[nkrishnap]

Guys finally decided to pick a DSLR. My budget being max 32K. I am looking at Nikon D3000, D3100, Canon EOS 500D. I will be keeping the body for the next 3-4 years at the least.

Currently interested only in the base kit lens 18-55mm.

Which ones do you suggest. I am really very very new to all these terms on DSLR. Kindly help me out

My kind of photography is basically outdoor, landscapes, portraits. Macro may be little later

[typeOnegative]

Krishna, why not the D5000? It is a good camera as well.

[ExtremeTorque]

Krishna, Canon 500D scores over Nikon D3000 and D3100 with:
1) Auto Focus
2) Effective pixels
3) Frame rate
4) Video recording (HD is present in D3100 also)
It manages to beat D5000 also in most departments.

[nkrishnap]

Thanks for the input ET and typeOnegative.

So I can narrow down between Canon EOS 500D and Nikon D5000. So how would these fare with respect to cost (in Bangalore). Also. Which ones will have the most easily available lenses (read compatible) for Telephoto and Macro photography keeping a tight budget in mind.

Also which is the best place to buy the DSLR in Bangalore?

Sorry if I am asking too many questions.

[superamerica]

I too jumped on the DSLR bandwagon and got a Nikon D3100 for 28.5k @FotoCircle Bangalore. My choice was between the Canon 550D and D3100, ultimately settled for Nikon for the sweet price and also found Nikon to be a complete package as it straddles both the P&S user and a DSLR newbie.

[typeOnegative]

Krishna,

Both Canon and Nikon have decent sets of lenses from their own stables. Though if you are on a budget, then you would have to look into third party manufacturers such as Sigma, Tamron, etc.

Do go to the store and check out all the cameras. I would advise against a D3000 as compared to the D3100 it would be pretty far behind. Try out the remaining three. Regarding the cost in Bangalore, I really do not have any idea. Obviously.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by joshguy

Hi

I would like to take portraits and landscapes majorly. I might also look into WL and action

I thought 18-55 or 18-135 would be the right lens now,whats your suggestion

Landscapes generally require wide angle, while portraits slightly longer than normal. Please consult some photography forums to get precise review on the performances. Normally zooms are a couple of stops slower than primes. Further wider zooms are either not as good at their extreme ends as narrower zooms. That said the NikonAF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR which is reasonably priced is an excellent lense for a beginner as it covers both ends of your requirement. This is of course a DX lense and cannot be used with FX sensors.

To get an idea of prices for Nikon go to the above link and select each lense to display the information and price. For Canon Prices - Digital Cameras - Canon India

Wild Life & Action need a fast Telephoto, and you are talking of very high cost of entry, best left for future acquisition. (for example a 300/F4 is 60K, while 300/F2.8 400K and 600/F4 600K!)

[abhinavm]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Some like Canon, Some Nikon. It is a personal preference. For those who want to be in the fray for a long time the following criteria is used to decide which system you want to adopt.
1. What lenses are you interested in - wide, long, fast, shift. Both brands have excellent range, but some lenses are better in one some in the other. As the lenses are rarely upgraded with the bodies, they will ultimately be your major investment.
2. Are the older lenses compatible with the newer bodies? Some lenses are not compatible because of mount changes, some may not be compatible because of restricted image circle (DX range).
3. Price of Lenses. The body may be cheaper, but lenses more expensive. If you ultimately want to have a set of lenses, a good starting point would be to create your "wish list of lenses" and find their current market price.
4. Price of Filters - UV, Haze, Polarizing. Though in general filters are priced similarly for both the brands, that may not be the case always.

So my suggestion is
1. Decide on the brand based on lenses you would love to own in future.
2. Get a basic DSLR
3. Learn how to use it and create great photos.
4. Once you have used it for six months to a year your requirements from the body would become clearer. Then you can decide whether you need to upgrade you body and how soon.

Oh, if you are seriously bitten by the photography bug after some time, budget for a whole lot of accessories - Bags, External Flash, Filters, Tripod . . , and of course money to travel to take photos!

I see lot of discussions regarding Entry level camera to buy. The range there is :

* Canon EOS 1000D (very less features)
* Canon EOS 500D (We don't consider it as 550D is "only 10k" higher)
* Canon EOS 550D (Too expensive for some)
* Nikon D3100

I was under the same dilemma for a month, swinging between 1000D and 550D. Then I thought, why not 500D. It has great specs, video (720p is good, 1080p is choppy - but do I really need all that HD in a DSLR right now )?

