Triumphrat

Ozzieinky · 01-05-2008

You really can't go wrong with a Nikon DSLR, I've had a D70S for a couple of years and I'm more than happy with it.A friend of mine has a D40 and the photo's it takes are of excellent quality.

trypcil · 01-05-2008

Nikon were 'it' for 35 still film cameras but lost their edge to Canon, who invested early and now own the digital market, largely. What do you expect to be photographing on your trip, do you think?

gatling · 01-05-2008

I think Canon and Nikon are probably very close. You would not be making a mistake if you went with the D40X. It is a very capable piece of equipment. I have a lot of Nikon digital photos on my website (www.motofoto.cc).

whoa · 01-05-2008

I came close to the D80, but like the form factor of the D40. Pixels and speed weren't enough to move me to the 40x, but I'd get it now since pricing has moved. I can the lenses from my film camera, but I'm transitioning to AFS for autofocus and metering.

There are a lot of very good reviews, and I used them when choosing between Nikon and Canon. But the photographers I know had a Nikon bias, so I went that way.

If you get the 40x, have a look at David D. Busch's Nikon D40/D40x Digital Field Guide. Its a very good reference.

pratt · 01-05-2008

another great site to do some reading both in the forum and review sections is http://photo.net/

I'm actually in the market myself for a digital SLR...I've held out long enough, but shooting film is just getting too expensive, etc. I think that I'll always have a manual SLR though - as I'm still infatuated with the organic nature of film and I still use trips to the darkroom as my own form of meditation... Having said that - anyone in the market for a Durst Laborator 138S englarger for a really great price???

I'm looking at the Nikon D80. I'm partial to Nikons and am sticking with the brand mostly because of the investment that I have in lenses.

happy shopping and shooting!

Tiger_1050_VT · 01-05-2008

I have a Nikon D1x, a D80 and a CoolPix 5700. Love Nikon and have had great luck with them. Used lenses in great shape are readily available. In some respects I think Canon is superior (especially image stabilization), but the ergonomics have never worked for me. And when you're lugging a camera around and shooting hundreds of images, the fit is important IMO.

I personally think the D40 is a great camera for the money. Good set of features, etc. But the bottom line is any camera made today is going to be outperformed by others in the years ahead. So I recommend getting a decent camera, but go for phenomenal optics which can be used on any camera you might buy in the future.

BishRat · 01-05-2008

Some good points have been made regarding the Nikon/Canon debate. There is no doubt that Canon has the lion's share of the pro market at the moment, and there has been a trickle-down effect (with regards to the technology) into the consumer models. I think the Nikon/Canon ranges are so close in performance and capability that the real decision should be made from the ergonomics point of view.

I've mooched between Canon and Nikon for 35 years, and it's all about what gets you the shot. Which is the most intuitive and "transparent" camera for you? Which controls fall under your hand more readily? I like a bigger camera... my old 35mm bodies always had a motor drive fitted. For me, the Nikon D2 felt right... for someone else, the Canon does.

Don't get hung up on pixel count... unless you're cropping a small portion of the frame for a poster size print the more-is-always-better argument is pretty bogus (IMHO). All you'll end up doing is filling memory cards more quickly & jamming up your hard drive (especially if you do the right thing and shoot RAW). Post-processing with the massive files can take a lifetime unless you've got a mega-fast platform.

Spend your money on good glass rather than more pixels. Be relatively critical of whatever is offered as the standard "kit" lens... consider and upgrade. Look at what your shooting and see what you want... remember that different cameras/models may have different crop factors, so an 18-70 type of lens won't give you the same range on all cameras. I'd always suggest a good mid-range zoom, especially when traveling light on a bike.

It's about the image, not the hardware. That being said, this is a brand-focussed site, so maybe we're all a little partisan by nature

It's easy for me to say that it doesn't really matter if it's Nikon or Canon, but to someone else that may be like saying Triumph or Ducati... makes no difference

ssjones · 01-05-2008

Bought my wife a Rebel XTI for Christmas. So far, she loves it. The pix look unbelieveable on the computer screen compared to my photo's taken with a 5 MP Nikon Coolpix P&S. She had a Rebel 2000 SLR with some two nice lens', and they fit right on the new D-SLR. Looking forward to getting the pix printed. Maybe a good photo printer is the next purchase.

daveforty · 01-05-2008

I recently bought an Olympus DSLR 'kit', camera and two lenses. It is perfectly adequate for what I need. One thing that was a little annoying was that the camera is sold without any storage device fitted, so I had to go out and buy a CF card. Which in turn led me to discover that not all CF cards are equal, and that some are faster (more expensive) than others and that Gb capacity isnt the only thing to consider when buying a storage card.

idahotb · 01-05-2008

I just recently got a Pentax K100D. I am not saying that it is better than any of the other cameras mentioned but it has several advantages. It is compatible with all of the old K-mount lenses (Ashi, Vivitar, Sears, etc.). Its image stabilization is in the camera body rather than in the lenses (which makes any new lenses about $100 cheaper), and it is dead cheap. It allowed me to get a DSLR and variety of lenses and keep the house.