My 1st DSLR

[jandrebr]

I'm interested in upgrading to a DSLR and would love some help deciding which one would be best. I really appreciate anyone's insights. Thank you.

Budget: I definitely can not spend over $1000, especially since I'm going to want to buy extra lenses and other add on items.

Size: I like to hike, so I'd like something that was manageable to carry. Smaller the better, but I realize I'm going to be making a sacrifice here to get DSLR quality pictures.

Features: I'm not sure. I'd like to be able to order prints to put up in my home.

What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify): This doesn't matter with a DSLR, right? I'll be purchasing various lenses like telephoto and wide angle, right?

How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10): This is pretty important. It's the reason I want to upgrade to a DSLR!

Do you care for manual controls?: Yes. It's the other reason I want to get a DSLR. I've had fun with my point and shoot, but I want to take the next step. I am still learning though.

What will you generally use the camera for? I am most interested in nature and wildlife shots as well as taking pictures of my dogs, who are quite active. I love pictures of them running and jumping over logs, etc.

Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Yes.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? I want to take night pictures. We go on night time snow shoe hikes, and I'd like to have nice photos of those outings.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Not sports as much, but definitely action photos.

Are there particular brands you like or hate? I've always had Canon and had good experiences with them, so I gravitate in that directions, but I'm open to other brands. A friend of mine really likes Nikon.

Are there particular models you already have in mind? Yes, Canon's newest Digital Rebel.

[GoneTomorrow]

I think any of the current Canon Rebels would fit the bill (XS, XSi, T1i) or the Nikon entry-levels: D3000, D5000, D60, D40. You could manage a mid-range camera for a $1000 budget, but they are definitely larger. I have a 7D, which is fairly hefty, but I take mine hiking, backpacking and even caving and the size doesn't bother me.

[Rooz]

either the rebels or the olympus entrey level dslr's if you want something smaller.

[KCook]

... interested in nature and wildlife ... Wildlife can mean a honking big (heavy) telephoto. So if wildlife is a huge deal for you, then you may want to shop those lenses first. Work backwards to the camera(s) that will work with your lens choice.

Kelly Cook

[raven15]

Wildlife can mean a honking big (heavy) telephoto. So if wildlife is a huge deal for you, then you may want to shop those lenses first. Work backwards to the camera(s) that will work with your lens choice.

Kelly Cook

Good point, lenses will easily be your most expensive, heaviest, and most important item so consider those first.

I use an Olympus E-620 with 9-18mm wideangle, 35mm macro, and 70-300mm telephoto for my hiking wildlife/landscape/anything shots. It gets me from 9mm to 300mm with 1:1 macro (18-600mm with 2:1 macro equivalent) for comparatively little price and weight. But for snowshoeing at night I might want the faster, weathersealed 14-54mm lens and a flash too. So now we're looking at $2500. Or perhaps you'd prefer a Nikon D5000 with 16-85mm, 70-300mm, and 35mm f/1.8 and a flash. Less reach, but better in other areas. There are gazillions of lenses to choose from, they outweigh the camera bodies easily.

I actually made a spreadsheet of the weights, apertures, equivalent focal lengths, and prices of about 20 setups before choosing my DSLR, in addition to testing at the store. 'Course, I'm crazy.

[Gintaras]

I think the camera size should not be a deciding factor. First of all look for feature/price and be prepared to invest in lenses over time.

I personally like my Rebel XTi but I must admit that when I bought it I thought smaller size was better, now after using XTi a lot I wish I bought a larger body Canon. No DSLR is compact and heavier cameras surprisingly are easier and more comfortable to hold, plus heavier lenses will be better outbalanced by the camera weight.

I also see prices for Canon 40D and 50D are down, so might be you will be able to find a good bargain within your budget limits.

Of Nikons their D90 would be my personal choice, but since this is out of your budget range so perhaps D5000 must be matching your price tag.
In all cases I personally would go for CMOS sensor over CCD, speaking of which Nikon D5000 has CMOS while D60 and D3000 are CCD if I am not mistaken. CMOS sensor has some advantages IMO, one of them cleaner higher ISO.

I am not knowledgeable of Olympuses so cannot deny or recommend them.

Also, Canon and Nikon offer best choice of brand glass for your camera, and you find plenty of third party lenses both for Nikon and Canon.

[jandrebr]

Good point, lenses will easily be your most expensive, heaviest, and most important item so consider those first.

I use an Olympus E-620 with 9-18mm wideangle, 35mm macro, and 70-300mm telephoto for my hiking wildlife/landscape/anything shots. It gets me from 9mm to 300mm with 1:1 macro (18-600mm with 2:1 macro equivalent) for comparatively little price and weight. But for snowshoeing at night I might want the faster, weathersealed 14-54mm lens and a flash too. So now we're looking at $2500. Or perhaps you'd prefer a Nikon D5000 with 16-85mm, 70-300mm, and 35mm f/1.8 and a flash. Less reach, but better in other areas. There are gazillions of lenses to choose from, they outweigh the camera bodies easily.

