# Best DSLR under $500



## SeedlessOne

I need some help picking out the best camera for my moneys worth. How is the sony a200? What is live mode? Thanks a ton.


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## Pooky125

Live mode is like on a point and shoot camera, where you can see what you're taking a picture of.

Sony I've heard ok things about, I've never personally used one.

It wouldn't be my recommendation however.. I'd suggest taking a look at a Pentax. Specifically, this one (It really is under 500$ if you add it to my cart)

It's weather resistant, 10 MP's, uses AA batteries, and all pentax lenses ever made (which, if you, or anyone you know, happen to have any sitting around from the a few decades ago, can be a real treat. Otherwise, ebay or second hand shops are a great place to pick up old, but awesome, lenses for cheap).

Good luck with your search!


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## gravy9

Check DPReview for your research on the cameras in extensive details. You can also check the samples and compare multiple models in this website.

Research for yourself, go to a camera store like Wolf Camera and feel it to get your own comfort level and opinions.

regards,
Ravi


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## SeedlessOne

Pooky125 said:


> Live mode is like on a point and shoot camera, where you can see what you're taking a picture of.
> 
> Sony I've heard ok things about, I've never personally used one.
> 
> It wouldn't be my recommendation however.. I'd suggest taking a look at a Pentax. Specifically, this one (It really is under 500$ if you add it to my cart)
> 
> It's weather resistant, 10 MP's, uses AA batteries, and all pentax lenses ever made (which, if you, or anyone you know, happen to have any sitting around from the a few decades ago, can be a real treat. Otherwise, ebay or second hand shops are a great place to pick up old, but awesome, lenses for cheap).
> 
> Good luck with your search!


Well I went to look at the k200. very nice camera. The salesperson was pushing another camera on me though. The sony a350. He has a used one with lens for 500. Should I buy this instead of the k200?


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## AaronT

SeedlessOne said:


> Well I went to look at the k200. very nice camera. The salesperson was pushing another camera on me though. The sony a350. He has a used one with lens for 500. Should I buy this instead of the k200?


I'm not sure about the newer Sonys, but a few years ago when I was looking they mostly only took Sony memory sticks. Look for a camera that uses SD cards as they're the most universal memory format.


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## SeedlessOne

AaronT said:


> I'm not sure about the newer Sonys, but a few years ago when I was looking they mostly only took Sony memory sticks. Look for a camera that uses SD cards as they're the most universal memory format.


It uses SD cards.


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## Pooky125

I think it would depend what you're really looking for. If I were in your position, I would buy a memory card, take it to the store, and just, play around with each of the cameras your looking at for 20 or 30 minutes. Try the different shooting styles, bring someone (or use a store geek) as a model, see how it reacts to different situations. Most camera stores will be happy to let you do it. 

Then, take the pictures home, look through them, see which ones came out best for the kind of photography you want to do. Which camera felt better in your hands? Which was more intuitive. That right there should be your answer.

I have a Pentax, and after more then a year and a half with the brand, I can safely say I won't be switching to anything else in my next upgrade. 

Good luck in your search, and let us know what you get!


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## helgymatt

Nikons D40 or D60 is a nice choice. A little more than $500 though...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830113088&Tpk=nikon d60


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## fishyface

i came from a nikon slr history so when it was time to go digital slr i naturally went for nikon again. personally i find them very intuitive, for under $500 i got a used d50, body and lens. most likely one of the most popular dslr's out there and for a reason. if it's your first "real camera" i can pretty much guarantee it will take you a very, very long time to grow out of it. 

most peep's don't need a 10 or 12 mega pixel resolution unless you plan to blow up huge poster sized prints (most people don't), don't let people talk (sell you up) into it. check craigslist and bring a friend who knows a bit about cameras, there's programs out there that will tell you how many shutter actuation's a camera has used. when i purchased mine it only had 1000ish actuation's which is nothing.

i absolutely love the d50 and would recommend anyone to check them out...then again most photographers are VERY brand loyal.

good luck,
darryl


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## SeedlessOne

ehh..i am over the under 500 thing. OK well Ive been doing nothing except look at cameras. I think I am going to purchase a canon 450d. I really was considering the pantax but I feel like live mode is a must for me. My girl will also be using the camera so I think live mode will help her out. She doesn't like thing to be complicated to say the least. So is the 450d a good buy? I wish it had image stabilization built in the camera rather than the lens. I was also very close to buying a sony a350 on ebay but got outbid. Thanks for the replies so far and keep them coming.


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## freydo

my first dslr was the nikon d50, even though the d40 was coming out, i felt the d50 had more advantages. i loved that camera, until i sold it and bought a d200 

and yes, camera brands are all up to personal tastes. i will go along with the others that suggest going with what suits your shooting needs the best. i would also suggest going with the brand that has all the lenses that you would ever dream of or actually able to get. cause that's where most of your money (at least mine did and will) will go to 

good luck!


