DSLR Camera

[SirCranksalot]

Looking for some recommendations on an 'entry level' DSLR. I have a Canon SX20 IS that just quit. It had most of the functions that I was used to in my old SLR film camera. I am considering either a Canon or Nikon--- a bit leery of other brands. My SX 20 has a 20 times zoom. I would be buying the DSLR body plus a zoom either separately or as a package.

 

Thx for your suggestions.

[captpierre]

Drop in at Henry's for a chat.

They price match anybody.

Canon better for video.

Nikon might have an edge on photos.

Both are great brands.

Don't overlook Sony.

They make the sensors for other top brands.

Used to be SLR crazy.

Hardly use it anymore for regular shots since I got the iPhone 6.

Hope Joey chimes in. She takes incredible wildlife shots.

[Raf]

if you are looking at a replaceable lens camera, do your research on the pros and cons of dslr vs mirrorless and how they apply to your photography.

 

i did and went with mirrorless, olympus em10 a lot smaller than a dslr with great image quality. very happy with the purchase.

 

if you do decide to go with full frame dslr, you cannot go wrong with either brand.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Raf

[BillM]

Really depends on what you want to spend and what you're going to use it for. DSLRs are an investment (Andbe prepared to spend more on the lenses themselves)

[DRIFTER_016]

I'm a Canon fan myself.

A few years ago I picked up one of their entry level camera kits and have been happy with it.

Takes great pics and didn't break the bank. I got the T3 kit with 2 lens'.

I have since added a few other lens' to my kit.

At some point I will upgrade to a better body but am happy for now.

 

Here are a few images taken with the kit lens'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[adempsey]

Definitely check out Henry's, but if you want to order online from the USA B & H photo video is a good place. I've had a good experience with them and they are quite popular.

[BFSC Kevin]

Better hurry. All photography gear will be increasing in prices very shortly. Henry's put out a statement that starting April 1st, their prices will be increasing 15%+ due to the Canadian dollar.

 

Depending on your needs, I would look long and hard at mirrorless cameras. They take great photos and videos, at a fraction of the size of a full size dslr.

 

MJL on the board just jumped on the mirrorless bandwagon. I'll wait for him to chime in

[captpierre]

I'm a Canon fan myself.

A few years ago I picked up one of their entry level camera kits and have been happy with it.

Takes great pics and didn't break the bank. I got the T3 kit with 2 lens'.

I have since added a few other lens' to my kit.

At some point I will upgrade to a better body but am happy for now.

 

Here are a few images taken with the kit lens'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beauti shots!

[Rodbender]

But to your question what are your perferences for photography?? people wildlife landscapes etc??

Edited March 22, 2016 by Rodbender

[blaque]

I was pretty much right where you were about a year ago......posted a thread similar to this and got a lot of great advice. Among that advice was the suggestion to look into the mirrorless options out there. Since i was coming from nothing and had no experiece with DSLRS i went the mirrorless route. No complaints here thus far, and im having alot of fun learning the camera and the craft. Again, im just a novice but Im impressed with what these little cameras can do.

 

These are from my Samsung NX500: most are from the NX 30mm 2.0 prime lens but the kit lens is ridiculously good too. Having said all this, I may be pooched and looking at another system in the near future as Samsung is rumoured to be exiting the camera market. And its a dan shame, cuz i love this camera in every way.

 

As others have said, the SONY A6000 is one of the more popular mirrorless cams and its successor was just released A6300 (PRICEY)............but there are lots of other options.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Raf]

blaque, nice shots. the sony a6000/6300 are great cams and i almost went a6000 but beware the sony e mount lenses in terms of cost. this was the main reason i went with micro 4/3rds instead of sony; there is a vast selection of m4/3rds lenses by olympus, panasonic, sigma etc and they are priced in the lower stratosphere compared to sony. the format has been fairly widely adopted.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Raf

[MJL]

I'm a DSLR fan myself. When I'm concentrating on just photography, I prefer the form factor and feeling of the DSLR VS anything else. When it comes around to underwater photography, my choices of cameras are a lot more limiting with what I want/need - the poor battery life of mirrorless cameras is a huge disadvantage for me for my underwater photography. With that said, I just bought my first mirrorless camera (a Fujifilm X-70) as a camera that I can keep on me most of the time (it fits in a jacket pocket just fine).

 

I shoot Canon but have also used a few Nikon DSLRs (D40, D300, D800 and D3). Both companies have great cameras. I prefer the ergonomics and handling of the Canon cameras over the Nikon (but that's just me). Visit a local camera shop and handle a few cameras. As Bill mentioned, you could be spending a lot more on lenses than the actual camera body.

[DRIFTER_016]

As Bill mentioned, you WILL be spending a lot more on lenses than the actual camera body.

 

My favorite lens used was more than my body and 2 kit lens'.

[blaque]

blaque, nice shots. the sony a6000/6300 are great cams and i almost went a6000 but beware the sony e mount lenses in terms of cost. this was the main reason i went with micro 4/3rds instead of sony; there is a vast selection of m4/3rds lenses by olympus, panasonic, sigma etc and they are priced in the lower stratosphere compared to sony. the format has been fairly widely adopted.

 

Thanks sir. And I also looked long and hard at the A6000. 2 things killed it........lenses were a little rich for my blood as you said....and the user interface of the camera was just too cumbersome for my liking. (no touch screen etc)

[SirCranksalot]

Thx folks for all your comments. I have not digested all the advice you have offered but I will look into mirrorless cameras. I'd never heard of them before.

 

I tend to take scenery and landscape shots with some wildlife-----hence the zoom. 2 limitations of my current camera: filters will not fit and there is no long exposure setting (used to be called 'bulb' on the old SLRs)---useful for night shots, fireworks etc.

