[Richard Jefferies]

I've had a Kodak DC215 digital snapshot camera for several years now, and am considering an upgrade to a digital SLR type camera to compliment my Canon Elan 35mm SLR. Is there anyone out there who has experience with any of the currently available digi-SLRs? Any thoughts, suggestions? What are the "good" features to look for? What are some of the "useless" features to be avoided (if possible?)

BTW, Oleg, I've been very inspired by your nature photos, and am looking into obtaining a 100 macro lens for my Elan.

 

[Guest]

If it was me I'd go (realistically) with a Cannon EOS 10D (body only for me thank you). I've always had Cannon's... starting waaaaaaay back with a AE, then moved up to an EOS 630 when they first hit the street (wanted an EOS 10 but couldn't justify that expense).

I'm familure with all the EOS features, have 3 EOS Lenses (micro to telephoto), Filters, Speedlight 540 Flash so all I need is a Digital Body.

One of the Digital Rebels would also be a good choice.

Of course the greater the Gig the better. I really haven't found any features useless on my EOS... I've used all of the shooting modes at one time or another (Auto, Manual, Shutter Prioity, Appiture Priority, Close up, Sports, Nature, etc).

 

[Richard Jefferies]

I was thinking along the same lines, Schmit. My very first SLR was a Canon (I disremember the model,) years ago when I was but a sophmore in high school. (I may be older, but there is a good argument that I'm still just as sophmoric!)

 

[BigMike]

You are only young once,

but you can be immature indefinitely.

 

[Oleg Volk]

For my taste. 10D is great. And macro lenses help. For macros, flash with a remote cord would help a lot.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com is a great site for such info.

 

[SpecialEd]

Re: You are only young once,

but you can be immature indefinitely.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood!

 

[Richard Jefferies]

Thanks for the link, Oleg.
I'm definitely going to get a 100mm macro, and a couple of the Canon speedlights, as well as a remote shutter release. Also getting a Bogen tripod which can be reversed and the head set up underneath for macro shots.

 

[Amish_Bill]

I've made the transisiton from rebel (original) to A2e to digital Rebel to 10D. If you have any specfic questions, toss them out & I'll see what I can do.

Flashes - the 540 will work on the 300D, 10D, etc, but you will have to run it in manual mode. the 550 is the first "top-line" Canon flash that will do full-auto on the digital line.

lenses - yep, the 100 f28 USM Macro is a grand lens. It was the first "real" glass I bought when I started getting serious with the Digital rebel.
Note: some of the older, thrid party lenses by sigma, tamron, tokina, etc might not work on the digital line. Some needs updated, some just plain need replaced. You'll have to research your current glass to see what's needed.

remote shutter release - I build one for the rebel. Too bad the 10D uses the "Pro" connector instead of the micro stero plug. I'll need to buy the new one.

I htink I'm looking at the same tripod. Bogen 3012BPro kit, right?

 

[Faulkner]

If you're into Cannons already, it makes sense to stay there. I've was using Nikon SLR's in 35mm and recently upgraded to a Nikon D70. It's a awesome camera and will take all my SLR AF lenses, but the flash unit is not compatable.

The macro feature on my 35 to 135 lens is definitely a plus.

[IMG=left]http://pic13.picturetrail.com/VOL488/1124764/3960918/67015280.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Richard Jefferies]

Well, I've decided that instead of investing $$ in a digital camera, I'm going to spend the money on more lenses, a better flash, and some light/flash meters instead.
If you've got beacoup bucks to spend (say, $50K,) you can get a commercial digital camera with about a 12-15 megapixel resolution, and it will take a $50K mainframe computer to process the photos.
The cheapest 35mm film you can find will have a resolution of AT LEAST 25 megapixels....'nuff said.

I'm not even sure I'm going to go with a top mounted flash, either. A "potato masher" type is probably a better way to go...very expensive if you use the super powered battery pack with a fast recycle time (1/2 second,) but well worth it. Requires you to have at least 2 back-up batteries and several sync cords....more $$$.

I may also get into medium format cameras, too; considering a Mamiya RB67.

Bill, you've got it exactly right on the tripod. That's a very nice setup IMHO.

Faulkner, I used to have a zoom/macro lens for the Minolta I had which was stolen, but I think it's better to have dedicated prime lenses for better quality photos. I've decided to stay away from zooms and go with fixed focal length lenses instead. Requires a bunch of lenses for all I want to do, but what the hey...

 

[45R]

Definetly the 10D!!!!

 

[HD_Wanderer]

I have a 35mm rebel, the feature I'm looking for on my next SLR is the ability to use a remote trigger. Most if not all of the Rebels you have to actually push the button. When I'm using a tripod I'd like to have a remote, even if it's one of those things on a short cord. Just enough to step back a little. What's the use of locking the camera down with a good tripod if I have to jiggle it around to push the button.
Hope nobody minds the technical terms, "those things on a short cord", jiggle, and so forth.

 

[csmkersh]

Use the timer, HD.

 

[HD_Wanderer]

I tend to take more candid photos than arranged portraits. I can't rely on knowing ahead of time when the photo will present itself, but sometimes I know where. If I'm huddled behind the camera everyone poses. If I could step away, even a few feet, people would forget about me, and there's a lot more photos that I get.
I do pretty well anyway, I'm fairly inconspicuous as a rule. Sometimes people forget about me in the middle of a conversation.

 

[csmkersh]

Okay. Look for a RS-60ES Canon remote switch. Try HERE for one. They show in stock and $30 plus shipping. Plugs in on the right side of the body.

 

[HD_Wanderer]

My Rebel is older. No port. It looks like they are putting the port in the newer Rebels though. Last time I looked for that, they hadn't included that feature in the Rebel. Makes that digital Rebel all the more appealing.

Thanks for the help csmkersh, I really appreciate it.

 

[Richard Jefferies]

Due to a sudden and wholy unexpected piece of very good financial fortune, I am again considering a digital SLR. As a matter of fact, I found one that had been used only 20 times exactly by a professional photographer, and she wanted only $950 for it complete with a Tamron lens (don't remember what size lens.) If it's still available when my check arrives, I'm going to be all over it like white on rice.

In the meantime, I too have a fondness for candids, and I've found the perfect camera for that, even though it's basically a "snapshot" type digital. It's a Nikon Coolpix 5200. I bought a 512 card along with it, so set to its highest resolution and biggest picture size (5M,) I can get great photos which can easily be printed onto glossy photo paper in 5x7 portrait format. For instance, the following photo dowloaded into Photoshop as an 8 5/8" x 6 5/8" photo. I cropped it to 5x7, then used PIXresizer to drop it down to a size manageble for the board. The 5x7 copy is 995KB; the resized image is 45.9KB. These are a couple of denizens of a bar I like to hang out in called Group Therapy.

 

[csmkersh]

Anyone thinking of buying a Canon Rebel 300D, the 6.3 meg SLR, this is a good time to do it. They are being closed out for a newer 8.2 meg Rebel. Go to bizrate.com and do a search.