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## helgymatt

I actually use the D50 as well and love it!


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## pfertz

As freydo said - its all about personal taste, at least when it comes to the big names (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony). This seems especially true with entry level stuff. I personally use the Sony A700, and chose the Sony system based on legacy Minolta glass and in-body anti-shake technology. However, if I were really into sports & action, or extreme-tele nature photography, I'd probably go with the Canon system based on their specialty glass.


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## SeedlessOne

Well I am ordering tonight when I get off work. Its either this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542180-REG/Canon_2756B003_EOS_Rebel_XSi_a_k_a_.html or this which comes with two lens and is 30bucks cheaper...http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/545831-REG/Sony_DSLRA300X_Alpha_DSLR_A300_SLR_Digtial.html

Thanks for the wonderful help so far guys.


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## bigstick120

You cant go wrong with Canon or Nikon. The camera is the cheap part. Start adding the lenses, flashes and filters and that 500 camera is now a few thousand! 

What are you planning to shoot? That lens that comes with the Canon is fine for normal photography but you wont be able to do much with macro shots.


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## Pooky125

I picked up a used 90mm macro for my pentax for less then $100 last year. Was WELL worth the purchase. Granted.. it's probably older then I am, but does what I need it to do, and does it well. Something to be said for old glass. Sony, pentax and samsung all have that going for them. Canon and Nikon, not so much.


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## pfertz

Another (cheap) option for macro photography is M42 glass with an adapter and extension tubes. There are millions of these old lenses around, and you can get an adapter for $40 or so. Granted, these lenses are all manual focus, but I find that most macro work is done using manual focus anyways. The only catch is that M42 lenses won't focus to infinity on the Nikon system, due to the lens-to-sensor distance (or so I've heard).


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## fishyface

Pooky125 said:


> Canon and Nikon, not so much.


?? canon and nikon have been around for a *loooonng* time! canon since the 30's and nikon since 1943.


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## Jareardy

Nikon d40x!


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## Pooky125

fishyface said:


> ?? canon and nikon have been around for a *loooonng* time! canon since the 30's and nikon since 1943.


That's true, however most of the old lenses from the 30's and 40's, even up to the 70's and 80's aren't compatible with modern digital cameras. A 40 dollar adapter for your Pentax (or really almost any camera system) will let you use basically any Pentax lens ever made, to infinity, on a digital Pentax body.



pfertz said:


> Another (cheap) option for macro photography is M42 glass with an adapter and extension tubes. There are millions of these old lenses around, and you can get an adapter for $40 or so. Granted, these lenses are all manual focus, but I find that most macro work is done using manual focus anyways. The only catch is that M42 lenses won't focus to infinity on the Nikon system, due to the lens-to-sensor distance (or so I've heard).


Also true, some of that old M42 glass is gorgeous and they go for nothing. Although, something in the back of my head is telling me on canon they actually MIGHT focus to infinity. Not positive on this one however.


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## pfertz

Pooky - you're correct, Canons will focus to infinity with M42 glass, as will Sony/Minolta. Nikon is the only one of the three that has an issue, due to sensor plane focus register distance. The M42 adapters for Nikon don't allow the lens to sit close enough to the sensor to allow infinity focus. One of my personal favorite lenses in my collection is a Pentax 135mm f/4. When combined with a set of extension tubes, I actually get better/sharper macro pictures than I do with my minolta 50mm f/2.8 macro lens. And its a heck of a lot cheaper, too!


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## SeedlessOne

I just went to hell and back (bestbuy) and bought a Sony A300 with 55mm-300mm lens only for an extra 50bucks. Was this a good idea to buy that lens?


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## pfertz

Congrats on the purchase! What is the model # on the lens, and is it the only lens you got with the camera or is it a second lens?


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## SeedlessOne

For an extra 50 bucks I got this lens also. Sony 75-300 mm f/4.5-5.6 Compact Telephoto Zoom Lens. Should I sell that and look for some better used glass? Thanks agian


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## helgymatt

SeedlessOne said:


> For an extra 50 bucks I got this lens also. Sony 75-300 mm f/4.5-5.6 Compact Telephoto Zoom Lens. Should I sell that and look for some better used glass? Thanks agian


Maybe you should use it a little and then decide


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## Outsane

Hands down Nikon d40, if your going to get nikon over the d60, d50.

Unless you put out the money for a d90 or d300

http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm

I shoot photos as a more serious hobby

www.leelimphotography.com


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## pfertz

I agree with helgymatt - use it and get used to it before you decide to sell it :thumbsup:


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## SeedlessOne

a little pic I snapped of one pissed off veilded.


