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Looking to Purchase first Dslr


10 years 3 months ago - 10 years 3 months ago #334763 by jison
Hiya!
This is my first post on these forums. Right now I am shooting with a Sony Cyber Shot point and shoot. Nice for a point and shoot but I'm itching for something with a little more umph. I've finally gathered enough money to buy myself a brand new Dslr camera. Something I've wanted for a long time. I've been researching and looking and comparing at the different dslr's and just need some opinions from people who have used the equipment. My spending is needed to be kept under $1,100. I don't mind who makes it. What matters is the performance. A few camera's I've been looking at myself are:
~ Nikon D7000 
~ Sony SLT-A65
~Nikon D3200 DX
And I'm leaning towards the Nikon D7000 at the moment. It seems that it has the most positive reviews out of the cameras I've looked at despite the apparent many problems people have had with the auto focus. Which has me slightly paused on the purchase. I like the fact it's supposed to take good pictures in the dark and and capture fairly fast moving subjects. Suggestions, thoughts, and opinions are all greatly appreciated. It's a fairly large purchase and I want to do it right the first time. 
Thank you for taking the time to read and maybe hopefully reply! 
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10 years 3 months ago #334851 by Tuscan Muse
Hi Jison.  Welcome here.  You will find quite a few articles on the PT site about making a DSLR purchase, all very helpful.
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10 years 3 months ago #334977 by garyrhook
There are lots of articles on here; do some searching in the forum as well.

That said...

The D7000 has a built-in motor, which opens you up to buying older, used lenses that are not AF-S. I don't think AI lenses are supported, however.  The sensor on the D7000 is the same as the D5100. I use a D5100 and have been very happy with it, as have my clients.

The D3200 is a larger sensor, but not much besides that, IIRC.

I would never buy a Sony, but that's just me.

You could also consider a used body, which (for the D7000) is useful right now. I see them going for approximately $650 in the states.  You'd have a few bucks left for a decent lens (a 50mm f/1.8 if you're just starting out) and a cheap tele (the 55-200, for example).

If you are going to be serious, you'll probably want to shoot RAW, which means you might want to spring for Lightroom or comparable. That's another $150 (or less, if the sale is still on). There is other software available.

Welcome.
Photo Comments
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10 years 3 months ago - 10 years 3 months ago #334997 by jison
Thanks for the replies!
Now that I've been doing even more research.... I have found I really like what I see when I look at the Pentax K3. Everything sounds great when reading about it and it sounds great when watching the review on cnet and a couple other places... I would just really like to hear if anybody has any experience with the camera? Is it really as great as it seems? If so... any lenses you could suggest purchasing for a first. Something that is within $250 that's versatile. Anyone have any suggestions on any camera shops to visit in Southern California?
Thank you again for reading and your time!
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10 years 3 months ago #335015 by KCook
Check lens availability for Pentax.  It's also pretty important to see these cameras in the flesh, not just read reports.  Big camera store chains like Calumet and Samys have stores in southern CA.  There are also likely to be good independent stores that I would not know about.  Just search the web and see what pops up.

Kelly Cook
Canon 50D, Olympus PL2
kellycook.zenfolio.com/
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10 years 3 months ago - 10 years 3 months ago #335427 by Stealthy Ninja
Why not Canon?

The 70D is about at your budget (sans lens) and is better than all of them IMHO
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/986389-RE...on_eos_70d_dslr.html

I owned a D7000 and it failed to impress me.
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www.aevansphoto.com
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10 years 3 months ago #335549 by KCook
Yup.  I had no idea how good my 50D was, until I started shooting with an Oly PL2 :blink:

Kelly
Canon 50D, Olympus PL2
kellycook.zenfolio.com/
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10 years 3 months ago #335571 by jison
Thank you for the suggestions.
Kelly,
I've checked the lenses available for the Pentax and along with being able to use any made lens they have made, it also can use Nikon lenses with the right adapter. As for getting some camera's in hand I plan on going and browsing the stores.
Stealthy Ninja,
I have nothing personal towards Canon. I'm not one into paying attention to who makes it and more of the performance of the camera itself. As for the 70D I wasn't all that impressed by what I have seen on the net about it. What about the 70D do you like so much?
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10 years 3 months ago - 10 years 3 months ago #335665 by KCook
Sorry I wasn't clear about lens availability.  I did not mean the lens catalog.  I meant buying a lens.  When I walk into a camera store in my city I will not see a single Pentax lens in the case.  As they typically do not carry the Pentax DSLR line at all.  So I would have to order Pentax lenses online.  Which is not a bad thing, I have bought plenty of odd lenses online myself, but the utter lack of retail support is not a reassuring thing either.

Kelly
Canon 50D, Olympus PL2
kellycook.zenfolio.com/
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10 years 3 months ago #335879 by Stealthy Ninja

jison wrote: Thank you for the suggestions.
Kelly,
I've checked the lenses available for the Pentax and along with being able to use any made lens they have made, it also can use Nikon lenses with the right adapter. As for getting some camera's in hand I plan on going and browsing the stores.
Stealthy Ninja,
I have nothing personal towards Canon. I'm not one into paying attention to who makes it and more of the performance of the camera itself. As for the 70D I wasn't all that impressed by what I have seen on the net about it. What about the 70D do you like so much?


Honestly I've not looking into those lower end cameras much.  I just read a bit about the AF and it seems like it would be a much better camera than the D7000 (which isn't that good at all).
img\def

www.aevansphoto.com
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