The buying a new DSLR camera advice thread...

I had one on the Canon G6 I used to shoot with and found it indispensable one time in two years. It's a pain to manipulate, useless for 99.9% of the shots most people take, and generally more trouble than it's worth. It's likely even more useless on a DSLR where you're often better off relying on the optical viewfinder. The first time you lose a shot because you were fiddling around with the LCD you'll wonder why you didn't sink that extra $100 into a prime lens or useful carrying case or nice bottle of Scotch.

But don't let me dissuade you. :)

I do realize that the screen isn't going to be useful 90% of the time, but I appreciate having the option, as there have been numerous times in the past where I've tried to line up a shot whilst crawling around on the ground struggling to peek into the viewfinder. The gorillapod is also pretty low when on the ground or often I've got it tied up in an awkward position, so I reckon the screen would help me out in those situations. (In the past I've often used the 'pod in low light environments (eg in a rainforest, or in a cathedral) combined with a timed shutter release in order to have longer steady exposures.)

Anyway, I just stumbled across a great deal that will get me the 600D for 50€ / 65$ less than the 550D, so I just went with that!
Thanks for all the advice!

Congrats on your new camera, Cormac! And post those Scotland pics when you get them. :)

Finally got around to posting some of my pics from the trip!
Comments & feedback welcome.. ;)

I have no clue about cameras at all. My wife has an old Canon SLR (yes the film kind) but it has a few issues (battery compartment cover broke, it's hard to find places to develop film and expensive if you can, etc.) and would like a DSLR. So I have some questions. She likes Canon so that goes a good distance to narrowing down the options. It seems like prices on these things have come down but still have a huge range, from ~$500 to ~$2500. I've also noticed that some don't come with lenses and I'm wondering if the lens from her old Canon will fit the new DSLRs anyone know if these things are standard? If I don't have to buy a new lens that would be fantastic! So what do I need to know about these things? Does going from 18 MP to 20 MP make much difference?

Canon DSLRs use two form factors for their lenses, EF and EF-S. Crop-sensor cameras can use both, while full-frame cameras can only use EF lenses. I'd recommend a camera like the Canon T3 or T3i, whichever you can find for cheaper. I use the T3 and have nothing but good things to say about it. I bought mine on an Amazon special, body + an 18-55mm lens for $499.

As for lenses, Canon switched to the EF mount in 1987, so if your lens is newer than that, it should work with modern Canon DSLRs. Look for a white square near the camera-side of the lens - that'll indicate an EF mount.

Nute's advice is solid, and don't worry about MP ratings. Sensor, processor, and lens quality is much more important. One of my friends has a relatively old Digital Rebel with a kit lens and her shots are absolutely stunning (mainly because she is an expert at all-important exposure control, and she has a good eye for composition). Kit lenses are so cheap that I recommend you get one, as they are designed to work well with the body they come with.

If she's going Canon she really can't go wrong. Just make sure you get something with all the controls and features she wants.

One thing to remember when looking at lenses for a small form factor camera is that you'll effectively be multiplying the focal length of the lens by 1.6x. This is great if you're doing nature photography or portrait photography, but if you're wanting to do wide-angle landscape shots or street photography, you're not going to get below an equivalent 24mm focal length without using either a fisheye lens or hideously expensive lenses.

What I use, as an amateur:
- Canon T3 - it comes with a 18-55mm EF lens that is a great beginner's lens.
- Canon EF-S 50mm 1.8 lens - Amazon actually has this listed wrong, it is an EF-S lens, not an EF lens (note the red circle on the mount). This is my very favorite lens, and it's incredibly inexpensive. With a wide aperture of up to f/1.8, you can take great photos in low light, or get an amazingly shallow depth-of-field.
- Tamron 75-300mm zoom lens - a very nice third-party telephoto lens. A bit tetchy with the autofocus, but I prefer using manual focus for long-range shots anyway.

I also recommend getting a tripod - quite frankly anything that's light and portable will do for a beginner. Hold off on purchasing a flash unit - if your wife has any Canon flash units from her previous SLR they'll work just fine with any modern Canon.

The T3 is incredibly forgiving for new learners, with a number of automatic modes where the camera will auto-set the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture depending on available light, distance to subject, and whether you've set it to Landscape, Sports, Portrait, etc. As you get to learn more about the manual controls, it has both a Time-Control mode (where you define the shutter speed, good for long-exposure or high-speed photography) and an Aperture Control mode (where you can lock in a specific f-stop for depth-of-field control), and of course a fully Manual mode where you set everything to get full control over your image.

