dSLR Questions...

[Neodude1123201]

So i have settled on the Nikon D5000 because it's in my price range,i like the feel and the feature set! Though i have some questions! When it comes to dSLR's it seem as though zoom isnt classified in X Optical zoom like on a consumer camera but it's classified in MM (E.g the Lense that comes with meh D5000 is 18-55mm) am i right? How do i know how strong that is?

Also does anybody have this camera,how do you like using it?

 

[foothead]

18-55mm is pretty standard. On film SLR, 50mm is no zoom. IIRC its like 42 on DSLR's (or it was right when they were released)

If you want a zoom, try to find a 40-150mm. I have that and a 14-42 and you'll be good.
Also, I have never been a huge fan of the nikons. They were always kinda overpriced, and lacked a few standard features, as well as having a horrible manual interface.

If you can find it, get the Olympus evolt 410 (e-410) with the same outfit I have (14-42 and 40-150mm) I paid $600 for it two years ago and it's awesome. 10MP btw.

 

[J03]

Both of my brothers have Nikons (D60 and D80) - They like them very much.

AFAIK, The 18-55mm is the distance one of the internal lens's can be from the other. The bigger the difference between the two, the more you can zoom. However, if you had a... 70-300MM lens, zoomed all the way out and took a picture, and then moved over to the 18-55MM Lense, and took a picture, then there would be a bigger Field of View from the 18MM lens.

I know that this is an uneducated opinion, but I have been put off olympus by a lot of their consumer camera's. I'm sure that their DSLR's are a different matter.

Another thing to consider is the type of Lens's that the camera can take. APPARENTLY (http://www.ephotozine.com/topic/t-57309) There arnt as many for the Olympus as there are for Nikons. But I'm not 100% Sure on that.

 

[foothead]

Looked it up.
42mm is normal FOV, not telephoto or wide angle.

Anyway, the sane package I have is $475 at neweggmall.com.
Definitely worth it over the nikon because those Cal Zeiss lenses cost a freakin fortune (as in ~$200 each for good ones)

http://www.neweggmall.com/Product/2...-Personal-_-Cameras & Camcorders-_-2011487400

I love this camera. My only two complaints are the autofocus (which isn't that bad) and the way the color rendering on live view is off ( even thugh I have used live view maybe 5 times)

EDIT: If you want, I can upload some example pictures tomorrow. This thing is amazing.

Theres actually a ton of lenses. http://www.google.com/products?q=zuiko+lens&oe=utf-8&ved=0CDoQrQQwAg&show=dd&sa=N&lnk=next&start=10
Hmmm... I've always wanted a fisheye. $50 isnt bad....

 

[J03]

I still think that the Nikon is a better camera.

http://www.camera-catalog.com/compares/popular/olympus_e-410_vs_nikon_d5000

The Nikon has HD Video Recording, Many more outputs, Higher Resolution Images, is more than Two years Newer, and has Face Detection.

Also, Nikons normally use Nikkors, not Carl Zeiss.

 

[foothead]

YIKES!

That thing uses an SDHC card?!

Anyway yeah I guess it probably is a bit better... idk, I hated the interface of nikon cameras, and to me there is no purpose for HD video on a DSLR. I think there is a higher resolution version of the Olympus, I just posted that one because its such an awesome price for the outfit, and because I have it so I know its really good.

EDIT: Here's an e-520.. same outfit for $479 http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-E520-Digital-14-42mm-40-150mm/dp/B001Q3M4IQ
How does olympus sell these so cheap?! Still 10MP, but it really doesn't matter past there unless your printing huge pictures. IDK... if you wanna save some money to buy extra lenses and accessories or something...

EDIT: Oh BTW: most people who buy DSLR's use the built-in flash. DO NOT do that if you want your pictures to come out good. Just some advice.

EDIT #3: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=210989748&listingid=45701621 This one has prettyy much the same specs as the D5000 but with the 14-42/40-150mm kit.
http://www.camera-catalog.com/compares/dslr/nikon_d5000_vs_olympus_e-620
They fail at listing accessories.

 

[Kage]

I'm planning to get the D90 I think at some point.
The D5000 is pretty good though from what I've heard, but its built more for novice users, which will become tiresome once you learn how to use it. For example, the way the menus are set out are very long winded to get to settings.

It seems Canon cameras are the same, but they tend to have the same kind of menu layouts, what ever the version, but with less buttons on lower down models.

Another thing to consider is that Canon lenses tend to be cheaper than Nikon lenses, and Canon have a lot more lenses to choose from than Canon; especially since with the Nikon D5000, you will have to buy lenses that have the autofocus motors built in, which will be a lot more expensive, and there will be less of them.

 

[Cabbs]

Usually you get out of menu-oriented settings when you go from entry-level to prosumer. I held a Canon 50D the other day and it's completely different. ISO was the only thing you had to go into a menu for. On my Rebel XSi, you have to press a button to toggle the selector wheel for aperture and shutter settings in full manual.