What is the best semi pro digital SLR camera for <$700?
I am 17, and hoping to be going on an overseas holiday at the end of the year. I would love to get a Digital SLR camera that is not too difficult to use but has some great settings that allow me to take really good pictures.
I’d like a lot of zoom on it (may have to get a larger lens)
Preferable a canon or nikon as they are supposedly the best
Any advice on buying or using a digital SLR camera would be greatly appreciated too.
Thanks
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Personally, I love my Nikon D90, though that’s slightly above your budget. You might find the Nikon D5000, a fairly similar model, interesting. It has alot of the features of the D90.
I urge you to go to a photo strore and ask the employees, they’re paid to help you find the perfect match.
You won’t be able to find anything “semi-pro” in this price range.
But don’t worry about using a “amateur” or a “prosumer” dSLR… the cheapest dSLR is worlds better than the most advanced compact cameras available.
You may get a Canon 1000D/Xs with 18-55mm IS + 55-250mm IS
These two lenses, it will be equiv. to a 29-400mm lens, almos 14x zoom, but with a sharpness and tonal range just incomparable with any ultra-zoom compact camera.
Also the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Mark II would be a nice lens for portaits. This lens stopped down to f/2.2 will deliver a very sharp subject with a blurred background.
If you really need any video capability, you may spend more and get the 500D/T1i or the 550D/T2i instead of the 1000D/Xs.
Also if you prefer a Nikon system, you may get the Nikon D500 with 18-55mm VR + 55-200mm VR. It will be equiv. to a 27-300mm lens, more than a 11x ultra-zoom compact. The price will be almost the same of the Canon T1i.
I would recommend Nikon D5000 12.3 MP DX Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens and 2.7-inch Vari-angle LCD
Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP camera is impossible to beat at this price. I won’t write a lengthy review, but, you can set this camera in fully automatic mode and hand it to a “point and shoot” person, and they will obtain fantastic results. For the amateur photographer, this has all of the bells and whistles, what I love is I can reset the camera rapidly for multiple shots of the same scene on very different settings. Married with a decent photo program on your computer, it is possible to achieve professional results.
Many reviews say, get this with the stabilization lens…. I wholeheartedly agree… the extra $100 is a bargain price for this lens… It is almost (and I do say almost) like having a tripod. I set the camera for 1/10th second exposures with no support, and obtained steady pictures with it, slower than this, and the stabilization did not fully correct for any unsteadiness.
We’d buy it again in a heartbeat, and I wish I could get one for everyone I know!! Best photos that I have ever taken and a joy to use! Connecting it to the computer and downloading photos takes a matter of seconds.
Get the largest SD card you can afford with it… We have a 2GB card with it, and it fills fairly rapidly. 1GB is far too small for this camera (primarily because you will take numerous shots with it, not because the pics take up a great deal of memory), I’m guessing 4GB would be near perfect (or a couple of 2GB cards, but one 4GB is safer, the cards are too easy to misplace).
# 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor captures enough detail for poster-size, photo-quality prints
# Large 3.0-inch LCD display; includes Canon’s EF-S 18-55mm, f3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens
# DIGIC III image processor provides fast, accurate image processing; improved Autofocus and framing rate
# EOS Integrated Cleaning system, plus Dust Delete Data Detection in included software
# Stores images on SD/SDHC memory cards
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Camera-18-55mm-3-5-5-6/dp/B0012YA85A/ref=pd_ts_zgc_p_3017941_1&tag=best-price-sell-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
Hey,
What’s semi pro to you? Fast, big or many megapixels? More megapixels won’t make your photos sharper or crisper, so don’t worry about ‘em. 8 and more is alright.
The good pictures will come, if, from you. You have to know how to photograph certain things, but since I think you don’t understand all the basics, I recommend you to read here – http://the-digital-photographer.blogspot.com/2009/11/tutorials.html
There are many good DSLRs below 700$, here are the ones I recommend:
- Canon EOS XS
- Canon EOS XSi
- Nikon D40x or D3000
-Nikon D5000
Anyways, what do you need? Take a look at this article, it’s about ‘Buying a DSLR, what’s important, what’s not, megapixels, features, size and which models (also Amazon links). Look here – http://the-digital-photographer.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-dslr-should-i-buy.html
I think Nikon D5000 is really a good choice
# D-Movie Mode with sound; record 720p HD movie clips
# Live View with contrast-detect AF, face detection and subject tracking
# Image sensor cleaning (sensor shake)
# 11 AF points (with 3D tracking)
# IS0 200-3200 range (100-6400 expanded)
# 4 frames per second continuous shooting
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dnikon%2520d5000%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Delectronics&tag=bestdeals-y-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957
For lenses
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dnikon%2520zoom%2520lens%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Delectronics&tag=bestdeals-y-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957