School me on Dslr cameras

If she is a good enough photographer to actually need one, she will know exactly what to look for. If she just wants to play around with a "fancy" dslr, pick a cheap starter camera body and lens from Canon or Nikon.

But really any phone will do fine for most situations. Most bad photos get that way because of the photographer, not the camera.

The lenses are more important than the cameras bodies. A good lens(es) and Lightroom and the average person can take some pretty good photos. Image stabilization is not needed unless you are shooting with slow shutter speeds

I took this picture in Kansas last week with a 50mm lens standing about 75 yards from the shooter. I didn't even realize I got the quail inflight till I was editing the photos in Lightroom and cropped the photo

quote:

---

This isn't untrue but really undersells how good DSLR cameras are.

---

I don't disagree but unless she knows how to use it well the OP can easily waste a ton of money. Hence my suggestion that he stick with a starter she can fool around with while she learns. B&H Photo is doing Black Friday deals, he can pick up a Nikon D3400 or Canon Rebel T6, either with a basic lens, for around $400.

I used to be a proponent of "prosumer" point and shoot cameras as good starters but that was back when they were $400 or so and dSLR's were twice that or more.

Do you have my number? Hit me up one day and I'll talk your ear off about it, or we should go grab a beer after work and talk about it. I'm still an amateur, but here's my limited understanding of the matter

quote:

---

Any major quality difference between nikon and Canon?

---

Depending on who you talk to, there's either the "big two" you listed above or "the big three" which adds Sony in the mix (though technically their cameras have a translucent "mirror" with an OLED viewfinder, making them a "DSLT" or "mirrorless" camera rather than DSLR). They package them in nearly identical bodies and get great results. and if you don't mention that, she'll never know the difference if you like those models better. Downfall is a theoretical "noisier" low-light, high ISO image (I've witnessed a guy using an a99 in "The Big Room of Carlsbad Cavern which is about as low-light as you can get) with the big upside of being able to take many more pictures per second (so if you like outdoors, daytime photos where things are moving, don't dismiss them). A photographer friend of mine (and possibly yours) will often bring one of their less-features small-body cameras out and about when he's abroad and doesn't want to lug around his DSLR setup and notes very little difference in the quality of the image (other than being limited by his lack of lens selection on the little body guy). He actually said that more or less, if he wouldn't be so heavily invested into whichever of the two above he uses (and I think it's Canon), he he would very heavily considered one of the upper-tier Sony cameras.
Nikon vs Canon basically should come down to two things:
1) which one has your preferred control setup (the wheels and buttons on the camera itself)
2) which one has more available secondhand lenses available? (This is where Sony loses big time. You can get on Craigslist and find secondhand stuff from the other guys all over in great condition from people who, like your wife, thought they'd get into photography and don't. I've found some decent deals on lenses online, but the secondhand and aftermarket accessory market is limited by comparison)


In terms of quality of pictures, it's 100% subjective. If you like one vs the other, by all means, go for it so long as you're comparing results from a similar-tier. But you probably won't be seeing any real differences in the results, more in the process of taking the image (which unfortunately you can't really see until you start taking pictures). The camera brand you choose locks you into future upgrades if you think that's going to be a thing. But otherwise, if you're learning from scratch, you'll be learning from scratch either way.

In terms of wifi, mine has it, I find it kind of a gimmick. It isn't hard to plug my camera into a USB port on my laptop. Not even a little. And using the SD card is even easier.
The one "neat" thing I could see wifi being useful for is while you are out and about, you can (at least with Sony) send the photo directly to a phone. This is kind of cool for family get togethers or evenings out. So is email.

The one real last decision to make is whether you want a "crop" or "full" sensor. Don't be fooled- there is nothing about either that is intrinsically better. "full" means it keeps the classic dimension of the 35mm film that was used for forever. Crop just means the pictures are taken in a different set of dimensions.



The rest is just a matter of features. If you run through Amazon and find one that comes with a decent setup (nice enough lens, SD card, case, tripod, flash, etc) for significantly cheaper than what the comparable offering is from one of the other brands, you're beyond safe going for it and seeing if you like it. There are a handful of websites (easily found through Google) that will let you compare cameras across brands. So more or less, if you find two around the same price, just pop in the two model numbers (sony a58 vs Canon Rebel), it will list out features and declare a "winner," but you can search through and see if there's a feature at that particular price range that you want.





Tl;Dr- buy whichever brand you want to lock yourself to because it doesn't matter for much else.

quote:

---

Any major quality difference between nikon and Canon?

---

No. HopefulDoc has some solid advice as well but basically the difference between Nikon and Canon is more about the user interface and the lenses. How you like the controls, that sort of thing.

Really all the manufacturers out there produce very capable camera bodies, but as HopefulDoc implied when you choose a company to do with you're choosing an entire ecosystem. Sort of like Apple vs. Google vs. Windows. All the competitors do just fine overall and the differences are mostly at the margins. When it comes to Nikon vs. Canon you are choosing a user interface you like and a lenses you like. The picture quality will be great either way. For a starter camera she'd do just fine with Sony, Olympus, or really basically anyone. But they don't have the ecosystems that Nikon and Canon do if she decides to get more serious.

Be sure to build Lightroom and/or Photoshop into the budget too. There isn't a photographer in the world who can't find a flaw to touch up, even at the starter level.

I don't know anything about cameras either.

Anyone have anything to say about the cannon rebel SL2? From what Ive read its a solid camera that is a good bit smaller and lighter than most dslrs

quote:

---

Anyone have anything to say about the cannon rebel SL2? From what Ive read its a solid camera that is a good bit smaller and lighter than most dslrs

---

It's fine. Like most Canon and Nikon, you'll have to spend some money for good lenses.

quote:

---

Don't discount the mirror-less cameras made by Sony, Panasonic (Lumix) and Fuji. The knock against the earlier version of those camera was the speed of locking focus and low light focus ability, but the latest versions are very close in ability to DSLR cameras. These cameras are generally much lighter and smaller than even starter DSLR's and the lenses are smaller and light too. Easier to carry around and easier for smaller hands to hold.

---

My fuji and basic 18-55 take the sharpest pics of any I've ever used. Autofocus still isn't there (mine is an older model) but I'm extremely impressed by everything else. I've bought into their system. Outside of their XC line, their lenses are spendy, no cheapie here.

Right, without the mirror movement and slap of a typical DSLR you eliminate a major source of vibration and have a better chance of a sharp capture.

More expensive DSLR's have the option to lock/lift the mirror before taking a picture. Also using LiveView amounts to the same functionality, but focus speed and shutter lag sometimes result.