[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I'd rather put in some extra cash right now and avoid a situation later on where i am thinking, "Damn, i wish i had gone for 450D so that i could take better action photos of that bird", because if that happens, i'll not only be regretting my decision but i will also start disliking what i possess. Thats a double whammy.

Seriously Amitoj, at that price range the camera wouldn't really matter for that Bird shoot you are talking about. I seriously would suggest that you go for a good cheap body(may be a 400D with a battery grip) and a better lens. It's the lens that's gonna make the difference from a good photo to a wow.

Originally Posted by amitoj

The 75-300 is a part of the twin lens kit, but Tanveer has already advised against going for this option, so, i am thinking of 450D + EFS18-55IS right now.

Don't even think about that 75-300mm canon. Instead go for the Sigma 70-300mm(if you are on budget) , it has really nice IQ then the canon counterpart and also it has 1:2 macro. Or if you can spend lil' bit more then close your eyes and go for Canon 70-300 IS, that's the best that you can get.
From where are you getting the camera? I would suggest not to go for GK vale and all, they literally rob people.

[tsk1979]

The Sony A700 and A900 are excellent cams, better than what canon offers in that price range. Unfortunately in the budget section, Sony is not too good.
In your price range you can look at E-510 from Oly, the Pentax K200D or the Canon, or the D80/90 from Nikon
India being Canon/Nikon land, finding upgrades for other brands can be a pain, though in Bangalore its less of a pain.
So if you want to test something else too try the K200D or the Olympus 510 or something.

Now we are going way way offtopic

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

In your price range you can look at E-510 from Oly, the Pentax K200D or the Canon, or the D80/90 from Nikon

The E-520 is the current flavour, E-510 is already old. Camshot :- importing & distributing high quality Photographic goods | Digital Camera(s) Canon, Olympus, Nikon, Panasonic Digicam | Digital Camera Accessories | Buy Digital Camera

But you know what? Since I still use the E-500 in office, I really do wonder why all these Camera makers are bringing out new models every year. The E-500 (2005 release) is still so good, when I use it these days, I forget I have the E-3 too.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

The Sony A700 and A900 are excellent cams, better than what canon offers in that price range. Unfortunately in the budget section, Sony is not too good.
In your price range you can look at E-510 from Oly, the Pentax K200D or the Canon, or the D80/90 from Nikon
India being Canon/Nikon land, finding upgrades for other brands can be a pain, though in Bangalore its less of a pain.
So if you want to test something else too try the K200D or the Olympus 510 or something.

Originally Posted by Samurai

The E-520 is the current flavour, E-510 is already old.

I knew it! I so knew it that sooner than later you guys will throw in other options to confuse me immensely.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Now we are going way way offtopic

True. Isnt there an existing thread for dSLRs? I couldnt find one though.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Isnt there an existing thread for dSLRs? I couldnt find one though.

Seems i was wrong!
Thanks for shifting the posts here, Samurai!

Back to the topic, since i have some time on my hands, i am going to research into Nikon D80/90 as well. Olympus/Pentax not right now... purely because my tinny brain cant handle that much information.

[kaushik_s]

One good thing about Nikon cameras is that they are very very ergonomic to handle and if you have a big palm then Nikon is so darn good to hold.
Canon cameras are puny for that matter but if you add the battery grip then they also become nice to handle.

[reignofchaos]

^^Only the rebels are puny to handle. The bigger bodies definitely are pretty nice in the hand.

[Samurai]

I have to agree on that point. I find all the rebel series (350D,400D,450D) dSLRs very puny and flimsy to hold. May be I am spoiled, not only E-3, even my old E-500 has very solid feel while gripping. The Nikon... I don't recall getting that flimsy feel.

However, this may not matter to somebody upgrading from P&S.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I have a few relatives coming down from Canada. It should work if i order online and give their address as shipping address, right? But, will the warranty be valid in India in that case?

