DSLR advice for a friend.

[Keith]

I have a friend who is in the market for a new camera. She normally uses a little Canon pocket point and shoot digicam and produces images from it that are jaw droppingly (embarrasingly so in fact) good ... she is an artist and has a very, very good eye! She dropped the toy camera recently while on holiday overseas and it's now dead.

A smallish DSLR would suit her I'm sure but which one and what lens? She would like to spend not too much more than a thousand dollars and from what I've seen of her photography a focal length of between 28 and 120mm would suit her eye with possible macro. I've suggested she look at DPreview or similar but the problem is she really knows nothing about cameras and the information there means little to her.

Any suggestions? I've also agreed to help her with whatever she gets regarding shooting in raw etc and teaching her some basic post processing skills.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

 

[GaryLH]

Out of curiosity? Why an dslr when she has been happy w/ the Canon p&s? Pretty big change all the way around.

Gary

 

[Keith]

Sorry I should have been more specific ... she is keen to get something with interchangable lenses. She has an old fungus inflicted SLR in the cupboard with a couple of lenses that she stopped using many years ago and I've seen some of the stuff she has done with that and it was equally eye opening! She originally bought the little Canon as a travel camera but has always hankered for something better.

 

[pjmacd]

What about a used Micro 4/3 with a lens or two to cover the focal lengths she likes?

 

[GaryLH]

Well I only know Nikon and Sigma for dslr.. So some is going to need to jump in on the others. On the other hand, I don't think u can go wrong w/ a Canon or Nikon these days, it really mainly about the right set of lenses and how the camera bodies handle...

Do u have a place close by where she can rent a camera for a week at a time after she narrows her search down..

If she like doing video, it looks like Canon maybe winning te war on that front between Nikon and canon camp.

Of course I would recommend a sd1m if one could walk them thru the issues that come with it.

From Nikon perspective
- apsc 24mp cameras -- d7100 and d5200
- ff 24mp -- d600 (should have the qa issue resolved w/ the sensor by now)

Since I am a Fuji guy as well.. The Fuji lenses are very good and would even give Leica a run for its money IMHO. These are going to lighter then any dslr but Fuji video not as good as Nikon or Canon.
- xm1 w/ 16-55 kit lens for 799 (LCD only 16mp) just announced and shipping
- xe1 (evf only)

Of course, get all the dp Merrill's 😀.

Gary

 

[agricola]

Keith
Maybe she should take out some insurance against being overcome with the desire to eventually go full frame. If so the nikkor 50mm f1.4D AF @$A300 odd is as cheap as chips for what it can do. And the nikkor 24mm f/2.8D AF is only a little more in price and gives her the 35mm FOV on DX.
But then the DX Nikon body will cost more than either of those, and the above scenario assumes she will eventually ditch the DX Nikon.
Why not check out a used D700? You've got one. I've used one. I have a mate who purchased a D800 and is regretting that he did not stick with his D700.
I could vouch for the D600. It's WB control at high ISO is amazing. But it's out of the ballpark you mentioned.

 

[Keith]

Well I only know Nikon and Sigma for dslr.. So some is going to need to jump in on the others. On the other hand, I don't think u can go wrong w/ a Canon or Nikon these days, it really mainly about the right set of lenses and how the camera bodies handle...

Do u have a place close by where she can rent a camera for a week at a time after she narrows her search down..

If she like doing video, it looks like Canon maybe winning te war on that front between Nikon and canon camp.

Of course I would recommend a sd1m if one could walk them thru the issues that come with it.

From Nikon perspective
- apsc 24mp cameras -- d7100 and d5200
- ff 24mp -- d600 (should have the qa issue resolved w/ the sensor by now)

Since I am a Fuji guy as well.. The Fuji lenses are very good and would even give Leica a run for its money IMHO. These are going to lighter then any dslr but Fuji video not as good as Nikon or Canon.
- xm1 w/ 16-55 kit lens for 799 (LCD only 16mp) just announced and shipping
- xe1 (evf only)

Of course, get all the dp Merrill's 😀.

Gary

I keep thinking Nikon because if I'm going to be helping her come to grips with a DSLR I have a far better knowledge of the menus, settings etc courtesy of my D700 and previous D70.

