DSLR Dilemma

[Polarman]

I've decided to sell my P&S (SX50 HS) to go back to the dslr crowd. The SX50 was pretty neat but I found the image quality not to my satisfaction. There was some other inconveniences also...

 

?

Buying a new camera... OMG where to start.

 

Oh yea, price range first. Around 1200$ So my quest begins.

 

Also keep in mind that i generaly take stills not videos.

 

Sony - Panasonic

 

I already know about the Sony RX10 and the Panasonic FZ-1000.

 

They both look pretty cool for a P&S with dslr'esque bulkiness and 1 inch sensor. They may have advantage of all-in-one fixed lens with f/2.8 to f/4 aperture. but what if i want f/22? and image quality cannot rival an APS-C sensor.

 

Pentax K-50 (650g)

 

I was eyeballing the K-50 for a while because it had features that i liked.

 

Pros:

Wheather sealing, pentaprism viewfinder, sensor-shift IS ,feels good seem solidly built and has low price point.

Cons:

No articulating screen, so so kit lens, noisy autofocus. 2 set kit lens have different filter thread.

 

Pentax dealers here a scarce so is choice. Only 1 place carries the K-50 and not much else from Pentax.

 

Nikon D5200 (505g)

 

Next in line is the D5200. I find that the added wi-fi and gps of the 5300 are just there to drain the batteries and not worth the extra $. So let's just stick to the 5200 instead.

 

Pros:

New"ish" 23 Megapixel sensor, excellent picture quality, good dynamic range. Light weight.

Cons:

Feels like a big plastic Lego, no weather sealing, no exposure preview in live mode, some raw banding.

 

If i had the D5200, I would get a least the 35mm 1.8. Always helpfull to have a prime lens. I have mixed feelings about using a 18-200mm lens.

 

?

Canon T5i (575g)

 

I was keeping the Canon for last because i already own a Canon flash and remote trigger that i would not have to buy if changing to another brand. I have in my sight the T5i.

 

Pros:

Great autofocus system, articulating screen is touch capacitive, very good picture quality, STM silent lenses.

Cons:

It's plastic but it feels better than the 5200 in my hand, no weather sealing, has low pass filter can lead to moire.

 

If i had the T5i, i would ditch the 18-55mm kit lens and get the new 10-18mm IS STM lens instead along with the 55-250mm is STM for extra reach. I'd throw in the 40MM 2.8 also because it's pretty compact and ideal for some night shots.

 

What about your thoughts?

 

 

?

[Ambroos]

They may have advantage of all-in-one fixed lens with f/2.8 to f/4 aperture. but what if i want f/22?

 

I was planning to give you some advice, but then I just couldn't even.

[HawkMan]

fyi, due to diffraction you NEVER want f22. the idea is that you get deeper DOF there. But due to diffraction, everything becomes blurry instead, and at the ranges you'd use it, you have a huge DOF range anyway.

 

use ND filters if you need less light. 5300 on, but if you have them they to any level you'd notice and you get bonus features like the ability to use your ipad or such to take pictures(provided it has a companion app which I would assume it has) and the GPS tagging is jst general all over cool to have, and it uses hardly any battery.

 

Also 18-200 is awesome, you don't need to switche lenses very often and it simply works great. might even consider the Tamron 16-300 for an even wider range multi purpose lense. 

 

I have a 7000 myself, but honestly the lack of weather sealing has never been a problem with Nikons, they're pretty damn tight anyway. 

 

Also all DSLRs generally have low pass filters, they avoid moire. some special models don't, the new D810 don't have one, which means they'll need to reduce moire in software. 

[Snoopy2005uk]

I have a d5100 and its great for the price. I wouldn't worry about the live view problems as you only need that for video. If you want to see what it looks like take a photo doesn't cost any more.

[Roger H. Veteran]

I have a D3200 for basics and figured i'd comment on the D5200 as I checked that one out A LOT and still wishing I got that instead. Costs was the main reason at the time, now I might step up to that anyways :p

 

I have the 35mm and 18-200mm combo and I love it. I'm still amateur so i'm probably not getting the full benefits of the combos yet but I love some of the shots that came out of this kit. I can only imagine the 5200 being "better" because of some use cases that I can't really capture now.

 

The weather sealing thing to me wasn't a big deal and I preferred the "plastic feeling" on colder days because it doesn't get ice cold to hold plus it was lighter. Then again I'm a fair weather photographer so meh.. LOL.

 

I don't know the fancies yet of photography as I mentioned so this is my take but your needs seem a bit higher which may preclude you from liking the D5200.

 

 

 

Also 18-200 is awesome, you don't need to switche lenses very often and it simply works great. might even consider the Tamron 16-300 for an even wider range multi purpose lense.

 

OOOh - me is drooling!

 

[Polarman]

fyi, due to diffraction you NEVER want f22. the idea is that you get deeper DOF there. But due to diffraction, everything becomes blurry instead, and at the ranges you'd use it, you have a huge DOF range anyway.

 

Unless you want to capture a wide angle scene with the subject very close (~ 1m) and still get clarity on what is in the background.

 

The weather sealing thing to me wasn't a big deal and I preferred the "plastic feeling" on colder days because it doesn't get ice cold to hold plus it was lighter. Then again I'm a fair weather photographer so meh.. LOL.

 

I can agree that weather sealing is not so much of an issue because I have carried my SX50 in blizzard/sub zero conditions.

[ArcticRift]

Amazon is selling Canon 7D cameras for $999... 

 

For the $200 get a 50mm lens and get back in the business of getting up close and personal.

