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Old 09-07-2011, 07:58 AM
garymck (Gary)
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Which entry level DSLR?

Hi,

I'm thinking about buying a DSLR package. Total price up to $1500.

Primary use will be for daylight "artsy" shots, but also with an occasional astronomical or twilight use (I have a QHY8 which I love for most astro stuff).

It seems that the choice is likely to be between a Nikon or Canon, or perhaps an Olympus. The canon's seem to be not as suitable for astro use these days? What about Nikons?

Thinking about something like a Nikon 3100, 5100...

I have no allegiance to either brand as I have no other non astro imaging stuff except a Canon pocket camera. I guess I'm viewing this as a beginning of journey into an astro related hobby, and an adjunct to my other arty hobby of drawing portraits ........

I am aware that most kit lenses aren't great, but they may be a starting point for a beginner.

Any advice would be most welcome...

cheers
Gary
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Old 09-07-2011, 09:16 AM
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Davros (Lauren)
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My advice purely from a novice point of view is that the kit lenses in the Nikon gave a clearer image with more light. However nothing beats the L series glass of the Canons. I used to use a Nikon and still own it but have upgraded to a Canon and hopefully will get my hands on some L glass before too long.
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Old 09-07-2011, 11:57 AM
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Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)
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The 'net' is full of Nikon vs Canon Forums.
I shoot Canon, but only because I was given a bunch of lenses!
There's also Sony and Pentax to consider.

At the moment, I believe Nikon has the edge in low-light photography.
Canon the edge in outright resolution and capture speed.
This could change at any moment.
One seaon's miracle DSLR is next season's kludge.

Consider the DSLR as part of a system, rather than an end in itself. What sort of photography you THINK you will want to do, and which components offered by which companies fit the bill. Remote activation? In camera processing abilities? Flashes? Lenses? The list is long.

In my experience Canon long lenses (135mm+) are 'better' than Nikon's.
Nikon's wide-angle, better than Canon's
I prefer Nikon ergonomics.
I prefer Canon's IS sytem to Nikon's VR (same/same really but Canon seem to implement it better).
Nikon has awesome flash control, Canon remarkable high-speed AF.
You see where this is going.....?
Nowhere...fast!

Only two absolutely factual points:
Nikon cameras will take any Nikon lens built in the last 50 years. You won't have all functionality, but it means you can get a seriously beautiful manual lens and have it work on your DSLR.

Canon out-sell Nikon by a significant margin. Getting 'extras' for your Canon like lenses, flashes, accessory cords, gizmos of most sorts, is generally cheaper and there are more nearly-new bodies on the market at knock-down prices.

Try fossicking around on forums like: www.dpreview.com and www.fredmiranda.com.
You'll get no end of opinionated nonsense, but also some wisdom and objective reviews.

Good Luck!
Send me any money you don't spend.
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Old 10-07-2011, 09:32 PM
garymck (Gary)
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Thanks guys,

I've come to the conclusion after looking around that either would make me happy....now to find the best model...

cheers
Garyt
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Old 10-07-2011, 11:16 PM
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dannat (Daniel)
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Take a look at the pentax k5, same sensor I think as the nikons so good high iso low noise
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Old 11-07-2011, 12:17 AM
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zardos123 (Brad)
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for high iso and low noise you can,t go past the new sony chips that are in the nikon and pentax, in comparisons the pentax makes the best use losing less detail at high iso the k-5 (16meg) k-r (12meg) and k-x(same 12 meg) are very good as is nikon d7000(16meg) i know of two people who have just done all the home work one for astro and one for competition club photography both ended up with the pentax's. another thing is the old cheap quality glass, my 29 year old 50mm f1.7 lens works with in body stabilisation (for terrestrial) and all other functions, about 100 bucks on ebay now, i use it for competition regularly. took this the other night 3200 iso cropped only no other processing

regards brad
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Old 13-07-2011, 09:16 PM
Poita (Peter)
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Absolutely skip the 3100 or 5100 and get the D7000, it is the best thing Nikon has ever made, and the sensor is excellent for night shots, but for normal photography work, its metering and flash control just cannot be beat at the moment.

Not an overly comprehensive review, but a good read is here:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d7000.htm

Ken is a fruitcake, but most of the points he makes about the D7000 are spot on.

I wouldn't trade my D7000 for a 5D MarkII or a D3, and I use both at work. The D7000 is an absolute blinder of a camera and is worth the extra few hundred, and as stated, you can use nearly any Nikkon/Nikkor lens made in the last half century, which means you can grab some lovely fast manual lenses for astro work.
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Old 13-07-2011, 09:50 PM
garymck (Gary)
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I'd love to go for the D7000, but at $1715 with a kit lens it is much dearer than the D5100 at $989 with the same kit lens.....just too big a gap for me to bridge....and a Pentax KR with 18-55mm is only $669....making the pentax start to look like a compelling buy???

cheers
Gary
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Old 14-07-2011, 08:19 AM
Poita (Peter)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by garymck View Post
I'd love to go for the D7000, but at $1715 with a kit lens it is much dearer than the D5100 at $989 with the same kit lens.....just too big a gap for me to bridge....and a Pentax KR with 18-55mm is only $669....making the pentax start to look like a compelling buy???

cheers
Gary
If you want to do 'normal' photography, honestly get the D7000 body, I'd be happy to send you a lens and an SB flash to play with for 6 months until you can afford to get the lenses you want. You should be able to get the D7000 with a kit lens though for around $1500. The D5100 isn't worth it, and the Pentax just isn't in the same league.

