D50

[SamF]

Looking into getting a DSLR, thinking of Nikon D50, 18-55 kit lens, 50mm f1.8 lens and a half decent tripod, what the experts reckon as to that as decent starting equipment ?

[entwisi]

There is little between the D50 and teh 350D Canon(Both are effectively 18 montsh to 2 years old models so are now quite cheap). There is generally two main camps. The Nikon and Canon users. You need to consider that whatever you choose to buy into now will probably be your upgrade path for many years to come. The Camera body may come and go but once you have invested in either Nikon or Canon lenses you will tend to stay with that make.

I have Canon 400D and love it. One of the things I specifcally like is that I can easily mount a lot of cheaper old glass by means of a Canon EOS to M42 adaptor. These even come with a AF conf chip so i whilst I have to turn the ring myself the camera tells me which zones are in focus. I have M42 lenses from respected Russian lens manufacturers like MIR and Jupiter. I also have Carl Zeiss Lenses and Chinon whisch are optically stunning. In fast primes I can go from 37MM to 300MM. I think my whole lens portfolio stands me at just over £120. Have a look at how much a basic 75-300 f4.5 zoom costs and you start to get the idea.

The investment in lenses etc is probably far more costly than the original purchase cost of the camera so choose carefully.

Whichever you choose make sure you also invest time and effort in learning how to use it properly. Understanding Exposure Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition): Books: Bryan Peterson is a very well respected book.

I'm sure Kipax will also be along shortly to add his views as well as Stanleys official photographer.

I've started a photo wiki to dump ideas, info and hints/tips that I find. Feel free to read/comment/pull to pieces if you so desire

http://entwisi.110.mb.com/photo-wiki/

[K.S.H]

Can't comment on the Nikon as I've never used one.
Think lenses more than Camera, they are the most important bit, the camera only records what the lens picks up and lenses are with you for years to come, you can change the body anytime.
What sort of photography are you doing?
50mm is good for portraits etc, not much good for a walkabout lens though, I have a 17-85 for that and its a good range for general photos.
If you can afford a decent lens now I'd get one now and see how much you can get the Nikon D50 body only for as the kit lenses usually aren't that much kop, you'll soon get fed up of it and want to upgrade so it might save you a bit of cash if you do it now.

[entwisi]

Also need to remember that the D50 and most budget DLSRs have a 1.5/6 crop factor so a 50 mm has the actual effect of a 80 ish mm

I'd agree that Kit lenses are cheap etc but IMHO they cost next to nothing as teh body only prices are usualy only £20-30 less so its not worth not having if yuo see what I mean. I look at mine as a basic 'snap' lens rather than anything that I would look to purposly use. Its only redeeeming factor is its 18mm wide end.

For walkabout I picked up a 28-70 Lens from an old EOS 600 film camera. Its a decent lens for general stuff. I do get a nice feeling from using my old lenses so they are on 95% of the time.

[K.S.H]

Good price guide here for lenses.
You can see samples taken with various Nikon lenses here (bottom half of page), gives you an idea of what they are capable of.

[chickentikkabalti]

I have the olympus e410 and I love it. Bargain price at the moment