Another Canon user here, and really, anything in their Rebel line will be good. Er… do they still call them Rebels?
One common thing I’ve heard about DSLRs versus cameras with the lens built into the body is that they’re faster. That is to say, there is much less delay between pressing the button and taking the picture. Is that still universally the case, or is that more of a difference between any $600 camera and any $200 camera?
Also, yes, bounce flashes make a huge difference. They pretty much eliminate the “Demonic Red Eyes” that you get from flash photos (the light from the flash hits the person at such an angle that none of it can hit their retina at such an angle as to come back to the lens). Also, you can angle them in different ways to play with or eliminate the shadows behind the person (We’ve all seen the picture. College party, brightly illuminated friend with drink in hand and sharp dark shadow immediately behind them on the wall).
I’ve seen Canon Speedlites usually sell for around $300 or just under, which does make them kind of a substantial investment, but they can make a huge difference on your photos. It appears that Vivitar is still in the business of making more budget-friendly flashses, and hereis one for $130 on Amazon.
EDIT: You could of course always wait on the flash to see how she takes to the camera itself first, rather than just throwing it all at her at once.
Here is a comparison of two shots I took, one (on the left) with the built in flash, and one without. (Yes, the lens has been cleaned since then.) See the difference for yourself. The difference is HUGE. Get a speedlight. It is a necessity for taking good indoor pix.
Absolutely agree. Don’t get too caught up in the megapixel wars. There’s plenty of pros using cameras in the 10-12MP range. I’m absolutely perfectly happy with 12MP. If I were doing high-end fine art that’s printed beyond the 20"x24" range or so, I might want the extra megapixels–or if I intend to crop the hell out of my photos. But, as it stands, I print stuff up to that range without a problem. Hell, I’ve got a 2.7MP print at 13"x19" of Studs Terkel that a friend of mine took on the first generation Nikon D1 and from normal viewing distances, you can’t tell. Course, good optics helped there.
Anyhow, as to my recommendation, I’m a Nikon guy, but I actually do prefer Canon’s entry level dSLR’s to Nikon’s, so I’d recommend the T2i or T3i. However, you really can’t go wrong with either Nikon or Canon. Go to the store, try 'em out, and see which one you like.
The picture came back as a “No hot linking!” placeholder. Can you upload to Photobucket or a similar site?
I only suggested they wait on the hotshoe flash because it’s a pricy investment on top of a pricy investment. Better to let the wife see if she likes the camera before they make that big step up. Does the OP have friends with cameras that could loan them a flash? It would have to be compatible with whatever camera they get to use all of the features. Different camera companies use different connector setups to let their cameras and the flashes “talk” to each other about settings. I think many of the flashes will still work on manual settings, but I am unsure of that.
Also, there has been a trend over the last ten or fifteen years for the built-in popup flash to be on a longer flip-out arm than it used to be, in order to get the flash element as far from the lens as possible. If you’re curious, the Demonic Red Eyes effect is caused by light from the flash going through the lens of the eye, hitting the retina (which is red), and the light bouncing back out for the photo.
With many add-on flashes, the flash is elevated up about 3-6 inches from the camera, which keeps the light from being able to go from the flash to the retina and back to the camera because of the angles at work. Other flashes will also “pre flash”, doing that strobe light effect to get your irises to close up and make it harder for light to bounce off the retinas. Also has the bonus of getting the blink out of people before the camera actually takes the photo.
“One common thing I’ve heard about DSLRs versus cameras with the lens built into the body is that they’re faster. That is to say, there is much less delay between pressing the button and taking the picture. Is that still universally the case, or is that more of a difference between any $600 camera and any $200 camera?”
There is one compact that uses a fast focussing system as well, but generally yes.
The flip side of this is that many DSLR’s are slower at taking a picture through the screen than a compact as they focus on using the viewfinder for taking pictures. Sony has brought out a model which isnt slower, and has some interesting other toys besides, I think people are being way too conservative by sticking to Nikon and Canon only, particularly given neither brand has EVIL cameras out yet.
