Hey guys,

I am in the market for a Digital SLR Camera. Which one should I buy?

My preferences are as follows:

1. Higher the megapixels, the better. But not less than 7mp.
2. More optical zoom, the better.
3. I don't know how realistic this is, but cheaper the better. $500-$700 range... realistic?

But then, should I even buy a DSLR? Should I just opt for one of those cute compact ones? What am I losing by choosing compact instead of SLR? I read somewhere that the size of the lens matters, so the pictures with DSLR are better than with Compact Digitals. What do you think?

I want to shoot pictures that I can enlarge and hang on the wall as portraits, as well as personal pictures of friends and family that I want to share via web.

C'mon, photography gurus, please advise.

If you need it for professional photography, buy SLR. Otherwise its a waste of money. Small point and shoot digital cameras have the same picture quality but less contorl on other aspects( like light , tone, zoom etc). Those controls basically you dont need for simple day to day photography.
If you need SLR I suggest Canon rebel, they come for minimum of 8Pix and starts from ~$900.
Other thing....the lenses and filters (to make much use of SLR) are damn expensive......and is bulkier to move around, unless you live on it.

Chatmandu, I recommend you Fujifilm S9500 (unkown as S9000 in US ).

nikon 8700 is your answer

I use Digital Rebel XT. a very nice camera.

Go through the spec. If you are going for prosumer camera, S9500 is the answer.


Format SLR-like
Price (street) US$592
Also known as Fujifilm FinePix S9500
Camera body
Release Status
Max resolution 3488 x 2616
Low resolution 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480
Image ratio w:h 4:3, 3:2
Effective pixels 9.1 million
Sensor photo detectors 9.2 million
Sensor size 1/1.6 "
Sensor type CCD
Colour filter array RGB
Sensor manufacturer Fujifilm SuperCCD V HR
ISO rating Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Zoom wide (W) 28 mm
Zoom tele (T) 300 mm (10.7 x)
Digital zoom Yes, 2x
Image stabilization No
Auto Focus Yes
Manual Focus Yes
Auto focus type Unknown
Normal focus range 50 cm
Macro focus range 1 cm
White balance override 7 positions plus manual
Aperture range F2.8 - F4.9
Min shutter 30 sec
Max shutter 1/4000 sec
Built-in Flash Yes, pop-up
Flash guide no. 5.6 m (18.3 ft) 6 m
External flash Yes, hot-shoe
Flash modes Auto, On, Red-eye reduction, Slow, Off
Exposure compensation -2.0 EV to +2.0 EV in 0.3 EV steps
Metering 256 segment, CW-average, Spot, Multi-point
Aperture priority Yes
Shutter priority Yes
Focal length multiplier
Lens thread Yes
Continuous Drive Yes
Movie Clips Yes, 640 x 480, 320 x 240, 30 fps with audio
Remote control No
Tripod mount Yes
Self-timer 2 or 10 sec
Time-lapse recording No
Orientation sensor No
Storage types xD Picture Card + Compact Flash Type I or II
Storage included 16 MB xD Picture Card
Uncompressed format RAW
Compressed format JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
Quality Levels Basic, Normal, Fine
Viewfinder EVF
LCD 1.8 "
LCD Pixels 118,000
Playback zoom Yes
Video out Yes
USB Yes, 2.0
Firewire (IEEE 1394) No
Battery / Charger Yes
Battery AA NiMH (4) batteries included
Weight (inc. batteries) 745 g (26.3 oz)
Dimensions 128 x 93 x 129 mm (5 x 3.7 x 5.1 in)
Notes
Resolution Chart
Colour Patches

Chatmandude
SLR camera (both film and digital) is a whole new beast when compared to compact point-n-shoot cameras. If you learn to use them correctly and be able to use the features they offer it can take you to great heights however if you are not able to learn and not be able to use the features they offer, most likely SLR cameras will screw you badly and it will be a worthless investment.

There are three levels of SLRs (for both digital and film)
Entry level: such as Canon Rebel, Nikon D50
Mid level and serious amatures: Canon Rebel XT, Canon 20D, Nikon D70
Semi Pro and Fully Pro: Canon 5D, Nikon D200

When it comes to lenses each Brand has a huge line up of lenses.
Lenes come in focal lengths from 10mm ultra wide angle lens to 1200mm super telephoto lens. There is an option to choose lens that are either have fixed focal length or zooms (variable focal length).

If you want to use DSLR for taking pics for enlargement of more than 14 inch across in size I would suggest you to buy a camera of 8MP and above such as


Canon REBEL XT: 8MP (suited for entry level photographers)
Canon 20D: 8 MP (suited for entry level and serious amature photographers)
Nikon D200: 10.2 MP (suited for serious amatures)

Entry level DSLRs currently cost around 900-1000 $ in package (body and lens kit) such as Canon Rebel, Nikon D50. You also have option to buy body only and buy the lens of your choice seperately.

Been using d70 for about a year now. If your are looking for something around 500-700, then d50 would be the one. But I would suggest putting 200-300 more and going for d70. It has been awesome for an amateur like me. Like khaobadi said buying the body by itself and then getting lenses of your choice would be a good idea. Good luck.
Peace.

The worst part about Digital SLR is that they are more expensive than compact camera and yet on average DSLRs have an average life of about 2 years before they become outdated. I feel not so happy to buy lens that are designed specifically for DSLRs because it cannot be used on 35mm film SLR (you get black corners on your pics if you use them of film SLR). On the other hand, lens for 35mm film work seamlessly with DSLRs with no problem whatsoever expect you gain focal lenth by a factor of 1.5 to 1.6 (depending on brand).

If u are not into serious photography then you should not just go and purchase a DSLR- a prosumer camera is suffice

For portrait photography I use Nikon's Nikkor 80-200mm F2.8 ED lens on my D70s body and Nikon F-80 (film SLR). This lens is designed specifically for portraits, sports and nature photography and it is soft lens compared to even the crappy 150 $ 28-80mm G type lens (which is surprisingly 10 times cheaper than 80-200mm F2.6 ED).

When I use it on my D70s this lens loose focal length on the widest end and gain focal length on the telephoto end because digital SLRs have image sensor that are smaller than 35mm frame of film.

The funny thing about Fujifilm cameras is the fact that their top of line DSLR cameras were built based on the chassis of Nikon F-80 film SLR. Fujifilm S2 and S3 are perfect examples and even S9500 shows many similar body features(even it's not interchangable lens camera) to that of Nikon F-80. Both S2 and S3 accepts Nikon mount lenses.

This is a pic from my Nikon D70s with Nikon 80-200mm F2.8 ED lens taken last week at Toronto Public Library. Image is rather soft becuse 80-200mm f2.8 lens is soft.

maile ta SLR bhaneko Self Loading Rifle- (Machine Gun) kinna lageko ho ki bhanthaneko!!!!!