Fav DSLR for noobs

[jason longboard]

Not that its gotta be the easiest to use but something in the 500 buck range what have you guys had the best luck with. Ive googled for the top 10 and so on, but wondered if any of you could give some better answers considering I know you guys better than random google reviewers.

I do like action shots, always trying to catch animals, birds and such, reptiles, nature and so on. I like crisp images, detail, I hear the canon is kind of soft. Anyways, read lots of stuff, just checkin in with you guys.

 

[yodaLBC]

one thing i know about photography,,its cool to start with a basic SLR but that never last too long because youre gonna want a better one, more options,,different lens and more accesories lol.. my girl wants to get into photography too but i wont let her use my camera,,so i got her a sony A330 from black friday sale and shes really happy with it lol! goodluck!

 

[kingkarter]

one thing i know about photography,,its cool to start with a basic SLR but that never last too long because youre gonna want a better one, more options,,different lens and more accesories lol. goodluck!

x2

 

[papawoody]

i got the nikon d3000 and its cool . no video . yeah if you get all into photography you might need more lenses , but for basic shots here and there that look good , it suits me .

 

[cichlid2006]

Sony has cheaper lenses and I got the A230 for what works out to about $450. It is ok for action shots but you can get a higher model for what I paid for my A230 now.
I thought it was perfect for starting out and is doing me well while I learn, my brother in law still has his A230 over a year on and loves it.
I found extra lenses to be very expensive with Nikon and Canon but they do seem to be the more popular brands, I think sony is overlooked because of the others' better marketing. You shouldn't rule them out when you go to the shop and see what camera fits your hands better.

 

[jcardona1]

Nikon has the D40 (discontinued) and the D3000 (replacement) as the entry-level cameras. Both can be had within that price range too. Canon also has comparable models in that price range. IMO, Nikon and Canon are both so good these days, it's hard to pick one over the other. It will basically come down to which one feels better in your hands and which menu/button layout you like more.

Me personally, I chose Nikon for their legendary background in the optics world, from cameras, lenses, microscopes, binoculars, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, etc etc. My deer gun has a Nikon Monarch scope which is amazing, so naturally I stayed with the Nikon theme when choosing a camera

 

[jason longboard]

something I keep reading about the canons is the image is too soft for some. Comments?

Also who backs their product well?

 

[jcardona1]

Greenterra shoots Canon, and no special lenses. You be the judge

 

[jclyde13]

Personally, I think the difference in image quality between Canon and Nikon is too minimal to even matter to anyone who isn't going to be looking at the pics through a microscope...

I bought the Nikon D3000 last August, and I have been very happy with it so far. It is fairly easy to use and takes very clear pictures (even with just the 18-55mm VR kit lens it comes with). Here's a pic I took last month just for an example (keep in mind I'm not a very experienced photographer and this pic was taken using full manual mode and was not edited):

<-- Click on the pic for a ridiculously large version

 

[jcardona1]

And here's one from my favorite local wedding photographer. Canon 5D shooter. tacksharp