in comparison its a good upgrade. But that doesnt mean that they have any clue as to what the standard should be when comparing with dslr's.

Unfortunately I dont know much about other brands outside of canon and a bit about nikon since if you own a canon you compare it to a nikon and visa versa. So here goes...its seems that with canon you dont get to many pro type features in any other bodies except the pro bodies ( with the exception of the Canon 7d). Nikon tends to give you more value in the lower end bodies. However canon makes a bunch of very good lenses with the biggest selection of primes and is cheaper than nikons. Nikon makes very good lenses but dont have as many primes and there high end lenses are more expensive than canons. People are always debating which is better. The one thing that does stand out is canon has more primes...and maybe that is useful to you but not to someone else.

So in summary eithor nikon or canon will give you a very good camera... but just buying the camera is really just the start. Your lenses will be costing you many times more than what your camera will. And the lenses you will rarely if ever upgrade, unlike cameras which are upgraded by the company alot more frequently.

I would prob look very hard at what nikon is offering.

elitejp said:

take this for what its worth:
your buying an entry level camera and reading reviews from other people who have done the same. The problem with that is they have also upgraded from a p&s, so their reviews on any brand or model dslr are going to be good. because in comparison its a good upgrade. But that doesnt mean that they have any clue as to what the standard should be when comparing with dslr's.

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I would tend to agree.
It's true that in comparison to a P&S any DLSR will for the most part look great.
However from my findings Pentax & Olympus offer a much better package at the base level then any other brand. It was true back in the K10D/ XTI/ D80 days and it still looks to be the same now. I haven't had the chance to get out and try many of the new Pentax cameras (nor Oly), though from what I've read they are not slouches. Seems like Too & Ramomar like theirs, plus others, myself included.

I haven't read much about the K2000/ KM having IQ issues, but back in the K10D days there was a lot of talk about. If it's the same issue that people are talking about, here's what it's about.
Pentax, unlike Canon for example keep their JPG's petty much "default" in the sense of saturation & contrast. Where on the other hand Canon would boost those and therefore the default JPG image had this nice POP to it. So Pentax tried to keep there images as natural as possible (which is one thing Pentax is known for) and therefore it looked lacking in comparison to Canon & the others, when in hind site it just wasn't "edited". Now if you wanted you could just tweak those settings in the camera and get the essentially the same output as Canon. However all of this is a mute point anyways, since what they really should be comparing is RAW files, since that is where you would get an honest representation.
So in short hand, just throw away the Pentax IQ issues.

Also, all my shots were taking with the K10D & if you like those, the K2000 & KM have better IQ to boot. So I think you're safe.

So basically you'll enjoy most any DLSR out there. What's important is to just get a camera that YOU enjoy, since you're the one using it. Don't mind what you read in forums about IQ issues and all that, since in reality you're not going to notice it in real world shooting.

Bob

vroom_skies said:

I would tend to agree.
It's true that in comparison to a P&S any DLSR will for the most part look great.
However from my findings Pentax & Olympus offer a much better package at the base level then any other brand. It was true back in the K10D/ XTI/ D80 days and it still looks to be the same now. I haven't had the chance to get out and try many of the new Pentax cameras (nor Oly), though from what I've read they are not slouches. Seems like Too & Ramomar like theirs, plus others, myself included.

I haven't read much about the K2000/ KM having IQ issues, but back in the K10D days there was a lot of talk about. If it's the same issue that people are talking about, here's what it's about.
Pentax, unlike Canon for example keep their JPG's petty much "default" in the sense of saturation & contrast. Where on the other hand Canon would boost those and therefore the default JPG image had this nice POP to it. So Pentax tried to keep there images as natural as possible (which is one thing Pentax is known for) and therefore it looked lacking in comparison to Canon & the others, when in hind site it just wasn't "edited". Now if you wanted you could just tweak those settings in the camera and get the essentially the same output as Canon. However all of this is a mute point anyways, since what they really should be comparing is RAW files, since that is where you would get an honest representation.
So in short hand, just throw away the Pentax IQ issues.

Also, all my shots were taking with the K10D & if you like those, the K2000 & KM have better IQ to boot. So I think you're safe.

So basically you'll enjoy most any DLSR out there. What's important is to just get a camera that YOU enjoy, since you're the one using it. Don't mind what you read in forums about IQ issues and all that, since in reality you're not going to notice it in real world shooting.

Bob

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This is exactly what I have been wanting to hear. I agree no mater which DSLR I get I'm going to be happy with it. I'm just going to go with my gut feeling and get the one that I feel most comfortable using.