Her old Canon is definitely post 87 (she would have been 8 years old in 87). So what is a crop-sensor camera and how would I identify one vs a full-frame?

I was looking at the T3i and T4i, what exactly are the differences? Also what about this EOS and Rebel stuff? I believe her old one is an EOS Rebel, but I see there are just T3/4, Rebel T3/T4, EOS 5D/6D/7D, EOS Rebel T3/T4, etc. When I said I have no clue I REALLY have no clue. SO CONFUSED!

Those are just different model numbers. A "crop sensor" camera has a smaller image sensor than a full-frame camera. A full-frame sensor is the same size as a 35mm film frame, so it captures a larger field of view at the same focal length as would a crop sensor.

EOS is Canon's special autofocus technology. All their cameras are EOS cameras, ever since the mid-80s. "Rebel" was the term for the product line of crop-factor cameras, their consumer-grade line. Currently still produced are the T2i, T3, T3i, and T4i. The main differences between each model are simply how many megapixels they have (e.g. the maximum image size that they can record) and whether or not they have video capability and how spiffy that is. Wikipedia actually has a decent breakdown of the basic specs of each model.

The 1D, 5D, and 7D models are full-frame professional-grade cameras. They're liable to be way more expensive.

For reference my wife isn't new to photography, she made good use of her old SLR camera and we have many of her photos framed and hung around the house and my completely ignorant opinion is that they're quite good. I know she's comfortable setting her own aperture, shutter speeds and such. I've even encouraged her to try her hand at selling some though she hasn't attempted to do so yet. Would the T4 be a better option for someone who's more advanced?

Oh yeah, the T4i is a great camera - costs a bit more than the T3 or T3i, but one thing it has is a newer image processor that (among other things) allows for much faster processing of images which means you can take more pictures faster (up to about 5 frames per second). It's about $850 for the body alone, though.

Considering her old SLR cost somewhere around $1k-$2k getting comparable DSLR is going to be pricey. I've accepted this. If I was looking at budget cameras I probably wouldn't be looking at Canon and certainly wouldn't be considering the 'D' series but I am. Though part of me is wondering if I shouldn't just get a gift card or something and let her choose the camera, at least she'd get what she wants even if it's a bit lame.

It would be better to take her down there on the pretense of looking at cameras or whatever and then let her know when you get there that she's leaving with one. (Or if you want to save a lot of money and have better options, look at them there and then buy one online. My local camera shops have a pretty crappy selection to go with their high prices (which I would be happy to pay if they offered any value beyond putting it in a bag for me, which they don't)).

Hijack: I have a Canon PowerShot S2 that is starting to die. It is a sub-DSLR by my wife, who uses it most, likes the relatively small size and the options on it. DSLRs all look too bulky to her.

Thing is, she mostly wants to take baby photos and for that I think she really needs a DSLR (or similar) with a decent 50mm (???) lens (50 something, I forget).

So, are there any sub-dslrs that will do the trick?

Well, the compact cameras have come a long way in the last few years so a good compact will get you decent baby shots (not the most complicated thing in the world).

However, if you want to use the camera for anything else i would recommend getting a DSLR for the versatility. I have no idea of your budget, but something like this is a really, really good starting package.You'll get an exellent body and good lenses. Then you can add or upgrade the lenses later as you see fit. You can also look at the D3100 or the D5100 to get the cost down a bit.

Thanks. Her goal would be to take the sort of short depth-of-focus shots that make portraits pop. Compacts can't really pull that off, right?

Ya for the links, will check them out! I probably need to get her into a camera shop so she can get a feel for them herself.

You'll be looking at a lens that can do shots in the f1.8/f2.8 range for the really shallow depth of field stuff. I'd certainly recommend an DSLR for that use. Also, Scott Kelbys books are really good for those just starting out.

Thanks. Yeah, I think I need to find a small/light DSLR for her, or at least, one that is such with the portrait typed lenses. Ta for book idea!

Sensor size also has a big impact on depth of field, as does the lens. A bigger sensor helps soften the background, and for a true portrait lens you want something with a longer focal distance than 50mm. My compact Sony shoots at f1.8, for example, but it has worse bokeh and makes worse portraits than my D7000 shooting at 1.8 with a 35mm prime (which is about a 50mm equivalent due to crop factor).

Something like a 35mm or 50mm is OK for portraits when the subject is far away from the background, but that's rarely the case with baby shots. For those I would prefer a real portrait-oriented lens in the 80mm-105mm range.

