Digital SLRs - anyone have any opinions?

[ufcrusher]

I originally posted this in another thread but it seemed to get glossed over because it was a bit over the rest of the thread. I have been holding off on getting a digital camera because I didnt like the relatively slow shutter speeds (the delay) and the fact that I couldnt change lenses.

It appears that there are a whole bunch of Digital SLRs on the market now and so I am hoping that shutter speed is now no longer an issue. The two that I was looking at were the Nikon D100 and the Canon EOS 10D. Although I definitely will look at any other suggestions. What if anything do people know about them? Any other suggestions as to models, prices, etc.

Thanks.

[baggio248]

I don't know much about them either, but I really want one. I just got this page in my email.

http://www.cameraworld.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=13097651&location=NLC09B&storeId=10151&capture=TRUE&processRequest=10002&tmreturn=true&prp=541166799&langId=-1&catalogId=10001


I bought my Rebel 2000 through here and it is a deal. I'm hoping the price will drop a bit before I get one.

[Leon]

I'm a Canon bigot, so I'd recommend the the EOS 10D. :heh:

I had a Canon Elan 7E and a few lenses, so getting a 10D made a lot more sense than the Nikon. It's a great camera and I highly recommend it. I took that motorcycle picture in the auto forums with it.

http://www.gotapex.com/images/leon/cbr600rr.jpg

[Cantacuzene]

I was an assistant to the Los Angeles Dodger's team photographer when I was in high school and he had a digital SLR back then, 4 years ago. It must have cost an arm and a leg. And boy did it take good pictures.

If you can afford one, get one. There is no substitute for a traditional SLR with slide film, but this is close.

[ufcrusher]

Originally posted by Leon
I'm a Canon bigot, so I'd recommend the the EOS 10D. :heh:

I had a Canon Elan 7E and a few lenses, so getting a 10D made a lot more sense than the Nikon. It's a great camera and I highly recommend it. I took that motorcycle picture in the auto forums with it.

http://www.gotapex.com/images/leon/cbr600rr.jpg

Leon - how fast is the shutter on it? Is there a noticeable lag or is it basically as fast as a true film SLR? For example, if I want to grab a picture of a bird in flight (not that I would, but just for example) would I be able to or would the bird be long gone by the time the picture came up?

I guess I just need to head to a high end store and play around with a bunch of the cameras. I might ask the guys at Kurts Camera supply about their recommendation as well.

[Leon]

From what I hear, there is more of a delay on the 10D than the Elan 7E, but it's so miniscule that I hardly notice. As long as I have the subject in focus and my finger is ready to take the picture, you can take great action shots.

Like for your example of taking a picture of a bird in flight, focusing would pose more of a problem than the shutter lag.

If you have a Ritz close by, you can buy it, try it out for 10 days and then return it. If you don't think you will be needing all those manual functions, then the new 300D might be a good alternative (although people buy SLRs for the manual functions).

[ufcrusher]

Well there is a Ritz up at North County Fair..so I might just head up there and take a look at it. The manual features are the main reason why, plus the ability to use all of my lenses from my regular slrs.

[Jeffbx]

Like Leon said, the most delay you're going to get is on the auto-focus. I have an Olympus E-10 which is a few generations back now, but it's by far the fastest digital camera I've ever used in terms of getting shots off.

If I'm not waiting for the flash to recharge, I can take up to 6 pictures in a row as fast as it takes to auto-focus. As with most higher end cameras, this one has a 32MB buffer that grabs the pics when you take them, and then writes them to your storage card after the fact. This allow you to take some quick pics without the typical delay most digicams have when writing the image to the card.

Olympus is just about to release a new SLR that's worth taking a look at - the Olympus E-1 (http://www.olympusamerica.com/e1). This is supposed to be the first digital SLR that was designed from the ground up to be 100% digital, rather than a digital adaptation of an existing film SLR. Also check out the review (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/e1.html).

[ufcrusher]

Well I had to head into the camera repair shop today and low in behold they had a D100 in for service. The shutter speed on it was quite fast...almost as fast as a regular SLR with a motor mount, although the motor mount would have won. The focusing seemed to be fine as well.

I asked the guy what he would recommend and he said that both camera were good. He had a couple of the Nikons come in, but never any of the Canons. Thus, he siad you can take that one of two ways. Either the Canons arent breaking or they just arent being brought into him. But he had some customers say that they had gone with the Canon.

Just thought I would share.