[OSX-Users] Re: d-slr recommendations

[Steve Harris]

I'd recommend Nikons also, I switched from Canon to Nikon when I went  
digital. Nikon care more about back-compatibility - I have 40 year old  
Nikon lenses that work fine on my current body, whereas my 20 year old  
Canon lenses don't work on anything still manufactured. Lens  
compatibility is far more important than body life, I think I must  
have spend 10x more on lenses than bodies.

Kate's recommendation to hold the cameras is a good one too, the  
ergonomics are quite different between the brands, it's the main  
reason I switched to Nikon.

IMHO at the low end the lenses are essentially the same across Nikon/ 
Sony/Canon, price and quality wise. At the high end Nikon's tend to be  
a bit more expensive, but are generally among the best. That's quite a  
contentious viewpoint though :) people get religious about camera  
brands.

I'm currently using a D700, but that's quite large and heavy, so won't  
suit everyone. The D5000 is nice, as is the D90.

There's a big photo fair happening in the next few weeks, so it would  
probably be a good idea to wait until after that, to see what models  
come out.

- Steve

On 15 Jan 2010, at 10:24, Kathryn Macarthur wrote:

> I've had a Nikon D40 DSLR for a year now (although I don't think  
> they make that model anymore), and have never had any problems with  
> it - image quality is fantastic, lenses are a little on the pricey  
> side, but I think slightly cheaper than Canon lenses.
>
> The best advice I've been given on buying a DSLR is to go into a  
> shop and actually hold some - you'll usually find one that fits your  
> hand exactly - for example, I found the Canons to be a bit bulky,  
> and the Sonys to be much heavier on one side than the other. I  
> strongly recommend John Lewis for trying out cameras, their staff  
> were very helpful to me and will let you try out any camera you  
> please :-)
>
> Kate
>
> On 15 Jan 2010, at 10:01, m.c. schraefel wrote:
>
>> Since some of you are avid photo shooting types as well, i seek  
>> your recommendation for a camera that will last more than a season.
>>
>> used to be you could get a canon F1 or a nikon F3 and have a camera  
>> pretty much for life. Now with the sensors etc being upgraded every  
>> four months it seems, things are very different. one disadvantage  
>> to digital.
>>
>> SO recy's for a good camera with a shelf life welcome. i've always  
>> used canons just as a point of reference, so initial bias there.
>>
>> thanks
>>
>> mc
>
>
> Kathryn Macarthur
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> PhD Student
> Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia Group
> School of Electronics and Computer Science
> University of Southampton, UK
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> www: http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/people/ksm08r
> email: ksm08r at ecs.soton.ac.uk
> tel: +44 (0)23 8059 3269
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> "A ship in port is safe; but that is not what ships
> are built for. Sail out to sea and do new things."
> 		 - Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
>
>