New to forum, NEED HELP "upgrading" to SLR

[snugelbune]

Hi everyone.

I currently use a fujifilm s7000. I love my camera and I think it does a great job. I am doing more and more "hobby shooting" now and I'm thinking that maybe it's time to take the plunge to a dSLR. I'm just curious as to what you all think about it. I have the opportunity to get a Nikon D50 with a Tameron 18-200 lens for about $1025 USD__ OR canon rebel XT with 18-35 canon lens for $975.

as for the questions:

Budget

I'd like to stay at 1200 or less USD--and I'd have to buy a media card for whatever SLR I buy, so that needs to be factored in.

Size

I like the size of the Nikon a little better...the rebel XT felt small to me--I liked that it was lighter, but I have problems with my hands sometimes, and gripping something smaller is more of an issue that weight...

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

I have 6 on my s7000, I'd want at least that. I'm wondering how big of a difference there is between 6 and 8 pix?? Would I REALLY see a difference in A3 pix and below?

* What optical zoom will you need? I want as much as possible which is one reason I liked the Nikon package.

* How important is “image quality” to you? THIS IS A 10 ON IMPORTANCE

Do you care for manual controls? yes

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? My son, landscapes and I love the macro function on my camera for detail shots of artwork *I take pics for a sculpter, and need great resolution of small objects.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? A3 is probably the biggest, and my current s7000 looks great at A3. I'd want the slr to prove to be as good

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? half and half

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? yes--not "a lot" but some

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? I like fuji but can't afford their slr's.

Are there particular models you already have in mind? Nikon d50 and Rebel XT

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)---I'd love to have a camera that looked good with up close shots of things like flowers and sculptures.

Ok--so, I'm leaning toward the Nikon's D50 because of price and I liked how it felt in my hands. But what is the quality of prints from this camera?? Is there a HUGE noticeable difference between the D50 and D70? Is there a HUGE difference between the Nikon and the Canon, and most of all...will it look as good as my "prosumer" camera fujifilm s7000? What about macro, how close can I get with these cameras, what are good lenses for these going to run? Is it worth the switch from "prosumer" to SLR? Is the D50 a good camera?

I hope I've covered the basics for you all to help me make this decision.

Michelle

[coldrain]

The D50 is a little bit better even than the D70s in image quality (according to the german photo magazine"foto magazine", even when you compare them with their respective lenses.

So, yes, the D50 is a good camera. It lacks a few features that the 350D/XT and D70 have.
The 350D is at least as good in image quality as the D50, both will make you happy. One thing is important, and that is the lenses you will use. They have the biggest impact in image quality, after the user of course.

All DSLR's can get equally near to a subject if you buy equal lenses for them. This is not body specific.

You will not see a big difference between 8mp and 6mp, it only can make a really big difference when you want to crop a photo a lot, then the resulting detail can just make that difference. But this is provided you have a very sharp lens.

I do not understand the packages, Canon does not have an 18-35mm lens i think. And the Tamron lens you refer to is not very expensive, so the package is not a very amazing deal. You may be better of for getting just a body, and then getting a sigma 18-200 since it seems to perform better in real world photos.

Both the Canon and the Nikon have numorous options for macro lenses.
About the cheapest and still very good is the Sigma 50mm f2.8 1:1 macro lens for both makes. Tamron makes a good 90mm, nikon a 50mm and a 100mm I believe, and Canon a nice 60mm macro (there are more, but you will find a lens to match your budget and wishes in this list i am sure).

So I would suggest, take either a D50 or 350D/XT body, and get the following lenses:

-Sigma 18-200 for wide angle and good walk about range
-Nikon or Canon 50mm f1.8 for a sharp and cheap (<$100) light sensitive lens for portraits and indoor photos.
-one of the macro lenses listed above.

[snugelbune]

Ok, you've given me some good things to think about. Having come from "prosumer" world, lenses are really foreign to me. I do understand that the same shot with the same camera/settings/talent taken with different lenses will yeild different results and that the lens is really important. I was just going on what the guy in the camera store told me, and while he seemed pretty knowledgable, if you only understand a tiny bit about something, anyone who knows "camera-speak" will sound like a pro! Oh, and I think I met to say the lens for the canon was 18-55...sorry!

I'll price out and read about the lenses you suggest, and I will certainly get back to you with what I end up doing! I am glad to hear that the 6-8mp isn't THAT big of a difference unless you are cropping...and I am working with 6 megs now, and I can do a fair amount of cropping with it, so I'm starting to feel a little better about not upping the MP's. I don't know, I just felt that the 350D/Rebel XT didn't fit my hands all that wonderfully, so that is why I went back to the Nikon...It felt more comfortable and the set up seemed closer to my fuji, so I guess I felt more at home.

Ahh, decisions.

Again, thanks, I will read and re-read and then start pricing out all the options you speak of!

Michelle