I actually made a spreadsheet of the weights, apertures, equivalent focal lengths, and prices of about 20 setups before choosing my DSLR, in addition to testing at the store. 'Course, I'm crazy.

Thank you, Kelly and raven15, for this good advice. Off to make a spreadsheet I go. Based on all the advice here, I'm going to start by looking at the Canons and Nikons you recommended as well as the Olympus E620, which I have never looked at.

Thank you again.

[luminaria]

I just ordered a Canon XSi with two kit lenses (EF-S 18-55 & EF-S 55-250mm) for about $630 at Amazon.com. Canon and Amazon have an instant $200 rebate. I originally had planned to just get the camera and then start getting the L series lenses, but it was a deal too good to pass up. I will still get the L lenses, but I can get started right away with the kit lenses. The kit lenses will still be better than the point and shoot cameras. I was not interested in a camera with video, so the XSi was the best for me. After I get some good glass, I will upgrade the camera. Who knows what bells and whistles will be available by then, but I will happily be taking photos until then. :) I live in the greater Yellowstone area, so I will be taking photos of lots of wildlife.
By the way, they also offered that rebate on the T1i and the 50D. I think the rebate is only available until November 21, 2009. The rep at Canon said that Amazon was the only authorized online dealer. I hope that helps.

[jandrebr]

I just ordered a Canon XSi with two kit lenses (EF-S 18-55 & EF-S 55-250mm) for about $630 at Amazon.com. Canon and Amazon have an instant $200 rebate. I originally had planned to just get the camera and then start getting the L series lenses, but it was a deal too good to pass up. I will still get the L lenses, but I can get started right away with the kit lenses. The kit lenses will still be better than the point and shoot cameras. I was not interested in a camera with video, so the XSi was the best for me. After I get some good glass, I will upgrade the camera. Who knows what bells and whistles will be available by then, but I will happily be taking photos until then. :) I live in the greater Yellowstone area, so I will be taking photos of lots of wildlife.
By the way, they also offered that rebate on the T1i and the 50D. I think the rebate is only available until November 21, 2009. The rep at Canon said that Amazon was the only authorized online dealer. I hope that helps.

Can you please send me a link for that or some more information. I just looked on Amazon and saw nothing like that.

[MaxxFusion]

I would be interested in the link as well. I am looking at the xsi and t1i as well.

[MaxxFusion]

I went to the canon site and found the pdf coupon.

Here is the link.

http://www.usa.canon.com/app/pdf/Promotions/rebate_eos_110109.pdf


EOS Special Instant Rebate

Save up to $200 on select Canon EOS (SLR) camera lens kits and EF and EF-S lenses when you purchase between November 1, 2009 - November 21, 2009. Download .pdf for complete details.



Rebate Valid Dates:
11-01-2009 -- 11-21-2009

Download Coupon PDF

Qualifying Products:
EOS Rebel T1i EF-S 18-55mm IS Kit
EOS Rebel XSi EF-S 18-55IS Kit
EOS Rebel XS 18-55IS Kit
EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

[Gintaras]

Canon XSi with two kit lenses (EF-S 18-55 & EF-S 55-250mm) for about $630: sounds like a GREAT package at this price. I would jump on it if had not XTi and planned an upgrade. It is more than enough for a beginner. T1i package sounds nice though not so tempting considering you may like to spend remaining extra on a good camera bag, couple of memory cards, a CP filter and a tripoid. In all respects you get a great deal and save 200$ in rebate.

As concerns Canon L glass, a beginner would be better off with a kit lens combo and spend some time on training himself before deciding on L glass. L glass is fairly expensive so better understand your glass needs before buying than reselling the glass later. Besides, kit combo consists of very good and light weight lenses, which will give you complete reach for the year to come. So you can decide on which L lens later when you know better your shooting style and saved a few more bucks to buy good glass.

[MaxxFusion]

It looks like this rebate is good at amazon, buy dig, and beach camera. Although Amazon has the best price they said the lens will ship in 4-7 weeks.

[MaxxFusion]

I just ordered the Xsi and 55-250 lense from Amazon.com. My total came to $635 and some change.

There were a couple issues i had so i will share incase anyone else runs into this. When i first went to Amazon i wasnt getting my $200 discount at checkout with both items in my basket. I then realized that the lense in my basket was being shipped from another vendor. The lense was out of stock at Amazon. I then went back and put the lense from Amazon in my cart and the $200 discount was applied. My next issue was that they were saying that the items wouldnt be shipped until 12/22-1/7. I need the camera for xmas but dont need the lense now. So what I did was have the camera shipped to my home and the lense will be shipped to my work. This forced the shipment to be split up and now the camera should ship 11/18.

