Best Camera to Purchase?

Hi,
I have the Nikon D40 and love it...i did get the extra flash that can be put on the camera...the flash on the camera did not cut and I found some pics to be blurry. This really helped and my friend got the extra zoom lens and loves it. I am fine with the lens I have and just crop the photos on the computer and zoom in if I want a real close up. I have had so many small digital cameras in the past and they all last me a year and when they break i just used to buy a new one. Since I spent quite a bit of money and seem to take better care of ot and i have had to send it back twice for repairs...as i am not that careful with it...yet it was quick and easy.

Canon all the way. We tried Sony and it didn't work for us. Hope that helps narrow something down.

I LOVE my Canon EOS and always will...fortunately, someday when I move on to digital, all my Canon accessories will fit....that's a great thing about that brand, and the lens quality is superb. The accessories I've added over the years are the extra flash (though I've only used it a couple times for portraits and a wedding), and I really like and use the little....hmmm....can't remember what you call it, but it just twists onto my lens and I keep it there all the time, but if it's sunny you take it off, turn it around, and it's a shade to keep the glare down. That way when I take pictures on water or with a lot of glass or whatever, there's no spots or glare in the photos. (Use this A LOT since I use my camera at soccer fields and parks all the time). I have a nice polarizer that I use occassionally to give a little color to the pictures when the sun is obnoxiously bright or the sky is so gray it looks like there's nothing to it.....this brings out the depth and clouds and stuff that would otherwise not really show up in a picture. This polarizer, on my Canon, did some AMAZING things with the colors of the homes in Venice, Italy (and I had a Nikon without the polarizer at the same time and took pictures with both cameras, kind of experimenting to see what I liked best). Some unnecessary but fun things I have: a polarizer that is foggy except for what is right in the middle for portraits, and another that adds stars to lights that I like to use around Christmas time to really add that twinkle to all the lights in my pictures. (You can get this as different points: one that does 5 point stars, or 3 points, etc). Some people swear that a fixed lens (non-zoom) are superior quality as far as clarity and all that, but I personally believe that with Canon's name brand, the point is moot. I have 2 fixed lenses that I honestly don't use because I'm too lazy to carry them around...I keep a zoom on mine that is very basic, but I think it's like 35mm-105 or 125, something like that. (I'm too lazy to get up and look, sorry, lol). I've fantasized about returning to Africa and having a monster zoom lens so I could do much better on safari, lol, but with higher zooms, or higher speed film for night time photos, you really should have a tripod (or at least a monopod that you lean on something) to elminate hand shake issues (really high zooms or very high speed film will blur b/c your hand shakes some).You can go on a slow day to Ritz or Wolf and ask questions, get a catalog, etc and that way you at least have an idea of what to look for. Also, if you buy stuff from them, they will give you free photography classes that you can schedule which are helpful not only in using the settings you won't read about in your booklet (at least I never did) but in some little tricks and tips that are fun and helpful. (At least, they offered these classes years ago when I got mine....not 100% sure about now, but you can certainly ask about that).

We LOVE LOVE LOVE our Canon Rebel!!!! We only have two lenses right now. The regular 50' and the first extended - 75' to 150'. We plan to get the 150-225' lense for Christmas. Enjoy!

Well we finally decided to bite the big one and bought a Canon Rebel EOS T1i. We got the whole package deal on Ebay.
Came with everything we needed. Lens, travel pack, tripods etc... If you don't get a package you would need a 28,80mm's lens for the shots you are wanting to take. You can make adjustments on the camera for different shots that you can take so you really don't need alot of lens unless your doing some serious close up work or nature documentaries. ") We went on a Cruise and got to break it in. We LOVE it! The pics are great and we no longer miss any shots like before with our pocket digital. The Canon Rebel should get the job done for what you are needing it for.
Forget going to get pictures professionally taken, I can pull off professional portraits with the best of them now! I highly recommend it.
C.

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you are making a great choice in the canon rebel xsi. I have the canon rebel xti. I would love the slight up-grade to the xsi. The standard lens it comes with is a great beginners lens. Depending on what you want to do with it,your camera,I would wait to purchase any thing else. You may want a longer lens for the sporting events. I purchased the 75-300 and have not been that happy with it. You MUST have a tri-pod with the longer lenses.
My best tip-ALWAYS shoot portraits in natural light!! NO flash. Hope this helps.

The entry-level SLR cameras for both Canon and Nikon (the D40) are both very good and will take pictures way better than most point-and-shoots. For many it's like choosing between Ford and Chevy, Mikasa or Wedgewood, etc; it's a personal preference, really. They both will have many of the same features. I think both cameras come with an 18-55 lens, but then you'll also want to get a zoom lens like a 75-200 or 75-300. Also get a tripod. It helps if you are computer saavy and already know how to get pictures off a camera and on the computer. There will be a lot of new technology and photography terms to learn, but the payoff will be worth it!

We bought the Nikon D90 when our daughter was born and have been very happy with it. It came with a 18-105mm lens , and we are going to get the zoom lens one day, but we rarely shoot that far anyway. I had to get someone at the camera store to "tutor" me on the camera because there are so many features, but it is awesome to have such a high shutter speed and such a fast camera to capture all the little moments.

i found kenrockwell.com & was inspired to purchase my nikon d40. love it!!

Hi C.,

I'm not sure how much you were wanting to splurge, but we just love our Canon 40D. We've had it for a little over a year and it takes AWESOME pictures...has a super fast shutter speed, which makes for great action photos with no blur...unless you WANT an artistic blur, and the camera has options for that too. The camera came with a great lens, so I have only purchased an additional memory card since then.

Gig 'em!

Hi C.
I just have one suggestion: whatever you decide to do, I would recommend purchasing your camera from ARlington camera on the corner of Randol Mill & Cooper. They are camera people (unlike Best Buy or other retailers) so they can answer your questions. Plus when you buy a camera they give you a FREE class to help you learn how to use it. AND they give you a year's worth of free digital prints ($10 worth every month for 12 months). PLUS I have heard that they will match advertised prices, so if you have a current ad from Best Buy or Conn's or wherever, they will give you that price. But, I've never tested that theory so I may be wrong. But I would say, you'll have better luck buying your camera from a camera shop. Good Luck with your purchase!