Buying first DSLR - DPChallenge Forums

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

04/09/2006 08:09:17 PM · #1

Ok, first off I have been into photography for a long while. Mom owns here own business, cousi nshoots in San Fransisco etc..Im want to get paid to do this I have dicided and with my small portfolio of work have got an internship with a magazine here in Austin called studybreaks that mainly caters to college students and companys who target them as customers.

They want me to start shooting some downtown austin night life ( 6th street ) and start photographing apartment complex's and developing ads for them.

So I have used a fuji finepix S5500 and a sony p-100 and have been eyeing a DSLR for sometime and now i have the excuse. I just dont have a ton of money, being a college student with a fulltiem job and on my own doesnt leave me alot to spend. So I was looking at the 300d because its what Im familiar with but think I could splurge for the XT. However are their any of you out there who would say 10D? I dont need a 20D (yet:/) nor the money to buy one. This is a free magazine that makes all of its money of local advertisments and some of them are just bad, so I dont need hte best of the best because what I cna do with a point and shoot is better than what they have now. Any advice would be great though. I am partial to canon but would love to hear ideas on nikon and possibly the new olympus. Any help would be great!

( and no i wont be writing for the magazine so if my spelling or anyhting is off here I apologize )

Count

Canon EOS-30D

04/09/2006 08:14:04 PM · #2

I'd buy an XT, or used 10D if you don't like the way the XT feels.

Or have you considered the Nikon D50/D70?

DanSig

04/09/2006 08:19:49 PM · #3

get the XT, it's way better than the 10D, better at high ISO, more megapixels, and everything is better.. exept that the 10D has a better body, but the body doesn't take the pictures ;)

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

04/09/2006 08:24:01 PM · #4

Im more into canon with the lense choices and im just more familiar with them. Im just wondering if Im going to need the 8mp to work with or not. I know the features of the 10d are a little more robust than the XT, but like I said the chances of me actually having to use them are slim ( such as speed of shooting etc ). What would a nikon offer over a cannon? I have jsut handled all of them at my best buy and the nikons feel cheaper.

Count

Canon EOS-30D

04/09/2006 08:30:17 PM · #5

Some people just prefer Nikon, anything from the lenses to the image quality to the way if feels in your hand. Sounds like you've already decided on Canon which is fine.

Like DanSig said, the XT is better than the 10D. Only reason I mentioned the 10D is because some people say they don't like the feel of the XT for whatever reason. The XT really is better in all ways (other than build quality) than the 10D, and having 8MP vs 6MP doesnt hurt, just think of it as more ability to crop is nessisary.

You might not think you'll use all the features of the XT now but in 6 months it'll probably be a different story and you'll be glad you have them. XT and a 50mm 1.8 sounds like a winning combination for the work you said you want to do.

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/09/2006 08:50:33 PM · #6

Originally posted by DanSig:

get the XT, it's way better than the 10D, better at high ISO, more megapixels, and everything is better.. exept that the 10D has a better body, but the body doesn't take the pictures ;)

Well, it depends on who you are. I'd have the 10D anytime over the XT. When I had a choice to use the 20D instead of the 10D, I still grabbed the 10D -why?

The only critical feature to persuade to choose otherwise would be a spot meter. Neither of these DSLRs sport one. The 10D is (otherwise) as capable as most shoots require. Its body, however, is clearly superior. As far as I'm concerned, it is sturdier, heavier and bigger than the other two. The back of the battery grip is textured, too.

It feels more natural and comfortable to use than the newer models. Even the 30D (with spot meter, btw) does not yet see the same use as the 10D, my (supposed) backup.

Message edited by author 2006-04-09 20:51:43.

hankk

Canon EOS-5D

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

04/09/2006 10:29:17 PM · #7

You said one thing you would be shooting is downtown austin night life. If you're shooting where you won't have a lot of light, go with the XT because of its better low-light performance.

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/09/2006 10:50:43 PM · #8

Originally posted by hankk:

You said one thing you would be shooting is downtown austin night life. If you're shooting where you won't have a lot of light, go with the XT because of its better low-light performance.

It makes for less noise. The 10D, however, will still deliver pictures at a 3200 ISO setting (H). The XT max. ISO is 1600.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

04/10/2006 02:21:52 PM · #9

Ok well I have pretty much dcided on the XT. I have found that buydig has them for like 734$ and thats before a 100$ mail in rebate from canon. I was going to ask if the stock lense will be okay or if I could get out buying hte body and a lense seperate, and be overall cheaper. I would love to get the 500$+ glass and even an IS lences but right now its just not in the bag. Any suggestions on this or just buy the kit?

JayWalk

Canon EOS-6D

04/10/2006 02:26:47 PM · #10

There will be lots of people saying that the kit lens is soft, but take a look here at what it can produce if you know how to use it:
Kit Pics

Just an FYI: The 17/40 4.0L is one HELL of a lens and a nice step up from the kit if you can afford to go that route!

DanSig

04/10/2006 02:32:30 PM · #11

Originally posted by zeuszen:

Originally posted by hankk:
You said one thing you would be shooting is downtown austin night life. If you're shooting where you won't have a lot of light, go with the XT because of its better low-light performance.

It makes for less noise. The 10D, however, will still deliver pictures at a 3200 ISO setting (H). The XT max. ISO is 1600.

actually the 350 XT can go up to 3200 ISO with the hacked firmware, the difference is you can actually use the images produced with the XT at ISO 3200, but images from the 10D is practically unusable over ISO 800 due to extreeme noise.