[rajshenoy]

Guys, what is your take on canon eos 1100d?
I am a point and shoot guy who was looking for super zoom like nikon p510 but after doing fair bit of research i felt dslrs are not out of reach.
Other option i have is nikon d3100 or eos 550d.

But 1100d is looking total vfm at about 25k with 18-55 kit. I going crazy about slrs now and feel like taking the plunge.

Edit: Mods, I was browsing from mobile, so did not realize there was a dedicated thread for DSLRs.
If this is not appropriate here, please delete the same or help me move it to DSLR thread

I also considered mirrorless cameras like Sony NEX and Nikon J1 and V1 but felt the market is not yet mature for these and accessories like lens might be pretty expensive. which is why i mentioned DSLRs to be specific

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Guys, what is your take on canon eos 1100d?
I am a point and shoot guy who was looking for super zoom like nikon p510 but after doing fair bit of research i felt dslrs are not out of reach.
Other option i have is nikon d3100 or eos 550d.

But 1100d is looking total vfm at about 25k with 18-55 kit. I going crazy about slrs now and feel like taking the plunge.

Edit: Mods, I was browsing from mobile, so did not realize there was a dedicated thread for DSLRs.
If this is not appropriate here, please delete the same or help me move it to DSLR thread

I also considered mirrorless cameras like Sony NEX and Nikon J1 and V1 but felt the market is not yet mature for these and accessories like lens might be pretty expensive. which is why i mentioned DSLRs to be specific

So one more victim for the SLR photography bug - welcome!

Choosing a Nikon or Canon is purely subjective decision, both are equally good. Buy a cam that fits well in your hands. Entry level DSLRs are not good if you have large hands.

If you shoot mostly indoors, go for a Nikon, for outdoors, Canon does the job. (Nothing complex, Nikon does indoor white balance the best, Canon gives you white balance thats true to your eyes).

[recshenoy]

Experts, what is the configuration of Laptop/desktop used for editing pics. Editing on a netbook with half GB RAM is too tiring. Thought of upgrading to a desktop ( since desktop adds some seriousness and cheaper).

Especially which is the monitor used while editing (monitor size and make)

Image are 10MP taken from Nikon D60

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Experts, what is the configuration of Laptop/desktop used for editing pics. Editing on a netbook with half GB RAM is too tiring. Thought of upgrading to a desktop ( since desktop adds some seriousness and cheaper).

Especially which is the monitor used while editing (monitor size and make)

Image are 10MP taken from Nikon D60

If you are not against apple, go with the macbook pro. Its a great lappy for image editing, superb display - can be easily calibrated too

Edit: Desktop - get a good graphics card, at least 4Gb RAM, multi-core processor. Get a Hi-res monitor capable of true 64bit display.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Experts, what is the configuration of Laptop/desktop used for editing pics. Editing on a netbook with half GB RAM is too tiring. Thought of upgrading to a desktop ( since desktop adds some seriousness and cheaper).

Especially which is the monitor used while editing (monitor size and make)

Image are 10MP taken from Nikon D60

Are you especially looking for a laptop? If not, get the Apple mac mini. I think its the best Apple product out there in terms of VFM
which is ideally suited for editing snaps. Under 35-40K you get the full Apple system which latest OS. You can upgrade your memory
upgrades up to 8GB can done under 3K!

iMac and MacBooks will come about 70K onwards which according to very costly. And that price is due to the display.

You can separately buy a very decent 22/24/27 inch monitor (Dell/Samsung etc) and get almost similar performance under 50-55K.
At the same time since the monitor is independent, you can use it for much longer time duration.


All the above only in case you dont want a laptop.


PS : I can definitely vouch for the mac mini, because I myself use it.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by autocrat

So one more victim for the SLR photography bug - welcome!

Thanks. I always liked photography, but somehow felt DSLR is for pros only. I guess i have the free time(and the Money) to get started.

Originally Posted by autocrat

Choosing a Nikon or Canon is purely subjective decision, both are equally good. Buy a cam that fits well in your hands. Entry level DSLRs are not good if you have large hands.

Well, i am average built. So That should not be a big issue.

Originally Posted by autocrat

If you shoot mostly indoors, go for a Nikon, for outdoors, Canon does the job. (Nothing complex, Nikon does indoor white balance the best, Canon gives you white balance thats true to your eyes).

It is going to be a mix of both

Idea is to get the kit lens 18-55mm, and later buy a 50mm prime lens to keep me busy for some time to come.

Once i buy, i plan to keep it for some time. and keep adding lens. so that If i decide to upgrade to a higher end DSLR some day, i can just get the body only.

I am inclining more towards Canon because it comes with the built in focus motor. I read somewhere that since Nikon low end SLRs dont have focus motor(D3100,3200,5100 etc) i have to go for more expensive lens(am i right?)

I am getting the EOS1100D for about 25K and D3100 is around 29K. Both on Ebay, also the other option i considered was EOS550D which is 32-34K.
Instead i can get the 1100D and get a 50mm prime lens too for 30K

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Thanks. I always liked photography, but somehow felt DSLR is for pros only. I guess i have the free time(and the Money) to get started.

Well, i am average built. So That should not be a big issue.

It is going to be a mix of both

Idea is to get the kit lens 18-55mm, and later buy a 50mm prime lens to keep me busy for some time to come.

Once i buy, i plan to keep it for some time. and keep adding lens. so that If i decide to upgrade to a higher end DSLR some day, i can just get the body only.

