Advice for a new camera (pics added)

[Hornseeker]

From what Ive gleaned from Pope, Bone and many others on other forums that shoot DSLR's... Pope just hit the nail on the head. Like Pope said, if you flat have the money to burn, then yeah...get the big dog body AND some sweet glass. But if you dont have money to burn, get a lower end entry level body and buy a $2000 lens... or two 

[Wazukie]

Art, I think if I were you, I'd find a used D90 with a kit lens.  Learn how to use it well.  Take lots of photo's, read the manual .  Search the web for do's and don'ts ask lots of questions.  But most of all, do not expect to get pictures like some of the ones on here (Bone and such). IT takes a long time to become proficient, but do not get discouraged as you are learning.  When I go out shooting, I take hundreds of pictures and get very few that I feel worthy of posting or even printing.  Once you figure out what kind of photo's you want to take, then decide on what lenses will fit that criteria.  I've seen some incredible photo's come from old D50's and just a 70-300 lens.  When you here people say that the glass is the most important thing in the mix, next to technique, they mean it and many have learned that through experience.  As for Canon, I am not familiar with their stuff as I am a Nikon shooter.  Maybe a 30D or 40D?

[Arteman]

Thanks guys for all the input, the cam I used for those photos was just a 150 dollar cam I think 8 mp I got at Target that tags along in my pack when I get out.  Sometimes the opportunity arises where I wish I had a cam that could really zoom in and take great pics, mainly with my kids sports, but like these bulls I had to belly crawl about 50+ yards just to get within 40 yards of them and on top of that had to use the digital zoom to really get a photo, with it feeding towards me.  Be nice to just sit back and start snapping photos.  I didn't realize that the 800e was like one of the top dogs in cam world, thought maybe professional photographers had a whole different league of cam brands I knew nothing about.  Also thought you just buy the cam and go, clearly not the cam for me if I have to pay 2,500 for the body then have to turn around and buy expensive lenses as well.  I'll lower my standards considerably as I am no professional, just want professional looking photos.  What really got me going on this was the photos my kids leagues took of kids and their teams that I could download off the net at the end of the season, and how much better they were with just the subjects in focus, even way out running bases and such.  Thanks guys for the tips.

[Arteman]

And with that I'm already learning, ill focus more on a entry level cam and get some good lenses.   

[ollie]

canon t3i is a good start $749 i believe ?. upgrade the lens and take a class is the best way to get somewhat good at shooting .

[huntnphool]

 Pope is spot on! I would buy pre owned as well and sink the money into quality glass rather than the kit lenses.

[Hornseeker]

If you go the T3i route, you can get the body for like $500... then buy a thousand or 1500 dollar lens (like the canon 100-400 for wildlife)... then buy the nifty fifty, then buy some sort of wide angle zoon for a couple hundred.$2500 max and you'd have a sweet set up...at least in my opinion.

Keep us posted on what ya do!

[boneaddict]

Get a Canon....20D, 30D, 40D ........... probably will do just fine.   If you want to photgraph your kids sports, then a 2.8 200 IS.   Sky is the limit on glass.  How deep are your pockets?   Bad thing is.   Its a big enough payload that you need to be dedicated to pack the camera and the glass.   Hap ans stance shots are a thing of the past.   You still need that P/S.

Everyone always kids me about why I don't have my camera with me all the time.   

[Arteman]

Thanks for more advice guys, I really do appreciate it.  I'd like to try and get something before this years baseball games start, ill for sure let you all know what route I go.  Sounds like there are plenty ot options.

[huntnnw]

Keep your eyes open on Craigslist ...I Just picked up a Canon 30D..for $325

[Arteman]

Keep your eyes open on Craigslist ...I Just picked up a Canon 30D..for $325

Seen your thread, from some of the statements it sounds like you got an awesome deal.   

[6x6in6]

It's a long ways away from you, but.....
http://bellingham.craigslist.org/pho/2820429910.html

[Wazukie]

It's a long ways away from you, but.....
http://bellingham.craigslist.org/pho/2820429910.html

Way to much for a D50 and the rest of it.

[Smokepole]

Well I agree with Pope and Bone & some others.  You can get great pics from an entry level dslr.  They have all the bells and whistles, just not as heavily built as the pro cameras.  The Canon 20d, 30d, 40d weren't entry level, just older models.  If you can find a 30 or 40 with low miles, you will love it.  You can get good at dslr photography with a kit lens at first.  Learn about shutter speeds for different applications and depth of field.  Play around with the thing.  It's not that hard once you have it in your hands & you can experiment.  Then when you start getting good, you'll want the best lenses you can afford.  Go for it.  There is no glory in point & shoot.    

[Wazukie]

Well I agree with Pope and Bone & some others.  You can get great pics from an entry level dslr.  They have all the bells and whistles, just not as heavily built as the pro cameras.  The Canon 20d, 30d, 40d weren't entry level, just older models.  If you can find a 30 or 40 with low miles, you will love it.  You can get good at dslr photography with a kit lens at first.  Learn about shutter speeds for different applications and depth of field.  Play around with the thing.  It's not that hard once you have it in your hands & you can experiment.  Then when you start getting good, you'll want the best lenses you can afford.  Go for it.  There is no glory in point & shoot.    

Except for the Nikon F 1 V1, awesome little camera!