getting started

[belanger5]

Hi I'm brand new at this and would like to start taking pictures for fun and may do some very small portrait work on the side but still able to take nice lanscape photos. I'm not sure what type of digital slr 35 mm camarea to get. I have looked at a canon rebel xt. I was told by a co worker that I would need a different lens than wha came with it and also a different flash. please help i'm lost at this whole thing.

[belanger5]

any help

[ponder]

What your co-worker told you is not necessarily true. I have the kit lens as my third lens and it's not bad for the price or the fact that you are just starting out in the digital world. Someone once posted some images on Byte using that the kit lens 18-55mm and they were beautiful images, so I would get the camera and that lens and start shooting. Once you get the hang of photography you can always purchase another lens when the time comes.

If you want to read more about the Canon digital Rebel XT, you can check out this great site called dpreview. Dpreview is one of the best review sites on the web and I used it when I purchased both my Canon Powershot G3 and my Canon 20D dslr.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...on_eos350d.asp

Good luck and when you start shooting, start posting the images on the contest site.

Ponder

[SMcEvoy]

I'll come at you from the Nikon camp. I've been thrilled with the D50 since I got it in August. http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_...nikon_d50.html I like the kit lens for the 18-55 but returned the 55-200 in exchange for a AF-S Nikkor 70-300 4.5-5.6 D ED Lens. It works great. Battery life in the camera is amazing - charged it twice in 5 weeks despite having taken it on vacation and everywhere else I went.

Picture quality has been excellent - especially enlargements and I haven't found anything I don't like about it. It will do everything you want it to - and does pretty well even if you leave it on the Auto or Program settings.

So that's my 2 cents just to add to your confusion. I know what it's like.... and if it hadn't been for bytethis on this site, I'd probably still be hunting. I grilled him with questions too when I was looking.

[shootem]

From a true Nikonian.... I'd highly recommend the Nikon D70. The kit lens is more than decent.
Read Reviews on dpreview.com....
Good Luck - there's several good'uns out there...
;P
Carolyn

[Matt_C]

All the suggestions above are excellent cameras and produce superb results. It's actually quite difficult these days to buy a DSLR that isn't capable of producing fantastic results.

I own the rebel XT and it is superb but it's worth getting hold of one in a shop to get an idea of it's size and compare it to other cameras, weight etc. Some love it and some aren't so keen.

I would also take a very serious look at the new Olympus E500 two lense kit. You get two very good kit lenses 14-45 for your landscapes and a 45-150 which makes a very good portrait lense. The build quality and handling is good too.

Good luck with your choice and remember to post some photos here when you get it.

Matt

[charlieros]

For me there is no better camera.

People have different needs for a camera ( zoom, megapixels, shutter speed, etc. ) and there exists a lot of different types of cameras. You should study your needs and buy a camera based on those needs. Not buy a camera because it is better or more expensive.