I am inclining more towards Canon because it comes with the built in focus motor. I read somewhere that since Nikon low end SLRs dont have focus motor(D3100,3200,5100 etc) i have to go for more expensive lens(am i right?)

I am getting the EOS1100D for about 25K and D3100 is around 29K. Both on Ebay, also the other option i considered was EOS550D which is 32-34K.
Instead i can get the 1100D and get a 50mm prime lens too for 30K

Older gen Nikons came with motor in body, new ones come with motor in lens. The Canons have always had motor in the lens. The cost difference may not be much, but your lens range gets limited if you buy a body with motor. Also focussing speed of lenses with USM / HSM motor in lenses is superior to that of screw drive motor in body. I guess 1100 appears to be a good buy.

[neoonwheels]

1100D is a nice camera and I have it since a year now. The image quality is good but somewhat suffers in low light. Mind you when I said suffer, dont compare it to P&S, its far better than those cameras.

Also, I felt Canon has lenses a bit cheaper than Nikons and then I have always been a Canon fanboy. Also few of my friends have Canons so it was a sensible decision to go with Canon so that we can share lenses.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

I am inclining more towards Canon because it comes with the built in focus motor. I read somewhere that since Nikon low end SLRs dont have focus motor(D3100,3200,5100 etc) i have to go for more expensive lens(am i right?)

That's right, the low end starter Nikon DSLRs do not have focus motors and need to use AF-S lenses that is lenses with a focus motor in their barrel. Nikon does make a few 'D' type lenses, the ones that need the camera body to have a focus motor, but for your type of use you are better off with the 'G' (AF-S) type. All new lenses are G/AF-S now.

In other words don't let the lack of an in-body focus motor hold you back. The type of lenses that you will probably use, even in the future when you purchase additional lenses, will NOT require an in-body focus motor.

Originally Posted by autocrat

Older gen Nikons came with motor in body, new ones come with motor in lens. The Canons have always had motor in the lens...but your lens range gets limited if you buy a body with motor. Also focussing speed of lenses with USM / HSM motor in lenses is superior to that of screw drive motor in body. I guess 1100 appears to be a good buy.

A clarification - older gen Nikons came with focus motors because of D type lenses which required them.

Only some newer gen (2008 onwards) Nikon bodies come with built in focus motors. AFAIK they are D7000, D90, D300/D300s, D700, D800/D800E, D3/D3s/D3x & D4.

With the advent of the introduction of SWM motors AKA AF-S (USM in Canon speak) into mainstream lenses, Nikon stopped providing focus motors in starter bodies - the primarily the D3000/D3100/D3200, D5000/5100 series. It is a good thing as it helps keep the cost of the body down.

Yes, with a few exceptions, USM/AF-S lenses focus faster than screw-drive 'D' lenses.

[DerAlte]

Noob question: Can a body with focus motor (say Nikon D7000 or D90) work with an AF-S lens (from say Nikon D40 or D3000)?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Noob question: Can a body with focus motor (say Nikon D7000 or D90) work with an AF-S lens (from say Nikon D40 or D3000)?

Yes an AF-S lens will work with a body that has a focus motor, though it won't use the in-body motor. This goes back to even film bodies introduced in the late '90s.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by autocrat

Older gen Nikons came with motor in body, new ones come with motor in lens. The Canons have always had motor in the lens. The cost difference may not be much, but your lens range gets limited if you buy a body with motor. Also focussing speed of lenses with USM / HSM motor in lenses is superior to that of screw drive motor in body. I guess 1100 appears to be a good buy.

I suppose you meant the opposite. Your lens range is limited when you buy a Nikon without an in-body motor (since even lenses with motor can be used with in-body motor cameras).

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Experts, what is the configuration of Laptop/desktop used for editing pics. Editing on a netbook with half GB RAM is too tiring. Thought of upgrading to a desktop ( since desktop adds some seriousness and cheaper).

Especially which is the monitor used while editing (monitor size and make)

Image are 10MP taken from Nikon D60

It all depends on
. The number of pictures you are going to process at a time
. Whether you will process the JPEG or RAW
. How big a monitor you can afford

CPU
Normally if you have a light load, say a few pictures a day, an I5 laptop is sufficient. You can go as high power as you like. I have a Dual Quad Xeon (8 cores) and run XP-64 with 8 GB RAM (more than 3.2 is relevant only with the 64 bit systems). If you have finances, then you can get an I7 based laptop, preferably with a full HD screen. Use Win7 64 bit and get 8GB RAM.

Display
For Display I have Two 24" 1929x1200 and a 1280x1024 monitors on the Desktop

Storage
If you are prolific shooter, then you will need tons of storage, especially if you want to shoot and process RAW. In my line of work I take on an average 70-80 shots with my 5MP Nokia, which means that at an average of 1.1MB for JPEG I need around 2.6GB/month. With 10MP I would need 5GB for JPEG, but upwards of 20GB if I have RAW also. The best option is to have a couple of 2-1/2 inch 500GB USB disks for immediate storage and write the data to DVD at a later stage.

Do not forget to get a "Card Reader". This device will transfer data between the DSLR Card and computer much faster than the USB cable.

[donarun]

Do any of you Nikon users have experience with this lens "Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR" ?
Amazon.com: Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor Wide-Angle Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

[BusyBoyKK]

Gentlemen,

I am a an almost beginner with DSLRs. Bought a Canon 550D which came with 18-135mm IS for 629 Euros. Also bought Hama UV filter. In search for a good tripod, polarizing filter and a prime lens too.

Any suggestions on these? Thanks in advance.