What is the best DSLR camera for under $500...

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koltsixx

koltsixx

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There are some amazing photo's on this site and I'm jealous. Lol! I love taking pics of my kids and pets and have always had point and shoot camera's so the pic quality was always low. Now I'd like to step up my game how ever I'm financially challenged(politically correct way of saying that).:D I'm looking to buy a entry level DSLR, but I need you photo experts to help me out. I don't want to throw my money out on any camera I want the best overall camera I can buy for the money. I've googled/binged/chromed the heck out of this, but they all have different answers. So I'm turning to you MFK help out a fellow hobbyist. I love my pets and spend plenty of time and energy maintaining my tank, it would be nice if I could show it off better instead of having slightly out of focus pics that are also grainy as heck. So please help me out, and think of it this way this question is probably asked a whole lot in the middle of your(photo-gods. Lol!) threads. By answering me you may save your self some time answering that question here. Depending on the quality of the answers, this thread may even be *Gasp* sticky worthy! So please fellow hobbyist's and moderator's help all of us out, thank you!
 
for nikon, you could get a D3000 with the 18-55mm kit lens, or even a used D40. ive seen D40s on craiglist with the lens go for less than $350. Canon would have an equivalent model as well. ill let the Canon guys chime in on that.
 
I went with a Sony because the lenses are cheaper and I can use old but much cheaper lenses from older sony/minolta cameras because the stabilisation is in the camera body instead of the lense like Nikons and Canons. I just have to forget about auto focus unless its a more expensive minolta lense.
My brother in law also went with a Sony A230 (the low end one) and is getting great results with it.
In reviews between in lense stabilisation and in camera body the tests showed the in-lense systems to be slightly better but this was under test conditions with stuff most of us don't really look at unless you are a pro. That is how the tests look to me anyway but I am a novice.

For the novice it is really a cost issue. The lower end cameras (Nikon D3000, Sony A230, Canon 1000D, etc) really don't have much between them with picture quality.
 
cichlid2006;4431130; said:
I went with a Sony because the lenses are cheaper and I can use old but much cheaper lenses from older sony/minolta cameras because the stabilisation is in the camera body instead of the lense like Nikons and Canons. I just have to forget about auto focus unless its a more expensive minolta lense.
My brother in law also went with a Sony A230 (the low end one) and is getting great results with it.
In reviews between in lense stabilisation and in camera body the tests showed the in-lense systems to be slightly better but this was under test conditions with stuff most of us don't really look at unless you are a pro. That is how the tests look to me anyway but I am a novice.

For the novice it is really a cost issue. The lower end cameras (Nikon D3000, Sony A230, Canon 1000D, etc) really don't have much between them with picture quality.
Click to expand...

If you buy one a Nikon that has the internal motor, such as the D50, the will work with older AF lenses as well.
 
im happy with my used D80 and 50mm prime lens $400.00 took the pic of the 1.5" dat in my avatar.
 
never dealt with Pentax. in cases like this, i like to stick with popular brands (nikon or canon) because the aftermarket world is huge for them and its easier to buy lenses/flashes at better prices..
 
All the review I went through when I was looking for my first DSLR a few months ago all put the Pentax below the top three: Nikon, Canon & Sony, and the reviews were not very nice about the Pentax cameras. The new Panasonic lumix also get decent reviews but the extra gear is very expensive in comparison to the ones mentioned.

With Nikon, Canon and Sony the extra gear is much cheaper than the less popular especially if you can get the older lenses of previous models and the older lenses are like built like tanks, not like the plastic junk nowadays. Ebay is amazing for the older lenses and other extra stuff.
 
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