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Good camera for $300 or less??? (1 Viewer)

SKIP THE 3000! That camera is a bit a flop in my eyes. Get the d3100 or d5100 without question at all. Both are great cameras.
 
zocr-AZ said:
SKIP THE 3000! That camera is a bit a flop in my eyes. Get the d3100 or d5100 without question at all. Both are great cameras.
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+1....I just recently bought my wife the Nikon D3100. And she loves it. Like any slr they take some time to learn but I have no idea how to use it, but in auto focus mode with the standard lens I can even take nice picture. I bought from National Camera Exchange and they offer free class on how to use a slr camera. Another thing a lot of the coral pics are take I believe use a macro lens witch allows you to get really close to your corals. Now Nikon just came out with a new one. Its an affordable macro lens and it takes some nice pic. Good luck with your purchase.
 
reef junkie said:
+1....I just recently bought my wife the Nikon D3100. And she loves it. Like any slr they take some time to learn but I have no idea how to use it, but in auto focus mode with the standard lens I can even take nice picture. I bought from National Camera Exchange and they offer free class on how to use a slr camera. Another thing a lot of the coral pics are take I believe use a macro lens witch allows you to get really close to your corals. Now Nikon just came out with a new one. Its an affordable macro lens and it takes some nice pic. Good luck with your purchase.
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Thanks. I'm starting to lean towards the D3100. Seems like they are all around $650 which is about twice what I was hoping to spend but I guess you get what you pay for.... I did find one at staples.com for $599 but they are sold out:(
 
dougers31 said:
Thanks. I'm starting to lean towards the D3100. Seems like they are all around $650 which is about twice what I was hoping to spend but I guess you get what you pay for.... I did find one at staples.com for $599 but they are sold out:(
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National Camer had it for sale for 599 recently. Might be worth waiting for it to go on sale. Costco had a kit recently also. hope this helps. Go look at both. Nikon and canon, In my studies I found them both to be nice, but the Nikon seem to be easier for me and felt better in my had. IT will def help to go play with them. =
 
My wife(without mentioning it to me) ordered the d3100(Christmas/bday) present... after thinking about it we cancelled the order and are going to wait to see what kind of deal pop up online in the next week or so. I also am starting to become very interested in the Canon T2i which most folks seem to think is better than the d3100, but is also about $100 more.... way too many options out there for a newb like myself;)

[edit]Just found this "Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens" for about $640 w/free ship and no sales tax(?).

Also, I was wondering what other lenses(under $200) would be good for(tank pics) either camera... and what do the numbers on the lenses mean? Is it the larger the number the closer you can zoom in???

Just want to say thanks for everyone's input so far, have learned a lot in the last couple of days:)
 
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That's a good lens for the money. If you can stretch the budget a little further, the 50 1.4 is even better.

There are generally two types of numbers in the lens name. The mm numbers represent the focal length of the lens. Low numbers are wider angle. Higher numbers are telephoto. So your 18-55mm go from a wide end of 18mm to a long end of 55mm. Another popular value type lens in the canon range is the 55-250mm. This lens goes from a wide end approximately the same as the long end of the other lens to a "zoom" of about 5x further. Those two lenses will give you a basic kit. The 18-55 will be good for inside pics, for example, shots of family events in the house. The 55-250 will be good for outdoor events and sports.

The other type of number is the f (stop) number. This is basically a measure of how large the biggest opening in the lens is. The larger the opening, the more glass there needs to be at a higher quality and the higher the price. This is often referred to as a lens being "fast." A low f number is a bigger opening which means it can take in more light and expose faster.

For a good tank shot, you want a macro lens with a low f number which means the lens is "fast" and you can get shorter shutter times and less motion blur. The downside is a shallow depth of field. A macro lens is just like the other lenses except that it can focus very close to the object. This capability makes it very expensive. You just aren't going to find a good macro lens for $200.

What you might be able to do is put extension tubes on a 50mm prime. I don't actually have extension tubes, but it is on the list to get a set to play around with. I think Nate might do this and perhaps he could help you more on that one.
 
kpete4 said:
The only sub $200 lens I would buy is the 50mm: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-...E7JU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322537483&sr=8-1

It has no zoom, but for the price - you can't beat it. I think its quite a bit better than the 18-55 kit (that sits in my bag and is never used)

Nate shoots w/ the Nikon version of this lens
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So could one use the lens you mention with these extension tubes to get some decent macro shots? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-USA/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html

Or would one need to use the Canon name brand tubes for the best results?

ps. If anyone is looking for the canon T2i dslr with 18-55mm lens you can go to walmart(actual store) and pay $749 plus tax or you can go to either amazon or b&h photo and pay $605(today's price) with no tax and free shipping:)
 
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The link you gave is to the 50mm lens, not the tubes - but you're probably looking at the $10-20 extension tubes.

You can get the same results with these cheap extension tubes but normally you lose the auto focus function (which means you have to focus manually by turning the focus ring on the end of the lens).

You also lose the ability to change the aperture (the f-stop number that Hypertech was talking about) once the tubes are in place. Most people who use these learn to set that first, then add the tubes.

For the price, they do what you're looking for - but as a beginner, they may not be the best immediate option.

The Canon extension tubes (which cost much more) will allow you to use the camera normal.
 
kpete4 said:
The link you gave is to the 50mm lens, not the tubes - but you're probably looking at the $10-20 extension tubes.

You can get the same results with these cheap extension tubes but normally you lose the auto focus function (which means you have to focus manually by turning the focus ring on the end of the lens).

You also lose the ability to change the aperture (the f-stop number that Hypertech was talking about) once the tubes are in place. Most people who use these learn to set that first, then add the tubes.

For the price, they do what you're looking for - but as a beginner, they may not be the best immediate option.

The Canon extension tubes (which cost much more) will allow you to use the camera normal.
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Thanks Kyle!
Looks like it still will(even with the canon tubes) be a more cost effective way of getting some nice pics:)
 
ironman said:
lol, so much for the $300.00 price limit.
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Yeah, I blame Kyle, Matt(Hyper), My Wife, online reviews and some of the others on here for getting me to bite the (first)bullet and use my wife's credit card to buy my Christmas/b.day present. Melissa(wife) is really good at getting me to spend my own money on myself. Thanks Honey!


ps. She made me buy a new ($180)softball bat this year too.... makes me wonder what she's spending on herself....;)
 
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