I am seriously broke, but saved to get the better camera, it is worth waiting to get, and access to the Nikon stable of lenses is well worth it.

-Peter
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Old 15-07-2011, 06:58 AM
garymck (Gary)
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Thanks for the offer Peter, I know the D7000 is what I really want, but I couldn't afford it. I will review money over the next week and see if I can stretch it to the body and take you up on your offer. The cheapest I've found is at

http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.co...egory148_1.htm

$1515 body only, can you suggest anywhere else cheaper?

cheers
Gary
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Old 15-07-2011, 09:06 AM
Poita (Peter)
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I buy all my stuff from these guys, they are legit:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-BOX-N...ht_1979wt_1025

Body is $1169 shipped. If nothing else, print it out and use it to bargain with locally. Or is $1489 with a 16GB card and the excellent 18-105 VR lens.

I get all my gear through them and have never had any hassles, they are fast and good to deal with.

Digital Rev have it for $1089 shipped, I haven't dealt with them but the guys in the camera club swear by them.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/IN-STOCK-...ht_4406wt_1025

Either that or you can buy my old D90 and lenses off me

Last edited by Poita; 15-07-2011 at 09:22 AM.
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Old 15-07-2011, 10:38 AM
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dannat (Daniel)
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Dwi digital has it for 1129 with 18-55 kit
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Old 15-07-2011, 11:06 AM
Poita (Peter)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dannat View Post
Dwi digital has it for 1129 with 18-55 kit
They charge $1208 once you add insured shipping, still a great price.
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Old 16-07-2011, 06:30 AM
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Strawb (Dave)
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Well as a real newbie I've gone for the K-r. Total investment for the body,18-55mm lens, fast 8 Gig card and bag for 680 from JB. Seems good enough to learn on with no mods required. Best bang for buck for me.
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Old 22-07-2011, 08:44 PM
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zardos123 (Brad)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poita View Post
If you want to do 'normal' photography, honestly get the D7000 body, I'd be happy to send you a lens and an SB flash to play with for 6 months until you can afford to get the lenses you want. You should be able to get the D7000 with a kit lens though for around $1500. The D5100 isn't worth it, and the Pentax just isn't in the same league.

I am seriously broke, but saved to get the better camera, it is worth waiting to get, and access to the Nikon stable of lenses is well worth it.

-Peter
have a look at this

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/to...st-dslrs-16277
this is an independent test. i am the president of a large camera club and have used both many times and whilst both use the same sensor and are great cameras, the pentax has better implementation and ergonomics and can also use all lenses ever made like nikon, but with the addition of stabilization on all and no loss of function except auto focus with use of their green button, plus now auto tracking of stars, in body for up to 300 seconds on a standard untracked tripod ($250.00) see here http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea.../o/all/fpart/1
good luck in your search

Last edited by zardos123; 22-07-2011 at 08:51 PM. Reason: more info
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Old 23-07-2011, 10:47 PM
Poita (Peter)
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I had the K5 for a month, but got serious problems with jaggies, a replacement body didn't solve the problem, and getting online other people had the issue as well. The autofocus wasn't as good as the D7000 either, I could have lived with that, but not the image problems.

I wanted the K5 to do the job as there are great lenses available at a cheaper price, but it had issues, and the extra card slot in the D7000 was also a great bonus personally for my work.

Other than that the K5 was a really great camera.

Another good review of the Pentax here:
http://www.digitalphotographywriter....-canon-7d.html
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Old 25-07-2011, 10:32 PM
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it took a firmware update
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Old 27-07-2011, 07:04 AM
garymck (Gary)
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Hi and thanks to those who replied,

I've ordered a D7000 body from the ebay seller recommended by Poita, ($1199 with insured post) and a pair of kit lenses from Digitalrev($346 with freight)

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G ED II
Nikon AF-S 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6G IF-ED DX VR

Figured I'd ultimately go for the two extra lenses recommended by Ken Rockwell (35mm prime and 10-24 zoom) But they are a year or so and another $1300 away.

Will have to wait for xmas for a dedicated flash....the slush fund is now severely depleted!!!
cheers
Gary
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Old 29-07-2011, 06:15 PM
Poita (Peter)
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I have a nice 50mm 1.4 prime if you ever want to borrow it for some wide open work, and as for a flash, the cheap SB400 is fantastic and surprisingly powerful.
I have some mongrel-big strobes for when they are needed, but more often than not, the SB400 delivers the results, with perfect exposure and plenty of light, and is so small I often just leave it on the camera.
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Old 29-07-2011, 06:25 PM
garymck (Gary)
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Thanks Poita,

I changed the lens order to an 18-105 vr after reading some reviews, and also ordered the sb400 flash. Would love to try that 1.4 lens at some stage!!! I'll post when camera and lens arrive. Wonder how long the body will take from eclipse_mint, and the other stuff from Digitalrev.......hanging out badly. Want it NOW :-)

cheers
Gary
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