So should I jump on the dslr bandwagon?

[kamekaze]

So I have been shooting 35mm slrs for a while and have been toying with picking up a DSLR for a while, but due to being broke as a joke I have never done it. Today I was searching around and found a canon 300D with the kit 18-55 for well under $200 and Im seriously considering picking it up. I know its a cheap plastic body and I'm setting myself up to spend more money in lenses and flashes than I probably want to, but paying to develop film and spending so much time scanning film is starting to get on my nerves... I'm pretty sure I can sell it on ebay for a small profit if I get it and dont like it, but I figure I'd ask you guys what ya'll think of the cheap DSLR as a stepping stone into that world.

[Colyn]

Originally Posted by kamekaze

So I have been shooting 35mm slrs for a while and have been toying with picking up a DSLR for a while, but due to being broke as a joke I have never done it. Today I was searching around and found a canon 300D with the kit 18-55 for well under $200 and Im seriously considering picking it up. I know its a cheap plastic body and I'm setting myself up to spend more money in lenses and flashes than I probably want to, but paying to develop film and spending so much time scanning film is starting to get on my nerves... I'm pretty sure I can sell it on ebay for a small profit if I get it and dont like it, but I figure I'd ask you guys what ya'll think of the cheap DSLR as a stepping stone into that world.

Another fine inexpensive DSLR to consider is the Olympus E-series. Used E510's can be had fairly cheap..Olympus glass is as good as Nikon or Canon and a lot cheaper..

[kamekaze]

Originally Posted by Colyn

Another fine inexpensive DSLR to consider is the Olympus E-series. Used E510's can be had fairly cheap..Olympus glass is as good as Nikon or Canon and a lot cheaper..

Will I be able to find one with glass and similar specs to 300D in the sub $200 range?

[groovyone]

You can build a pretty good Minolta kit with the Minolta 7D (or even 5D) 18-70mm kit lens, Minolta 50 mm f/1.7 ($80-100) and Minolta 70-210 f/4 beercan ($150-$200). Sony just released the 50mm f/1.8 for $150 and a new 30mm f/2.8 macro is coming soon.

Just an option.

I also have a friend with a 300D and one with a 400D and both have been able to find good used Canon lenses for under $200.

[Colyn]

Originally Posted by kamekaze

Will I be able to find one with glass and similar specs to 300D in the sub $200 range?

KEH has several Olympus DSLR's ranging in the 8-10MP with 2 lens for $400 and less. I don't know the specs of the 300D but I suspect the Olympus cameras would be a better bet.

[toverman]

Ergnomics is a key factor among camera brands, particularly when you're talking about the entry level models. How the controls work, how it fits in your hands, etc. The interesting thing about the 300D – the original Digital Rebel – is that it has a plastic body but is actually "full size." It uses the BP-511 batteries that power Canon's prosumer cams up to at least the 50D. Rebels that came afterward are much smaller, although also fine cameras to start out with.

I say it's worth taking the plunge into digital, no matter what you end up with.

[tc95]

John...I have a sony a100 kit with a 28-90mm lens and 70-210mm lens...they are not the best but will get you jump started...for $275.00...plus the a100 is 10.2MP camera...with great controls....let me know..

TPF Buy/Sell Listing

Let me know if your interested....

[Flea77]

Have you considered developing your own film? C41 press kits are pretty inexpensive. B&W of course is really easy. You can even do E6 at home with a little care.

Allan

[kamekaze]

I plan to start developing my own film when I get some more room, I only have a tiny half bathroom that I could do it in right now and its just not gonna work.

kamekaze added 47 Minutes and 30 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Originally Posted by tc95

John...I have a sony a100 kit with a 28-90mm lens and 70-210mm lens...they are not the best but will get you jump started...for $275.00...plus the a100 is 10.2MP camera...with great controls....let me know..

TPF Buy/Sell Listing

Let me know if your interested....

I would be all over that, but sadly its a bit out of my price range and the new baby coming in a week or 2 takes priority over me getting new toys :(

[zebulus]

Originally Posted by tc95

John...I have a sony a100 kit with a 28-90mm lens and 70-210mm lens...they are not the best but will get you jump started...for $275.00...plus the a100 is 10.2MP camera...with great controls....let me know..

TPF Buy/Sell Listing

Let me know if your interested....

DUDE! I would SOO buy your A100 if I had the money to spare right now. Sadly...cant see a need for it.

[kamekaze]

I am actually thinking about selling my guitar to justify buying this...

[chris00nj]

I think you'll be disappointed in the end.

You'll be investing in a something that is of little difference. It's an SLR (so it's the same size) and it probably takes similar quality photos. The primary difference is that you have paid down a fixed cost in the return to save the variable cost of each roll.

The idea of "free" film sounds alluring, but the $200 doesn't include the memory cards, batteries, or post processing software. I'd find it easier to finance $10 occassionally to develop film.

I found my quality suffered with digital. Instead of being a little careful of the photos you take, you'll go into machine gun mode, taking 15 photos of the same thing. All 15 are worse than the one careful photo that you would have taken with film.

[toverman]

Chris has some good points, and I hate the thought that you'd be selling your guitar (something with the potential to last a long time) to buy a digital camera (something that will eventually die).

What I'd suggest, though, with a child on the way is getting a digital point-and-shoot. I had a 2 mp Fujifilm digital camera. It sucked. Shutter lag was horrendous. But it was little, so we took it everywhere. And some of the shots I got with that dumb camera were awesome. You can find something much nicer for very little money now.

Then, when the time comes, jump to a DSLR if you want.

[Flea77]

Originally Posted by kamekaze

I plan to start developing my own film when I get some more room, I only have a tiny half bathroom that I could do it in right now and its just not gonna work.

You would be surprised! When you walk into my bathroom (admittedly a full bath) there is no evidence of film developing at all. Everything is under the sink, and I do 35mm, 120 and 4x5 sheets! If you eliminate everything for 120 and 4x5, I could literally keep everything I need to do B&W, chemicals included, in a small bucket under the sink.

Color will require a bit more space, but all you really need is chemicals (a few bottles), scissors, small tank, reel, thermometer, bottle cap remover, timer, tub to keep your temperature stabilizing bath in and some clothes pins to hang the film for drying. Your tub for the temp stabilizing bath can be used to hold everything once you are done and put up under the sink or in a closet somewhere.

The room will need to be light tight, but if you load the reel at night, turn off all the lights in the house, and stuff some dark towels under the door, you should be good.

It is a little more investment up front, but pretty cheap and you get your results much faster than sending it off, but slower than digital. Think of all the money you will save over buying all the stuff for digital.

Allan

[kamekaze]

I have a digital point and shoot, I have 3 manual film SLRs, one auto focus film SLR, a rangefinder and a bunch of lenses. Either way I go with a DSLR it will have some memory, either DLSR Im looking at has a battery and I have photoshop on every computer I own. I dont plan on selling any of my film gear, and I actually plan on continuing use it all, but I think it would be nice too add a DSLR in to the mix. I actually think it will help me improve my photography with my film cameras, instead of being afraid to take a shot because I'm not sure how it will turn out and not wanting to waste the film, I will be able to compose a shot, find out what I did wrong/right pretty immediately then take the shot again. Once I am more confident in my abilities I would love to load some film or even look into buying a medium or large format camera. And I have more than one camera, and though I dont really want to get rid of any of them I know I'll use a DSLR more.