[DRIFTER_016]

Thx folks for all your comments. I have not digested all the advice you have offered but I will look into mirrorless cameras. I'd never heard of them before.

 

I tend to take scenery and landscape shots with some wildlife-----hence the zoom. 2 limitations of my current camera: filters will not fit and there is no long exposure setting (used to be called 'bulb' on the old SLRs)---useful for night shots, fireworks etc.

 

I'm looking forward to the time I can stay out @ the cabin in the winter and spring so I can get shots like this devoid of light pollution.

 

 

[Roe Bag]

Better hurry. All photography gear will be increasing in prices very shortly. Henry's put out a statement that starting April 1st, their prices will be increasing 15%+ due to the Canadian dollar.

 

Just heard the same thing on the weekend about fishing gear. Effective April 1st all new shipments from the USA will be increasing by 15%.

Best grab your new toys now boys and girls.

[Joey]

Thanks Captpierre

 

I prefer the Canon and started with the SX10, moving on to the T2i and now use the 60D, with zoom lens of course.

 

But yes, it depends on what type of pics you want to take. A T2i or T3i wold be fine to start with and learn from before spending an enormous amount of money IMO.

[SirCranksalot]

I looked briefly into mirrorless cameras. It seems they have no viewfinders. That would be a 'show stopper' for me because I find a viewfinder essential when using a telephoto zoom.e.g. trying for a loon pic from some distance away.

[Raf]

I looked briefly into mirrorless cameras. It seems they have no viewfinders. That would be a 'show stopper' for me because I find a viewfinder essential when using a telephoto zoom.e.g. trying for a loon pic from some distance away.

Mine does?

[adolson]

Another T3 user here. I want to someday upgrade the body, but for now, I'm happy. They have a wide range of lenses and you get that Canon quality. It's just a hobby, and I don't have tons of money to drop on the high-end lenses. It's nice to know that they're there, though. And the $99 50mm 1.8 is a fantastic bargain.

 

I have seen great pics from Nikon users too, but I personally don't care for them. My hands-on experience (other than my "waterproof" cam) has been brief, but that was my takeaway. At the low-end, at the time I bought, nothing Nikon offered could compete to the Canon low-end, in terms of features and price point.

[SirCranksalot]

I guess the T3 has now been replaced by a newer model. The only ones I see on the Henry's site are used.

 

http://www.henrys.com/85202-USED-CANON-T3-DSLR-BODY--8.aspx

[MJL]

I looked briefly into mirrorless cameras. It seems they have no viewfinders. That would be a 'show stopper' for me because I find a viewfinder essential when using a telephoto zoom.e.g. trying for a loon pic from some distance away.

 

A good number of mirrorless cameras actually do have viewfinders. The only difference is that most mirrorless have an electrical viewfinder (EVF) VS Optical viewfinder which all DSLR cameras have.

 

Both types of viewfinders have pros and cons. If I was primarily shooting sports, action and fast erratic moving wildlife, the slight lag on the EVF would drive me crazy. A pro for the EVF would be that the EVF displays a very close approximation of what you are shooting with a given set of camera settings. You can adjust your settings without having to take your eyes away from the viewfinder or take several test shots to figure out if your settings are OK.

 

Some mirrorless cameras have a hybrid rangefinder type of viewfinder. I haven't used any mirrorless rangefinder type of camera to comment on.

 

For me, I still prefer using the DSLR over a mirrorless (but that's my preference). The bigger camera body feels more comfortable to use with larger zoom and telephoto lenses. Although a lot of mirrorless cameras tout to have super fast autofocus, I'm still on the fence with that one. I did a side by side comparison with the Olympus OMD-EM1, Sony A6000 and the Sony A7R II and neither were as accurate or could lock on focus as fast as even my beater Canon T3i (which is an entry level DSLR with only 9 basic focus points). Granted, the focus spread on the mirrorless cameras are generally a lot bigger than pretty much all DSLRs, so there are pros and cons with both types of cameras.

 

Keep in mind that mirrorless camera bodies with viewfinders (that are large enough to be useful), aren't that small. They're obviously not huge (like most DSLRs) but they aren't quite pocketable (especially with a zoom lens). Battery life on all mirrorless cameras is a lot less than any DSLR (so plan on buying a few extra batteries if you go the mirrorless route).

 

On that note, the evolution of mirrorless cameras is still ongoing whereas the technology of DSLRs has plateaued (IMO). There's a number of mirrorless cameras with in-body image stabilization and autofocus is getting better with each generation. Lenses for mirrorless cameras on average are smaller than DSLR lenses which is a pro if you do a lot of traveling (That's even if you do a direct size comparison between APS-C mirrorless vs APS-C DSLR and Full frame mirrorless and full frame DSLR).

 

Best word of advice is to visit the camera shop, get a bunch of cameras in your hands and shoot them. Regardless of whether you go the DSLR or mirrorless route, you're going to be spending $ on glass and that is what fixes you to a certain brand forever.LOL

 

If you're near Scarborough and are interested in trying out a Canon T3i + Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for a week, let me know.

[DRIFTER_016]

I guess the T3 has now been replaced by a newer model. The only ones I see on the Henry's site are used.

 

http://www.henrys.com/85202-USED-CANON-T3-DSLR-BODY--8.aspx

 

Correct as it's an older unit.

The T5 has replaced it as their entry level unit.

 

http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/products/method/gp/pid/41139

[BillM]

When getting into the DSLR game, what people really need to realize is that their investment should be in glass (lenses) not the bodies (Go figure I just upgraded to a 7D mk II, lol).. Bodies change, great lenses should be looked at as investments for the most part. You could have the greatest DSLR body, but put that behind a crappy lens and nothing is going to help.