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Can't afford DSLR, what's the next best thing?
- Thread starter Double P
- Start date
*isteve
Veteran Member
Or the Nikon 5400/5700 and Sony F717.
Draw up a shortlist, review sample photos, decide on what features really matter most (zoom range, flash, evf etc) and try them all out in a shop.
Your choices seem to be as above for cams wilth full SLR features.
Steve
Draw up a shortlist, review sample photos, decide on what features really matter most (zoom range, flash, evf etc) and try them all out in a shop.
Your choices seem to be as above for cams wilth full SLR features.
Steve
I agree....draw up a T-Chart of benefits and downfalls for each camera.
The big benefits to an SLR are High ISO's and low Noise....no shutter lag....a must for action shots....and lens choices.
There are more of course, but for me, I dropped the money for the ability to shoot ISO 1600, have no noise and the quality of the L-Series Canon Glass.
-tim
Canon 1 0 D, 24-70mm/f2.8 L-Series, 75-300mm/f4-5.6 IS, 4 2 0EX Speedlight
Sony 7 1 7, Nikon 9 9 5 & Konica KD-4 0 0 Z
Accessories....tons of course
http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp
The big benefits to an SLR are High ISO's and low Noise....no shutter lag....a must for action shots....and lens choices.
There are more of course, but for me, I dropped the money for the ability to shoot ISO 1600, have no noise and the quality of the L-Series Canon Glass.
--
-tim
Canon 1 0 D, 24-70mm/f2.8 L-Series, 75-300mm/f4-5.6 IS, 4 2 0EX Speedlight
Sony 7 1 7, Nikon 9 9 5 & Konica KD-4 0 0 Z
Accessories....tons of course
http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp
J
Jon Ragnarsson
Guest
Personally I would go for more zoom. But then I am spoiled by the 10x stabilized zoom lens on my camera 
These cameras are all very good. I would try to try them out in the hand, and find out wich one you are most comfortable to operate.
J.
http://jonr.beecee.org/
These cameras are all very good. I would try to try them out in the hand, and find out wich one you are most comfortable to operate.
J.
--
http://jonr.beecee.org/
john farrar
Veteran Member
All the prosumer cameras make a very good job of taking photos, but the one which handles most like a regular film SLR is the Minolta D7i (Hi). This is because it has a genuine 28-200 zoom with manual zoom and focus rings on the lens barrel. Not the best at ISO 200+ but it does focus in low light and have a threaded lens for accessories (No good for IR due to hot mirror).
If you can tolerate the unusual styling of the Sony 717 - you'll get the best of the bunch for working right out of the box.
Action shots are difficult with all these cameras due to lag - the Minolta's manual focus is easy and quick to operate if you want to pre-focus and reduce the lag time.
John.
Visitors welcome to browse
http://www.pbase.com/johnfr/galleries
If you can tolerate the unusual styling of the Sony 717 - you'll get the best of the bunch for working right out of the box.
Action shots are difficult with all these cameras due to lag - the Minolta's manual focus is easy and quick to operate if you want to pre-focus and reduce the lag time.
John.
Visitors welcome to browse
http://www.pbase.com/johnfr/galleries
L
Lin Evans
Guest
--
Jamie W.
Kindness. Compassion. Understanding. Respect. Courtesy.
I try to live up to these words. Do you?
Film? What do you mean, film?
If you want the heft, feel and quality build of a DSLR at a lower price, consider the Olympus E-10/E-20, as Lin mentioned.
Of those on your list, here, the Minolta is the only one that acts and feels like an SLR. The rest are more or less nice cameras but don't have a through the lens viewfinder and have pretty much a pocket camera sort of persona, no matter how much they cost or how many features they boast. Not necessary a bad thing, just a statement of fact. Not mentioned at this point also is the Fuji S602, an SLR-like with a 3Mp sensor and worthy of your consideration.
You probably need to be more specific about what you intend to do with it and what your preferences are.
Rick
Of those on your list, here, the Minolta is the only one that acts and feels like an SLR. The rest are more or less nice cameras but don't have a through the lens viewfinder and have pretty much a pocket camera sort of persona, no matter how much they cost or how many features they boast. Not necessary a bad thing, just a statement of fact. Not mentioned at this point also is the Fuji S602, an SLR-like with a 3Mp sensor and worthy of your consideration.
