Posted: 3/16/2008 10:12:19 PM EDT
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I've been looking at DSLR's for a while now and to be honest I'm lost. I want something that will take good quality pictures and not be obsolete (higher resolution available for less money) within a year like my digital point and shoot was. A friend has the Olympus model and it seems to be a very nice camera. I'm looking at 4 models. The Sony isn't one I'm interested in much, but I thought it might be wise to include it in case I was overlooking something about it. Which is the smartest buy? A. Olympus E510 B. Rebel XTi C. Sony D. Nikon D40 The Nikon is 6.1 MP while the others are 10.0 or better. Thanks in advance for the advice everyone. |
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here's the order in which I would buy them: canon nikon sony olympus a coworker has the olympus, and he gets some nice shots with it, but there aren't as many different options for lenses with it. i've also had some bad olympus experiences which put that at the bottm of the list for me. |
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For someone looking to get started without the advantage of old lenses, go Nikon or Canon. There isn't a compelling reason not to start off with a really well supported and popular platform, IMO. I have had no hands on experience with a Sony DSLR, but the Olympus I have used before gets in my way. BTW - The 6MP Nikon is going to take pictures every bit as good, if not better than the 10MP cameras. Cramming increasing numbers of pixels on to fixed size sensors can degrade the image with regards to noise. |
| I have a Nikon D50 and a D40x. Love both of them for different reasons. Both take great shots. You can't go wrong with a Nikon. You can pick up a D40 with a 18-55 lens for $499 or the D40 with 2 lenses for $799. The 18-55 is a great starter lens but you will end up getting a longer one for distance shots. I prefer the 18-200 because one lens does most of everything I shoot. |
| You pretty much want to stick with the 2 majors (Canon/Nikon) unless you have a serious legacy lens issue. Canon and Nikon have very different button and menu navigation so I would try both out in a store and see which seems friendlier to you. At the same price point, Nikon usually has a little better build quality. Canon seems easier to get slightly better out of camera images due to sortware presets, noise handling, color handling and so forth. If you do any post-processing, either will will work out. Canon had the lead for an long time but Nikon's newest DSL's are really giving them a run for their money and some pros are starting to swich back. |
| I am a multiple Canon DSLR owner, but only because I already had Canon glass and it was easier to stick with them. I could have just as easily gone to Nikon when their professional series of DSLR's came out. I don't see much difference in the end result between the two at the higher end. |