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## pfertz

The second pic looks pretty good. I assume you used the pop-up flash for the first pic? Try setting the flash to -1 EV, which should reduce some of the 'washed out' effect. On-camera flashes are prone to harshness, and setting the EV to a negative value will soften the light a bit :thumbsup:


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## myang07

fishyface said:


> i came from a nikon slr history so when it was time to go digital slr i naturally went for nikon again.


Haha, funny thing, I kinda went through the same thing, only I grew up on Minolta SLR's (dad was way into the hobby)...and considering Sony bought out Minolta, naturally I went with a Sony DSLR. I have the a100 and what rocks is that all Minolta lenses ever made still work with any of the newer Sony DSLRs. I'm still a little new to DSLRs, messing around with mine when I have the time. I've had it a little over the year with numerous of lenses and I'd say it's an awesome entry level DSLR. Sony's also have the "Auto" setting, like most DSLRs, where it's turns into a typical point and shoot camera adjusting settings for you. You could probably pick up a used a100 for around 500 or less. Otherwise you can always go with the much more popular SLR brands like Canon and Nikon. Either or, whichever DSLR you can get your hands on and afford will be a good learning experience. I'd suggest picking up a used one because people are always buying and selling them and because it'll be your first DSLR. If you plan on doing some fish photography, I also HIGHLY suggest an external flash unit also. The other day I went and played around with the new Sony's out now (a350k, a900) and *drool* I'm gonna start saving up for an upgrade!

Check out some photos I've taken with the a100 in my Flickr Photostream. It's more of a hobby right now until I start saving up for more equipment and another camera body. There's some fish photography in there also. Only thing was, I wasn't considering my tank scratches and CO2 bubbles when I was practicing, haha...I'll remember that next time!

http://flickr.com/photos/mengo_charged


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## SeedlessOne

myang07 said:


> Haha, funny thing, I kinda went through the same thing, only I grew up on Minolta SLR's (dad was way into the hobby)...and considering Sony bought out Minolta, naturally I went with a Sony DSLR. I have the a100 and what rocks is that all Minolta lenses ever made still work with any of the newer Sony DSLRs. I'm still a little new to DSLRs, messing around with mine when I have the time. I've had it a little over the year with numerous of lenses and I'd say it's an awesome entry level DSLR. Sony's also have the "Auto" setting, like most DSLRs, where it's turns into a typical point and shoot camera adjusting settings for you. You could probably pick up a used a100 for around 500 or less. Otherwise you can always go with the much more popular SLR brands like Canon and Nikon. Either or, whichever DSLR you can get your hands on and afford will be a good learning experience. I'd suggest picking up a used one because people are always buying and selling them and because it'll be your first DSLR. If you plan on doing some fish photography, I also HIGHLY suggest an external flash unit also. The other day I went and played around with the new Sony's out now (a350k, a900) and *drool* I'm gonna start saving up for an upgrade!
> 
> Check out some photos I've taken with the a100 in my Flickr Photostream. It's more of a hobby right now until I start saving up for more equipment and another camera body. There's some fish photography in there also. Only thing was, I wasn't considering my tank scratches and CO2 bubbles when I was practicing, haha...I'll remember that next time!
> 
> http://flickr.com/photos/mengo_charged


Man those a really good pics. I found that it is much harder to shoot good pics than I expected. Looks like a big learning curve. Im having a lot of fun though. My girlfriend thinks Im crazy taking all these pic around the house. "Do you really need 50 pics of the dog?"


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## pfertz

Seedless - if you'd like to learn more about photography, you will find a lot of great info on this site:

http://kenrockwell.com/tech.htm

I'm sure there are lots of great sites out there, but I personally like Ken's style of explaining things. Photography isn't easy, but it is definitely fun!


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## myang07

Another very informative site is http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/. Lots of good info on there. Join a photography forum also, I'm sure there's a local one. Read the manual, learn what the hell each knob and switch does and basic terminology, and get out and shoot! Sooner or later, you'll develop your own style. Good luck, it's fun!


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## Jason Baliban

Here is the best DSLR for $580 shipped!! 

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/sale-trade/57389-fs-d80-two-lenses.html

I used this camera for all my shots here http://www.projectaquarium.com/gallery.aspx

jB


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## SeedlessOne

Jason Baliban said:


> Here is the best DSLR for $580 shipped!!
> 
> http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/sale-trade/57389-fs-d80-two-lenses.html
> 
> I used this camera for all my shots here http://www.projectaquarium.com/gallery.aspx
> 
> jB


Man you are 3 days late on this. I would of bought that for sure. Im happy with my sony so far.

Thanks for the sites guys....Im going to look into them tonight.


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