Camera recs

[Vt-Freeheel]

If you are on the Canon fall sale list they have the refurb 7D Mark 2 on sale today only for $999

[Bronic]

^^^^ Good deal

Another plug for a mirrorless setup. My a6000 autofocus blows the 60d out of the water

[The AD]

This. I seem to recall the newer iPhones use HDR automatically unless you turn it off. Excellent HDR too, for what it is.

I agree. It's perfect for people who just want to point-and-shoot, and really that's what you want to do with a phone camera.

[From_the_NEK]

just $.02, if you're coming from a p/s, a t/5,4,3/i with the kit ~18-55 will be a ton of fun.

+1 That is what I started with for my T3i (along with a EF 75-300 kit lens) for my first year. It was a great setup for learning.

Now I have a EF 2.8 70-200mm IS lens an EFS 15-85 IS USM, and a Tokina 2.8 11-17mm lens.

I really like my setup but am restless to upgrade my body now that I have 2 years under my belt.

[Tye 1on]

+1 That is what I started with for my T3i (along with a EF 75-300 kit lens) for my first year. It was a great setup for learning.

Now I have a EF 2.8 70-200mm IS lens an EFS 18-55 IS USM, and a Tokina 2.8 11-17mm lens.

I really like my setup but am restless to upgrade my body now that I have 2 years under my belt.

I'm on the same timeline with my T3i, but am still refining the lens collection but will also eventually upgrade body to something like the 70D once it's been out a couple years. Going to sell the kit 18-55 and 28-135 and get a 15-85.

[stormyMonday]

Bumping this back up for some recommendations. Been looking at getting into an entry level DSLR camera and it looks like there are some pretty good deals from Nikon right now. The package that I'm looking at is a D3300 with an 18-55 and 55-200 lens with a bag for $500. (Don't really want to spend any more than that right now) I've read plenty of reviews and the consensus seems to be that in this entry level price range this is the camera to go with when compared to Canon, etc. I know this is an entry level camera and that's what I'm looking for. Something I can get into relatively inexpensively and learn and experiment with until I see a need to upgrade to something better. Am I fooling myself? Will the D3300 be adequate or will I wish I had gone with something like the D5XXX. Also, is the 55-200 lens something I'll use? The other package option that's appealing is just the D3300 with 18-55 lens for $400. I read on one article to start out with a 18-55 lens and just use that for a year before playing with other lenses. Obviously I know almost nothing about cameras and I'm just looking for a little hand-holding to make sure I'm on the right track here. Thanks in advance for any help.

[snapt]

3300 is a good starter system, I took some great shots with my 3100 before upgrading. The 18-55 and 55-200 are very competent starter lenses, but will struggle in low light. Get a 3300, make sure you like the Dslr thing, then sell it and upgrade to a refurbed 7100 down the line. I think I paid 399 for my 3100 a long time ago and just sold it for 250 with the 18-55, so it wasn't a huge hit.

[Todds]

StormyMonday, If you are interested I have a D5100, 18-55, 18-200 (not 55-200) and a lowepro slingshot 100AW that I was planning on putting on ebay. Make me an offer on all or part of the above

[alfajores]

Just picked up the Olympus OMD EM5 mkii from factory refurb to replace my stolen mki. It is like a completely different camera. The image quality is markedly better and the build quality is a lot higher. Great for those wanting small, portrait or landscape camera with interchangeable lenses. The one notable feature everyone should consider is the live view bulb mode. Perfect for a number of situations and the only camera I know of that offers a live preview of a bulb mode.

[stormyMonday]

3300 is a good starter system, I took some great shots with my 3100 before upgrading. The 18-55 and 55-200 are very competent starter lenses, but will struggle in low light. Get a 3300, make sure you like the Dslr thing, then sell it and upgrade to a refurbed 7100 down the line. I think I paid 399 for my 3100 a long time ago and just sold it for 250 with the 18-55, so it wasn't a huge hit.

Thanks. That was basically exactly what I thinking. Give it a try and upgrade if/when necessary.

@Todds-thanks for the offer. Did some research and "I think" the new smaller and lighter body in the 3300 appeals to me more than the additional features in the 5100.

[Todds]

@stormyMonday, I understand about smaller cameras. I switched to the Olympus EM10 and will be upgrading to the EM5mkii at some point. You may want to take a look at the m43 cameras if small is important to you. There are some great deals on the EM10 and EM5 right now.

I've never used any of the D3xxx series cameras, but they don't look much smaller on paper. They are considerable lighter.
http://www.dpreview.com/products/com...tDir=ascending

[stormyMonday]

You may want to take a look at the m43 cameras if small is important to you. There are some great deals on the EM10 and EM5 right now.

I will definitely take a look at those. Appreciate the suggestion @jcolingham.

[alfajores]

No sweat. Lots of deals on the Sony alpha6000 with two lens kit right now. It is a similar camera with some trade offs for photos and video. It may resonate with you and the size is smaller.

[The AD]

@stormyMonday, I understand about smaller cameras. I switched to the Olympus EM10 and will be upgrading to the EM5mkii at some point. You may want to take a look at the m43 cameras if small is important to you. There are some great deals on the EM10 and EM5 right now.

In addition to size, another selling point for M43 is the ability to use vintage manual focus lenses using an adapter. You can get cheap adapters for many different lens series. Manual focus lenses are actually a lot of fun to use if you're used to just letting the autofocus do all the work. Last year I bought a used Canon FD 135mm f2.8 in excellent condition for $45 on eBay. With the m43 crop factor it's like a 270mm lens. Imagine what you'd need to spend for a fast prime like for a DSLR mount. In addition the Olympus m43 bodies have in-body image stabilization so even these old lenses gain the advantage of stabilization. I think this is a big plus for Olympus.