i don't know much about cameras at all. i have a nikon fm that i bought in 1980. it's a great camera. very solid. my daughter was using it for her photography class and her instructor loved it. when it came time to buy a camera for her, he found one for us on ebay.

I have no idea about Pentax D-SLRs .. but for film cameras, I am of the opinion that you go either Canon or Nikon.. no other company has the $$ for R&D.


ive found this guys reviews pretty helpful when I was considering a D-SLR (and didnt get one for many reasons) http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html

Nikon FM.. sweet sweet manual workhorse.. I drool over the Nikon manual cameras

If this is true, that is awesome.. fucking Nikon should take a cue from Pentax.. but they probably wont make their digitals retro fit any earlier than the AF-D lenses.

Im curious though, Id imagine that the functions are limited using older lenses? But hell, to me, this is reason enough to go Pentax

And Phil, that isnt for the camera, but the camera accessories. Also, at your 550-750 range, its probably only for the camera body and doesnt come with a *lens*.

EDIT: Jesus, 4 posts in a row-- anyhow a few more thoughts. Be wary of buying photo equip -- there are a LOT of scams. Lots of bait- and - switch..esp with the NY retailers. A short internet search should bring up a LOT of complaints. Personally, I wouldnt buy a camera through ebay or the like, there are just too many things that could go wrong (or be wrong with the camera). But that is a personal thing.

According to steve's website (awesome by the way, thanks so much) some of the functions are limited depending on the lens, but he's got it ranked in his top 5 in that price range

Hmmm, good to know. I haven't bought much on ebay compared to alot of people, and luckily I've never ever been burned. But this would be the second most expensive thing I ever bought on ebay. I'll bike over to Best Buy and Wolf Camera on Clybourn to go window shop and pick brains.

Any Chicagoans have shops they like to support?

Also, Paul, what do you think of this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

100% positive feedback, is it possible to fake that shit?

Also, part of the reason I'm thinking of getting into this is because when I was a professional violist and then later touring with liquid soul, I was lucky to travel all over the world, and I don't have a single picture to show for it.

My opinion was always that I've got it in my mind's eye, but that doesn't make for sharing very well. I always figured that I was too busy living to take a pic, but now I wish I had some.

And I might get the bass gig for The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash touring through America and Europe, and I'd hate to miss another opportunity.

Heya Phil.

I am also a 300D Canon User here and agree totally with So_real. Definitely check out the size of the camera body before buying. My good friend has a 350D or Rebel XT and mine feels a bit bigger and more stable in my hands.

You may like the Rebel XT... who knows.

Here is a great resource in Chicagoland. http://www.calumetphoto.com/
A bunch of SE Wisconsin Pro-photogs use Calumet.

http://www.dpreview.com mentioned above is also excellent. I lurked on the 300D Forum there for a month before buying. This was April of 2004. In the intervening years I have bought 3 new lenses, and some other items and have never looked back.

The DPreview website has tons of great reviews and resources to be had there.

Finally I offer one piece of advice. If you choose to pick Pentax, you will probably stay with Pentax due to buying lenses and accessories. So choose wisely between Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony/Konica-Minolta.

I can't remember which sports you watch, but check out the sideline sometime at ANY sports game and you will see a WALL of CANON L Glass. (White Lenses)
All those photographers from every media outlet can't be wrong.

Choose Canon.

Cool to hear you're getting into this.

I started taking pictures back in High School. I inherited my Dad's old Minolta from the 70s. The only "automatic" thing on it is the built-in lightmeter. I love it, it's like a little tank and has never taken a bad picture.

Recently a woman at work was selling a similar but not as fancy model for $35 with a cheap zoom lens for $15. I bought them both knowing I'd be soon going on my trip to Europe and didn't want to risk loosing or destroying my Dad's old camera. The camera worked great, and because it was so old and cheap I never felt worried anyone would want to make off with it.

I've been meaning to get more serious about photography lately and just started taking a little photogrpahy course, which I'm enjoying.