For her type of photography an SD1M Merrill would be superb but that's a little out of her budget methinks! 😀

 

[Aristophanes]

Budget under US$1,000, and a customer definition of "small DSLR":

Canon EOS 100D/Rebel SLA is currently the smallest DSLR.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canon-eos-100d-rebel-sl1

Kit lens is quite small,pair with the 40 pancake or fast 50 and there's a decent starter kit for the budget. Lots of legacy glass to experiment with for cheap if the bug catches. This is a very small, fully functional DSLR. I tried one the other day and was quite taken with it; I think this is the way APS DSLR's are headed.

Nikon D3200 is next. Could go up to the D5200 but that's the largest camera of the lot and adds more cost.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d3200

Good kit lenses, although the Nikon and Canon ones are largish. Pair with a fast 50 or 35 or other glass and there's a lot of room under the prescribed budget.

Pentax K-50 is third in size (and weather sealed). Non-WR in the K-500.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/Pentax/slrs/pentax_k50

Can get in a weather sealed 18-135 kit or with an 18-55 and 50-200 weather sealed options for under the budget. Also AA batteries are an option. Can handle all older K-mount manual glass for experimenting with primes. If small is the goal, the Pentax primes are probably the smallest DSLR lens array available, but pricey (a place to go later).

Macro is a field unto itself, but for starters a Canon or Raynox close-up lens is inexpensive, especially when paired with a longer zoom:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/87494-REG/Canon_2822A001_58mm_500D_Close_up_Lens.html

This can do until the macro bug grabs a hold like the Mantis of death it is and she simply MUST have a dedicated macro lens.

It sounds like she specified small for travel and mobility, a DSLR, as well as a budget for a system camera. That's what is available on the market for under $1,000 with a little headroom for extras. For anyone starting out in a DSLR I highly recommend the kit lenses for starters because they give FL options for experimentation, are terrific value, and if the bug does not hold, make it much easier to re-sell the unit. Also, a 2 zoom kit takes advantage of the DSLR's long FL strength (a la Jay Maisel). She may find a long zoom irresistible. Or not. But that's the whole point of a system camera.

If she's getting terrific content from a P&S, then what lens she has to start is less relevant. She's got "the eye". All the technical stuff builds later.

One catch for her is unlike the P&S all these cameras (especially the Nikon's) create large RAW file sizes. They need computing power. That has to be factored in. I usually advise budgeting more for a backup HD and maybe an offsite service like CrashPlan. And maybe some PP power like LR5 or Aperture.

Good luck to her.

 

[Keith]

Keith
Maybe she should take out some insurance against being overcome with the desire to eventually go full frame. If so the nikkor 50mm f1.4D AF @$A300 odd is as cheap as chips for what it can do. And the nikkor 24mm f/2.8D AF is only a little more in price and gives her the 35mm FOV on DX.
But then the DX Nikon body will cost more than either of those, and the above scenario assumes she will eventually ditch the DX Nikon.
Why not check out a used D700? You've got one. I've used one. I have a mate who purchased a D800 and is regretting that he did not stick with his D700.
I could vouch for the D600. It's WB control at high ISO is amazing. But it's out of the ballpark you mentioned.

I don't see her being the least bit interested in a full frame camera ... whatever she buys will keep her content for many years I suspect and it will get a lot of use so DX is no issue. As long as she has something with good IQ and the focal lengths she needs she'll be happy. We're talking about a woman in her early fifties here who is a very talented painter and drawer and has amazing vision and compositional skills. Not some poor sod who constantly lusts after gear the way we tend to! 😀

 

[Keith]

I may actually send her the link to this thread and she can read some of the answers for herself!

Oh ... and she has a couple of years old Mac so PP power should be fine for reasonably large raw files.

 

[Pablito]

She would like to spend not too much more than a thousand dollars

Consider the SONY NEX 5r if she's open to a non dslr alternative. I actually prefer this, with the EVF, to the NEX 6. IQ the same or better than most APS-C DSLRs in a much smaller package

I see a LOT of the under $1K DSLRs. My students all come in with new ones every term. Sony, Nikon, Canon. All perfectly good and not much difference between them in IQ, though I'd give the edge to the Nikon ones in terms of menu friendliness.

