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DSLR recommendations

A

Adrian Correia

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Heys guys - I need to pick up a new 35mm DSLR. Anyone have any recommendations? I was looking for a full frame sensored camera. Canon 5D, Nikon D700, Sony A900.....anyone? A video mode is not a priority - just image quality....and glass too, looking for the best glass. Last DSLR I bought was a canon 10D 6.0 MP, and I went cheaper on the glass. I wish I had gotten the better IS glass. I am brand agnostic so that doesn't matter either.

Thanks!

Adrian
 
I've been very pleased with Canon cameras. I have a 7D, which I bought for the video, but stills were very important to me in my thinking.

(The thinking went, "It would be cool to have a new camera, but I'll be shooting video with Scarlet real soon now, so I'll wait. Hey what's this? Still camera shooting HD video? Neat! I need both of those things!")

I don't know about the 5Dmk2 having bad autofocus, I haven't had any problems with it, if I was using decent glass. I've been thrilled to tears with the 7D for stills, and I imagine its closer to the 5D than it is to the future 1DsMK4.

Also, I know you say video isn't a factor, but having a reasonable video camera with you anytime you have your stills camera is addictive.

I am not particularly sold on the ergonomics of Scarlet as a stills camera, so the 7D was a fun choice for the interim.
 
For regular stills (not sports, etc) the Canon 5D2 is the champ, IMO. It's a very good value.
 
yea, don't get me wrong... the 5DII is good (focus wise) for most things, but if you really need a fast, accurate AF... it's not the best there is.

I think the 1DmkIVs is announced in Feb.... the 1DmkIV is available to order now... but isn't full frame. Rumour has it that the S version will be FF and 30mpx+
 
Tom Lowe said:
For regular stills (not sports, etc) the Canon 5D2 is the champ, IMO. It's a very good value.
Click to expand...

What would you recommend for sports?
 
Vince K said:
What would you recommend for sports?
Click to expand...

Well I'm not a sports shooter and I don't know much about AF (real men manual focus!)... but I can tell you that the 1D4 is very nice.
 
I have been shooting with the Nikon D3 since launch. Best decision I have ever made.

Essential for action / sport photographers.

Nikkor glass is so well built, incredibly sharp.

I'm a Nikon fanboy. ;)
 
If I were buying a full frame DSLR today and I didn't already have to support any one type of lens that I already owned, I would get the Nikon D3S, if stills were my primary interest. Other than video abilities, it is hands down better than the 5D2 and looks like it's still got the IDS4 beat for sensitivity and range. The 1DS3 has nothing on the Nikon DS3.

However, for most people, I would probably recommend the 5D2 as it's half the price and is still a great camera. It's probably a bit more user-friendly. The auto focus is screwy (same on the 7D) and it's video abilities are interesting, but IMO the 7D is better if you really want that feature.

As for the comment above about Canon making the best glass. I can't agree with that. They make very good glass and so does Nikon. But I would not say that one is better than the other. Each has their share of phenomenal lenses and each has some in their line that are just not that great. The lenses from Nikon and Canon are continuously evolving. I own a pretty good variety of Nikon and Canon glass as well as some others to fit both Nikon and Canon cameras, medium format, etc.. Canon has nothing right now that can top the new Nikon zooms like the14-24, 24-70 and 70-200. Supposedly Canon is soon to release an updated and better version of their 24-70 L zoom. Some of Canon's L primes are superior to just about anything else out there, but I said some, not all. The Nikon 85mm f1.4 is superior to its equivalents from Canon, Zeiss and perhaps even Leica (don't let Sanjin see this, hehe). It's one of my all time favorite lenses.

Anyway, lens details aside. Both Canon and Nikon make excellent glass. You can't go wrong either way. And Tokina, Zeiss and others also make some of their best lenses like Tokina's 11-16 wide zoom, to fit either camera.

For shooting sports and wildlife, I would go with the Nikon D3S, possibly a D700. For shooting architecture, it's Canon all the way. Their 17mm and 24mm tilt-shift lenses are worth buying a 7D or 5D2 just to use the lens!

I'm hoping that Epic/Scarlet FF35 can make sense of all this and then I can swap mounts and be a Nikon shooter one day and a Canon the next.
 
MaxAMillion said:
the D3s is almost 2 stops faster then the Mk4... 12800 is totally useable

http://www.neutralday.com/canon-eos-1d-mark-iv-vs-nikon-d3s-iso-comparison/
Click to expand...

Lol no offense but I am calling BS on 2 stops faster. I've got some 1D4 photos right here on my computer that show ISO 6400 as very unusable, unlike the laughable "1D4" samples they posted, which were supposedly shot at ISO 6400. What software did they use to demosaic those shots? MS Paint? This guy's samples show that the 5D Mark II performs better at ISO 6400 than the 1D4? Not in my experience!

Look, the D3s is a fine camera. I'd love to own one. But's A) it's extremely expensive, b) two stops over 1D4 is not legit IMO and C) the forthcoming 1Ds4 is likely to blow everything out of the water.

I have a strong, strong hunch that the Canon 1Ds4 will be HUGE.
 
Tom Lowe said:
Lol no offense but I am calling BS on 2 stops faster. I've got some 1D4 photos right here on my computer that show ISO 6400 as very unusable, unlike the laughable "1D4" samples they posted, which were supposedly shot at ISO 6400. What software did they use to demosaic those shots? MS Paint? This guy's samples show that the 5D Mark II performs better at ISO 6400 than the 1D4? Not in my experience!

Look, the D3s is a fine camera. I'd love to own one. But's A) it's extremely expensive, b) two stops over 1D4 is not legit IMO and C) the forthcoming 1Ds4 is likely to blow everything out of the water.

I have a strong, strong hunch that the Canon 1Ds4 will be HUGE.
Click to expand...

"almost" is the key word here maybe closer to 1.5... the nikon pulls ahead past 6400... plus the dynamic range on the nikon is through the roof...

to me, the test results for the canon aren't that bad... remember these are peep crops.... the full size images look good and a little NR and the canon stuff is fine... I just thank nikon made a choice in the design and its good to know what that gives.... the photosites on the nikon are almost twice the size of those on the mk4... not that thats everything but both chips are new designs... nikon has went with some really big buckets with a modern sensor

but hey canon's have more MP so its a game of give and take... if you need crazy resolution shoot with a 5D2, 4, or D3x, if you need crazy speed, sensitivity, and low noise at high iso then the 3s is a great choice...

I know 1Ds4 will be a great camera and I would love for canon to drop a bomb and change codecs,..... And rumors D3xs are starting to surface... so it should be cool to see how Canon and Nikon deal up there flagship cameras

in 3 years both Canon and Nikon will have crazy camera bodies that do everything so the important choice now is which lenses are you investing in...


but for me, once epic lands my DSLRs will spend more time in the bag...
 
MaxAMillion said:
FYI:
here is a guy that shoots both canon and nikon... he thanks the difference between the two in terms of low light are greater then most people thank.

http://christianfletcher.wordpress....e-muncher-australian-landscape-photographers/

http://christianfletcher.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/iso-test.jpg
Click to expand...

That reflects my experience as well. Too bad I don't own a D3s though. I have access to one I borrow now and then. I still own the older D2Xs and it's terrible in low-light. I almost bought a 5D2, but went with a 7D instead for my Canon glass and VDSLR stuff. I'm trying to hold out for my Epic and buy all the mounts I need. I may still go for a Nikon D3X though when it releases, a lot of times I want to shoot stills and the RED / Epic will be busy.
 
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