dSLR cameras/photography

[loudshirt]

The bottom line is that the T5 is a good camera, the T5i has a few more features that are worth the money if you have it.

That is one of the ones I have been researching. The big draw for me is price. Performance does not suffer too much for the price. I dont really need a swivel touch screen LED. A couple of things draw me to Nikon over Canon, but none are real deal breakers. 24.2 vs 18Mp images and the Nikon wifi adapter. I know I do not have the cash and my wife would divorce me if i went to the level of camera that had built in wifi. For Canon I went to a local camera store and saw the focus for video and just taking video in general was a bit better on the Canon. I am not sure how much video I would ever really take. You never know.


Thanks for all the replies, keep them coming.

 

[71buickfreak]

I grew up using Nikons, but I found a really good deal on my first DSLR, which was a Canon and never looked back. I prefer the Canon interface too. You will never notice the difference between 24.2 and 18mp, not even in print. I used to shoot magazine stories with a 3mp cam, it is the quality of the image, not the size. You just can't blow it up as big. An 18MP pic at full res can be blown up to billboard size, I doubt you will be trying to print one of those!

I have tried the wifi thing, it is really just a big hassle to me. I have an Eyefi card, never use it. Don't get me wrong, it has it's uses, but it shouldn't be a deal breaker. Both of my boys (14 and 10) use Canon DSLRs, they are easy to shoot. They have full auto, but it is a waste of the cam to use it in full auto. My boys are not allowed to use full auto, I suggest you set in manual and never change it. Make yourself use the cam as it should be and your pics will be much better.

Photography is expensive, but the beauty of digital is the film is free!

 

[yukonjack]

Why would anyone need 24mp???

 

[TerryMiller]

Loudshirt,

Either Canon or Nikon will be good cameras. As stated before, a lot depends on what you want to do with your photography. I've told a number of people if all they want is to have a simple camera, a good point and shoot will do fine. As for the lenses, one's choice of lens is really important, but both Canon and Nikon have good to excellent lenses. To really be of help to you, I'd really recommend you give a bit more detail of what you plan to do before making any specific recommendations. I'm not a professional, but I've proven to be willing to spend a lot of money for equipment.

Besides DPReview's forums and such, I also go to Pbase.com when I'm looking at cameras or lenses. They have a link entitled "Cameras" where one can choose a brand name and then the specific model of lens or camera. When looking at a model, you will see thumbnails of photos taken with that model of camera or lens. I've used that numerous times to see the images taken by others with those models. The photographers will range from amateur to professional people, so it is a good way to see what the images from that model will look like.

Most cameras in the Canon and Nikon line may likely be cropped-sensor cameras. When looking at the "standard" of 35mm film as a guide, the cropped sensor (Nikon DX or Canon APS-C) will be a smaller area within the photographs. A full frame camera will be about the same as 35mm, and they may also be a bit better for low light situations. However, full frame cameras will be more expensive. The lenses designed for FX (full frame) cameras will have a higher magnification if used on a cropped sensor camera. If you've seen some of my photos in the Photo Gallery section of the forums, most of those were taken with either my D300 or D700 Nikon cameras.

And, to be honest with you, most, if not all, of those photos were taken by using the cameras in an "automatic" mode. I started using digital back in 2000, and I've not looked back since. If one wants to be artistic, then film is still a good option. And, as mentioned, lenses can be more important than camera bodies when choosing a set-up.

Another source of information for me has been at Ken Rockwell's site. He does a pretty good job of explaining (and showing) what different features do on a camera.

However, be very careful. This can become an expensive hobby. Feel free to ask if you have more questions. There are some good photographers here on OSA.

 

[TerryMiller]

Why would anyone need 24mp???

Only those that might want bigger than poster sized prints would find 24mp an advantage. Both of my Nikons (D300 and D700) are 12mp. But, even with a 24mp camera, if the camera is set for "Basic" or "Normal" to take the pictures, the resolution can still suffer.

 

[71buickfreak]

The first commercial digital camera was actually a backpack that went onto a regular film camera. It was like 1.2mp, and those images are still impressive.