Although I love my old film cameras, I'd love to get a digital SLR. The only thing holding me back is that I know I'd want a good one and that would = $$$. A good friend who's into photography also recommended the Canon Rebel as a good entry-level DSLR. I just want something solid that I know won't get upset with me when I want to slow it down and take pitures of the moon without the flash going off automatically.

In terms of references, I have two really good books to recommend, both by Freeman PattersonL

"Photography for the Joy of It" and "Photography & the Art of Seeing".

Here's a cool Photography Glossary I recently found: http://www.panoramafactory.com/localiza ... terms.html

Good luck.

Heya Polly,

I love my Canon Rebel (300D) I would love to get a 5D, but the money just isnt there for a $3K camera. You can get a 300D Rebel for pretty cheap nowadays. Definitely below $700. Or make the jump to the 350D.

Anyway. You can set the Exposure to :30 on the rebel without a cable. I use a cheap remote for long exposures so I dont get the shutter shake. The remote cost $30 so its fun for the cost. With a cable release, you can keep the Rebel's shutter open for hours if you want. (bulb mode)

so which ones did you get? i'm starting to think about replacing the 18-55 kit lens, but that new 17-55 is so expensive. my fav so far that i've bought is the sigma 30mm.

i've said it before, and i'll say it again...i LOVE my nikon D70.

i also now know 2 people who have gotten the D50, and they are extremely happy as well.

Canon EFS-50mm 1.8 Cheap and awesome at $75.

Canon EF 28-135mm IS ... the IS is great at the long end. Nice and Sharp.

SIGMA 12-24MM F4.5-5.6. I love what you can all capture with this lens. Great for a big city. Recently in Chicago from our hotel room I could see the ground, and the top of the Hancock Building all in one frame. It was sweet.

That 17-55 IS looks cool, but I agree with you. It is alot of money. Especially if you ever wanted to upgrade to a full frame camera, you could get that same range almost with the 17-40mm L Glass for near the same price~!

i have the 17-40 for the xt at work, so i borrow it sometimes. i was so glad i could convince my bosses to buy a canon.

the 12-24 does sound pretty sweet. the 10-20 piqued my interest too, but then i'd have yet another lens to replace if i went full frame. oh well.

Phil, oh Im sure there are honest sellers on Ebay.. but you have to ask yourself, self- why are they selling it for so cheap? Some of the photo stuff will be 'grey market' which means they are probably bought up in Taiwan or China and then sold here. Nothing wrong with it, except that it since they were not intended for sale in the USA, you have no warranty. Which is another point, buying from an authorized seller means you have the warranty- a HUGE thing when you consider the price. As an aside, I remember a couple years back Nikon had a huge shipment of cameras stolen- when they started being returned to Nikon for service, the (probably) honest buyers who didnt know they bought stolen stuff found out that Nikon wasnt giving them the camera back - Im not sure how it all panned out, but you get the idea

As mentioned above though- choose brand wisely- once you buy, you will probably not switch since you will have invested a lot in camera and lenses etc. So this is not a choice to be made unwisely. Pentax are ok, but you will rarely if ever see a professional protographer using one. Canon and Nikon each have die-hard users- I chose Nikon, for a number of reasons I forget now but were convincing at the time. Longevity, flexibility and upgrading options should factor into your decision if you intended this to grow as a hobby- dont make the decision based solely on the camera at hand.

Good advice Paul, I'll heed it especially since i've got my dad's SLR to toss around for a bit before I get a digital.

It's a Canon AE-1 Program



with only one lens, Canon Zoom Lens FD 70-210mm 1:4



I have a feeling that I'm in for a lot of fun and frustration.

My tough love approach would say go buy yourself a 50mm lens for that canon- (like the Canon FD manual 50mm lense about $50-75 at bhphotovideo.com used section) do everything manually (focus, aperature/film speed)- and see what you get (and know why you're getting what you get).

Im playing mr. mom today- so while they sleep and Im bored here:

Canon AE-1 P manual if you dont have yours
http://www.canonfd.com/pdf/ae1p.pdf

Well hot damn, thanks for the manual link.

And I was going to go to Helix today to get a non telephoto lens thanks to links you and others have put up.

And I'm going to pick a subject, take notes on settings, and see what does what.