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Question

Which DSLR is easy to learn but I can grow with ?

Oct 20, 2011 10:29AM PDT

I am about to purchase a DSLR and am getting confused reading all of the reviews! I would like a camera somewhat intuitive to learn with but will not limit me as my skills and knowledge improve.

I mainly photograph people and love to capture candid, spontaneous moments.

Any recomendations would be very helpful. My budget is around $1,000 total and I would like to have few lenses.

Thanks,

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Pick One
Oct 20, 2011 4:10PM PDT
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I am probably making it more complicated then it is.
Oct 21, 2011 4:36AM PDT

Do you think the Nikon D7000 would just be to much for a beginner? Everything I read about that camera sounds amazing and I don't want to buy something and then want more in 12 months. My husband would kill me.

Thank you for your time. I really appreciate the sage wisdom of experienced photographers.

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D7000
Oct 21, 2011 5:56AM PDT

It's doubtful you would want more than the D7000; it has more controls than you will likely ever use. What you're buying over the entry level D3100 and D5100 is more rugged construction, a pentaprism viewfinder (which is larger and brighter than a pentamirror viewfinder), a more sophisticated auto-focus system. The D7000 also has more external controls, so it is easier to change commonly used settings. The downside is that with the 18-105mm kit lens it is about $1400-1500. You can get the D5100 with the 18-55mm kit lens for about $800...it uses the same sensor as the D7000, and its image quality is just about the same.

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DSRLs
Oct 26, 2011 7:57PM PDT

The beauty of cameras such as fhe Nikon DSLRs is that you can operate as a basic fully automatic point and shoot are you can delve deeper into the cameras and learn to customize your shooting. There are in 100s of thousands of permutations of shooting options--but they give you enormous capability to grow in your expertise. I have the D7000 immediate predecessor--the D90 and it is a fabulous camera. The D7000 can only be an improvement on it.

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Answer
Go Micro 4/3
Oct 21, 2011 12:32PM PDT

I have never regretted going with the Micro four-thirds format. Small, light, well within your budget, and the range of legacy lenses is amazing. I have a G-1, $399 from Amazon with one lens, and with adapters available from Hong Kong for $20-$30, I am able to use all my old Nikon and Leica lenses, and have picked up some old Minolta lenses at thrift stores, $11 for a 75- 300 mm zoom. You can even use old c-mount Bolex lenses. The exposure meter works through the lens, and the flash adapts automatically. You have to set up the camera to operate with "no lens", and then use the manual settings.

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Answer
DLSR
Oct 21, 2011 11:02PM PDT

I use both Pentax as my primary camera and Canon as my backup and wildlife. I still prefer the Pentax over any other DSLR because of the simplicity of operation. Like most DSLR you can turn the selector dial on the top to shoot from Manual Settings to Programable Settings(it does everything for you). One of the strongest points of the Pentax is that if you have any lenses from older cameras (Pentax) they will also work on the newer Pentax DSLR, a real plus if you decided to progress into other areas of photography and some of the older lenses are great glass. One strong feature to me that Pentax has is that they provide to buttons on the outside to change from RAW to JEPG and also you can do bracketing in the same manner. Canon you have to go into the menu and change it every time you shut the camera down.
Hope this is some what helpful! The Pentax I am use is the K20 and have had it for a couple of years now of fairly heavy use and it is fantastic! Also the Pentax has water-resistant seals through out the camera, and I live on the Oregon coast so this is really important.
Take Care
Russell