Good entry level camera for HDR?

[aeron]

Hello friends,

Well next year I'm leaving for college, which I'm very excited about, except for the fact that I won't be able to take my mom's camera with me, which happens to be a Nikon D40. I've grown fond of this camera in spite of the fact that it lacks some of my favorite features, namely an "hdr mode", for lack of a better term. To clarify, I used to have a little sony cybershot that had a feature where it would take three consecutive pictures at different iso settings, and these could easily be combined into an hdr photograph on the computer. The only problem is that it didn't support any other format than jpg, which led to minor artifacts when merging. The D40 can take raw photos but has no automatic iso adjustments. I think I remember reading on a website some time ago that this model is the only Nikon without this feature, but I'm not positive.

My question is this: what are your suggestions for a good entry-level camera with hdr capability?

I'd also like some advice on whether or not SLR would be a wise move at this point. At some point down the road, I'd like to own one (along with a nice array of fancy lenses ;)), but the initial investment is much higher (Need I remind you that I am on a college budget?) But you see, I've already been pampered by having one so readily available all this time, and going back to a point and click is gonna feel like on step forwards, five steps backwards.

[Argote]

?Well some of the Sony Alphas (A550, A500) have automatic HDR modes, however you can actually get this from any DSLR with Exposure Bracketing or any DSLR doing manual adjustments. If you want to share lenses with your mom then getting a Nikon camera could make sense. What budget do you have for this?

[HawkMan]

?Well some of the Sony Alphas (A550, A500) have automatic HDR modes, however you can actually get this from any DSLR with Exposure Bracketing or any DSLR doing manual adjustments. If you want to share lenses with your mom then getting a Nikon camera could make sense. What budget do you have for this?

Not all entry levels DSLRs have bracketing, it's one of those things they cut from the entry level to make people get the higher end :)

I know with Nikon the D40 series don't have it, bot sure about the 60 and the new 3000 and 5000. But they're prettty much the cheapest and best bang for buck cameras you get for entry level.

[Malisk]

The Nikon D3000 supports bracketing in 3 steps. It is the successor for the Nikon D40, and the least expensive you'll get from Nikon with automated bracketing at least.

Of course, all DSLR's can do HDR if you just use a tripod. Then you just exposure adjust. Shoot, adjust, shoot, etc. Then merge the exposures in your regular tool for HDR. This will also allow a greater dynamic range than when using a built-in mode in the most expensive DSLR. In some cases (especially in daylight and outdoors) it can even be good enough to create HDR photographs out of a single RAW image. This will also completely avoid the issue with moving objects in the frame, and of coures needing a tripod too. But it's not very useful in cases with reasonbly great dynamic ranges, as in sunsets, night time shots where neon lights occur, and so on.

So automated bracketing is better in such cases. Five steps are better than three, but that's AFAIK exclusively a feature for high-end DSLR's only. The need for five steps isn't too great anyway, and mostly just in extreme cases with a high dynamic range, such as a blazing sunlight in a window and shooting out of it while wanting to keep a balanced exposure in a lowly lit indoor environment.

[aeron]

Exposure bracketing, thats the term! Well despite my experience with the Nikon I think I'm going to get a Canon EOS Rebel XSi. After talking to my art teacher and using her Canon, I find the menus to be very concise and functional, and I had no trouble programming my own mode and using the bracketing, self-timer, etc (not to mention she may be able to get me a good deal, but we'll see about that!)

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll be keeping my options open, so if you have a favorite camera that you'd like me to know about, feel free to share!

[Argote]

The XSi model is a bit outdated, what budget do you have? Are you in the US?

[aeron]

Yes I am. The one I was referring to is the XSi EF-S that is currently on the usa.canon.com website, but to be honest I'm most likely going to end up with whatever I can find second-hand. I'm looking to spend under 500 on it, and as long as it has the bracketing feature, I'll be happy.

[HawkMan]

Exposure bracketing, thats the term! Well despite my experience with the Nikon I think I'm going to get a Canon EOS Rebel XSi. After talking to my art teacher and using her Canon, I find the menus to be very concise and functional, and I had no trouble programming my own mode and using the bracketing, self-timer, etc (not to mention she may be able to get me a good deal, but we'll see about that!)

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll be keeping my options open, so if you have a favorite camera that you'd like me to know about, feel free to share!

I'd suggest you play around with a nikon too, they are better for your wallet and give you the same end quality.

The Entry level cameras also have very nice menus with very neat semi interactive help functions built into the menus t explain things and help you set up things best.

Granted upgrading to a D90 and having separate buttons for everything instead of having to use the menus for everything but the most basic is pretty damn great to :)

Also bracketing or not you'll want a tripod to take HDR's bracketed shots aren't that fast :p

But yeah, if as stated above the D3000 has bracketing, I'd definately go for that. It's a pretty awesome camera for the price, thoguh if you step up for the 5000 you get the same sensor as in the D90, which bang for buck wise, ranks up there, waaay up there :) cheaper camera also means better extra lenses, which are more important anyway, your lenses will be with you longer than the camera house, especially your first one if you're really thinking of being somewhat serious.

