Great camera at great cost

[AquaJern]

Give me some camera options that is worth the buck when taking those amazing macro shots of your zoanthids?

 

[surfn]

canon 40D hands down! blows all the nikon semi-pro models out of the water with its sharpness and clarity.

has live-view...which is really cool, really helps when shooting super macros. and virtually no signs of grain even at ISO 1000.....nikon's can't do that. that makes shooting hand held macros a breeze.

camera body plus kit lens that comes with it (28-135mm IS) runs prob about $1300-$1500.

then, when you decide to get a macro lens....definitely go with the canon 100mm....it is the best macro lens i've used. the clarity is unreal.

 

[AquaJern]

thanks, do you got any pictures you can post taken with that particualr camera?

 

[surfn]

thanks, do you got any pictures you can post taken with that particualr camera?

sure thing...

 

[143gadgets]

I think you can find a great camera no matter what brand u choose. Some cameras handle things better than others, but u should also take others things into consideration. I really encourage u to go to a camera retailer and play around with different brands. I prefer nikon, because it is a comfortable fit for me. I think it feels better than a canon. It really is preference. Its NOT the camera that makes a great pic. Its the phoographer.

 

[revhtree]

I also like the feel of Nikons, but I also like the feel of higher end Canon's just as well! Also as Gadgets said, either one will be good, and it's the photographer, and the lens as coralnutz said that makes the difference.

You could spend 10,000 on a camera and a slew of nice lens, but unless you learn how to shoot, it will not do you any good really.

 

[JuniorMC8704]

The Canon XTI is a solid camera for the money, and in my opinion better overall to the Nikon D80. However, it feels very flimsy by comparison, and for me, i was never able to get a good grip on it.

The 40D is very nice camera, with a lot of great features. It features a live view of the view finder, which is very nice, and even allow you to zoom in for more precise focusing.

The Nikon D300 is king of the cameras in the Semi-Pro category IMHO. It will do everything the 40D will do, and then some. Also its LCD resolution is nearly 920,000 pixels ~vs~ canons 230,00 pixels. This makes previewing photos far easier on the eyes, and also lets you verify that you photos are in good focus. To me this is enough reason to make the jump to the D300. Also, for the non-reef photos, it has an amazing auto focus system, featuring a 51 point system, with facial recognition.

Here would be my list of how i would buy them.

D300
40D
XTI
D80
D60

Hope this gives a bit of incite.

 

[FateX8]

i personally like the feel of nikon cameras more too, canons seemed to be more for the tiny girly hand sized people...lol kidding
but when i was looking for a camera too, i was going mainly on what felt good in my hands
i tried the d200 and the 30d (d300 and 40d werent out then) and the d200 just felt more secure
i asked around which is better and EVERYONE told me to just go feel the camera and which ever feels better is the one to get

 

[surfn]

getting a battery grip easily fixes the small feel of the canons. although the 40D is much bigger than the XTi. the battery grip also enables allot of cool features, including 2 full size batteries, and a magazine that can hold AA batteries in case your other batteries run out.

also, nikon people don't like to admit this...but the ISO technology is WAAAAAAY better on the Canons than on the Nikons. take pics at a minimum of ISO 1000 on both cameras.....and the canon pic is crystal clear while the Nikon has considerable grain.

 

[JuniorMC8704]

right on surfn, I put one on my D80 and it made a huge difference. Also nice for shooting vertically, as they usually feature an addition shutter release button, and a couple other adjust wheels.

I have very large hands, so the bigger the better. It also lets you use your palm to stabilize the camera, which helps a ton.

The 40D, and up are fantastic in terms of comfort. My complaint is with the XTI, and it has a very thin front grip that hinders my ability to hold it steady.

I plan to get one for my D300, but its almost 300 without a battery, and also will not allow me to use my top down box.

 

[surfn]

The 40D, and up are fantastic in terms of comfort. My complaint is with the XTI, and it has a very thin front grip that hinders my ability to hold it steady.

yeah, the XTi is small. i also have big hands but the size of the camera never really bothered me considering previously i was only used to very tiny point and shoot cameras. the battery grip made things much better. but now that i have a 40D that is MUCH larger...i can't imagine ever holding the XTi again.

but with that said, the 40D with the battery grip is quite bulky. not exactly something you can tuck under your jacket. thus making the XTi a bit more versitile IMO for someone really on the go.

 

[JuniorMC8704]

right on right on, although if you've a giant lens on the thing, body size is kind of irrelevant.

 

[143gadgets]

getting a battery grip easily fixes the small feel of the canons. although the 40D is much bigger than the XTi. the battery grip also enables allot of cool features, including 2 full size batteries, and a magazine that can hold AA batteries in case your other batteries run out.

also, nikon people don't like to admit this...but the ISO technology is WAAAAAAY better on the Canons than on the Nikons. take pics at a minimum of ISO 1000 on both cameras.....and the canon pic is crystal clear while the Nikon has considerable grain.

This was true until the D3 and D300 were released.

 

[JuniorMC8704]

all of my top down shots are taken at ISO 800, and even after applying a sharpening filter (which about tripples the amount of noise) are very very low noise.

However, surfn is right on in regards to Nikons prior to the D300 and D3.

There are always strengths and weeknesses with every camera...:horse: