Monday, February 6, 2006
Pondering my Next DSLR - What to Choose?
Posted by Jason Dunn in "THOUGHT" @ 09:00 AM
I originally purchased my Canon Digital Rebel 300D back in October of 2003, and while it has served me very well, it's coming up on three years old this year and I'm searching for something better. I have a minimal investment in lenses thus - the kit 18 to 55mm lens, and a 55 to 200mm lens that wasn't very expensive. Beyond that, I have a Canon Speedlite 220EX. I'm open to the possibility of switching to a Nikon camera if the fit is right. I've tended to prefer Canon, but had some hands-on time with a D70 and was quite impressed by it.
I spent some time at my local Vistek store last weekend, which is a photographers delight. The people working there are professionals, so it's a humbling experience to talk to real photography experts that know far more than I do. I went in wanting to get some hands on with the Canon 5D after talking with Neil and hearing how impressed he was with the camera, and I wanted to toy with Canon 20D since that was the "runner up" camera I was considering.
While I was initially lured by the Canon 5D's full-frame sensor, I've now decided against it for a few reasons. First, cost: once I add on a great lens, I'd easily be at nearly $5000 CND, which is simply too much of an investment for something that I don't earn an income from. Next, the lack of a built-in flash. I tend to shoot without my Speedlite most of the time, so having to lug it along for every shoot would be a pain. Lastly, I simply couldn't articulate why I really needed a full-frame sensor. I think I was enamoured more with the idea than the reality, and I'm just not a good enough photographer to justify moving to such a serious camera.
What I'm really interested in seeing is an updated version of the Canon 20D - it looks like a great camera, but after seeing the large LCD screen on the Nikon D200 and the Canon 5D, it's hard to look at the small screen on the 20D and not cringe. On my recent trip to Mexico I often found myself checking on the photo I had just shot, and the LCD on my 300D is so small I'd always have to zoom in to see if it was in focus or not. PMA 2006 is coming up, so I'm patiently waiting to see if Canon will unveil a 30D or something similar.
At Vistek I got also got a chance to use the Nikon D200 with a massive 18mm to 200mm lens. I was very impressed with how well the camera handled, how the low-light photos I was taking inside the store looked, and the large screen and nicely designed menus. My gut feeling is still to lean towards the Canon, but that D200 was an impressive camera and one that I plan on looking very seriously at. It was hard to separate my feelings about the D200 from my feelings about the 18 to 200mm lens, which was simply awesome. Definitely a great "walkabout" lens for a vacation!
Any Canon 20D or Nikon D200 owners out there? How would you summarize your experiences with your camera - would you buy it again? And for all our readers, any suggestions for me on how to chose between these two cameras?
I spent some time at my local Vistek store last weekend, which is a photographers delight. The people working there are professionals, so it's a humbling experience to talk to real photography experts that know far more than I do. I went in wanting to get some hands on with the Canon 5D after talking with Neil and hearing how impressed he was with the camera, and I wanted to toy with Canon 20D since that was the "runner up" camera I was considering.
While I was initially lured by the Canon 5D's full-frame sensor, I've now decided against it for a few reasons. First, cost: once I add on a great lens, I'd easily be at nearly $5000 CND, which is simply too much of an investment for something that I don't earn an income from. Next, the lack of a built-in flash. I tend to shoot without my Speedlite most of the time, so having to lug it along for every shoot would be a pain. Lastly, I simply couldn't articulate why I really needed a full-frame sensor. I think I was enamoured more with the idea than the reality, and I'm just not a good enough photographer to justify moving to such a serious camera.
What I'm really interested in seeing is an updated version of the Canon 20D - it looks like a great camera, but after seeing the large LCD screen on the Nikon D200 and the Canon 5D, it's hard to look at the small screen on the 20D and not cringe. On my recent trip to Mexico I often found myself checking on the photo I had just shot, and the LCD on my 300D is so small I'd always have to zoom in to see if it was in focus or not. PMA 2006 is coming up, so I'm patiently waiting to see if Canon will unveil a 30D or something similar.
At Vistek I got also got a chance to use the Nikon D200 with a massive 18mm to 200mm lens. I was very impressed with how well the camera handled, how the low-light photos I was taking inside the store looked, and the large screen and nicely designed menus. My gut feeling is still to lean towards the Canon, but that D200 was an impressive camera and one that I plan on looking very seriously at. It was hard to separate my feelings about the D200 from my feelings about the 18 to 200mm lens, which was simply awesome. Definitely a great "walkabout" lens for a vacation!
Any Canon 20D or Nikon D200 owners out there? How would you summarize your experiences with your camera - would you buy it again? And for all our readers, any suggestions for me on how to chose between these two cameras?
