Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey Guys, I was just thinking i may want to purchase a digital SLR sometime int the near future and was wondering what ones are truly exceptional. I mean do they have a wide range of lenses, good memory storage, fair price, good manipulation programs etc. I suppose in the long run saving money on film and having it developed would prolly pay for itself but i do really like film cameras. Also are all digital SLR's autofocus? And cam you set shutterspeed aperature etc. THese are the reasons i really like Manual cameras because of all of the control they give. Thanks guys i look forward to reading your posts!
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-Doug Daly

"Aren't you two a little old to be drinking illegally?"

0.1.0 Leucistic Texas Rat Snake (Elaphe Obsoleta lindheimerii)

www.petitiononline.com/hhogs05/petition.html

Doug,

I had/have a Nikon F60 and its great so because i had other nikon gear I went with the Nikon brand, I trusted it and new how their systems/ menus went. I have only heard good things about the D70 so I decided to buy one...much cheaper than slide film in the long run....On my last 3 week trip herping I took 24 rolls of fuji senisa, at $27 per roll to buy film and develop it was an expensive exercise, and I still did'nt know what I had got till it was developed and subsequently I lost out on some pictures of animals that I thought I had (out focus too dark etc) so I started thinking Digital...

I have a Nikon D70. Its a 6.1 megapixel DSLR, its has both auto and manual focus (Dependant if the lens attached can take the Auto focus setting in the camera's cpu). It has about 10 "modes" for shooting, I usually use either Apeture Priority (Full auto but you govern which f stop you use), shutter Priority (Full auto but you govern the shutter speed) or Manual where you control both shutter and apeture. Etc.

The camera comes with a rechargable battery and a conventional battery holder....I have since brought a second battery. You get some 600 shots per battery

I have the following lenses :17 to 70, 25 to 80 and a 70 to 300 with a macro function (ratio 1:2).

I am now using a sb 800 flash gun...more power than the on camera flash. I also have a cord that allows you to take the flash off the hotshoe for different effects by positioning your flash.

I use a infra red remote when taking long exposures (no camera shake)

They have no "in camera" memory...I have both a 1 gb and a 512 cards (Compact flash type) the brand of the cards are the Sandisk Extreme.

I also use a tripod and have a decent bag etc etc.

As for price...For what I have got it cost me (Prices in Australian Dollars):

d70 with 17 to 70 lens $2,199
F60 with 25 to 80 and 70 to 300 lenses $960
sb 800 flash $545
flash cord $149
Memory Cards $350
Lens Filters $100
Tripod $85
Bag $140
Sb 24 flash $390
extra battery $100
remote $60

Grand total about $4,750 for what I have now....sh*t its expensive when you sit down and price it out but so is film at an average of $600 in shooting costs with a film camera per trip....5 trips and you have paid for it.

Attached is one of the 1st shots i took with it on my last trip

Regards,

Scott

I think the current generation of DSLRs are all very competent cameras. All of them allow full manual, aperture priority, shutter priority and several full auto modes so you can be as creative as you want. I believe they all offer some sort of bracketing and exposure/flash compensation.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a

- Nikon D70
- Canon Rebel XT (although a bit too small for my hands)
- Canon 20D
- Konica Minolta 7D (which I did buy)
- Konica Minolta 5D (due out in August)
- Olympus Evolt (although the lenses are expensive for this one)

All of these are good cameras. I have tried out all of them (except the 5D) while doing research on which one to buy.

Choosing one depends on a lot of factors, but do some research first.

I bought the 7D because I had some KM gear, it had in camera anti-shake, and it has superior ergonomics and feel to any of the others. But that doesn't make it the right camera for you.

Try reading some reviews at dpreview.com.

- Don't be mislead by the trivial differences in MP between the cameras. You only need enough megapixels and 6 is enough for almost anyone. My 6MP camera prints excellent photo quality 8x10 inch pictures. I theoretically could make a larger print with a 12MP or 16MP camera, but in reality, I will never do that, so why would I pay the premium for that privilege?

- Make sure you look at the pixel density and size of the CCD. Bigger CCDs with low pixel densities are the best (less noise). This is why DSLRs produce better pictures at high ISO than most "rangefinder type" digitals. Generally all DLSRs have big enough CCDs to minimize this. The CMOS in the Canon 20D is really good at limiting noise at high ISO (but how many ISO 1600/3200 pictures are you planning on shooting?)

- Look at the price and quality of lenses, flashes, etc that you want/need. Some systems may be cheaper in the long run when you consider accessories (there are limited accessories available for the EVOLT, for example). The D70 comes with a better "kit" lens than the others, accoording to reviews.

- If price is an issue, I personally think the D-70 is the best DLSR under $1000 right now, but I would want to see the KM 5D with its camera body anti-shake mechanism before I commit to giving the D-70 the under $1000 crown. The digital rebel feels like a toy to me (it isn't a bad camera, I just don't like its ergonomics).

For the price of some of the higher end ones on this list, you can buy the lower end cameras and a couple of lenses, a flash and an off camera cord and be set.
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Chris Harrison

hmm, i have the Canon 10D, i absolutely love it.

when researching on buying a DSLR i had pretty much decided on the konica minolta 7D, main reasons for this was the fact that it had the in-body anti-shake, and it had buttons for setting functions, as opposed to menus on some others.

I ended up going with the 10D simply because i'm only 17 and photography is a relatively new hobby uso the 7D was really way out of my price range (still is of course) and yea, i worked with a wedding photographer from my old church and he sold me the 10D for a great price (700 for the body, the vertical grip, one battery, a 1 gig card, and a 28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 lens)
and 700 for a 70-200mm f/2.8 L series lens (thats a $1100 lens)

so yea, i got hooked up lol, that was me main reason for my choice, aighty, word, anyways, defenitely don't overlook the canon digital rebel (300D) it sure seems to be a great camera, and from what i hear there is a firmware hack that gives it some of the custom features of the canon 10D

alrighty, good luck
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my animals
1.0.1 leopard gecko (goliath, gebco)
0.1 hypo red bearded dragon (puff the magic dragon)
0.0.1 schnieder's skink (ghandi)
0.1 white's dumpy treefrog (un-named)
0.0.1 red eared slider (carl)
1.0 lop eared wabbit (oreo)
0.0.2 pink toed tarantula (mambo mambo, and un-named)
0.0.1 green iguana (iguanadonatello)

the rest of the animals in the hizouse
1.0 westie (gabriel)
0.1 scottie (kait)
1.0 plain ol' outdoor alley cat (joey)
0.1 indoor rag doll kitty (tinkerbell)
2.0 goulian finchs