# Entry level DSLR?



## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

It is time to retire my well worn and trusty Fuji S5000. It has been an amazingly good camera as far as landscapes, low light, and macro shots. Pretty terrible at indoor or portrait shots.

I just received my annual bonus, and though I'd love to blow the lump on a fancy camera, I have a truck that still needs a bunch of TLC. I'd like to find something with at least one lens in the $3-600 range. Little over if worth it. Not sure if I need more than 10mp, but part of the reason for the upgrade is to be able to take high-res photo textures for CG use, so higher may be desirable? (10mp is 10,000x10,000 pixels, right?) Image Stab. would be a huge plus, but not needed for most things

Was looking at the Nikon D3100 (or D3000) and the Canon EOS REBEL T3, but unsure which would best suit a DSLR "noob" or if I should look somewhere else. A better (read: newer) version of my S5000 would be a decent second option.

Will also take a trip to my local over-priced camera store and just ask. Pretty sure they'll try and sell me a $2k whiz-bang I don't need, though.

Thank you! :wave:


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## Dori1960 (May 19, 2011)

When my Nikon D70 croaked I looked at the Nikon D3000, but decided on the D5000. The 18-55 'kit' lens is a good lens. The D60 is a good one as well.

Good luck!!


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Can't find a D5000, will try a bit harder. The D60/70/90 seem that the better are out of my price range. Seriously considering the D3100 right now after some YouTube browsing.

Anyone know about glass? Would like to see Zeiss or Swarovski glass in the lenses, if possible. Nikon, Canon, Pentax? Will save my Shekels for the 70-300mm if the glass is there. Oregon is full of wide open spaces...and wildlife rarely lets you get close.

Edit:

Found a D5000 on Newegg for 559.99 as a recertified. Newegg is good about returns. Hmmm...


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

If you are looking a Canon Glass, any lens that has an 'L' in its id is the top end pro glass. It is expensive but the results are outstanding.

A lot of folk pop-poo the Canon 18-55 kit lens. It can produce some nice sharp images, especially if stopped down a wee bit.

Another lens that is a worth while addition to the Canon & is the 50mm prime - Often referred to as the 'Nifty-Fifty'. it is cheap looking but the results are anything but cheap. Super for portraits......

Also on the second hand market, keep your eye open for a Canon 20D. Excellent DSLR. I have a full frame Canon 5D Mk2 but I keep my trusty 20D as a second camera with a super wide angle lens mounted. The 20D is a very good semi-pro camera


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Well, that's good info and I thank you! But? I went and looked around. I went ahead and purchased a D3100. I guess I'm stuck with it. lol

Only thing now is, I would at least like a macro lens and I about had a coronary when I looked at the price... Time to save up for that and a 300!


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## Dori1960 (May 19, 2011)

I can't afford a Macro either, I bought some magnifying filters for that type of photography.


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

I don't have the links to hand, but there are ways of taking incredible macros with a standard kit lens or other lenses by reversing them. You can take the lens off, reverse it and just hold it over the body.

With most popular makes, it is possible to buy a 'reversing ring' for a dollar or two. Do a Google or eBay search for 'reversing ring'

An alternative to reversing rings and and lens reversal is to use extension tubes. Again do a search for 'extension tube' on Google/eBay.

There is a section on 'fredmiranda.com' about macro where you can get loads of help & info on this. See here


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

You can also try just holding another lens in reverse infront of the existing lens.


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## yustr (Sep 27, 2004)

When buying a cam, you're also buying into a system. While Canon and Nikon are wonderful systems, I shoot Pentax. My reasons are many but primary among them is that my DSLR can use any lens Pentax has made. This results in the availability of very good glass for a very low price. Check out some of my other posts for examples of what some of these "cheap old" lenses can do. Plus, image stabilization is built into the camera body so all lens gain that advantage. We're not as common as Canikon shooters but that too is part of the appeal.

HERE'S the entry level K-r (yes, it comes in various colors :grin: )


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## couldusesomehlp (Aug 2, 2011)

sigma has a semi-macro lens which is quite a good walkaround lens, the sigma 17-70. used the old one a long time (on canon), the new one is even better and now has image stab (OS). with f2.8-4.0 also quite good in lowlight situations.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Went and got some filters (UV and Polarized) as well as a Nikon 55-300 today. Still have a long way to go both in terms of knowledge and a couple more pieces of spendy gear.

Looked at Sigma and Tameron macro lenses, still too much for now, but I'm going to get the spacer kit for the stop-gap.

Seem to be suffering some excessive noise and chromatic abberation (not intentional) in lower-light shots. Need to figure out what I'm doing wrong.


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

noise and chromatic aberration are common in low light - are you using the noise reduction feature? takes longer to process but will get rid of much of the noise due to high ISO settings that the camera will use to compensate


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Trying to find such a beast, still. The reference manual is rather all-inclusive...


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

page 134 of your manual has the noise reduction feature - you have the option to have it off or on, no parameters. Noise reduction takes a while to process, in your manual thay say roughly equal to the shutter speed. 
It may or may not take out the colour aberration - I can't really see it at the resolutions of the online pics but you probably can at full res. 
Colour aberration is mostly caused by lower quality lenses - kit lenses (like mine :sigh all have some degree of colour aberration usually manifesting as fringing on the edges of objects - often a purplish or contrasting hue to the object. Mostly occurs in areas of high contrast - so bright sunlit or flash lit night shots suffer from it - yet another reason to use the "Golden Hour" or shoot under soft light conditions :grin:


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

AHA! So there it is, thank you!