Oh and most of the stuff I have read about the K2000(k-m) IQ mostly says Default JPEGs are too contrasty and poorly sharpened. Which sounds like what you was explaining to me.

Thanks for you're help and if anybody has anything to add please do.

My girlfriend has an Olympus....eh, I forget the model but it's one of those waterproof/indestructible ones. While it's a nicely built camera, the quality is certainly not there... I know their dSLRs look nice but if their quality doesn't hold up...eh And I don't know about their lenses, but apparently the Pentax can take pretty much any lens ever made (for Pentax cameras)

I've not looked into the K2000 that much. I will say I think the quality of the K-x is a little below some of the similar cameras, espcially when it comes to higher ISO images, but typically it's pretty equal. Though I'm not sure how similar the sensor is to the K2000.

So you actually found the K-x for sale? I guess I didn't look REALLY hard, but no places seemed to carry Pentax stuff.

Hmm... I was going to offer to let you see it if you wanted to meet up somewhere local-ish...but I'm a little weary now

I'd go for the Nikon, overall a really solid camera. :good:

The_Other_One said:

My girlfriend has an Olympus....eh, I forget the model but it's one of those waterproof/indestructible ones. While it's a nicely built camera, the quality is certainly not there... I know their dSLRs look nice but if their quality doesn't hold up...eh And I don't know about their lenses, but apparently the Pentax can take pretty much any lens ever made (for Pentax cameras)

I've not looked into the K2000 that much. I will say I think the quality of the K-x is a little below some of the similar cameras, espcially when it comes to higher ISO images, but typically it's pretty equal. Though I'm not sure how similar the sensor is to the K2000.

So you actually found the K-x for sale? I guess I didn't look REALLY hard, but no places seemed to carry Pentax stuff.

Hmm... I was going to offer to let you see it if you wanted to meet up somewhere local-ish...but I'm a little weary now

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The E-420 I tested had pretty good build quality, it felt about the same as the XS(1000D) but it was a lot smaller and lighter. Honestly if Olympus had a better variety of lens I would most likely go with the E420.

Yea from what I have read Pentax newer cameras are pretty much backwards compatible with just about every Pentax lens.

The K2000 looks to have a little more noise then it's competitors. Though the reviews so this is at the default settings. You can see the difference here http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxk2000/page17.asp.

The place I went to is called Wolf Cameras. They are at Carolina Mall in concord. They are overpriced most of there stuff was about $50-$100 more the what I can get it online. They said they just started carrying Pentax and the only ones they had was the K2000 and K-x. I don't think I will be going back there. They weren't all that friendly, probably because I spent an hour in the store and didn't buy anything

If you don't mind you can just drop you're K-x off over here for a couple of days. I will take good care of it for ya. Also if you ever need a baby sitter for it while you are away I will be happy to watch over it for ya Although when you come back for it I don't think you will find me anywhere around

Respital said:

I'd go for the Nikon, overall a really solid camera. :good:

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They are all solid cameras(not including the sony) which makes it even harder for me to find one I like.

We have a Ritz Camera in Hanes mall (all run by the same company) and I don't think they had the K-x there... But then again, I didn't head over there very recently. But yeah, most of their stuff is overpriced. Fun to browse though.

You know, I wouldn't say the Pentax is all that bad in the link you posted. While it may be noisy, it seems to capture much more depth and detail than the others. I'd be half tempted to suggest disabling NR and clearing it up with some post processing. I did something similar in the Nikon (well sharpened).

HAH... If I were to let you use my camera, I probably wouldn't let go of the strap ... OK, maybe I would, but I am extremely meticulous about my stuff.

Hmmm... And it's a bit late now, but did you not see my post regarding the D40? Another one of my friends is buying it, but I did have it posted on the for sale section; the body and 3 lenses. Though if you get a Nikon, I still have the flash

I tested my D3000 today. All I have to say is !!!!!. I'm still learning the UI on it, which IMO gets some getting used to. But so far I love it. It takes amazing pictures - I might post some up later when I get the chance. I was surprise to see the difference from a DSLR-Like and a real one. It's a good solid camera.
As for the D5000, it has a few more features to it (CMOS sensor, swivel screen, 12mp, live view, HD 720p movie mode) but you have have to decide yourself if it's worth the extra... $160 to get it

The_Other_One said:

We have a Ritz Camera in Hanes mall (all run by the same company) and I don't think they had the K-x there... But then again, I didn't head over there very recently. But yeah, most of their stuff is overpriced. Fun to browse though.