Nikon was also under consideration, but I liked the Canons better. (Just a perception, on paper).

Finally, I got to know about Pentax, which are not available here. For the price of the 500D, you get TWO lenses (18-55 + 55-300), and also some other advantages (IS is in body, so lenses are cheaper).

After too much internal debate, took the plunge and got it ordered from Singapore. Waiting for it to be purchased by a friend

I have a couple of friends who have Pentax, and they swear by it for the VFM they offer. They have some great lenses, which should suffice for anyone looking at it is a hobby and who does not want to take EXTREMELY high quality Action/Wild life pics.

To take such pics, in any case you would need the Canon "L" series lenses which start from 1000$. I do NOT see myself spending that much on a single lens at any point of time, so went ahead with the Pentax.

Just a thought, for people on a budget. Try clubsnap.com and pentaxforums.com if you want more info.

The models you should look at :
k-x (launched a year or so back, supposed to be awesome)
k-r (new, just launched, supposed to be awesomer than k-x)

PM me if anyone needs more details.

(Note : I do not work for Pentax or for any camera company ; )

[typeOnegative]

Abhinav,

I have been reading a lot about Pentax cameras; single most defining factor being Value for Money. However, Pentax's presence in India is minuscule to non-existent. Please do put in your impressions on ownership as time progresses.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by abhinavm

I see lot of discussions regarding Entry level camera to buy.

I would go one step further. If you are going to use the camera for travel photography, nothing beats a point-and-shoot for size, ease-of-use and VFM. If you have never used a camera before go for it. A DSLR is an excellent but complicated tool, in my experience few have used the DSLR after the initial euphoria, post purchase. The advantages of point-and-shoot are
1. Small size, hence can be carried every where.
2. Reasonable weather proofing - can be used every time.
3. Reasonable price - can be upgraded easily. Loss due to theft or weather are bearable.
4. Small files - lot more photographs can be stored on a media.
5. If you are not going to print large size, 8x4 or more, these files are good enough.
6. Professionals use them a lot as a zero setup pocket camera to supplement their expensive kit.
7. Most have lenses and zooms which are excellent rivaling lower end lenses most of us end up purchasing.

I have been shooting for last forty years, started with a range finder, then graduated to SLR (no DSLR then). Now my son has two DSLR - Nikon D70 & D300 with a whole lot of lenses, flashes and filters. He rarely uses them now. The whole kit is a pain to carry. I am thinking of getting a Nikon point-and-shoot which can always travel with me.

[abhinavm]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

Abhinav,

I have been reading a lot about Pentax cameras; single most defining factor being Value for Money. However, Pentax's presence in India is minuscule to non-existent. Please do put in your impressions on ownership as time progresses.

Sure, will do so. I completely agree regarding the presence in India - it is not present at all as far as DSLRs are concerned. Servicing etc for a DSLR would be a problem.

On the other hand, Pentax was one of the most popular brands in India during the Film camera days. So, the good thing (that I have heard) is that we get lot of cheap lenses (2nd hand), if we search for it. I am from Kolkata, and it is supposed to be one of the best places for finding good lenses. And the beauty is that Pentax old lenses all work with the DSLRs !. They still support the older mount. Canon/Nikon also allow older lenses, but not all of them.

For people who travel frequently to US, there shouldn't be a problem getting it from there. For me, Singapore is much more accessible, so I settled for getting one from here.

Let's see how it goes. Will start an ownership report once I get my hands on the camera.

Originally Posted by Aroy

I would go one step further. If you are going to use the camera for travel photography, nothing beats a point-and-shoot for size, ease-of-use and VFM. If you have never used a camera before go for it. A DSLR is an excellent but complicated tool, in my experience few have used the DSLR after the initial euphoria, post purchase. The advantages of point-and-shoot are
1. Small size, hence can be carried every where.
2. Reasonable weather proofing - can be used every time.
3. Reasonable price - can be upgraded easily. Loss due to theft or weather are bearable.
4. Small files - lot more photographs can be stored on a media.
5. If you are not going to print large size, 8x4 or more, these files are good enough.
6. Professionals use them a lot as a zero setup pocket camera to supplement their expensive kit.
7. Most have lenses and zooms which are excellent rivaling lower end lenses most of us end up purchasing.

I have been shooting for last forty years, started with a range finder, then graduated to SLR (no DSLR then). Now my son has two DSLR - Nikon D70 & D300 with a whole lot of lenses, flashes and filters. He rarely uses them now. The whole kit is a pain to carry. I am thinking of getting a Nikon point-and-shoot which can always travel with me.

