Camera Questions.

[Neodude1123201]

So my old camera has kicked the bucket (Me dropping it at the beach didnt help :|) and i got a decent tax return. So it gives me a good excuse to buy a new camera. I'm currently deciding wether or not to get an SLR.

The 2 SLR's im looking are the Canon EOS Kiss X3 500D Kit OR Nikon D5000 Kit
and i can get them for roughly the same price. I Dont know which one to get becuase i have never used an SLR Before.

One thing im worried about though,do these camera's have a fully automatic mode? On my old camera i loved using the manual mode (But it did only have Aperature,Shutter Speed and ISO) but sometimes i also was just happy using the auto mode and it would be nice to have the choice.

Saying that i have never used an SLR Before,would i be better off with just a bridge camera (A Camera that doesnt quite know wether its an SLR or a Point and shoot ) like the Sony Cyber shot Hx1?

 

[Cabbs]

I personally prefer shooting with an SLR, but they can be a pain to lug around everywhere due to their size. I just take my pack and two lenses with me. For as much as you pay bor those bridge cameras, an SLR is a better value since it allows you to swap lenses to suit your needs. They both have full auto modes.

The one thing to watch out for with the Nikon is the lack of an autofocus motor. This means with older non AF-S or some aftermarket lenses you lose your autofocus.

The 500D has 9 focus points while the D5000 has 11.

The D5000 has a flip-up screen, which could be handy I imagine.

If I had to pick between the two, I'd pick the D5000, simply because it uses the same sensor in the D90. If you don't know, it's known for good high-ISO noise performance. Canon has been cranking the resolution in their sensors with each new camera, and that contributes to extra noise, which means lower image quality. That doesn't mean the Canon is a bad camera, you can still take great shots with it if you decide to go that route.

 

[ErdricK]

I bought the Canon Rebel EOS T2i (Known as the 550D) - Its quite a big upgrade from the T1i (500D)

I love love love it.....here it a pic I took of my Cat.

 

[Cabbs]

The T2i is a really nice camera. Nice picture too, has it been post-processed or is that straight off the camera?

 

[ErdricK]

I took that picture in RAW format and all I did to it was Saturate the orange color a bit in photo shop...other then that I didn't do anything else to the photo. The only reason I Saturated it a bit was because the way I took it the lighting was a bit low and the colors looked a touch bland to me.

Plus I thought it would be cool to pull out the orange color in her fur a bit.

 

[Cabbs]

I like to saturate my photos a bit too. Colors don't seem very vivid straight form the camera. People are an exception, becaues they tend to turn orange/red haha.

I usually take a pretty simple approach to post processing. I give contrast a small bump (and brightness if necessary), then saturate the colors a bit, and finishing up with sharpening. I mess with white balance sometimes, but that can be a pain.

 

[ErdricK]

Here is a picture of my car using the 550D. Except for greatly reducing the resolution ( I am sure the mods don't want me posting 5184 x 3456 pictures LOL) this photo is untouched. I think it captured the Red very nicely.

 

[Kage]

I'm getting the 550D in the next month Might surprise myself with it for my birthday, by wiping my mind of buying it, and it appearing at the door

You stuck to the kit lens? Or upgraded?

Personally I think an SLR is a great choice, and offers the most growing room. BUT be expected to have to carry a bag around with you when you go out to carry it

 

[Neodude1123201]

Well my Xperia has an 8mp camera so as for a portable-pocketable camera,i have that covered. So,if i were to go an SLR it would set me back $700 or for a camera like the HX1 or the Fujifilm HS10 it would set me back about $400.

Decisions Decisions.

 

[foothead]

Go with the canon if those are the only two options. Nikon lenses have some pretty severe edge softening. The canon also seems to have a much simpler to use manual mode.

If you are looking for other options, I can also recommend the olympus e-620. The four thirds lenses are incredibly sharp, and I prefer the aspect ratio, since I used to use a medium format camera. I have the e-410, and my only real complaint is that it has a tendency to underexpose, but that has been fixed on newer models. It also seems to have a strange tone curve by default, but that isn't too much of an issue if you have photoshop.

I'll post some pictures up whenever I get my photo hard drive back from my dad.