My new camera

[BUG_EAF322]

The NIKON DX50

just bought it today
damn nice camera

[Ripsnort]

Good choice! I have the D70s and the D50 has many of the same functions. COngrats!

[BUG_EAF322]

just made some shots but havent installed the software jet.
but its a damn big difference compared to my old nikon SQ pocket camera.

Although it isnt the magnesium alloy like urs it feels solid in ur hand.
cant wait for an airshow next summer but got to buy some good telelens before that.

my girlfriend  still got to get over the spending dough
ill quit smokin soon

love the black look nikon's and they make excellent  pictures too

[Mini D]

Digital SLRs are a curse. The camera you have just purchased will eventually become one of the cheapest things in your camera bag. Of course, after 2 years it will be your "second" DLSR as that new D200 starts looking stellar at nearly twice the megapixels and you start to find how valuable the shot rate is.

Nice purchase and a great camera. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[BUG_EAF322]

probably ur right but i think the lenses will keep its value.
Right now the pics look better than my fathers analog SLR.

I think for my needs this ill use longer than 2 years (did 2 years with my pocket)

[Mini D]

Pay the money for the good lenses. You won't regret that. The camera body will come and go.

[eagl]

What does the DX70 have that the DX50 doesn't?  Other than being $300 more expensive...  Also, what kind of second lense would be ideal for either the DX50 or DX70, since the lense that typically comes with these are fairly generic (ie. not much zoom)?

[NUKE]

Nice camera Bug.

eagle, if you are still shopping, check out the Canon EOS 20d too. I got one a year ago and I use it almost every day.

I bought the camera with the generic lens and later wished I had just bought the camera body alone and picked up a better lens. I now have three nice lenses and hoping to pick up a 4th.

All of these cameras are pretty amazing and a lot of fun.

[eagl]

Yea I'm still shopping.  I have a regular 35mm camera that I used to use a lot, but lately I just haven't.  But I'm thinking that with the ease of use of the digitals, I might get back into it.  The one thing that would kill it for me however would be if the camera doesn't take as good pics as my old 35mm SLR.

The Nikon D200 preview I read makes it sound pretty good too...  But of course the lense... the lense is what would let me do what I want to do.  I like aviation photography which means I need at least 2 lenses.  A "regular" one (I'm a noob when it comes to photography terms) for closeups and generic ground shots, and a telephoto for inflight shots, both OF planes and FROM planes.

My 35mm camera is a Pentax P3, and the lense that came with it is a 28-70 zoom, and it takes really nice pics.  I've gotten lucky a few times and taken pics with it that are definately pro quality.  But my zoom lense (70-210 tamron) doesn't work nearly as well, and somehow all pics taken with that lense appear to be slightly fogged or something.

Anyhow, the camera is nice but I think one of the newer digital SLRs would be both easy enough to use, and good enough to keep my interest.  If the pics are crappy, then the camera goes in the closet.  So I need a body and those 2 lenses...  Something like the 28-70, and a 70-200 or 250.

[Mini D]

The digital cameras have an issue that translates to a 1.5 (nikon) or 1.6 (canon) multiplier for your lens. The 28 would actually be more like a 42. That means you have to go with the small stuff to get the wide angle. The lowest cost DSLR that is 1:1 (exactly the same as a 35mm) is the Canon 5D, but that's about $3k.

The quality is as good as anything you'll see from a 35mm even with the scaling factor.

[NUKE]

The reason I went with the EOS 20d was:

low image noise, even at high iso
Canon lenses
5 pics pers second for up to 20 something consecutive

MiniD is right about the image sensor size on most of these cameras. Basically, they have a smaller image sensor size than a 35mm would have as a negative size. This means that the image is cropped a little compared to a film 35mm camera.

Another drawback to digital photography is contrast. High contrast images do not translate as well as a film camera.

[eagl]

High contrast... Yea, I've seen lots of reviews where an otherwise nice camera gets slammed for fringing along edges in high contrast scenes.

I don't mind the 1.5 ratio so much, since I usually want more zoom, not less.  If I need a really wide angle shot I guess I can always get a wide angle lense.

Still shopping...  Looked at the 5D but not so much at the 20D for some reason.  5D is soooo much more expensive...

Some review sites say the nikon lenses are better than the canon lenses, but newegg doesn't even carry nikon lenses, only canon lenses even though they sell the nikon DX50 and DX70.

I keep holding off though, 'cause every time I find a camera I like, it turns out that the entire setup I want will run me about $4000, so I figure I'll wait.  And then the next model comes out and it's better so I end up buying nothing.

[Vulcan]

FORUM RULE 42: No new camera posts shalt thy make without an accompanying booby shot.

[Mini D]

That's at the FDB BBS vulcan. You know... the one you're afraid of. It's a shame you don't stop by with some more of the family photo album.

[Vulcan]

I'm afraid of the STD's there.