I would like to buy a new digital SLR. Can you give me some tips on which would be the best to buy?

I currently own a Casio Exilim, which I love because it has no delay in taking the pictures. This is probably the most important factor to me as I have small kids. Second, I would like a camera that I could get some good shots on darker rides and at the fireworks.

So if you had a budget between $500-$1000, which camera WITH lens would you buy? If you have links, that would be way awesome too! Thanks guys!

i have a cannon which i'm in love with, but it's an eos 20d which is slightly above your price range. you might want to consider the digital rebel xt though, which daddyb uses.

the problem with SLR is you're basically marrying into the manufacturer since lenses only work for those particular brands (and not necessarily all models either), so it does pay to research. i know people who are plenty happy with the nikon d50/70/etc

from what i've seen, for automatic shots, the nikons' colors are better, but the canons are much sharper.

you may want to give dpreview.com a look. it generally has in-depth reviews of most cameras on the market, as well as user opinions.

also, you should probably plan on buying an external flash which will make all the difference in the world. you don't have to buy it right away, but it should be a short term goal. expect to pay between $150-$200 or so for a low end.

Thank you SO much for your reply. I am a total newbie in photography, but greatly enjoy it already. I have an old Canon AE-1 SLR that I play around with. I have all the accessories to it, lenses, external flash, etc. Any chance some of that would work on a new DSLR?

Thank you SO much for your reply. I am a total newbie in photography, but greatly enjoy it already. I have an old Canon AE-1 SLR that I play around with. I have all the accessories to it, lenses, external flash, etc. Any chance some of that would work on a new DSLR?

If I am not mistaken, the AE-1 has the old FD lens mount. All of Canon's digital SLRs use the EF lens mount, and the newest ones use the EF lens mount and the EF-S lens mount. So sadly, you would not be able to use the lenses. Not sure about the flash.

I've got the Canon Digital Rebel, and I absolutely love it. It meets all of your requirements, but it's a bit bulky to be carrying around Disneyland all day (but you will have that problem with any SLR).

They don't make my camera anymore, but have replaced it with the much improved (so I'm told) Canon Digital Rebel XT.

And Grundler is right, the Canon Digital SLR's use the EF and EF-S lens mounts.

-Jeff

Ok guys, I just ordered the Canon Rebel XT! I am SO excited! Any pointers??

sorry to tanget, but i WISH they all supported EF-S. I don't know if the 30d does, but when I bought all my equipment, only the 20d did. not even the 5d supports it, which is a bummer. i have a great EF-S WA too.

as far as pointers, i can only tell you what my years of hobbying have taught me:

1) take pictures. never photograph anything just once, especially people. you don't need to be in burst mode, but snap snap. i have so many reasons for this: (1) autofocus may be focused on the wrong thing in one and not another; (2) people blink; (3) chances are your framing will change and i find usually for the better. probably more. i have no problem with taking 1200 photos a day when i'm out in the 'field' and if 200 or so are worth keeping, i'm happy.

2) consider investing in a portable digital storage device. this way you don't need to worry about memory. i personally have 2 2GB CF cards and 1 40 GB external HD that copies directly from the CF.

i could probably offer more, but it's based on specifics. just play with the camera as much as you can. you'll always be learning something.

sorry to tanget, but i WISH they all supported EF-S. I don't know if the 30d does, but when I bought all my equipment, only the 20d did. not even the 5d supports it, which is a bummer. i have a great EF-S WA too.
The cameras that use the EF-S mount are: the Canon EOS 300D (Digital Rebel), 350D (Digital Rebel XT), 20D, 20Da, and 30D digital SLRs. It was a mystery to me when the 5D came out without support for the EF-S lens.

I am still up in the air if I should go for the 5D or the 30D. I have a lot of time on a 20D, so the 30D would be the next camera back in that line. (Don't know why the 30D was not called the 20D mark II, because that is basically what it is). BradK, what are your thoughts between those 2?

Jazzysmom, I totally agree with BradK. Take lots of pictures. I can see wanting to conserve film if you were using a traditional SLR, but memory is cheap and you can always delete. I would recommend the following books to get up to speed:

Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies (Paperback) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764598031/002-5067938-4817646?v=glance&n=283155)
Mastering Digital SLR Photography (Mastering) (Paperback) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592006051/sr=1-4/qid=1154102568/ref=sr_1_4/002-5067938-4817646?ie=UTF8&s=books)

I would usually not recommend a "for dummies" book, but David D. Busch is great. Both of those books were written by David, and there are quite a few more (http://www.amazon.com/s/002-5067938-4817646?ie=UTF8&index=books&rank=-relevance%2C%2Bavailability%2C-daterank&field-author-exact=David%20D.%20Busch) that might be worth checking out.

obviously the 5d is a step up the line.. and in price.

the two big things that turn me off on the 5D are: no EF-S support (which is okay if I use it as an additional body since I can keep the WA on the 20D and use the telephoto/normal lenses on the 5D) and the burst mode is quite a bit slower than the 20D.

unless the 5D is required though, I love the 20D. I'm really not up on all the stats of the 5D or even the 30D, but I can't imagine anyone not being happy with the 20 or 30. i think i'd also feel compelled to purchase L series lenses if I had the 5D.