Much of the advice here also seems to be overequipping a bit - once you start carrying a flash around as well, you have to start being pretty keen as it make the setup pretty bulky.
This is why Ive suggested looking at some of the smaller cameras and Pen’s etc - many people starting out just want a better quality sensor rather than going that far down the track, and are happy to stay there. I passed on a Canon 350D with 18-55mm and Sigma 75-300 to someone, the only thing ever used is the 18-55mm, and I couldnt imagine her ever caring about a flash.
I’m on dialup so I can’t do the research but I think you can get the Rebel T2i plus an 18mm-135mm zoom lens for under $1000 from B&H or Best Buy or whatever huge electronics place that sells cameras you prefer. The lens is a bit bulky but it’s a lot of fun. The T2i also shoots nice video. The only thing that makes me go wtf is the door to the HDMI and USB ports. It’s this rubbery thing that I have to sort of fuss with. The other standard option is an 18mm-55mm lens which is smaller but of course not as versatile.
One thing to keep in mind is that the latest consumer DSLRs have very fast “film” speed, that is ISO ratings. ISO of 3200 is going to be available on Canon or Nikon and maybe even more on Olympus or Pentax. That means low light (indoor) photography without a flash. Flash is ugly and it takes enormous expertise to counter it’s effects. Back in Dec. I went to Hearst Castle and took lots of no flash indoor shots that were 100 times as pretty as with a good flash, which I have, but which I suck at using.
Go to the website and look at the reviews, particularly the ones that talk about actual use of the lens it comes with. A Leica under a thousand dollars is as suspicious as a $70 Rolex, even if it does actually come from Leica. Leica is the Rolls-Royce of 35mm SLRs because the lenses cost thousands of dollars and are extraordinary. Panasonic now owns the Lumix and Leica names and is cheapening the brand by doing this. It might be a fine camera, but not comparable at all to a traditional Leica.
The lenses are called “IS” (image stabilization) lenses in Canon parlance and “VR” (vibration reduction) lenses in Nikon parlance. Note that while they do work quite well, part of the “only to a point” caveat is that if your subject is moving fast enough to cause motion blur, it’s not going to help for that.
The newest cameras also have self-stabilizing sensors. The mechanism that helps minimize the effects of shaking on the sensor also double as the sensor’s self-cleaning mechanism. It vibrates the sensor to shake dust off of it (the dust can get in there when you’re changing lenses.)
Also, fun fact: Lecia is German for “I couldn’t afford this camera if I mortgaged my firstborn.” But damn if I don’t spend quite a bit of time staring longingly at them when I see them at a camera store.
Ah, yes, I forgot about those. I’m not aware of any in Canon or Nikon dSLRs at the moment, but a number of the other manufacturers have it in their dSLRs (Konica, Minolta, Olympus, and Sony, for example.)
That’s part of why I was lusting after that Finepix x100. They fairly shamelessly ripped off the Leica look-and-feel. Optical and LCD viewfinders, too.
I think all the Canon Rebels since the XSi have that feature. Dunno about their higher end stuff. Canon likes to use the consumer line of cameras as a testbed for their newest gee-whiz features to see how they work before they put them in their high-end cameras. Another nifty feature I like on the newer Rebels is this little sensor under the viewfinder. When you bring the camera up to your face to look through the viewfinder, it kills the LCD screen automatically so you don’t get glare in your eye.
It’s not a DSLR so you can stop reading right now, but unless your wife is really serious about phtography and therefore not put the camera in AUTO the whole time (so she will fidget with exposure, ISO, shutter speed) I’d go for the yet-to-be-released Sony dsc-HX100 (I’m getting it as an “upgrade” from the HX1).
I know DSLRs get better pictures if you actually get the time to know and practice with them, but even for a serious hobbyist, the praticality of a “superzoom” is not surparsed.
DSLRs are sexier and might get you more action, but you’d spend half that grand and spend the rest on jewellery.
