Camera opinion

[BigieSmallz]

I have been doing a lot of research on a new camera. Right now I have a basic sony cybershot but would like to upgrade to a dslr. I am going to be taking a basic photography class here at my local community college so I can learn the basics. I have a budget of about $1000, I would like to make it to $1300 to the Cannon 60d or the nikon 7000 but I cant see myself forking out that much more money. You can buy them with no lens for cheaper but I JUST DONT KNOW! Any help would be appreciated.

[Robert2006]

Originally Posted by BigieSmallz

I am going to be taking a basic photography class here at my local community college.

Before you buy anything ask if they have any requirements. No point buying something then finding out it doesn't fit your needs.

If you buy just a body you could look at www.keh.com for used lenses. If things haven't changed keh is very good about ratings etc. Used from them is almost like buying new without the box.

[Zilla]

Originally Posted by BigieSmallz

I have been doing a lot of research on a new camera. Right now I have a basic sony cybershot but would like to upgrade to a dslr. I am going to be taking a basic photography class here at my local community college so I can learn the basics. I have a budget of about $1000, I would like to make it to $1300 to the Cannon 60d or the nikon 7000 but I cant see myself forking out that much more money. You can buy them with no lens for cheaper but I JUST DONT KNOW! Any help would be appreciated.

I agree with Robert. Find out what you need first, then make a plan as to what to buy from there. The odds are you won't need a really expensive camera. It's not about the camera, it's about what the person behind the camera does with what he or she has.

IMO, far too many people drop tons of money into the newest DSLR's and still only manage to take snapshots with it. These same people often call themselves "proffessional photographers" and they're not even close.

A friend of ours is a pro photographer and he can do wonders with a Fuji throw away camera. One would never know that he didn't use a $6,000 camera ( not including the lense) if he didn't say that the photographs was taken with.

If you can get into a decent camera body for a decent amount, there are companies that will rent out lenses if you need a specific lense that may be out of your budget. This is something the friend that I mentioned above does when he wants to play with a lense, but not invest the cash. He'll rent a lense for a weekend and go shoot whatever tickles his funnybone that day.

I'm guessing that this class you are taking is going to be a newbie class, so you shouldn't need a $3,000 lense. They may require a 50 mm as most classes that I'm aware of do, but you really shouldn't need more than that.

I'm a Canon snob, so I have no thoughts on Nikons. But, another place to poke around for cameras and camera related stuff is http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

Sometimes they sell refurbished cameras at a fraction of the cost of new stuff. My only warning about them is if you decide you want to buy a camera from them, read all the fine print and understand what the camera comes with. They often have camera "kit deals" but they fail to mention that the camera doesn't come with a battery, ect so you end up getting nickeled to and dimed to death for the stuff that is needed to make the camera work. If you find that you're running into that problem, you'll be better off looking locally.

B&H is a cool store, I've been there in person, but their habit of claiming to sell kits when it isn't a complete kits sucks.

[astroguy]

I generally agree with the above. A lot of photography can be done with a fairly good point and shoot so long as you know what you're doing and know how to use it. Of course, there is stuff you can't do with a P&S, too.

The Canon Rebels are very good "beginner" cameras. I bought my first in 2005 when I was just starting, and I still have that model (350D) and use it for backup. I then went on a ones lens purchase per year scheme two years later and then upgraded to the 7D body when it came out in late 2010. I was very pleased with the new features over my 350D and found them incredibly useful (easier controls, live view for focusing for my astrophotography, much better noise characteristics, HD video, better burst mode).

Now, the latest Rebel that came out something like a month ago is almost as good as my 7D features-wise (obv. the 7D is better, but in terms of features most would care about, the new Rebels are very very good).

If you want to go SLR route, then what do you get with the 60D that you don't get with the T4i that you would really use and you think you really need? For that matter, what does the T3i not have that the T4i does that you would really want/need? Last year's T3i model can be had from B&H for $610 versus this year's T4i for $850.

And I should note that my P&S is the nearly 3-year-old S90 model (S100 is the current version). I bought it over others because, after 5 years, I couldn't go back to automatic shooting and wanted full manual control. Other than a different aspect ratio and the benefit of using pro-quality lenses and the large apertures they offer, for generic shooting (random trips, parades, conferences, etc.) my S90 is just as good as my Rebel.

For 90% of what you'd do - unless you want very specialized photography like astro - it's the wave of the magician, not the kind of wand (s)he holds.