You probably need to be more specific about what you intend to do with it and what your preferences are.
Rick
amitis
Leading Member
William Karoly
Senior Member
Dimage 7 I would recommend it. Mechanical zoom is it's biggest plus and the lense covers a broad range. It's downsides are AA batteries and the electronic view finder which is not all that sharp making it difficult to tell if the image is in focus where you want it to be in focus. The newer 7i and 7Hi have a slightly better EVF. If you want to see some image examples go to my website and look at these images: (all shot with Dimage 7)
http://www.williamkaroly.com/photo/onstage.html
Bill
http://www.williamkaroly.com
http://www.williamkaroly.com/photo/onstage.html
Bill
http://www.williamkaroly.com
cecilbdemented
Leading Member
If you can wait then autumn might be a good time as if the pentax *ist d is to be a sucess (6mp dslr) it will have to be cheap.
Alternitively - wait till the 24th when there is a 4/3rds expo thing - should find out then what the first cams are goiung to offer and what price (hopefully) - rumours are that the prosumer one will be a 5/6mp cam coming in at $850 for the body! If this is true it makes a dslr with lens the same price as the cams your looking at.
From the ones you suggest the dimage 7hi i can vouch for as an excellent cam.
all the best,
C
--
http://www.philbooks.demon.co.uk
Alternitively - wait till the 24th when there is a 4/3rds expo thing - should find out then what the first cams are goiung to offer and what price (hopefully) - rumours are that the prosumer one will be a 5/6mp cam coming in at $850 for the body! If this is true it makes a dslr with lens the same price as the cams your looking at.
From the ones you suggest the dimage 7hi i can vouch for as an excellent cam.
all the best,
C
--
http://www.philbooks.demon.co.uk
Christian Mansson
New member
Olympus E-20!!!
Chrisman
Chrisman
There really isn't a next best thing to a DSLR because a DSLR is so versatile and allows so much creativity in your photography.
I would definately look at a camera with a Hotshoe for external flash and manual controls. A lot of folks rave about the Nikon 5000 and the 5700.
Good luck with your choice. A down side with a DSLR is the cost of len's which can cost as much if not more than the camera body itself. sigh
I would definately look at a camera with a Hotshoe for external flash and manual controls. A lot of folks rave about the Nikon 5000 and the 5700.
Good luck with your choice. A down side with a DSLR is the cost of len's which can cost as much if not more than the camera body itself. sigh
As several others have stated - Oly e-10/e-20 would be your only choice given your criteria. At the price they are available for, nothing even comes close. They are a real dslr (digital single lens reflex) They just don't have interchangeable lenses to let dust get into your sensor. Standard lens gives 35 to 140 equivalent which should cover any normal use. For the dollars some of the cameras you mentioned you can have an e-10 and tcon 14B telephoto giving you out to 200mm equivalent at f2.4 no less. Try to match that anywhere.
Minolta Dimage 7Hi !!! I guess it is not called a DSLR because the viewfinder is electronic and the 28 - 200 mm (!!!) zoom is not interchangeable ( like the Oly ), but no other non - DSLR ( and even some DSLR's ) camera offers so many manually adjustable features as the Minolta - really superb camera. I suggest you seriously look at it!
digital_ray_of_light
Veteran Member
While this is more of a fringe choice, how about adding this to the "To-Consider" list? The Leica Digilux 1 / Panasonic LC-5.
Its image quality has been very controversial, but it offers a manual focus ring, 4fps @ 4mp, 2.5" LCD, F2.0 like-a-Leica lens, RF ergonomics.
Its image quality has been very controversial, but it offers a manual focus ring, 4fps @ 4mp, 2.5" LCD, F2.0 like-a-Leica lens, RF ergonomics.
Miguel Barroso
Well-known member
William Karoly wrote:
If
Miguel Barroso
(still trying to figure out wich camera to buy!)
If
William, those pictures are really nice... what kind of lightning did you use? Flash, or just ambient lightning?
Miguel Barroso
(still trying to figure out wich camera to buy!)
D
David Martin
Guest
And a 38-135 IS lens.
The cost is resonable, and the capabilities way beyond any of the P & S cameras - plus a good lens is for keeps, whereas on the P & S cameras it's all dead money.
--
Regards,
DaveMart
Please see profile for equipment
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