camera suggestions

[Justin Horne]

Here's a comparison for you between the 350 D (Drebel XT) and the 20D:
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/eos_digital_rebel_xt_vs_20d.html#different
And here's the reasons they say the 20D is better (which it is, but here's why,)

Things that are different where the EOS 20D is better

The EOS 20D has a rear QCD (Quick Control Dial) which can be used to set exposure compensation, flash compensation, shutter speed or aperture in manual mode and has several other functions. The same functions are available in the Digital Rebel XT, but require the pushing of buttons. The advantage of the QCD is you can do things faster and without taking your eye from the viewfinder.
The EOS 20D can shoot at 5 frames/second, the Digital Rebel XT can shoot at 3 frames/sec
The EOS 20D can shoot a burst of 23 high resolution JPEG frames before the buffer fills, The Digital Rebel XT can shoot 14 frames
The EOS 20D has 9 autofocus zones, the Digital Rebel XT has 7
The EOS 20D provides full cross-type performance with maximum apertures as small as f5.6, yet it achieves up to 3 times the standard focusing precision when used with EF lenses featuring maximum apertures larger than or equal to f/2.8. The autofocus system of the Digital Rebel XT is inherited from the film Rebel XT body and has normal precision f5.6 sensors.
The EOS 20D autofocus is specified to operate in 1 stop lower light than the Digital Rebel autofocus (-0.5 EV vs +0/5 EV)
The EOS 20D autofocus is faster than the autofocus on the Digital Rebel XT
The EOS 20D has a top shutter speed of 1/8000s, the Digital Rebel XT has a top shutter speed of 1/4000s
The EOS 20D has a flash x-sync speed of 1/250s, the Digital Rebel x-sync speed is 1/200s
The EOS 20D has a pentaprism with a 0.9x viewfinder magnification, the Digital Rebel XT has a pentamirror with 0.8x magnification.
The EOS 20D has a highest ISO setting of 3200, the Digital Rebel XT has a high ISO setting of 1600.
The EOS 20D is good for 1000 shots (no flash) on a single battery charge, the Digital Rebel XT is good for 600.
The EOS 20D has a PC terminal for use with an external flash or strobe, the Digital Rebel XT does not.
The EOS 20D maximum flash sync voltage is 250v (for both the hotshoe and PC terminal), the Digital Rebel XT maximum sync voltage is also 250v, not 6v as I had earlier reported. Canon have recently stated that the Digital Rebel XT does in fact share the 250v sync voltage with the 20D and other high end Canon EOS bodies. Sorry for any confusion on this point.
The EOS 20D has a high performance shutter designed for increased reliability (100,000 cycles), the Digital Rebel XT has the normal Canon shutter (about 50,000 cycles).
The shutter lag time of the EOS 20D is 65ms, the shutter lag time of the Digital Rebel XT is 100ms.
The high-speed mirror drive give the EOS 20D a shortened viewfinder blackout time (115ms) compared to the Digital Rebel XT (170ms)
The EOS 20D sensor (8.2MP, 22.5 x 15mm) is very slightly larger and has slightly more pixels than the Digital Rebel XT sensor (8.0MP, 22.2 x 14.8mm).
The EOS 20D has a multi-controller on the back of the camera can be pushed in eight directions, as well as down in the center, to simplify selection of the AF point, correction of white balance, trimming of images during direct printing, scrolling of magnified images etc. The Digital Rebel XT uses push buttons for the same functions.
The EOS 20D has top, front and rear covers made of a magnesium alloy for added strength and rigidity. The top, front and rear covers of the Rebel XT are plastic.
The EOS 20D has 18 custom functions, the Digital Rebel XT has 9 (List of XT custom functions)
The EOS 20D ships with Adobe PhotoShop Elements 2, the Digital Rebel XT ships with ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5. Adobe have an upgrade offer from Elements to full Photoshop CS for $299. This offer applies to copies of Elements which were supplied bundled with Canon products. Since Photoshop retails for up to $599 ($649 list), this can be a significant saving.

 

[indigo tree]

What about the Olympus E-volt?
That is a good Digital SLR as well.

Neil

Since I know most people are just going to recommend the obvious, Canon & Nikkon (both great brands though), I'll second the E-Volt as well. I own this camera and if you have any questions about it, you can ask me.

 

[2Bhumble]

I'm the oddball. I have a digital Panasonic Lumix FZ20. Leica Lens (32-432mm), it retains f2.8 brightness through the entire zoom range, image stabilization, 12x optical zoom. It's the nicest camera nobody's heard of I'll never win any camera debates but I'm sure happy with the pictures I'm getting from it. For around $470, I'm real glad I got it.

 

[Trav5787]

Hi everyone. I am new to the christian forums and am glad I found the photo forum.

My recommendation for a film camera is the Konica Minolta Maxuum 7. It is an awesome camera with lots of extras and a good layout. When I use my Minolta 100mm Macro with it, it is sharp as a tack.

I just bought my first digital camera, it is a P&S Kodak Easyshare DX7630. It is a 6 MP camera with lots of manual options (AP, SP, M).

 

[jsfox]

I have all Nikon (F, F3, F5, N80, D70, Nikonos, numerous lenses, flashes, etc.). Later this year or early next year they're coming out with a new 18mp dSLR that I'm planning to get. We also have a Coolpic something or other, Oly D450, and Oly C760uz.

Some thoughts.

I'd strongly recommend digital. I still love to shoot film, but am shooting more and more digital. For anyone starting out or for any casual or family shooting digital is the way to go. The exception is if you're taking classes where you will learn good technique both in and out of the darkroom. 100% of our family stuff is digital, about 90% of my pro stuff (I'm a journalist) is digital, and about 50% of my hobby stuff is digital. As mentioned above digital has pixels, BUT, film has grain. For outdoor stuff I shoot asa 25 film (when I'm not shooting B&W), most consumers shoot 400 which has a ton of grain and many prosumers shoot 200 and 100 which still has a fair amount. You won't be able to tell the diff in digital and film up to about 8x10. The biggest differences I've struggled with are that digital can be more contrasty and can't control depth of field as well. Neither are significant though.

I have Nikon and love Nikon. Buy a Cannon. This is not a swipe at Nikon, but I do believe you'll get more bang for your buck with Cannon dSLR unless you plan to spend many thousands of $'s. I think Cannon is currently doing a better job at coming out with stuff at the prosumer level. Don't think you'll go wrong with either though.

As mentioned earlier, lenses (glass) are more important than bodies. Though inexpensive lenses can give you some variety to play with for few $'s, I'd really try to get at least one really good fixed length lens. Perhaps a 70mm or similar.

My number one complain with digital cameras is the lag between pressing the shutter and when it takes the pic. Many of the newer cameras have fixed this. Be aware and make your decision accordingly.

Whatever camera you get, buy a Magic Lantern book to supplement the often poorly written manuals. Play with the camera some and then take some classes.

For family stuff I generally don't particularly like hauling SLR's around since there are some good digital P&S's available. I've been very pleased with the Oly C760. It has a decent lens, allows for full manual control, has a decent CCD, and fits in my wife's purse. This was our 3rd P&S and I shopped a fair amount before getting it.

Good Luck.