The cameras that use the EF-S mount are: the Canon EOS 300D (Digital Rebel), 350D (Digital Rebel XT), 20D, 20Da, and 30D digital SLRs. It was a mystery to me when the 5D came out without support for the EF-S lens.The sensors on the cameras that support the EF-S mount are smaller than the 35mm film used by traditional SLRs, which is why there is a multiplier to the focal length when using regular EF lenses with these cameras. The 5D has what they call a full frame sensor that is about the same size as a 35mm frame and should have better picture quality. You can find an explanation here (http://homepages.tig.com.au/~parsog/photo/sensors1.html).

Thanks Mox. That makes sense.

the 1.6 factor applies to all lenses on those cameras though, not just EF-S.

maybe the link explains why EF-S can't work on a 1:1 sensor, but I don't get it. all I know is I would die to see what my 10mm WA does at true 10mm.

the 1.6 factor applies to all lenses on those cameras though, not just EF-S.Correct, my mistake.

maybe the link explains why EF-S can't work on a 1:1 sensor, but I don't get it. all I know is I would die to see what my 10mm WA does at true 10mm.EF-S lenses extend further back into the camera body than EF lenses do. Cameras with a full frame sensor also have a bigger mirror than those with a smaller sensor. That mirror would hit the back of an EF-S lens. I found a better explanation of that here (http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/tutorials/efs-10d.html).

ah.. well, that's a bummer. thanks for replying about it. i'm still glad i bought the lens as it's good as long as i have the 20D, but i was really turned off when the 5d came out because i thought like i bought a new product that was no longer being supported.

and what makes it worse is if i do get another body with a full sensor, i have to buy a bigger telephoto. 300 ain't gonna cut it in africa.

sorry to tanget, but i WISH they all supported EF-S. I don't know if the 30d does, but when I bought all my equipment, only the 20d did. not even the 5d supports it, which is a bummer. i have a great EF-S WA too.

Pure speculation on my part, but I reckon that the EF-S line is driven more towards the amateur consumer rather than to the semi-pro consumer photographer. Note that many of the high-quality expensive lenses are EF ones--especially ones w/ the "L" glass. As you pointed out, the one big negative with choosing to purchase/own an EF-S lens is that it'll only work on Canon digital SLR bodies w/ EF-S mounts (I don't think that there are any Canon non-digital SLRs that accept EF-S lenses, are there?); at least with an EF lens you can use it on any Canon SLR that accepts EF and/or EF-S lenses. Perhaps not a big hinderence for many Canon digital SLR consumers, but if for whatever reason you decide to sell your EF-S lens...your market is pretty much limited to those who own Canon digital SLRs that accept EF-S lenses.

jazzysmom--I'm sure you know that there is a much-steeper learning curve if you want to use a digital SLR to its full advantage; otherwise you'd be better off just buying a full-featured point-and-shoot digital camera. To put it another way--a digital SLR won't necessarily produce much better pictures than those taken with your typical consumer digital camera unless you know how to use all of its' features.

jazzysmom--I'm sure you know that there is a much-steeper learning curve if you want to use a digital SLR to its full advantage; otherwise you'd be better off just buying a full-featured point-and-shoot digital camera. To put it another way--a digital SLR won't necessarily produce much better pictures than those taken with your typical consumer digital camera unless you know how to use all of its' features.

Yes, I definitely want to learn all it is capable of. I have a point and shoot which I really like, but am wanting to progress past that. I purchased one of the books recommended by a poster above and plan to read it in great detail when it arrives. What other things would you suggest that would help me learn to use my new camera (which should be here this morning!:D ) Thanks!

I don't think that there are any Canon non-digital SLRs that accept EF-S lenses, are there?

Nope, and there won't be unless they start using smaller film, which is very very unlikely. After Mox and BradK posted above, I did a little research. Canon should continue to release EF-S lenses for a long time to come, but only the digital SLRs that do not have a full-size mirror will be able to use them. In other words, all of the professional digital SLRs from canon will not be able to use them, such as the EOS 1D, 5D, etc. All of the digital SLRs that fit into Canon's "Prosumer" (High-end consumer as opposed to professional) should continue to support the EF-S line, EOS 300D (Digital Rebel), 350D (Digital Rebel XT), 20D, and 30D.