The D7100 represents a huge improvement over the sub $1K cameras if she can handle the price.

Personally, I would avoid used dslr.

 

[GaryLH]

One of the biggest advantages to m43 or mirrorless cameras is that if her existing old slr lenses are still in good condition, they can be adapted to any of these cameras readily..whether we are talking Fuji x series, Sony Nex, or Olympus omd, etc.

Gary

 

[zvos1]

Any of the Canon rebels, with 18-55 and 50-250 and 50mm. Small, good iq, versatile and the whole package under $1000.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'd suggest finding a good used D7000 with that budget. You'll have some room for the lens of choice then.

 

[Ronald M]

Nikon D3200 or Fuji XE-1 or just another P&S. Do not over sell her.

 

[giellaleafapmu]

I have a friend who is in the market for a new camera. She normally uses a little Canon pocket point and shoot digicam and produces images from it that are jaw droppingly (embarrasingly so in fact) good ... she is an artist and has a very, very good eye! She dropped the toy camera recently while on holiday overseas and it's now dead.

A smallish DSLR would suit her I'm sure but which one and what lens? She would like to spend not too much more than a thousand dollars and from what I've seen of her photography a focal length of between 28 and 120mm would suit her eye with possible macro. I've suggested she look at DPreview or similar but the problem is she really knows nothing about cameras and the information there means little to her.

Any suggestions? I've also agreed to help her with whatever she gets regarding shooting in raw etc and teaching her some basic post processing skills.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

From what you write any camera should be fine for her, like asking which shoes would have made Herb Helliot faster...

GLF

 

[mfunnell]

Why not the Canon G1-X?

Still a P&S, but a bigger sensor, zoom, too.

Not as silly a suggestion as it may sound to some. I've had great use of my G1 X in the couple of months I've had it, and think it is quite under-rated (most likely because it doesn't have any particular feature that screams "whizz-bang excitement"; rather the opposite). It delivers good image quality, including at high ISO values (if that matters to you) and has a very useful stabilised 28-110mm(ish) equivalent zoom range. It's AF focus speed is adequate (really!) though not much more than that.

However, it has it's limitations and quirks. On the limitation front, if your friend is interested in macro then write the G1 X off. Without the use of assorted Heath Robinsonesque macro filters and attachments it essentially has no macro capability. And while the G1 X has all the SLRish exposure modes and metering modes and suchlike I find them quite painful to use in comparison to those same controls on an SLR. The camera really is a P&S camera at heart (a large-sensor P&S) and I find it quite fun when used as such - and rather the opposite otherwise.

I think the Canon 100D sounds a good fit if small is important to your friend, otherwise any of the entry-level+1 Nikon, Canon or Pentax offerings would, I'm sure, do the job very well (and I'd note that in-body image stabilisation is a nice feature of the Pentax cameras).

...Mike
(Full disclosure: my DSLRs are Canon except for one Pentax used with old lenses.)

 

[jarski]

SD15 is a lot cheaper than SD1M, but has the same quirks that has been discussed about Merrill. Sigma lenses for Sigma camera are also surprisingly hard to come by 😕

 

[archeophoto]

In my experience people that take great photos with a point and shoot do so because they use a point and shoot.
Also - and I apologize if that sounds rude, I mean no offense - if somebody is not interested enough to do their own research will never really use a DSLR! I have been asked for advice so many times by friends and colleagues about what DSLR to buy and every single time the DSLR ends up unused in a dusty bag in a corner somewhere after the initial excitement is over (usually after three months).
If she insists in a DSLR but is not interested in full frame, it absolutely doesn't matter what she buys. All crop sensor DSLRs on the market do roughly the same thing for roughly the same price. So just tell her any Canon, Nikon or Pentax offering will do great. Sony is good, too.

 

[GaryLH]

SD15 is a lot cheaper than SD1M, but has the same quirks that has been discussed about Merrill. Sigma lenses for Sigma camera are also surprisingly hard to come by 😕

That is a bummer. In US, Sigma SA mount lenses are sold by b&h and Adorona to name a few.

Gary