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Originally posted by jonSun I thought you only had dsl's

I see what you did there

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Originally posted by Sushipunk Both Canon and Nikon are pretty much equal, in terms of quality. I use Canon gear personally, and won't be changing any time soon, since I have too much invested in lenses. Are you aiming for entry level gear, or something a bit higher end?

definitely something more mid to higher, i want something that will last me awhile, and isn't limited once i get the hang of things so i might as well cut the entry levels right off the bat , also something with good optics, because i know the lens itself can get pretty costly. the canon rebel series looks pretty cool.

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Originally posted by LoveHate definitely something more mid to higher, i want something that will last me awhile, and isn't limited once i get the hang of things so i might as well cut the entry levels right off the bat , also something with good optics, because i know the lens itself can get pretty costly. the canon rebel series looks pretty cool.

Something you might want to consider, in the beginning anyway, is buying second hand gear (especially with lenses, and most of them hold their value better than camera bodies do, because they don't get superseded as often). At the very least, just to see if photography is something that you're going to enjoy doing. If you're going for higher end, non-entry level stuff, it might be silly to spend all that cash just to go "meh, this is not my thing" six months later. Ok, so you might be getting equipment that isn't the latest generation stuff, but you can pick up a SERIOUSLY respectable kit for less than buying the newest cams/lenses straight off the shelf. About 3/4 of my gear has been purchased second hand, and I've found some mad bargains over the years.

Ebay is obviously a good place to start for that (though occasionally risky, and probably better if you know what you're doing), but also check out the second hand sections of http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ and http://www.adorama.com/ - These are a couple of the largest camera houses in the USA, both of which I've bought from in the past with no issues. I know you're in Canada (I'm in Australia), but they ship worldwide, and have pretty good prices, and often provide warranties, albeit short-ish ones. No idea if there are any pawn shops around where you live, but check them out too, seriously.

You can always upgrade the body or lenses later, once you have a better idea of exactly what you want out of your photography. I've spent about 8 years buying and selling photography gear, to get the particular things/results that I want.

Just a thought though

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Originally posted by LoveHate what do you guys think about these things? there's a part of me that wants to tap into my artistic side, and something tells me buying a expensive camera and taking photo's in the wilderness will fulfill that void.

I think they are too big to carry around. My collegae had an expensive Nikon, but after he bought a Sony Nex-5 he sold the Nikon.
He showed me pictures he made at Hawaii and probably only expertes can tell the difference. (And we added a dinosaur and a white shark )

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Longest (classic) Trance playlist on YouTube (5000 tracks released up to and including 1997), click here

I personally like the bulk of my dslr. It has a nice distributed weight and balance that smaller cameras don't have. I guess I'm one of the few that don't mind carrying 2-3kg of equipment around all day.

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Besides the higher quality of dslr the biggest advantages are manual control and the ability to change lenses. Their cons include cost and size/weight. While compacts are relatively inexpensive and easy to take with you. You'll find the best shots present themselves when you least expect them. I found it tiresome on vacation babysitting my camera, worrying about it getting damage or stolen. After the glow of purchasing a new dslr wears off you'll realize the time and effort serious photography takes.

IGK during recess:

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There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

what is a good starter DSL?

A self-conscious 18-year-old who doesn't have a daddy?

BAM! i would have also took IGK's mama for 600 dollars

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Originally posted by LoveHate what do you guys think about these things? there's a part of me that wants to tap into my artistic side, and something tells me buying a expensive camera and taking photo's in the wilderness will fulfill that void.

I bought my GF a Sony Alpha 58 last fall and a buddy of mine who is a professional photographer here in Ottawa uses the same body. The main advantage of it over Nikon and Cannon is that the price point for the body alone is much lower, it takes fantastic quality images, and it is fully compatible with older Cannon and Nikon lenses which can make building up a small lens collection a much cheaper endeavor.

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Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN I have 3 hobbies: gaming, DJing & correcting maladjusted fools on the internet.

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Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN Yeah, I’d like to know what horrible, scarring incident in your childhood turned you into such an ignorant, intellectual-hating philistine?