To put it another way--a digital SLR won't necessarily produce much better pictures than those taken with your typical consumer digital camera unless you know how to use all of its' features.

I don't think I would go that far. If you learn the basics, you can produce some really nice photos. These newer SLRs have so many features, I don't think it is necessary to know them all to produce great pictures. The more you know, the more tools you have to work with, but all are not necessary. The point is that you do have to learn and you do need to do the work. If you expect it to take nice pictures out of the box without having to do much work, then this is not for you.

Jazzysmom, as for what else you can do, see if your local community college has a photography class. Also check your community library or arts and rec center as many of them also have photography classes.

you know, it's an abacus vs a calculator vs a computer.

the computer certainly facilitates the mathematics, but it's still limited. not nearly as limited as the calculator or abacus, but none are entirely self-reliant.

as far as the L series EF vs EF-S lenses, it's not a fair comparison. the L series existed long before EF-S did and even as L series exists, so do lesser counterparts. I have 3 lenses, none of them are L because even though my lenses all cost $500-$700 each, I couldn't justify an L which is $1200 or so minimum. it's just a different tier. all of those crappy $700 EF lenses will still work on a pro-level body, but (as I think I mentioned) you probably wouldn't want to. and you could put an L series lens on a prosumer body and reap the benefits.

I was just put off by the fact that they created a new 'standard' and opted not to support it when the 5D was released, but if it's for technical reasons, so be it. it just seems weird to release 10mm WA when you know the best you can get out of it in the real world is 16mm.

I still think I'd opt for the 20/30D over the 5D.

I still think I'd opt for the 20/30D over the 5D.

Yeah, that is what I am thinking. However, there are very strong indications that Canon will be releasing new product on 8/24/2006. I have no idea what it will be, but I think I will hold off until then just to see. The 30D came out in Feb, so it is way to early for the next step down that line. The 5D debuted a year ago, and it is probably a little early for the replacement for that as well (I'm guessing Feb 2007). The time seems about right for Canon to give us the next camera in the Rebel/Rebel XT line.

I don't think I would go that far. If you learn the basics, you can produce some really nice photos. These newer SLRs have so many features, I don't think it is necessary to know them all to produce great pictures. The more you know, the more tools you have to work with, but all are not necessary. The point is that you do have to learn and you do need to do the work. If you expect it to take nice pictures out of the box without having to do much work, then this is not for you.
True; I guess what I should have stated was that in general, one can produce relatively better-looking pictures w/ a digital SLR vs. digital P&S, but in order to produce incredibly-stunning pictures that a DSLR can offer, one really needs to learn how to properly use all the additional features that come w/ a DSLR.

...I couldn't justify an L which is $1200 or so minimum.
Just picking nits, but not all L lenses are minimum $1200...unless you were referring to a particular L lens you would like to get that costs at least $1200 (which in that case, I'm in the same boat w/ you on that!); I have a lower-end EF 70-200mm f4/L USM Telephoto Zoom lens that IIRC I paid around $700 for. ;)

I got my camera & my dummies guide you guys recommended and I am weeding my way through everything. I shot the most awesome picture of a dragonfly!!! Anyway...I would like to get a zoom lens, but need help with that. Will this one work? http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=A0670090&cs=04&c=us&l=en

Is it a good one, and if this is not what I need, please advise what I should buy & links are always appreciated. Thanks again!

It is a good lens, and considering the price, it is a great lens. That lens will work fine with your rebel XT. I have not used it myself, but a friend of mine has. I just gave him a call and he says it is a little soft toward the end of the range (>250). He said that if you want to stay with Canon lenses, this is a good one to start with. He also suggested this lens which he likes a little better, and it is a little cheaper:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A0540511

I would be careful of the Canon 75-300mm. It's gotten poor reviews on many photo forums, although the price listed is great. Perhpas you could try it out and then return it if it doens't meet expectations.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com is another great place to look for lenses, and their prices are usually better than Dell's. They also have a faster ship time on most lenses, it appears.

I can't comment on the particular Sigma lens recommended above; but, again, for the price - it's a great lens. If you want to spend a little more and get the same range as the 75-300, go for the Canon 70-300 with Image Stabilization, as seen here (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=397663&is=USA&addedTroughType=search). (The non-DO verson. The DO version is twice as expensive.) This lens gets fairly good reviews for image quality and I've been pleased with mine.

Dirk