I need help buying my Christmas present

[waskawood]

I finally decided to treat myself to a new digital SLR camera. Thus far I have narrowed it down to the Nikon D50 or the Cannon Digital Rebel. Checking out both bodies it seems that they are comparable. The Cannon may be a little faster in frames per second. The Nikon appears to be a little quieter. Can anyone give me there personal take on todays digital cameras? I am inexpierenced in digital photography and it's been a looong time since I've taken my old Yashika SLR out of the bag. Thanks for any help.

Dave

[Steve Foss]

Hi Waska:

I'm a Canon shooter. I'll just tell you that up front.

That being said, either of those cameras are excellent digital SLR cameras. The D50 is a 6.1 megapixel, the Rebel XT an 8 megapixel camera. In a nutshell, the 8 megapixel will allow you to make bigger print enlargements of your images, but the 6.1 will let you make excellent prints up to about 12x18, so unless you're looking for something bigger, the extra couple of megapixels from the Rebel XT won't do you any good.

I'd go to a camera store if there's one near you and do some shooting with both models to see which one suits you. In the end, unless you want to make the larger prints, what 's more important is which camera fits you better and feels better.

Once you come into digital, you'll have a blast and become addicted to the instant gratification of being able to review your images on the camera's back, download them, process them and print them or pass them in e-mails to friends, all without having to buy film or pay for film processing.

Digital will also make you a better photographer faster, because you're instantly able to see what you're doing right and wrong. It will allow you to explore with your techniques without the restraint of film costs.

Buy the best lenses you can afford. Not only is the glass better with the so-called "prime" lenses (my main wildlife lens is Canon's 100-400 mm image stablizer, at about $1,300), but the better lenses focus faster and operate faster overall. If you can't afford those types of lenses, get what you can and move up when and if you like. I shot a lot with a Tamron 70-300 mm macro that only costs $150. It's a slow lens compared with my 100-400 IS prime, but it got the job done.

Welcome to digital, and when you make the choice and get your camera, show us some of your work. Any tips and pointers you're looking for as the time comes, we'll be happy to give you.

I'd also suggest a book on digital photography. There are a lot of them out there. It'll help level out the steep learning curve of converting to digital.