Hello :)
I'm planning on updating my Digital Camera, and was curious if any seasoned veterans have any tips on which way to go - the two things I really want this camera to have is a good amount of MP capability, and good macro [as my last camera was rather horrible with it].

I've narrowed it down to -
Sony
or
Canon

and was curious if anyone else had experience or any direction they could give me, or perhaps a better model to opt for.

Thanks! :)
Rick

Message edited on: 08/03/2004 16:27

Dont know much about the Sony, The Canon Rebel is an excellent camera and has massive range of lenses available, I use the Canon 10D which the rebel is essentially a cut down version of (same 6.3 Mp CMOS sensor) and lacks some custom functions, and is capable of producing prints of up to A3 This is worth a look at: http://www.steves-digicams.com and http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/10d.html With the Canon you have the added bonus if interchangeable lenses, which could be a pro or con depending on what you want and your budget I have used the rebel but prefer the 10D it is much more strongly built but is quite heavy compared to the rebel. Bear in mind that both Canon cameras benefit from prime lenses as opposed to consumer lenses. Hope this helps a little

LostPatrol is correct. Canon makes a great camera and great lense. (yeah, me a Nikon addict said that) However you do have the added expense of lenses. I am not sure about canon lenses but I know the lenses I want for my Nikon easily top $2500 (3 different lenses totaling 2500). I had a Sony 707 and I loved it. The camera itself is still going strong even though I sold it to a friend. The Sony was a great camera for me. The only problem is that I out grew it too quickly for my budget. Now I need my budget to catch up to my addiction to glass! Magick Michael

LostPatrol has made some good points about the Rebel. I also have the Rebel but use the hacked frimware which gives me almost all of the custom functions the 10D has.

Thxx for the help everyone. :)

Yes it is a good point about the lens cost, and thats why I said it depends on your needs/budget, the 10D doesnt suffer poor lenses gladly I dont know the USD $ equivalent but I use the following: 17-40mm L f4 700 Excellent lens approx 27-60mm on 10D/Rebel 70-200mm L f4 600 Excellent lens approx 110-310mm on 10D/Rebel 50mm f1.4 300 (I got lucky and got a second-hand one for 20) Excellent lens approx 80mm on 10D/Rebel These three lenses compliment each other very well and are suitable for most situations except true macro and super telephoto. Although the two L lenses would benefit from f2.8 they are well good enough Note as the 10D/Rebel dont have a full frame sensor the so field of view is cropped giving the lens focal length a X1.6 multiplication factor. Personally I would not recommend using hacked firmware although it is said to work. Hope this helps a little

I am enthusiast of the picture quality of my Digital Rebel. It is so rich and smooth, and so close to the natural quality that many digital cameras I have seen images of, lack. On the other hand, I don't know the Sony camera that you mention, so I can not compare. But I never would trade my Digital Rebel with any other camera unless I was sure that it has at least the same picture quality.

I forgot to add one thing: I am a Nikon traditional camera user with a lot of Nikon lenses. Thanks to an adaptator ring which I bought at at Ebay auction, I am now able to use all my Nikon lenses on my Digital Rebel body (in manual mode, of course). The quality of the Canon sensor plus the Nikon lenses is astounding.

I just went through this same dilema.I had to finally go out and touch each camera.Hands on and ask the staff at Broadway camera many questions. I came home with not the Sony,nor the Canon,but a Nikon8700.The way it felt and controlled was superior in many ways. Now however I wish I bought a D70 so I could change lenses.I'll do that in a few months.

Just a few more points you might want to consider 1. I have seen the EOS 10D for 950 sterling much, less than I paid. 2. Noise levels are excellent, ISO 100 zero, 200 I cant see any, 400 very slight, 800 some noise, 1600, visible but very acceptable, 3200 useable and less than film equivalent (in my opinion) 3 Burst mode 9 frames at 3fps at shutter speeds 1/250 + (4 frames on Rebel) 4. Shutter lag! What is shutter lag? This is the best I have seen except for the 1D, 1D mkII and 1Ds (which all have a BIG price tag) Rebel slightly slower bur not really noticeable. 5. (Maybe most importantly) Knowing Canon there may well be a new version very soon it was only a year between the D60 and 10D, and Canon are likely to act on the release of the Nikon D70 which I am told is also an excellent camera (I am a Canon user by default) but cant deny that Nikon are up there at the top of the tree too. The next incarnation is likely to be even cheaper still. 6. I believe that the Rebels auto focus is not manually selectable like the 10Ds but that may be fixed with newer firmware. All this of course is just my opinion based on my own experience and on talking to others (including professionals) that have used these cameras. In my opinion the DSLR is by far the better option over a compact Prosumer cameras. The image sensor on a DSLR is physically bigger than on a compact and this is why the noise levels tend to be much less.

How about dust problem of DSLR?
Is it a serious problem?

Thank you.

You need to be careful when changing lenses, i.e. not in a dusty environment or in windy conditions, a big blower bulb will sort minor problems and will be all you need if you are careful, professionally getting the sensor cleaned can be expensive about 30/probably same in $$. DO NOT use a compressed air blower can, as these emit a fine spray that is hard to clean and can in extreme conditions fry the sensor. I have had the sensor cleaned professionally once because I was careless (lesson learned) Dust is an issue but not a big one if you are careful.

Thank you very much LostPatrol.
Your reply was very helpful.
I think they will have dust prevention someday in future (some DSLR already has it).

DSLR is rapidly improving.
As you suggested, it will be much better, if we can wait until this fall.

There is informal rumor of next canon DSLR.