You know, I wouldn't say the Pentax is all that bad in the link you posted. While it may be noisy, it seems to capture much more depth and detail than the others. I'd be half tempted to suggest disabling NR and clearing it up with some post processing. I did something similar in the Nikon (well sharpened).

HAH... If I were to let you use my camera, I probably wouldn't let go of the strap ... OK, maybe I would, but I am extremely meticulous about my stuff.

Hmmm... And it's a bit late now, but did you not see my post regarding the D40? Another one of my friends is buying it, but I did have it posted on the for sale section; the body and 3 lenses. Though if you get a Nikon, I still have the flash

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Yea I think I have been to Ritz before, I didn't know they were owned by the same company.

Yea the K2000 is a pretty good buy. I think the thing I like most about Pentax is that there are a lot of cheap lens available. Which is appealing sense I don't want to spend $200 lens then end up not even sticking with photography(which I don't think will happen).

Yea I remember seeing you're D40 thread but then I wasn't in the market for a SLR so I just ignored it. I had a D40 for over 2 years and it was an awesome camera. My dad had gave it to me after he got something better, I can't remember what he replaced it with(he has a D90 now, azzhole) I used to only shoot on auto mode with it, because then I didn't really know what I had sense I didn't really care about photography. It finally gave out I'm pretty sure the sensor messed up. It's the only thing I could figure, which would make since because it was never taken care of like it should have been.

aviation_man said:

I tested my D3000 today. All I have to say is !!!!!. I'm still learning the UI on it, which IMO gets some getting used to. But so far I love it. It takes amazing pictures - I might post some up later when I get the chance. I was surprise to see the difference from a DSLR-Like and a real one. It's a good solid camera.
As for the D5000, it has a few more features to it (CMOS sensor, swivel screen, 12mp, live view, HD 720p movie mode) but you have have to decide yourself if it's worth the extra... $160 to get it

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So you like the D3000 eh? I have played around with it a couple of times and the menu is a little hard to navigate.

I just got back from walmart were I played around with the E-420 and I have to say it still amazes me. Although I don't think I will get it because of the lack of lenses. I wanted to play around with the XS(1000D) but the battery was dead but I did get a nice fell for it after holding it for a little.

Also played around with the Fujifilm S1500 which is an SLR-Like. I really like it and it seems like a good back up camera. Which is why I'm going to buy it probably Monday. I am getting the S2100HD which has a better zoom and extra features. I am still getting an SLR around tax time. I just have to get something to hold me until then. I thought I would be able to hold off with my current P&S until then but I have missed so many good shots because it want focus, or because the manual setting doesn't let me control exposure.

Fatback said:

So you like the D3000 eh? I have played around with it a couple of times and the menu is a little hard to navigate.

I just got back from walmart were I played around with the E-420 and I have to say it still amazes me. Although I don't think I will get it because of the lack of lenses. I wanted to play around with the XS(1000D) but the battery was dead but I did get a nice fell for it after holding it for a little.

Also played around with the Fujifilm S1500 which is an SLR-Like. I really like it and it seems like a good back up camera. Which is why I'm going to buy it probably Monday. I am getting the S2100HD which has a better zoom and extra features. I am still getting an SLR around tax time. I just have to get something to hold me until then. I thought I would be able to hold off with my current P&S until then but I have missed so many good shots because it want focus, or because the manual setting doesn't let me control exposure.

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Yes. I agree the menu is hard to navigate. It will definitely take some getting used to. But like said above I think you'd be satisfied with any camera lol. I mean it's not like they will sell a camera that will break down in a day. Get Heather to pick it out for you

I'm pretty sure they are all the same company... Them and about 5 other companies just share the same name Kind of like CompUSA, TigerDirect, Circuit City....

hehe, you know, I was looking around and found a 70-300mm lens for a Pentax for $3. It was used and kind of roughed up, but yeah And then I'm getting a flash and a nicer Sigma lens 70-300mm lens for mine for a total of around $200.

Hmm... You wouldn't happen to still have that Nikon, would you Hehe, but I hate it gave out. They are really wonderful starter cameras. You're a bit limited with your lenses (well...if you want auto focus) but I've always been complemented on the photos from mine. I hope this Pentax will hold up to the same standards...

Something to consider when buying a DSLR is the cost of lenses, which in the long run will be much higher than the price of the camera. Most Pentax DSLR's (from the K100D and up) have both image stabilization and autofocus in-body, this means that most lenses you use (except older manual ones) will autofocus and reduce handshake. Other brands require you to buy lenses with these features which can be more expensive. For example, the Canon XS doesn't have either AF or IS built in the body, so you would have to buy an AF IS lens for it (don't really know if that's the name Canon gives them lol)