Professional cameras

[Kershaw]

apparently she wants a camera to show off her new stove top and ironing board to her friends.

e30fear should teach her to drift around her kitchen table to avoid crashing when the floor is freshly waxed.

[daniel]

Options I would consider with that amount of money. All prices are used.

D90 $550-600
D300 $850-900

Both of those bodies will have the same IQ, but the D300 handles better, has better AF, Micro adjustment, meters with Ai lenses, better weather sealing, etc. The D90 is smaller and lighter.

For lenses I would look at:

Nikon 35mm F1.8 DX $165
Small, lightweight, cheap, fast, good IQ

Tamron 17-50 f2.8 without the BIM $325

Fast for a zoom, half the weight of the Nikon equivalent and 1/3 of the price with similar IQ.

I would also consider the Nikon 50 AF-D f1.4 and f1.8 as well as the 85 AF-D f1.8. The 85 and 50 are a little long on a crop body if it is her only lens though.

this guy knows his shit

[F34R]

Options I would consider with that amount of money. All prices are used.

D90 $550-600
D300 $850-900

Both of those bodies will have the same IQ, but the D300 handles better, has better AF, Micro adjustment, meters with Ai lenses, better weather sealing, etc. The D90 is smaller and lighter.

For lenses I would look at:

Nikon 35mm F1.8 DX $165
Small, lightweight, cheap, fast, good IQ

Tamron 17-50 f2.8 without the BIM $325

Fast for a zoom, half the weight of the Nikon equivalent and 1/3 of the price with similar IQ.

I would also consider the Nikon 50 AF-D f1.4 and f1.8 as well as the 85 AF-D f1.8. The 85 and 50 are a little long on a crop body if it is her only lens though.

Thanks a lot man!

[VicSkimmr]

Well, to give the Canon side a little love...

I would tell her to look at a Rebel T2i. It has great low light capability and is an all around great camera. I ended up choosing Canon over Nikon because I liked the interface a lot better. Assuming she has small hands the entry-level Rebel series should be a great fit. I use an XSi as a backup body and it works great as well as long as you don't need to shoot anything over ISO 400. Those should be dirt cheap by now. I personally use a 40D which is a bit dated, but photography is 90% skill dependent and 10% equipment.

The best thing she can do is go to a store and play with the different models. See which ones fit her hands better and see which ones have the best interface.

Canon and Nikon both make great bodies and have loads and loads of lenses to choose from. If she chooses Nikon I would suggest making sure that the body has the auto-focus motor built-in, as some of the entry-level cameras don't which makes your lens choices very restricted as well as lenses even more expensive than normal.

A great beginner lens for a Canon is the Canon 28-135 IS f/3.5 lens. It runs about $275 ish, has great optics for the money and covers a good range for general photography. Another good lens is the Canon 50 f/1.8. It's cheap (about $100) and super sharp.

[daniel]

yep, the Rebel T2i is pretty badass as well.

[emoshun]

Hey nice sig bro...

[Dominic49]

i like my t2i