On another note you can get the discount from Buy Dig but they only give the discount in a bundle and it comes out to $799 or something like that. So Amazon is your best deal.

[jandrebr]

I just ordered the Xsi and 55-250 lense from Amazon.com. My total came to $635 and some change.

There were a couple issues i had so i will share incase anyone else runs into this. When i first went to Amazon i wasnt getting my $200 discount at checkout with both items in my basket. I then realized that the lense in my basket was being shipped from another vendor. The lense was out of stock at Amazon. I then went back and put the lense from Amazon in my cart and the $200 discount was applied. My next issue was that they were saying that the items wouldnt be shipped until 12/22-1/7. I need the camera for xmas but dont need the lense now. So what I did was have the camera shipped to my home and the lense will be shipped to my work. This forced the shipment to be split up and now the camera should ship 11/18.

On another note you can get the discount from Buy Dig but they only give the discount in a bundle and it comes out to $799 or something like that. So Amazon is your best deal.

That is really helpful. Thank you for your effort and time figuring this out. I will be ordering mine soon. I just want to take a little more time looking at the differences between the XSi and the XTi.

Gintaras, thank you for your advice. I'm leaning toward the XSi, but I want to make sure first. Also, you got me looking at the Nikon D5000, but it seems like this rebate from Canon seals the deal.

Some other websites and blogs give the edge to the Nikon 5000 over the Canon XTi, but folks here seem to prefer the XTi. I'm leaning toward Canon, but I feel like it's because I'm more familiar with the brand.

I appreciate everyone who has weighed in.

[jandrebr]

Is it possible the Black Friday sales could be even greater than this rebate?

[David Metsky]

Is it possible the Black Friday sales could be even greater than this rebate?
This year? Who knows, stores are discounting now. It's always possible.

[MaxxFusion]

Is it possible the Black Friday sales could be even greater than this rebate?


Its possible but i cant see how it could be much better then this. Its comes down to getting the 55-250 for $30.

[MaxxFusion]

That is really helpful. Thank you for your effort and time figuring this out. I will be ordering mine soon. I just want to take a little more time looking at the differences between the XSi and the XTi.

Gintaras, thank you for your advice. I'm leaning toward the XSi, but I want to make sure first. Also, you got me looking at the Nikon D5000, but it seems like this rebate from Canon seals the deal.

Some other websites and blogs give the edge to the Nikon 5000 over the Canon XTi, but folks here seem to prefer the XTi. I'm leaning toward Canon, but I feel like it's because I'm more familiar with the brand.

I appreciate everyone who has weighed in.

NP. I spent a lot of time trying to find the best deal out there. This is by far it.

[MaxxFusion]

Quick update. I got an email from Amazon this morning.

Hello from Amazon.com.

We are writing about the order you placed on November 13 2009 (Order# 104-3206999-4352252). The item(s) listed below will actually ship sooner than we originally expected:

"Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras"
Previous estimated arrival date: January 04 2010 - January 15 2010
New estimated arrival date: December 03 2009 - December 09 2009

[MaxxFusion]

FYI Today the lens is $221. It went down another $15. I called them and they created me the difference. So now that makes the lense $21 after the rebate. What a steal.

[jandrebr]

Okay, I spent a lot of time looking at the Nikon D5000. It' looks like a great camera, but I can't deny this $200 rebate deal for a Canon. So now I'm trying to decide between the XSi and the T1i. The two most significant differences seem to be megapixals and the T1i's ability to record HD movie.

MaxxFusion, why weren't you interested in more megapixals or HD movie recording capabilities?

[MaxxFusion]

The MP arent an issue for me. Since the Xsi is 12MP that is more than enough for me. So really it came down to video. I had to decide if video was worth the $150 difference in price. I decide its not for me. We take little video clips with our p&s and that works fine. I just thought i wouldnt use the video function much on the T1i. I really liked the price of $620 out the door for the xsi.

[jandrebr]

I found a Canon 75-300 lens for less than a 55-250 lens through Newegg.com. Also, Newegg's prices seem to be less than Amazon's right now; this includes the rebate.

Any wisdom regarding the telephoto lens?

[GoneTomorrow]

I found a Canon 75-300 lens for less than a 55-250 lens through Newegg.com. Also, Newegg's prices seem to be less than Amazon's right now; this includes the rebate.

Any wisdom regarding the telephoto lens?

I would stay away from it. That lens is notorious for its poor quality. The 55-250 is better by far.

[jandrebr]

Just picked up the Canon T1i with the 18-55 and the 55-250 lenses and with a waterproof Lowepro bag at Best Buy for $849.

I didn't end up pulling the trigger, so to speak, at Amazon when Canon was offering the $200 instant rebate because I wanted to see what Black Friday would hold. Given the Lowepro bag in the bundle I bought, I think I got a pretty good deal.

They still had several more bundles at the Best Buy near me, and they also seem to have more available online.