Completely agree with all of the above sir. If a person wants to take pics while traveling, P&S is the way to go. A DSLR is for a person who wants to travel to take photos And even then, the current crop of compact DSLR-Likes (S3 IS was termed one, Panasonic Lumix) are simply great.

A DSLR is a serious investment, not just in money and time, but in patience and effort. It is more of a hobby.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by abhinavm

Sure, will do so. I completely agree regarding the presence in India - it is not present at all as far as DSLRs are concerned. Servicing etc for a DSLR would be a problem.

On the other hand, Pentax was one of the most popular brands in India during the Film camera days.

Unlike film cameras which were mechanical in general and could be repaired by any decent camera technicians, DSLR are full of electronics and availability of spares would be a major problem for an independent repair shop.

Still Pentax is undergoing a revival and is a good investment, only if
1. You want to keep it a long time, as resale value is still low
2. You have access to a Pentax repair facility (in India or abroad)
3. You have access to second hand Pentax Lenses.

The main attraction of Nikon & Canon is their world wide service and a huge volume of second hand lenses and accessory market. Another advantage is that due to their sales volumes, both these brands have an extremely large range of lenses, both for budget limited buyers as well as for professionals.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I would go one step further. If you are going to use the camera for travel photography, nothing beats a point-and-shoot for size, ease-of-use and VFM. If you have never used a camera before go for it. A DSLR is an excellent but complicated tool, in my experience few have used the DSLR after the initial euphoria, post purchase. The advantages of point-and-shoot are
1. Small size, hence can be carried every where.
2. Reasonable weather proofing - can be used every time.
3. Reasonable price - can be upgraded easily. Loss due to theft or weather are bearable.
4. Small files - lot more photographs can be stored on a media.
5. If you are not going to print large size, 8x4 or more, these files are good enough.
6. Professionals use them a lot as a zero setup pocket camera to supplement their expensive kit.
7. Most have lenses and zooms which are excellent rivaling lower end lenses most of us end up purchasing.

I have been shooting for last forty years, started with a range finder, then graduated to SLR (no DSLR then). Now my son has two DSLR - Nikon D70 & D300 with a whole lot of lenses, flashes and filters. He rarely uses them now. The whole kit is a pain to carry. I am thinking of getting a Nikon point-and-shoot which can always travel with me.

I completely agree with you. DSLR is a serious hobby and I am not sure whether I would do justice to the investment.

I still use a 3.1 mega pixel Olympus P&S which I bought 7.5 years back for Rs. 24000. I have spent on the camera only to upgrade the SD memory card. The camera has been running without any issues. The pictures are good with light, but the low light pictures are not good. I was tempted to upgrade to DSLR many times, but resisted the tempation because of the reasons you have outlined above. A super zoom P&S makes sense as the next upgrade.

I use the P&S rarely, only when during holidays, so poor low light pictures has not been much of an issue. I recently bought a sony HD camcorder to take videos, after that P&S is not used as it is difficult to carry both of them and camcorder gives decent stills as well.

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

On my way back home yesterday, I had a transit period of 14 hours at Singapore during which I had stomachful food at Komala Vilas, Little India, got quotation for Canon 550D 18-55mm lens kit from Mustafa Centre and ended up buying it at COMEX 2010, Suntec mall. I got loads of freebies like 8GB SDHC, professional tripod, EOS bag, extra battery, lens cover, Seagate 320GB extrnal HDD, EOS 550D user guide and lens workbook with India warranty. I paid S$ 1449 using my Axis Bank travel currency card and got GST refund of S$ 79.70 at Changi airport.

From the day-one, our Canon 550D did not start when switched on most of the times. Sometimes, it used to start. So, my son gave it to Canon Master Service Centre, Brigade Tower. First, they changed the power circuit board, but that did not fully solve the problem. Later, they replaced the entire power unit FOC thanks to India warranty. My son had also participated in the 3-session Canon EDGE Exclusive Photography Worshop.

[rajatsingh78]

Guys....just came back after booking my Nikon D90, final price was negotiated at Rs.41400.00 with 4gb memory card and genuine Nikon bag as freebies. This was done at Vivilash, Punjagutta. The guy said that since D90 is no longer in stock they only order after 50% advance payment. Got news from someone that soon only D3100, D5000 and D7000 would be the choice for the amateurs. So technically DXX series (D90, D80, etc.) would be no longer available, and only DXXXX(D3000,D5000,etc.) would be the offering for the amateurs.