I know for a fact that for Nikon the Canadian warranty does not work in India. It is 5-year Canada specific only. Also if you order online from a US shop like Adorama or B&H and ship to Canada you'll have to pay customs duty extra - it happened to me.
Canada, in my experience, is not the best place to buy photo equipment. I found shops like Henry's (Ottawa - Toronto area) to be quite expensive.

[mohit]

Originally Posted by StarScream

I know for a fact that for Nikon the Canadian warranty does not work in India. It is 5-year Canada specific only. Also if you order online from a US shop like Adorama or B&H and ship to Canada you'll have to pay customs duty extra - it happened to me.
Canada, in my experience, is not the best place to buy photo equipment. I found shops like Henry's (Ottawa - Toronto area) to be quite expensive.

Depends! There are cheaper stores and you have to look for sales. I have seen XSi and XS both selling for prices that are equal or less than US ones.

Since this is Christmas season, deals can be had. I still remember the XS with non IS lens going for less than $500 not too long ago. But the problem could be with buying stuff online as most online vendors will not take a non Canadian card.

For Nikon, as StarScream mentioned, there's no warranty outside Canada. Nikon Canada doesn't even honor Nikon USA warranty! Will have to see if Canon has international warranty

Look at Photography, Digital Camera, Lens Price Comparisons for Canadians - photoprice.ca for comparative pricing from Canadian and non Canadian stores shipping to canada

[Samurai]

Only Olympus gives a world wide warranty on DSLR cameras, no matter where you purchase from, no other manufacturer gives that. So don't worry about getting worldwide warranty for Canon/Nikon.

[redrage]

@Amitoj: Body dosent matter that much now, go in for a 1000D. Invest the remaining amount on lenses or save up. 1000D+18-55(non IS) is available for 26k now, according to Jayesh Mehta. Strike a deal and add on a 55-250 IS and this should satisfy your SLR needs till you will find the limitations of the body, which would be a good learning curve too. Features like live view and others wont be used that often( at least that was the case when i began). Best bet now would be 1000D/400D + 18-55 IS(if you can invest on the IS) + 55-250 IS.

To add: There is a canon edge program going on now where you must get a free bag,card,a photography book from Canon+ Beginner Training on SLR. Go for it.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

^^Only the rebels are puny to handle. The bigger bodies definitely are pretty nice in the hand.

Oops, I should've mentioned that but as Amitoj was looking for a beginner's body I thought my post will indicate that. My bad. Obviously all canon XD's or XXD's are much better to handle then XXXD's

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by mohit

Depends! There are cheaper stores and you have to look for sales. I have seen XSi and XS both selling for prices that are equal or less than US ones.

Since this is Christmas season, deals can be had. I still remember the XS with non IS lens going for less than $500 not too long ago. But the problem could be with buying stuff online as most online vendors will not take a non Canadian card.

For Nikon, as StarScream mentioned, there's no warranty outside Canada. Nikon Canada doesn't even honor Nikon USA warranty! Will have to see if Canon has international warranty

Look at Photography, Digital Camera, Lens Price Comparisons for Canadians - photoprice.ca for comparative pricing from Canadian and non Canadian stores shipping to canada

Mohit, perhaps I went to the wrong stores - Henry's in my view is like B&H and other big, reliable photo stores in the US. My point was, minus sales and promotions, I feel US stores offer better prices on photo equipment. It could also be that the last I was in Canada the C$ was quite strong therefore US prices looked a lot better.
About warranty, I don't know about bodies, but Nikon lenses bought in Singapore carry worldwide warranty - valid in India.

[aburagohain]

Slightly OT, is anyone in the forum familiar with the Sony SAL18250 lens? There are not many reviews to be found for this particular lens; remember reading about one of the BHPians going for an A350 recently, any updates would sure be helpful if this particular lens is being used please, plan to put it on the A700 if at all I too go the Sony way.