[Andriean]

I'd like to narrow down my selection of D-SLR camera. I am thinking about taking pictures of models in a studio or outdoors, but something with the capacity to take sports or wildlife photos should I change my mind later. Thus said,

1. Should I get Canon or Nikon?
2. What size sensor should I get? Four-Thirds or APC-S?
3. What should be the maximum shutter speed?
4. I'll probably have to move around a lot to take trial photos before my final shot. Is weight a factor here or should I not have to worry since I'll most likely have a tripod?

[jcdill]

Narrowing Down D-SLR Choices
I'd like to narrow down my selection of D-SLR camera. I am thinking about taking pictures of models in a studio or outdoors, but something with the capacity to take sports or wildlife photos should I change my mind later. Thus said,

1. Should I get Canon or Nikon?
2. What size sensor should I get? Four-Thirds or APC-S?
3. What should be the maximum shutter speed?
4. I'll probably have to move around a lot to take trial photos before my final shot. Is weight a factor here or should I not have to worry since I'll most likely have a tripod?

1) Both Canon and Nikon are good camera brands. Canons are more popular at sporting events as Canon was faster to produce digital cameras and lenses specific for professional sports photographers (fast "frames per second" speed, high quality "fast" zoom telephoto lenses with image stabilization). However, Nikon has caught up, and both are widely used by photographers in all fields of photography. The primary thing to understand about a DSLR choice is that you are buying into a system and will be upgrading components of that system over time. It's very expensive to change to the other system and buy all new components. One big advantage for Canon is that there are more choices for renting Canon gear so you don't need to own every lens you might want to use. You should also look into camera clubs in your area - if you have broad support for a particular brand (a strong presence in your local camera clubs) this gives you access to people who know your brand's settings, and who might loan or swap lenses with you occasionally.

2) For landscape, portrait, and professional model photos you want a full-frame sensor. For sports a crop-factor sensor gives you a faster frame rate, and makes telephoto lenses effectively even more telephoto e.g. a 1.6 crop factor makes a 200mm lens into an effective 320mm lens length. Most photographers who shoot many different genres have more than one camera body and use the appropriate body for the genre or carry both cameras with different lenses for different shots (e.g. a full-frame camera with a wide angle and a crop-factor camera with a telephoto).

3) Irrelevant - all DSLRs today have ample shutter speed choices for your needs.

4) The weight will be in the lenses more than the body. Weight is also tightly linked to battery size - the bigger the battery the longer you can shoot before having to swap or recharge your battery but the heavier the camera.

You didn't ask the most important question. What matters most is the glass, not the camera body. The glass is what gathers the light and delivers it to the sensor. There's a reason you can buy telephoto lenses with a huge price range (e.g. 200-300 mm lenses from $150 to $4000) and that's because the more expensive lenses ARE better and you can see the quality in the photos they produce. In general for every $2k you spend on the camera you will spend another $4k to $10k on lenses. If you are planning on buying a $1k or $2k camera and then using it with $300 lenses you are wasting your money. If that's your budget, buy a $600 camera (used or refurbished 1-year old prosumer body) and buy a single top-quality lens (L class lens) instead. Rent additional top quality lenses when needed until you can afford to buy more top quality glass.

For example, you can get a refurbished Canon 50D from B&H or Adorama (two very reputable camera stores that do a lot of online business) for around $1000, and an XSi for around $500.

I bought into the Canon system because I found the lens that was best for my needs (70-200 L IS f/2.8) which was THE lens for my field. Then I bought a consumer level DLSR (Rebel aka 300D for $999 with kit lens) and spent $1600 on the lens. I bought another L lens (24-70 f/2.8) for $999 and then eventually upgraded the body to a used (refurbished) 1DMII for $2400 and sold the Rebel and kit lens for $400. I rent or borrow other lenses as needed. I also bought the Canon 550 EX flash. And don't forget to budget for filters (UV filters for each lens, circular polarizer), cable release, extra batteries, memory cards, camera bag, tripod and head, etc. If you plan to shoot in the studio you also need studio equipment - backdrops, strobes, softboxes, modifiers, etc. You can rent a studio and equipment by the hour or day, but it can get spendy fast.

Finally, none of this matters if you don't know how to use the equipment. Many people mistakenly think that if they buy a DSLR they will automatically "get better photos" when the reverse is true! A consumer point-n-shoot takes "better photos" than a DSLR, unless you know what you are doing! The DSLR gives YOU more control, but that control means you need to understand every control on your camera and know how to configure it to take the photos you want. You need to know about ISO quality issues (something you didn't ask about, and which can differ dramatically from camera to camera), know when to use different focus methods, know when to use different f-stops or shutter speeds, exposure compensation, etc. And then you must always shoot in RAW (NEVER in jpeg!) and develop the skills to get the most out of your images in the raw conversion software. If you just want to leave the camera on automatic, shoot in jpeg, and call it done, use a point-n-shoot camera and save yourself thousands of dollars.

[KISS]

An expensive DSLR has more buttons and knobs, hence more ways to screw up the picture and more ways in making it surpurb. The latter requires knowing what your doing and what you should be doing.

I bought the Panasonic DMC-FZ50 and I'm really happy with it. I can see value with a closeup and telephoto lens, but have neither.

My accessories in order were:
1. Charger - got caughht with an internet scam where items were removed from the "stock" equipment. The charger I got will also charge from a lighter socket.
2. A camera case
3. An extra battery. It seems always one dies and they are not easy to come by. Internet and especially eBay can render exceptional deals. e.e Cell phone batterys about $40 each in the state and <$1.00 from China with about $12 shipping. I got 1 DOA one out of 6 that I've purchased on two occaisions.
4. UV filter. Basically doubles as a lens protecter. A kit with fluorescent, UV and polarizer probably would have been a better move.