Sock OR Muffin? wrote:geiginni wrote:Sock OR Muffin? wrote:If you're going the SLR route, check ou the Nikon D50. It's a very good entry level kit. Has its own battery and takes SD cards.
My girlfriend has one and loves it. No problems in the year she's had it.
Whoops, looks like they replaced that wih the D40, same difference.
If you're going to spend the money on a digital SLR, I would strongly recommend you get one with a CMOS (or MMOS) sensor (instead of the typical CCD sensor type). The CMOS sensors are much more sensitive and give much lower noise performance in the 800-3200 ISO range. This translates roughly to grain and non-lens dependent sharpness.
Again, get a CMOS type camera. Canon and Olympus both make CMOS DSLR bodies.
But is there a major price difference? I was just recommending entry level stuff which the Nikons do well enough at 1600 ISO. Granted 3200 would be nice but not everyone needs the highest falutin' tech available. Most people wouldn't notice the difference. Where I work we have a D200 and even though it's a CCD, it does really well in low-light conditions which is what we use it for at least 50% of the time. Thanks for the info though! Good to know.
I'd say if you're entertaining the purchase of a digital SLR, it is not an "entry-level" investment and the buyer is not a "novice" shooter. The slight increase in cost is well worth it, considering an SLR is something you could get 10-15 years or more use from.
(PS - I detest built-in flash, so much of my shooting is low/existing light and I find I regularly use 400/800/1600, and yes, sometimes the 3200 ISO settings. Noise sucks. Shoot a grey-card at ISO 800 with a CCD camera sometime and tell me it's not a problem.
