Best Entry-Level Digital SLR Camera?

I am looking at getting into photography, and was wondering if anyone knows of any good entry-level cameras.

Thanks for the help!

olympus are good camerashttp://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_digital_slr.asp

I'm a journalist student. I use a Sony Alpha 300. I only used a regular digital camera before this one. The Alpha 300 is not exactly entry-level, but in a few days you'll be pretty good with it.

Here's a video review.

You should go for a cheaper body and spend more on the lenses, a good lense can last forever and be interchanged between cameras of the same brand, you can always get a new body later.

You should also browse through some photography forums, these questions pop up all the time.bean-with-bacon

Which brand would have to most variety of lenses?

Can you give me an example of a good photography forum?

Thanks for the help.

[QUOTE="bean-with-bacon"]You should go for a cheaper body and spend more on the lenses, a good lense can last forever and be interchanged between cameras of the same brand, you can always get a new body later.

You should also browse through some photography forums, these questions pop up all the time.McJugga

Which brand would have to most variety of lenses?

Can you give me an example of a good photography forum?

Thanks for the help.

There's a good one.

[QUOTE="bean-with-bacon"]You should go for a cheaper body and spend more on the lenses, a good lense can last forever and be interchanged between cameras of the same brand, you can always get a new body later.

You should also browse through some photography forums, these questions pop up all the time.McJugga

Which brand would have to most variety of lenses?

Can you give me an example of a good photography forum?

Thanks for the help.

I have a Nikon D40 and I love it. I like it better than my friends Cannon Rebel. and Nikon lenses are great.

If I were to buy one now I would probably go for the D60, but if you are looking for a cheap cammera the D40 is a great choice.

[QUOTE="bean-with-bacon"]You should go for a cheaper body and spend more on the lenses, a good lense can last forever and be interchanged between cameras of the same brand, you can always get a new body later.

You should also browse through some photography forums, these questions pop up all the time.McJugga

Which brand would have to most variety of lenses?

Can you give me an example of a good photography forum?

Thanks for the help.

[QUOTE="McJugga"]

[QUOTE="bean-with-bacon"]You should go for a cheaper body and spend more on the lenses, a good lense can last forever and be interchanged between cameras of the same brand, you can always get a new body later.

You should also browse through some photography forums, these questions pop up all the time.zombiefruit

Which brand would have to most variety of lenses?

Can you give me an example of a good photography forum?

Thanks for the help.

Thanks for that, people here answered my questions without me asking, oh well.

I have an Olympus.

In my honest opinion I would forget about Olympus and Sony and go with the Nikon D40 (not D40x). It is a tried and true camera with a good kit lens and hundreds of positive reviews. It's cheap but produces very high quality images. zombiefruit

Would the D60 be much better than the D40? About how much do these two cameras cost?

[QUOTE="zombiefruit"]

In my honest opinion I would forget about Olympus and Sony and go with the Nikon D40 (not D40x). It is a tried and true camera with a good kit lens and hundreds of positive reviews. It's cheap but produces very high quality images. McJugga

Would the D60 be much better than the D40? About how much do these two cameras cost?

Anyways, here are your options:

You want a basic beginner's camera with very good photographs: D40.

You want a mid-level camera that will last you until you become professional: D80 or 450D (Just check out the reviews of both on dpreview and make a decision through that).

It really comes down to price and which lenses you want for each. I'm not sure about pricing because I'm in Canada and everything is more expensive here, but I'm getting a new 450D w/kit lens for $650 (I got lucky, I found a guy who won it at work). Retail it goes around $750 new. The D40 goes for $500 here with a kit lens.

EDIT: The Nikon "nifty-fifty" cannot autofocus on the D60 and D40, but it autofocuses on the D80. Just wanted to clear that up.

