Good DSLR camera for under 700$

[Torphoto]

+1 for the pentax cameras, I have 2 and adding a k10d, well worth the money.

[ineedaname]

I'm in the market of buying a similar camera myself. The pentax K100D is at the top of my list right now but I'm kinda wavering between that and the Nikon D40.

Both seem to be pretty good value.

I've seen some tests and the Nikon D40 seems to have slightly better picture quality and comes with its own li-ion battery. While I'm not quite sure how many pictures I'll get with the pentax with some 2500mah ni-mh batteries. I know u can get some li-ion rechargeables for the pentax but that would probably set me back another $100.

Looking at some of the lenses, some of them have so many abbreviations in front of them that I have no clue what they mean. Can i still get lenses with IS built in for the pentax or am I stuck with the built in sensor IS as the only option?

[Vapor]

K100D + Eneloops will do ~520shots CIPA (and reports of >750 from some people if used conservatively...) if memory serves me right. Sanyo Eneloops are like...$12-15 for 4. If you also get a decent charger that does a nice slow charge and has separate circuits, the Eneloops will last quite some time too, well over a year at 85% capacity.

Unfortunately there are no K mount IS lenses that I know of...not even for those that want to spend the extra $$ for better IS.

And yeah...lens names are getting insane

[Soulburner]

That's all? My S3 IS has done over 1000 shots with 4 Eneloops. I can always fill a 4GB SD card before they are dead.

500-700 is good, but not what I expected, especially since it has no live view LCD.

[[XC] leviathan18]

i love my eneloops best batteries ive used ever i paid like 20 from amazon with the carger and 4 batteries must have batteries for everything that uses battery in a house lol

[Vapor]

That's all? My S3 IS has done over 1000 shots with 4 Eneloops. I can always fill a 4GB SD card before they are dead.

500-700 is good, but not what I expected, especially since it has no live view LCD.

DSLRs use a lot more power than nearly every P&S....

[Soulburner]

Still surprising to me, since they don't have a live view LCD to continually power, and a lot use manual zoom lenses instead of the automatics on point and shoots.

[Fujimitsu]

Still surprising to me, since they don't have a live view LCD to continually power, and a lot use manual zoom lenses instead of the automatics on point and shoots.

The battery in my D40 lasts an insanely long time, compared to any P&S i've ever used. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the batteries are considerably larger.

[itznfb]

Still surprising to me, since they don't have a live view LCD to continually power, and a lot use manual zoom lenses instead of the automatics on point and shoots.

i didn't really follow what you meant by a lot use manual zoom lenses?? but most DSLRs require lenses that have focusing mechanisms built into the lens. cameras like the D80 and professional series cameras have that mechanism built in the camera, so they are compatible with both types of lenses.

The battery in my D40 lasts an insanely long time, compared to any P&S i've ever used. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the batteries are considerably larger.

the battery in my D50 lasts for about 1200 shots w/flash and about 1700 w/out flash

[Soulburner]

i didn't really follow what you meant by a lot use manual zoom lenses??

Turning the lens by hand rather than pushing a button to extend it.

[Vapor]

Just to show what kind of variance DSLRs have...

(all with the same EL3e battery, CIPA)
D80: 600shots
D200: 340shots
D300: 1000shots

So there's definitely A LOT more than just basic 'what meets the eye' for figuring out battery efficiency.

(note....depending how you shoot, it's possible to get 1800+ shots out of the D200 if you cut back quality and don't use flash)

[Soulburner]

What's up with the D200's battery life of only 340 shots then?

[PoorManPcreview]

Cannon Rebel XT maybe?

[Vapor]

What's up with the D200's battery life of only 340 shots then?

Probably has a very power-hungry processor. Seems when you minimize it's use by dropping megapixels and JPEG quality, battery life skyrockets.

[Magnj]

Watch for a K100 refresher in the near future...

[Soulburner]

To each their own....

I started on Canon 300D, 350D and a 20D with a variety of lenses (some L). None were mine but I had full 24/7 access (and use priority over everyone else who had access ) and I've got to say the K10D is a lot more appealing than any of the Canons were (and I've since briefly used a 400D).

