Which DSLR camera should i buy.?

Hi S D,

I find it strange that people will decide on a brand of product to buy BEFORE they know what the features and benefits of the products are. It is true that Canon and Nikon are the most popular DSLR brands, at least in the North American market. But that is is more a consequence of advertising, sales promotions and marketing to maintain the high sales volume than it is related to quality (although both manufacturers DO make high quality cameras).

For instance, if you want compact, lightweight equipment you should consider the offerings from Olympus, Panasonic and Sony (Sony is the owner of the venerable Konica & Minolta camera designs, patents and legacy lens mounts). Another consideration is Image Stabilization/Vibration Reduction. Both Canon and Nikon offer this feature in their products by incorporating it into specific LENSES while many other camera companies incorporate Image Stabilization (IS) into the camera BODY. There are pros and cons to each approach but it would be advisable to know the difference before you make a purchase decision because it will effect what lenses you will wish to purchase (and the costs to purchase and maintain them) plus future compatibility with newer camera models.

Some one has answered with a link to "The DSLR Photographer" web site which is a good link for basic information, especially for the CaNikon crowd but the information is restricted to the Web Master's fairly limited views/experience. For more generalized and less biased information I would suggest looking at these links. These are commercial sites but I have found that they provide good information at no charge because they hope to attract customers for some of their products or services or by getting people to link to product sites through their ads.

http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/index.shtml

Hope that helps. Email me if you would like more information

I have had Canon EOS Rebel T2i for five months now and absolutely love the pictures and quality of the video; however, one of the primary reasons I traded up from my T1i to this was stereo audio input. The EOS T1i recorded 720p video (which is actually fine by me), but I was forced to record with the internal mic, or record audio separately and combine into my video later. You might be more into video than myself, but I just did not want to spend that much time. If I can simply attach a nicer quality microphone to record video with high quality audio, it provides a simple fix. However, after attaching my own studio-quality microphones, I found recordings had a buzz that would grow from any point of silence until the next sound was heard. This is something called "automatic gain control," or AGC, and is a "feature" that you can not turn off. I never even realized this would be something that I would need to research before purchasing the camera - their own internal microphone does not seem to have this problem, and is certainly of lesser quality than the input I was sending to the camera.

After determining the problem in the recorded audio was due to this feature, I have found online petitions (which I have signed) and message boards that complain of this problem (which affects their entire EOS line). Perhaps I oversimplify the complexity of letting us record audio without their own "feature" destroying the quality of it? Either way, I expect most customers who use the "line-in" to be frustrated with the resulting audio, and wanted to ensure others were aware of this, as well as Canon's apparent disinterest in correcting it. Even more, some have gone to the extreme length of building their own firmware to correct the problem - sadly, Canon modified the firmware on this model to make such changes too difficult. How about that for sticking it to the customer? "No, you will not have the feature, and no, I will not let you add the feature."

All that said, I still love the camera. I just find I use it for still photos and casual video, recognizing the limitations.

At the moment there's some very good entry level model DSLR on the market. One of the main distinctions is high iso performace, the ability to produce clean, crisp images in low light without flash.

Olympus E-420/450. Being sold in a double zoom kit for truely incredible prices. It's high iso performance is about average. If you're looking for a good camera with excellent lenses that does it all this may be for you. From all the brands olympus has about the smallest selection of extra lenses.

Pentax K-x: Winner of a few awards. Only DSLR that runs on AA batteries which means you need to exercise some discipline in charging and handling them. Can use simple Alkaline batteries in emergencies. Won a few awards, got good reviews. Pentax' lens lineup is better than that of olympus.

Canon 1000d/Rebel XS

An entry level model dating back to 2008. Basically a 400d/Rebel Xti with some features removed in an attempt to compete with the baby nikons. Long overdue for replacement. Good lens lineup.

Canon 550d/Rebel T2i

Canon's entry level camera. Quite a capable camera but it continues the long Rebel tradition of putting a very good sensor in a plasticky body with some rather poor controls. Still offers the best video of any entry level DSLR and enough megapixels to impress all of your gullible friends

Canon 500d/Rebel T1i

If you're not interested in video you can buy this instead of the 550/T2i and save yourself a few bucks

Nikon D3000

Critized by many for reusing the old D40x/D60 sensor which means mediocre high iso performance. Despite that it's still a lot of camera on other points. Controls and handling are generally perceived to be better than Canon's xxxd/Rebel series. Only takes nikon AF-S, Sigma HSM or Tamron BiM lenses for autofocus.

Nikon D3100

Fixes everything that was wrong with the D3000 and then some! Most impressive entry level DSLR released this year. Truely impressive high iso performance. Comes extremely close to beating the 550d/Rebel T2i on video but it's more affordable. Nice built-in guide mode to help handhold the beginner who doesn't want to read the manual. Only takes nikon AF-S, Sigma HSM or Tamron BiM lenses for autofocus.

What else to buy?

Unless you have any real specific purposes in mind I'd advice you to start with a single lens and gain some experience before buying more. Do buy a memory card, a lens pen or microfiber cloth, a rocket blower and some sort of protective bag.

Hey Suni:

A long-time researcher on camera here: I would recommend getting The Canon Rebel T3, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon Rebel T5i. Canon 60D, Canon 70D. Canon Rebel SLI is another good choice.

Nikon 7000.

I wouldn't recommend buying any camera you listed.

Check out Consumerreport's pub on electronics at a local book store.

there are good deals on Amazon.

I think Nikon has better quality, many people satisfy with the result.

And NIKON D90 fits perfectly with your budget (around $930 at Amazon with free super saver shipping). Other than Nikon brand is a guarantee, this camera is very liked by the photographers, the user more uphill.

You can check on flickr, Nikon D90 is the most widely used, most popular and stable ride user graph is the Nikon D90. You can see the images result too at there.

Good luck :)

Read this guide first:

http://www.the-dslr-photographer.com/2009/03/which...

It is only you who can decide which brand to stick with. Canon or Nikon, they are relatively the same. Feel them in your hands, and decide.

I am pro-Nikon, so if you ask me, I would probably say a Nikon. A D90 or a D7000 or a D300s. In some area, in the Philippines for example, the D300S is cheaper than the D7000, so it might be cheaper in your area.

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/

Canon EOS Rebel T2i

CANON REBEL t2i! I just got this camera & its AMAZING! :)

The newest one.