Canon or Nikon?

[Ice-King]

Im looking into getting a digital slr in the future any recommendations? Not looking to spend more than $600.

[Jim Almquist]

If you want to get more bang for your buck I would consider buying a used Canon 20D or 30D with a kit lens. I know that B&H has a 20D with a 17-85 EF-S for $599 and the camera condition is a 8 and comes with a 30 day warranty. If you have someone that knows what to test you could buy used out of the newspaper or off the list but I would avoid the bay. I have the 30D and think that it is a very well built and has sold used on this forum for $450 with no lens. Plan on spending $$ to get good glass. The 17-85 is a good reasonable lens on that 20D.

[Dbl]

Jim has a good suggestion. With a budget of $600 going the used route will get you considerably more camera than brand new will. Don't worry too much about Canon/Nikon or any of the other major brands, they all make good cameras.

If you have specific uses in mind for your camera such as wildlife, sports, etc. look at the lens line up for the manufacturer and see how that fits into your possible uses of the camera.

It also helps to hold and manipulate the controls and see how the menu layout, button layout, features work for you and how it feels in your hand. After you have done some preliminary research and start narrowing down your choices somewhat feel free to ask about more specific recommendations. Most of the major brands are represented here so someone should be able to help you with answers.

Good luck with the search!

[JohnK]

That's like asking which is better, Ford or Chevy. Like Dan said, the biggest difference between them is in ergonomics, the control layout is fairly different between Canon and Nikon some people have a strong preference for one over the other. I'd suggest going to a camera shop to get both in your hands to see which feels better to you.

You might want to look at factory reconditioned cameras from Cameta on [YouNeedAuthorization], they have some great deals and is a very good company to work with.