Yeah, the aberration is on the edges of non-uniform objects (trees in particular), can live with it if I can reduce the noise. I agree, it really doesn't show up in "normal" size resolutions, but full res looks off. Rather irritates me when I look at them on my 27" monitor.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Query:

Were I to shoot RAW, would this improve picture quality? I can compress to 1x1,1x1,1x1,1x1 JPEG, or PNG or something similar from RAW.

I have a 32Gb HCSD card, I really do not need 3,700 photos at any given time...


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

RAW captures all the information that reaches the sensor - in film terms it is like an undeveloped piece of film - all the information is there - what you do with it next is going to decide what the image looks like.

RAW has the potential to make your images better IF you are prepared to spend the time learning how to use the software packages that will accept and edit RAW files:

Photoshop, Lightroom or Bridge can launch the plug-in Camera RAW
GIMP users can use the UFRaw package.

RAW files are also much bigger than jpeg's or TIFF's but your 32GB card will easily hold lots :grin:

I've only just begun playing with shooting RAW and editing using Camera RAW - quite different in some ways to editing in Photoshop which I have done for the past 10-12 years.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

I've had a hard time since my first digital taking things into an editing program. It seems like cheating to me, even though I KNOW the best photographers didn't just drop their film at the local Kodak booth for processing. Half the art is in the development, digital or film.

I guess I take the plunge and shoot nothing but RAW, I knew the file sizes were very large, but I don't mind with my over-kill card. I bought a big one thinking 14mp images would take a ton more room than my old camera at 3.2mp. I was right, but I over estimated the file size. Lucky break in poor mathematics, methinks.

Thank you for the response, and the Gimp link will prove very useful!


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

I didn't check your camera's manual but many cameras these days can shoot with a setting that outputs both RAW and jpeg files of each image - look for RAW+jpeg or something like that if you want to use that setting. Gives you options of how you edit is all.


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## Acuta73 (Mar 17, 2008)

Got it set up now to take JPEG Fine, and a RAW for each exposure. Even went and bought a great book just for the D3100, had it for 2 weeks, and lost it. Think I left it in a hotel room. /sigh

Was wondering...anyone know of an eyepiece extension? Rhinoplasty isn't in my budget and my nose is too big for the camera, just end up smearing it all over the LCD and can barely see my viewfinder! Live View is fine for playing with video, pretty useless for pics.


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

some of the eyepiece adapters etc here
can get extensions for the live view LCD screen too most likely - many video shooters use them on various cameras


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## sumantra chabri (Oct 17, 2012)

can anyone suggest me which will be the best and economical among these three entry level dslr - canon eos rebel t3i , nikon 3200, sony slta55 and nikon 3100. who have used any one of it , please help me.:hide:


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

Camera choice is always a difficult one - all three would be good entry level (or a little above) cameras. What should eventually sway your choice is a combination of specs, user reviews and if possible getting to hold one in your hands, check the menu structure out (some brand's menus are horrible to navigate), check out where the important buttons/dials are and how they fit to your hand.
Another factor is futureproofing - can you easily upgrade should your interest in photography become more intense. Upgrading can mean both body and glass (lenses) or just upgrading one or the other.
This comparison tends to focus a little heavily on the video capabilities, particularly of the Canon but does give some valuable side by side spec details of the Canon vs the Nikon.
DP Review is a good site for reviews, though somewhat detailed for a newcomer - skip to the conclusion pages - Sony here and Nikon here

hope this helps - I haven't used any of the cameras so can't make any real comment other than I use a Canon 60D and am very happy with it.


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## Leo G (Mar 8, 2011)

yustr said:


> When buying a cam, you're also buying into a system. While Canon and Nikon are wonderful systems, I shoot Pentax. My reasons are many but primary among them is that my DSLR can use any lens Pentax has made. This results in the availability of very good glass for a very low price. Check out some of my other posts for examples of what some of these "cheap old" lenses can do. Plus, image stabilization is built into the camera body so all lens gain that advantage. We're not as common as Canikon shooters but that too is part of the appeal.
> 
> HERE'S the entry level K-r (yes, it comes in various colors :grin: )


Nikon has the F mount. As far as I know it has been that way for decades. All of their lenses use that mount.


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## Leo G (Mar 8, 2011)

zuluclayman said:


> RAW captures all the information that reaches the sensor - in film terms it is like an undeveloped piece of film - all the information is there - what you do with it next is going to decide what the image looks like.
> 
> RAW has the potential to make your images better IF you are prepared to spend the time learning how to use the software packages that will accept and edit RAW files:
> 
> ...



Raw Therapee is a good (and free) program that you can do a lot with. It's what I use to process my raw files from my Nikon D70s.

RawTherapee Blog


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## yustr (Sep 27, 2004)

Leo G said:


> Nikon has the F mount. As far as I know it has been that way for decades. All of their lenses use that mount.


Perhaps. But according to THIS table some of the more entry level offerings from Nikon have some issues. 

Regardless, they're fine cameras, any issues are minor, and you really can't go wrong buying into the Nikon system (my brother is the proud owner of a D4). I was just offering an alternative to Canikon.


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