Need a good digital SLR - recommendations?

Jizzlobber

Jizzlobber

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Mar 7, 2007
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Just took this a few minutes ago with my 7.2 MP Sony Cybershot 3x zoom, fine quality setting. Pic was taken about from about 100 yards. This blows. Would like to be able to zoom in for a head shot and see their whiskers. Anybody have such an SLR camera/lens setup? Maybe know of a good forum to check out to find one? No budget in mind, but would rather invest in good optics over a particular camera body model that would be outdated in a year.

8688deer.jpg
 


I have a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, which they don't make anymore, but they have the newer XSi and T1i models which are really good as well.

Don't bother buying anything that isn't Canon or Nikon.

As for your picture, just remember that digital zooms are just like taking your picture and zooming in with photoshop. For a shot like this at 100 yards, you will need an SLR like the ones listed above and at least a good entry-level telephoto lens.

http://digital-photography-school.com/ is a great website for researching equipment, so I'd def. start there.
 
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Big fan of Nikon's myself. You're going to want at least a 300mm lens to zoom in their heads from that far away, I've got a 55-200mm zoom and it won't get that close from 100 yards.

And you nailed it, get a decent body and spend your $$$ on glass.
 
Jizzlobber said:
Just took this a few minutes ago with my 7.2 MP Sony Cybershot 3x zoom, fine quality setting. Pic was taken about from about 100 yards. This blows. Would like to be able to zoom in for a head shot and see their whiskers. Anybody have such an SLR camera/lens setup? Maybe know of a good forum to check out to find one? No budget in mind, but would rather invest in good optics over a particular camera body model that would be outdated in a year.

8688deer.jpg
Click to expand...

wtf looks like it was taken from a 2.0mp cellphone >_>
 
Got a Canon EOS 500D (euro name for the Rebel T1i). Great camera, love it.

That sort of range you'll need a fairly hefty telephoto, probably worth more than the cost of the body.
 
Should also add, getting an SLR is like learning to walk from crawling. Spend the money, you won't regret it.

You suddenly realise how much more is possible with photography, you start paying attention to angles, contrast and light sources. Even when you're walking down a street you've walked down a hundred times before and never noticed it, you'll see something and wish you had your camera with you.
 
The elaborate further on what Nicky said, point and shoots have "optical zoom" and "digital zoom". A typical camera has optical zoom to about 3x (about 100mm equivalent) but might then have a digital zoom to 10x... it's the digital zoom that is completely useless. This is usually indicated by a pause and colour change on the display when zooming. Stop at the pause.

You can get some models of compacts that have a 10x or more optical zoom (about 300mm equivalent) from which you can expect to get a decent zoomed shot.

I'm a Canon fan.

What's your budget for the SLR and lenses? This will make a great deal of difference when it comes to what model and lens combo to recommend. You have everything from the base model body and lens kit to fully professional and L series glass, and everything in between to choose from.

Remember, there's no better site for camera comparison and reviews than DPreview. Here's the Canon models page... Canon Digital Cameras: Digital Photography Review

Your most current Canon model selection would be in order of low to high cost...

EOS 500D (Rebel T1i) << entry level, also shoots 1080 movies at 20fps, 720 at 30 fps (all others after this have 1080 at full 30fps capability)
50D as pointed out above, though getting a little long in the tooth now I think.
EOS 7D << semi pro
EOS 5D MKII << pro, full frame sensor, comes with a 24-105mm L series lens in the full kit, same lens as I own on my older 400D.
EOS 1D MKIV << the uber model

The kit lenses on the entry models tend to be kind of sucky. I would buy the body kit only and get a lens separate. This is where the major budgetary concerns come into play, because high end lenses can easily surpass the cost of the camera body.

The movie capabilities of the higher end models can't be overlooked. There's a whole aftermarket of steady cam kits, follow zooms, etc. as they are quite capable of shooting Hollywood quality footage. A lot of amateur film makers are using cameras like the 5D to produce some stunning video.
 
Its not going to solve your zoom problem, but I got a powershot s90 last month. Its an SLR but more or less the size of a point and shoot. As much as I'd love to have $5k camera with a $15k lens, if it doesn't fit in my pocket its never going to get used.
 
Andrew said:
Its not going to solve your zoom problem, but I got a powershot s90 last month. Its an SLR but more or less the size of a point and shoot. As much as I'd love to have $5k camera with a $15k lens, if it doesn't fit in my pocket its never going to get used.
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A friend of mine just bought one of those and it's brilliant. Really nice quality for a point and shoot.

If you want something small and you don't mind having to manually focus, there are a few digital rangefinder cameras that are as good as a standard dSLR. The Epson R-D1 and the Leica M8 are both ultra high quality small cameras, but they're not cheap ($2.5k and $5k respectively).

If you want something good and easy to use, get whatever version of the Digital Rebel is out now. They're pretty cheap, there's tons of information out there on them, and you can upgrade the image quality dramatically once you get a new lens.
 
Andrew said:
As much as I'd love to have $5k camera with a $15k lens, if it doesn't fit in my pocket its never going to get used.
Click to expand...

Bit of an exaggeration there. The T1i kit with the 18-55mm lens can be had for about $700. The 7D which is edging into profesional quality can be had for $1800 with the 28-135mm kit lens. The 5D MKII with the superb lens it comes with is about $3000. You would still want a telephoto though to catch the "whiskers".

Personally I would would go without the kit lenses (except in the case of the 5D) and then spring for something like this...

EOS (SLR) Camera Systems - Telephoto Zoom - Telephoto Zoom Lens - EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM - Canon USA Consumer Products

Which is at an entry level of $600

Problem there is that you will also want to have a smaller lens as well.

Or opt for something like this...

EOS (SLR) Camera Systems - Telephoto Zoom - Telephoto Zoom Lens - EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM - Canon USA Consumer Products

Which is a fully pro L series glass lens and $2000 but far more versatile at 28-300mm. You could almost get by without ever needing to buy another lens.
 
Those deer were out there for an hour today eating acorns (only because I kept the dog in). Plenty of time to get a good shot. I've got similarly shitty pictures of coyotes in the same spot and have watched owls and hawks dive for mice in that field. Would be cool to get some decent closeups to have mounted and hang around the house. I wouldn't mind investing $1500 - $2000 for a decent setup. I'd probably pay that for a handful of framed prints anyhow - might as well invest in a camera and make my own art.

Thanks for the suggestions - will look into the Nikon and Canon rigs. Would most likely keep this right at home in standby mode on a tripod, so an obtrusive lens is of no concern. Definately want to be able to get closeups within 100 yards. I have a groundblind I use for turkey hunting, so if I was serious enough I could set that up and get closer if I was interested in waiting these things out. More often than not I'm seeing stuff right out the back slider of the house.

+rep to Fatbat for the detailed response and DPreview link. (oops, must spread some more love first)
 
Nikon D90s are good but a bit pricy. Should be easy to get a package with a small lens for people and parties and then buy a good lens for distance.
 
I picked up a Nikon D90 last year... very solid camera, I would definitely recommend it. It came with an 18-105mm lens and I bought a 55-200mm for about $200 that works great for getting closeup shots.
 
Have a Nikon D60 with 18-105mm enjoying it a lot, spring for the D90 though if you can.
 
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