NOOOOOOO!!!!! The D60 is just a repackaged D40 with a few extra megapixels. Both cameras can only autofocus with new Nikon AF-S lenses, which is a huge problem. If you are willing to pay for a D60, you might as well move up to the EOS 450D (Canon) or the D80. Both the 450D and the D80 have built in focus motors so they use all lenses, and both have good sensors. The D80 is a generation behind the 450D but it is still very good. The reason I'm buying a 450D is because of a few key features: Noise-free sensor up to 1600 iso, Live-view (It's a gimmick unless you do macro photography) and mainly: the ability to use the sub-$100 "nifty-fifty", a wonderful 50mm F/1.8 lens. This lens has an equivalent Nikon model but it cannot autofocus because of the lack of a focus motor.

Anyways, here are your options:

You want a basic beginner's camera with very good photographs: D40.

You want a mid-level camera that will last you until you become professional: D80 or 450D (Just check out the reviews of both on dpreview and make a decision through that).

It really comes down to price and which lenses you want for each. I'm not sure about pricing because I'm in Canada and everything is more expensive here, but I'm getting a new 450D w/kit lens for $650 (I got lucky, I found a guy who won it at work). Retail it goes around $750 new. The D40 goes for $500 here with a kit lens.

EDIT: The Nikon "nifty-fifty" cannot autofocus on the D60 and D40, but it autofocuses on the D80. Just wanted to clear that up.

zombiefruit

I live in Canada too, so you're prices are actually more useful to me.

Hmm... I might also go for a 450D since noise really bothers me and I do do some macro shots.

If not, I might get the cheaper D40.

Thanks for the help, Zombiefruit.

[QUOTE="zombiefruit"]

NOOOOOOO!!!!! The D60 is just a repackaged D40 with a few extra megapixels. Both cameras can only autofocus with new Nikon AF-S lenses, which is a huge problem. If you are willing to pay for a D60, you might as well move up to the EOS 450D (Canon) or the D80. Both the 450D and the D80 have built in focus motors so they use all lenses, and both have good sensors. The D80 is a generation behind the 450D but it is still very good. The reason I'm buying a 450D is because of a few key features: Noise-free sensor up to 1600 iso, Live-view (It's a gimmick unless you do macro photography) and mainly: the ability to use the sub-$100 "nifty-fifty", a wonderful 50mm F/1.8 lens. This lens has an equivalent Nikon model but it cannot autofocus because of the lack of a focus motor.

Anyways, here are your options:

You want a basic beginner's camera with very good photographs: D40.

You want a mid-level camera that will last you until you become professional: D80 or 450D (Just check out the reviews of both on dpreview and make a decision through that).

It really comes down to price and which lenses you want for each. I'm not sure about pricing because I'm in Canada and everything is more expensive here, but I'm getting a new 450D w/kit lens for $650 (I got lucky, I found a guy who won it at work). Retail it goes around $750 new. The D40 goes for $500 here with a kit lens.

EDIT: The Nikon "nifty-fifty" cannot autofocus on the D60 and D40, but it autofocuses on the D80. Just wanted to clear that up.

McJugga

I live in Canada too, so you're prices are actually more useful to me.

Hmm... I might also go for a 450D since noise really bothers me and I do do some macro shots.

If not, I might get the cheaper D40.

Thanks for the help, Zombiefruit.

No problem. The D40 is a really good camera to start with. You don't really have to worry about the lack of autofocus on non AF-S lenses because the kit lens is an AF-S lens and all new lenses are too. You also will not be buying new lenses for a while because the kit lens is quite good. Definetly check dpreview.com, don't justy take my word for it. About the noise. You won't see noise on any of those cameras at low ISO's, which is mainly what you'll be using. High ISO's add noise but they're for low light situations without a tripod. For most low-light photos you will have brought a tripod with you.

I've pretty much decided to go for the D40.

Does anyone know a good Canadian place to get it from? What is considered a good price for this camera without a lense? What is a good price with a lense?

I got my D40 yesterday for $450 CAD (or $390 USD) and I love it. Thanks to everyone for the help.

I use a Nikon D60