 

Then after you have that down. Get yourself a nice $900 lens like the Sigma ART for APS-C cameras ( 18-35mm ART f1.8)

 

You can't go wrong with that :P

 

Enjoy!

[HawkMan]

Unless you want to capture a wide angle scene with the subject very close (~ 1m) and still get clarity on what is in .

 

Of course, instead everything is blurry... :/

 

 damn diffraction

 

Granted at one meter you should be fine at a smaller aperture, you only need 22 for macro, with a macro lens at less than 10 cm.

[ArcticRift]

Well.... have you made a decision?

 

Would like to know what your thoughts were?

[Polarman]

Well.... have you made a decision?

 

Would like to know what your thoughts were?

 

In the end, I'm going to stick with Canon. This will be my 5th Canon.

 

I did look a the 60D for a while but I think the T5i is a wiser choice because of the newer lens lineup, newer processor, touchscreen and lighter weight. I'll be getting the T5i(700D) with the 2 kit lenses (18-55mm STM / 55-250mm STM) and also add the new 10-18mm IS STM lens. This way, I'll save a good 350$ by keeping my remote release cable, my flash and my 67mm filters that I can put on the new wide angle lens.

 

The T5i's RAW files are supported with Adobe Camera Raw 7.4 which is good since I use Photoshop Elements 11. No need to upgrade that yet! Canon's EOS utility is a pretty sweet piece of software for remote shooting. Can't wait until they update it to Version 3 for this camera. Same goes DPP 4.

 

I found this online store that has competitive prices, ships free and is in Canada.

[ArcticRift]

:| That wasn't the best decision in the world - but not a bad one :) 

 

I had a 700D once.. nice little camera. Pokey with a touch screen and squishy sensor sounds...

 

Why not the 7D ;( they selling for cheep now and is a 300 000+ 8000ms Shutter monster ... it is the Wolverine of APS-C camera :)

 

700D is kinda ....

 

Mmm....

 

Cyclops? Professor X?

[Polarman]

Budget constraint.

 

The 7D or 70D are out of my price range.

 

1200$ (can) is what I can afford for now what will probably be a long time. So I need to get a Camera and some Lenses.

 

No point getting just a DSLR body with no lens to put on.

[Draconian Guppy]

What did you get OP?

[Draconian Guppy]

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/save-up-to-30-percent-off-when-you-buy-select-eos-rebel-sl1-t3-and-t3i-digital-slr-cameras

 

Though below the T5i, maybe worth considering?

[Polarman]

_UPDATE:

 

_{Was lucky to find a second hand Canon 60D that was less than a year old (original receipt), which had less than 2000 shutter count. Included with the camera was the 18-55mm, 55-250mm, a spare battery and 2 camera bags. Paid 750$ for the whole thing.}

 

_{I'm ready to start shooting again!}

[Draconian Guppy]

_UPDATE:

 

_{Was lucky to find a second hand Canon 60D that was less than a year old (original receipt), which had less than 2000 shutter count. Included with the camera was the 18-55mm, 55-250mm, a spare battery and 2 camera bags. Paid 750$ for the whole thing.}

 

_{I'm ready to start shooting again!}

pics or it didn't  happen.

[Polarman]

pics or it didn't  happen.

 

Just for you. :)

 

Picture was taken with a antiquated Kodak DX6490 (wife's point & shoot). 

 

 

Used this program called "EOS Camera Info" that I got here to get shutter count.

 

[HawkMan]

Don't quite think that's what he meant :)

 

it was a joke referencing the "pics or it didn't happen" meme since you got a camera, meaning take some pics and show off ;)

[ArcticRift]

Heya,

 

Good news :)

 

So will you be joining the Monthly Photo Contest?

[Draconian Guppy]

Just for you. :)

 

Picture was taken with a antiquated Kodak DX6490 (wife's point & shoot). 

 

 

Used this program called "EOS Camera Info" that I got here to get shutter count.

 

 

 

Don't quite think that's what he meant :)

 

it was a joke referencing the "pics or it didn't happen" meme since you got a camera, meaning take some pics and show off ;)

Yup pretty much! 

 

Heya,

 

Good news :)

 

So will you be joining the Monthly Photo Contest?

+1

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

Besides Amazon, B&H Photo http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ and Adorama http://www.adorama.com/ are two big, reputable photography stores with large online presence.

 

Congrats on Canon find. Loving your Kit  :)

 

You'll probably find you'll stick with Canon from here on out (not a bad thing at all), most stay with the camera there lens work on.

 

If your adventurous, and considring hacked firmware, there's custom firmware for Canon camera's. Beware, you can always brick your camera.

http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki - have to way the pro's / con's vs potential risk. 

 

If your looking for a free / light room open source alternative - check out Light Zone

http://lightzoneproject.org/ - Use to be commercial software, went bankrupt, and the code was open sourced.

 

Adobe Light room is still a good choice, but I'm still using V2, 1st to support 64bit, DNG format, and no internet activation (I did buy a copy).

If the raw isn't supported, you can use adobe free dng converter, converted to older dng, then open in Lightroom 2.

 

If you go Lightroom route, check out Nathaniel Coalson books on Lightroom.

 

If your looking for 100+ good tutorial video's, check out https://www.youtube.com/user/photoexposed - from basics, to advanced.

[Polarman]

Thx for the tips.

 

Amazon (Canada) here has bad prices. I did order some stuff from B&H(good prices) a few times but some stuff cannot be imported due to customs.

 

Magic lantern is geared more for avid videographers which I'm not.

 

I own the latest Lightroom (5.5) that I use for my RAW post processing.  Also have a bunch of other software for photo specific tasks.