Choosing a DSLR

[shirokado]

Somebody explain to me everything I need to know about DSLr please.

And what cameras is should consider. And other accessories as well.

It's for taking pictures at conventions.

Cheaper the better but I'm willing to save up. I have until next July after all.

[Coombzy]

what's the budget price? but for cheap I would look at either the Canon 100D or the Nikon 5200 or 3100 but again we would need a budget

[452452345126]

I have a Nikon d3100 and its been a great camera. Its my first DSLR and its got a built in guide mode to help explain something if you're out and about without your manual. I got mine as a kit with the 18-55mm and 55-200mm lens for $499 for a mothers day sale at Walmart. The difference between the $499 2x lens kit and the $449 standard 1 lens kit is the fact that the 1 lens kit has VR (vibration reduction) built into the lens. I will warm you though, when you're getting into this kind of stuff you kind of start to get an itch for more.. I find myself looking at new lenses all the time, I sense a new 50mm fixed focal length lens in my new future..

 

Here is a couple pictures I've taken with the camera, and I've only had this camera maybe two months now.
 

A stray cat that stopped by for lunch at my house

 

A friend wanted some pictures of his Subaru WRX STI

 

The worst part about getting into this stuff for me has been wanting more more more!  :P

[Coombzy]

indeed as soon as you get your first DSLR you start looking for lenses and find you want every kind of lense of the planet I am currently using a Canon 350D 8 years old still taking good pictures hopefully upgrading to a 700D then its lense shopping :3

[shirokado]

Well I don't really have a budget. I have around 400 dollars on me but I can save up.

[Coombzy]

Well I don't really have a budget. I have around 400 dollars on me but I can save up.

for $40 more you can get the D3100 with a kit lense from amazon 

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-14-2MP-Digital-18-55mm-3-5-5-6/dp/B003ZYF3LO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373791187&sr=8-1&keywords=Nikon+D3100

or if you can save $100+ the new one http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Digital-18-55mm-3-5-5-6-NIKKOR/dp/B007VGGFZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373791231&sr=8-1&keywords=Nikon+D3200

I would recommend Canon but they seem to be a lot more expensive even the T2i is $600

[CrabCreations]

I started with a Canon Rebel T2i (550D) and I couldn't recommend it more. It's a great beginner dslr to get started and offers amazing quality pictures.
I would suggest you either buy the body only and then buy a the 50mm f1.8 II from Canon. The default 18-55 lens is ok but it won't give your crisp clear images.
 

[shirokado]

Also, I have pretty large hands, I wear Large sized gloves. I don't want a camera thats too small for my hands. Well I have been using a Sony TX-10 for a while so as long as its bigger then that I probably wouldn't mind.

[pcman2000]

Personally I have a Sony NEX-5N. It's a mirrorless ILC so technically it's not a DSLR, however it acts the same.

 

It has continuous AF during video and 10fps continuous shooting. It's also smaller than most DSLRs.

 

Some photos I took of the night sky;

 

 

^^ Shooting star??

 

[acidydragon]

Hi! I was in the same boat as you, not to long ago (like three days at the posting :P). So, what I went with was the T3i from Canon.

 

Now, what you really care about, why?

1. If you look around the net, and are looking for something around the $700 price point (U.S. currency), this seems to be the go to.

2. I personally found a great deal locally for mine, however, the same could be said about any deal you can find on any camera.

3. It's a nice camera for the price point. The camera has what they refer to as, "Feature Guide", which I have found amazingly helpful. Essentially, what it does is, It guides you through what things do. If you change mode the camera is in to... lets say Macro mode, it tells you, "Close-Up, For close ups of small objects such as flowers. Shoot as close to the subject as possible." While very unhelpful for seasoned pros, it helps a ton when you're as clueless as I was. Now, when you go to change something more technical, such as the ISO, it helps you as well to a degree. It says "Set light sensitivity, relative to subject/ambient brightness". Thats a tad less helpful, however, helps me figure out what it's changing.

4. It comes with a TON of helpful information. It has the user manual, which is great... and boring, but informative! (300 some-odd-pages) It also comes with a disk, thats a video on different aspects of your camera, as they explain it, not a way to master your camera, but if you think of it like driving, it would be drivers ed.

 

Hope I've helped! I love my t3i, and thats the theme I've seen on the internet. It's out of your current budget, but with some very moderate savings, I feel you'll love it like I do!

Happy con-ing!

Kyle

 

Edit: It also has full 1080p video at 30 FPS. :), which for me, was essential.

Edited July 15, 2013 by acidydragon

[Blade of Grass]

No one really asked you this, so I will.

 

What do you plan on photographing? How much experience do you have with photography (do you know about the exposure triangle and such?)?

 

These are almost as crucial as budget IMHO when choosing photography gear, since it impacts your lens choices. I also suggest investing more into lenses than into camera bodies. Lenses are forever, where as bodies get replaced frequently. Also, cheap body + expensive lenses is better than expensive body + cheap lenses.

[acidydragon]

No one really asked you this, so I will.

What do you plan on photographing? How much experience do you have with photography (do you know about the exposure triangle and such?)?

These are almost as crucial as budget IMHO when choosing photography gear, since it impacts your lens choices. I also suggest investing more into lenses than into camera bodies. Lenses are forever, where as bodies get replaced frequently. Also, cheap body + expensive lenses is better than expensive body + cheap lenses.

Because he was asking for information like he was,and based on his expected budget, I presumed he was new to photography. My recommendation was based on him not knowing much.

He also said he was photographing conventions.

Hope that helps you give him advice :D

Good luck to all

[shirokado]

No one really asked you this, so I will.

 

What do you plan on photographing? How much experience do you have with photography (do you know about the exposure triangle and such?)?

 

These are almost as crucial as budget IMHO when choosing photography gear, since it impacts your lens choices. I also suggest investing more into lenses than into camera bodies. Lenses are forever, where as bodies get replaced frequently. Also, cheap body + expensive lenses is better than expensive body + cheap lenses.

Convention things, I have no idea about anything, 

i dont plan to buy lenses, i just want something that would work.