Nikon DSLR - 300ish bucks

[347Mike]

what are you shooting? Indoor sports? Family portraits, animals, landscape? Such a huge range of lenses with different aspects that will make the difference.

Stereotypically there is the "Holy Trinity" (or variation of the name)
14-24mm
24-70mm
70-200mm

Price range is grossly different between brands and how "fast" of a lens you want.

I want to find a case and lens for 300-400 price range. The main rush of this is my trip to India so it will be a combination of outdoors, indoors, night and day.

[motoman]

The big question you have to be able to answer, like Tim said, is what do you want to get into photographing, what sorts of things are you going to shoot? If I were going to be shooting a bunch of low light action shots I'd pick up a Nikon because they their images tend to look better at higher ISO's. If I'm rarely shooting at night then I'm going with a Canon because of their lens selection because IMO they have a better selection of lenses.

Just like anything else photography is an investment. If you're not wanting to put much money into it then I'd look at one of the Canon Rebel cameras, possibly a used Canon 30D - 40D if you can find one cheap enough, or something like the Nikon D40, possibly a used D50(s) or D60 if you can find one cheap enough.

Another option is a Sony Alpha DSLR and the reason I mention Sony is because the Sony DSLR's have image stabilization built into the body. Meaning any Sony lens you put on will be stabilized, meaning you'll save some money on lenses when compared to buying lenses for a Canon/Nikon. But your lens selection will be more limited.

Lots of things to figure out...

[8mpg]

I want to find a case and lens for 300-400 price range. The main rush of this is my trip to India so it will be a combination of outdoors, indoors, night and day.

Well...its all a compromise, but honestly, I think a kit lens is just the way to go in this situation A standard 18-55mm lens. The 18mm side will give you great wide shots and the 55mm is good enough for some standard pics of family/friends. You REALLY REALLY need to learn how to use it to maximize the ability of the camera.

Jared Polin has a TON of great info for beginners. His videos are fun to watch and has great information to learn. Check out his website: www.froknowsphoto.com I have spent lots of hours watching his videos and have learned a ton.

[347Mike]

Well...its all a compromise, but honestly, I think a kit lens is just the way to go in this situation A standard 18-55mm lens. The 18mm side will give you great wide shots and the 55mm is good enough for some standard pics of family/friends. You REALLY REALLY need to learn how to use it to maximize the ability of the camera.

Jared Polin has a TON of great info for beginners. His videos are fun to watch and has great information to learn. Check out his website: www.froknowsphoto.com I have spent lots of hours watching his videos and have learned a ton.

Thanks. I know the basics and I thinkt he 15 hour plane trip over there will give me some time to learn on the job... lol

[motoman]

Well...its all a compromise, but honestly, I think a kit lens is just the way to go in this situation A standard 18-55mm lens. The 18mm side will give you great wide shots and the 55mm is good enough for some standard pics of family/friends. You REALLY REALLY need to learn how to use it to maximize the ability of the camera.

Jared Polin has a TON of great info for beginners. His videos are fun to watch and has great information to learn. Check out his website: www.froknowsphoto.com I have spent lots of hours watching his videos and have learned a ton.

Not to mention that unless your shooting a full frame camera (which you probably won't be) you're going to have a crop factor of 1.5x or 1.6x depending on what brand you go with. Meaning on a Canon 30D, your 18-55mm lens is actually a 28.8 - 88mm lens.

[347Mike]

Decent deal?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/pho/2349946229.html

Does this have auto zoom?

I am also hearing people state how many shots the camera has had, what is a lot of shots for a camera?

[2K2 LS1]

If anyone is interested I have:

Canon Digital Rebel silver body
18-55mm lens
1gig cf card
3 battery packs
Charger
Case


$300

[motoman]

Decent deal?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/pho/2349946229.html

Does this have auto zoom?

I am also hearing people state how many shots the camera has had, what is a lot of shots for a camera?

That's a pretty good deal. What I would do is email the seller asking if he can send you some pics looking directly at the sky zoomed out at F/4, F/8, and F/11. If that camera has been well taken care of then there shouldn't be very very few spots to show up on those pictures.

[347Mike]

If anyone is interested I have:

Canon Digital Rebel silver body
18-55mm lens
1gig cf card
3 battery packs
Charger
Case


$300

What model Rebel?

[347Mike]

That's a pretty good deal. What I would do is email the seller asking if he can send you some pics looking directly at the sky zoomed out at F/4, F/8, and F/11. If that camera has been well taken care of then there shouldn't be very very few spots to show up on those pictures.

When you say spots are you referring to the coloration difference from darker to lighter collors or actual spots? lol

[motoman]

Decent deal?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/pho/2349946229.html

Does this have auto zoom?

I am also hearing people state how many shots the camera has had, what is a lot of shots for a camera?

Yes it has auto zoom, the VR lens means it has vibration reduction, to help compensate for movement when taking pictures.

As far as shots goes that's really hard to answer, if it's a camera that they say hasn't been used very often then I would say less than 10K shutter clicks, if it's been used a lot then between 50K-75k shutter clicks. I wouldn't purchase a D60 with over 75K shutter clicks. They should be able to download software that'll tell them how many shutter clicks their camera has been through.

[8mpg]

Decent deal?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/pho/2349946229.html

Does this have auto zoom?

I am also hearing people state how many shots the camera has had, what is a lot of shots for a camera?

The shutter count is how many pictures have been taken. The shutter has to open and close for each picture taken. Like any electronic, they have motors that can go bad. More shutter actuations is like more miles on a car. Could be nothing but it could mean higher odds of failure.

[347Mike]

Yes it has auto zoom, the VR lens means it has vibration reduction, to help compensate for movement when taking pictures.

As far as shots goes that's really hard to answer, if it's a camera that they say hasn't been used very often then I would say less than 10K shutter clicks, if it's been used a lot then between 50K-75k shutter clicks. I wouldn't purchase a D60 with over 75K shutter clicks. They should be able to download software that'll tell them how many shutter clicks their camera has been through.

Stupid question - what happens when a camera has a lot of shutter clicks? Does quality slowly decline?

[motoman]

When you say spots are you referring to the coloration difference from darker to lighter collors or actual spots? lol

You'll be able see spots or dust on the sensor.

[8mpg]

Stupid question - what happens when a camera has a lot of shutter clicks? Does quality slowly decline?

see my post just above