Also be aware if you're shooting at f1.8 to really throw the background out of focus that you're going to get a razor thin plane of focus with inexpensive primes like the 35mm or 50mm. As in, the eyes are in focus but the nose is not. (And focusing also becomes a chore because you may think you have the eyes in focus but really have the nose in focus.) In most situations you'll want to stop the lens down a bit to bring more of the face into focus, and then you're not getting the background de-focus and bokeh that you wanted.

It all depends on your wife's expectations. Any DSLR with a nice inexpensive prime would likely satisfy most people, but if she wants perfectly focused subjects with creamy backgrounds and nicely-shaped bokeh you're in for some more expensive gear.

I hate to hijack the buying advice thread, but it sounds like a few people have the same camera/upgrade path as me: I've got a Canon t2i (EOS 550D) that I almost always use in "Creative Assist" mode. It's always popping up the built-in flash, even when there should be ample light. To keep it from using the built-in flash, I have to either use "no flash" mode (which doesn't give as much control over depth-of-field and the like as the other automatic modes) or go back into the options and turn off the flash, every time I turn the camera on. I've gotten in the habit of switching the camera off frequently, to conserve the battery, which means I'm constantly having to go back in and turn the flash back off.

Has anyone else run into similar problems? Is there an obvious fix I'm missing (e.g. a mode that remembers the "no flash" option while still using CA mode?) Are the later models like the t3i and t4i better at handling it?

For the record, the Amazon listing for the lens is correct. Canon does not make a 50/1.8 with an EF-S mount. I have owned several of these, and while the lens is an incredible value, the design uses five aperture blades which makes it somewhat frustrating to use near wide open. The first version of this lens can be found of ebay, and is made from metal instead of plastic.

The sensor size debate has been going on for quite some time, but I seriously doubt most people notice any difference between modern sensors. The overall image quality from my mother's old APS-C Canon DSLR is certainly better than what my full frame M9 puts out.

Huh. Well, apparently I had the red circle/white square thing backwards then.

Learn something mostly useless every day.

I'm thankful for this as I checked my wife's camera and she had a red circle and I thought I'd have to get a new lens also. I checked the images of new DSLR cameras though and they also had a red circle and I was relieved.

If you have a dead cannon and you are looking to upgrade the cannon loyalty program can save you a few hundred bucks on a factory refurb. I used the program a few years ago and the DSLR I got still works perfect.

I think the Canon EF/EF-S system ends up being much more confusing than the Nikon FX/DX system. EF-S lenses only have white squares. EF lenses only have red dots.

EF-S mount (APS-C) cameras have both white squares and red dots, while full frame EF mount cameras have red dots only. This is because unlike the Nikon system, EF-S lenses cannot be mounted on the EF cameras.

I know most of you are Canon acolytes, and but the Nikon store is running a holiday deal for the D7000. The D7000 kit with the 18-105mm zoom is $999, free shipping. And they throw in an insulated lens mug.
http://support.nikonusa.com/ci/documents/view/1/AvUW~wrnGv8SAaxSGpke~yL~Jvsq~8z~n1GJkTr~

The D7000 is an amazing piece of kit, I have one and even though I have upgraded to the D800 it is by far the best crop sensor camera I have ever owned. Highly recommended! That's a pretty good deal as well, the 18-105 is an ideal beginners lens.

So I bought a T4i (body only) for my wife, it was $150 off so I'm pretty happy with that and hopefully she is too. Now, to keep her from opening random packages that come to the house.

Hey - Interested in opinions on the Sony NEX-6 (or whatever) and Canon G-series sub-DSLRs. In particular, I'm interested in those brands because I think we can put a 50 or 55mm lens on them for lovely portrait shots. Any thoughts on those, or similar? My wife has decided a full DSLR is too bulky (with two kids) so something more portable with lens options would be ideal.

The NEX-6 is a 1.6 crop factor camera, so a 50mm prime lens will be effectively an 80mm which makes it a really good portrait lens. Although WOW, the 50/1.8 lens for the Sony E-mount is about three times the price of an equivalent lens for the Canon EF mount. I'd recommend the 18-55mm lens that Sony offers for that camera, which comes in at around $300 US.

So a Nex6 is the way to go? And that lens will produce the short depth of focus thing I want? Herp-a-derp I camera good!

I suggest you go to a camera shop and try them out for yourself.

Do plan to. Hopping to narrow down options before a sales clerk misinformation us

You can also go to Flickr and look for pics others have taken with the camera/lens combo you want to see how they turned out.