[chrisj1968]

Try a Canon 1ti or any XS,Xti, Xsi. they all have bracketing and on the cheap. I'm using an Xti and will upgrade to the 5D markII soon enough. :) my first HDR attempt after learning the technique on my Xti

[aeron]

The Entry level cameras also have very nice menus with very neat semi interactive help functions built into the menus t explain things and help you set up things best.

Well this is one thing I sorta didn't like about my mom's d40, the menu always seemed to get in the way (between changing iso settings constantly and re-setting the self-timer in between every shot, it got to be too tedious) Another quirk I disliked was that it displayed all that information inside the viewfinder. Its a nice feature at first but I found myself having to press a few buttons or lean into the viewfinder to check things, while the Canon had a separate old-school LCD on the back in addition to the normal screen. The extra lcd also helps remind you when the camera's on, because sometimes myself or more often my mother would set the camera down somewhere and forget to turn it off, only to realize it's out of battery next time one of us uses it.

Granted upgrading to a D90 and having separate buttons for everything instead of having to use the menus for everything but the most basic is pretty damn great to :)

This gives me hope, haha. I just might have to try one before making a final decision.

Also bracketing or not you'll want a tripod to take HDR's bracketed shots aren't that fast :p

Yeah I have this part at least.

But yeah, if as stated above the D3000 has bracketing, I'd definately go for that. It's a pretty awesome camera for the price, thoguh if you step up for the 5000 you get the same sensor as in the D90, which bang for buck wise, ranks up there, waaay up there :) cheaper camera also means better extra lenses, which are more important anyway, your lenses will be with you longer than the camera house, especially your first one if you're really thinking of being somewhat serious.

I'll keep these in mind when I'm doing my searching, thanks!!

Try a Canon 1ti or any XS,Xti, Xsi. they all have bracketing and on the cheap. I'm using an Xti and will upgrade to the 5D markII soon enough. :) my first HDR attempt after learning the technique on my Xti

Thank you! Nice photo by the way :)

[Argote]

Well this is one thing I sorta didn't like about my mom's d40, the menu always seemed to get in the way (between changing iso settings constantly and re-setting the self-timer in between every shot, it got to be too tedious) Another quirk I disliked was that it displayed all that information inside the viewfinder. Its a nice feature at first but I found myself having to press a few buttons or lean into the viewfinder to check things, while the Canon had a separate old-school LCD on the back in addition to the normal screen. The extra lcd also helps remind you when the camera's on, because sometimes myself or more often my mother would set the camera down somewhere and forget to turn it off, only to realize it's out of battery next time one of us uses it.:)

The Canon Rebel Series does not have the "old school LCDs", only the 50D and upwards, in that case the D90 and upwards have it too. I actually think that the Viewfinder is a great place to have info though I usually check it in the main LCD of my Sony Alpha A200 between shots.

[aeron]

The Canon Rebel Series does not have the "old school LCDs", only the 50D and upwards, in that case the D90 and upwards have it too. I actually think that the Viewfinder is a great place to have info though I usually check it in the main LCD of my Sony Alpha A200 between shots.

Oh, okay, my teacher had one on her Rebel XT so I assumed they all had it, oh well. I guess having it in the viewfinder isn't as bad as I made it sound, but it did annoy me at one point (although I can't recall what exactly I needed to check in there in the first place)

[iamwhoiam]

Try a Canon 1ti or any XS,Xti, Xsi. they all have bracketing and on the cheap. I'm using an Xti and will upgrade to the 5D markII soon enough. :) my first HDR attempt after learning the technique on my Xti

I actually like that. Got the full res pic that you can post?

[Argote]

Oh, okay, my teacher had one on her Rebel XT so I assumed they all had it, oh well. I guess having it in the viewfinder isn't as bad as I made it sound, but it did annoy me at one point (although I can't recall what exactly I needed to check in there in the first place)

Yeah you can just check product photos of whatever you are interested in

[a1ien]

The Canon PowerShot S90, with AEB and RAW support, will do the HDR job in a compact form factor if you value that: I have one and it's great to have if you don't want to lug the SLR. And realistically, if you've got a decent SLR with a decent zoom lens, there is lugging involved. And the IS on the S90 really helps keep the blur away too - my slr lenses aren't IS.

The S90 costs a big fraction as much as a Rebel... but it's a cool compact rather than a lame-o SLR+kit lens.

[MR_Candyman]

I know it might be considered by some outdated, but I have always loved my Nikon D80. You can probably find it pretty cheap nowadays too. I've recently started getting into HDR and this is one of the very few pics out of that day (the whole park was very dreary because we JUST got spring). Oh, quality has been reduced to keep file size down.