Frankly, I've gotten a little tired of the too-clean look from Canon. And the photographic-control-end of them is very bland....limiting exposure modes (well, in all fairness...they're equal to Nikon), archaic Auto ISO.... No SR without super expensive lenses, newer 400D is uncomfortable for my hands (have to grip with my fingertips because the grip is apparently made for tiny hands).

Don't get me wrong, it takes very, very good pictures without much effort....but compared to the K10D and even the Nikons, it's less fun to use and doesn't have any uniqueness from a feature or output point-of-view.

The shooting modes are more flexible on the K10D for people who are familiar with aperture/exposure/ISO/shutter/etc (i.e., people who prefer to not use scene or Auto modes and can properly expose a photo on their own)...the sensor is the same one from D200 but with only a uni-directional AA filter (meaning higher resolution in exchange for an occasional demosaicing artifact...in RAW if competes with the 40D for detail)...it has in-body SR (no need to have it in-lens [which is very expensive]) and compatibility with every k-mount lens made (yes, SR works on every k-mount lens made...)....it's a heavy, solid camera with weather-proofing seals....great viewfinder....and with firmware 1.20 and 1.30, it has hard-buttons for adjusting everything you'd need. Compared to other ~$700 cameras, it's a lot more bang for the buck. It's not the be-all and end-all of cameras...it's not great for sports or BIF or super low-light, but for a personal camera, it's wonderful, fun to use, intuitive, has amazing image quality in RAW (and film-like in default JPEG mode, which I don't personally find useful) and not to be shrugged off as easily as many Canikon users do.

I personally hate SD(HC) cards, broken too many just in casual use...probably one of my readers being slightly too small and stressing the casing (which falls apart...never had any other problems other than the casing comes apart). So that definitely is a drawback of the K10D for me...probably because I also started on CF MicroDrives which are built like tanks.

Here's my selections for various DSLR niches (btw...I don't shoot JPEG at all)

Starting photography (but want DSLR results/something to build on):
Buy into whatever system you feel you'll use in the end. 3x0D, D40(x), K100D, E410, etc. The basic line, just to make sure you like what you're doing. Get a feel for each one before you buy...some don't 'feel' right even without use.

Small-body DSLR: Oly's...they sacrifice a bit with the 4/3rds system, but the small bodies are really cool and handle very, very well for their size.

Personal (experienced) use: K10D...even more so than a D80/D200 or 400D/40D. Such a vast catalog of lenses at full disposal...great sensor and SR (though the SR isn't as good as some ultra-expensive lens' in-lens SR...but hey, it works with lenses made in the 70s and modern ones just as well, sure-as-poop better than nothing, worth a stop or 2 usually), awesome shooting modes, great viewfinder. No reason to spend more unless you need higher FPS or faster AF (at which point, you're at bodies that are double the cost anyway...see "business" category).

Personal (somewhat inexperienced): 40D/400D most likely...very forgiving cameras with clean image quality. Definitely the 'it' choice...but very conservative in features. Almost the point-and-shoots of the DSLRs... For those wanting to learn a little bit about photography (not hard at all...), K10D...more to grow into and enjoy

Business (not sure what to call this...): if you're good at photography, and have a need for higher FPS or getting moving targets, the D300. D300 is an amazing new camera really...but it's also expensive and if you don't need the extra advantages, no need to spend the extra money.

BIF: Nikon D300 or D3...AF is just awesome on them, go by price and needs (D3 better for dawn/dusk birds, or elusive high-speed dives of course). Not sure how the 1-D mkIII's AF system fares with BIF :-/

Sports: Nikon D3 or Canon 1-D mkIII....depends on which system you're invested in I suppose. D3 is better for basketball and volleyball (low-light, indoors stuff where ultra-high ISO is useful), 1D mkIII has slightly higher FPS and that could be useful as well. Image quality and AF on both are very, very good...but the D3's main selling point is a massive sensor with only 12MP.

Studio portraits: Canon 1-Ds mkIII...21MP, great tethered support, need I say more?

Landscape: Canon 1-Ds mkIII....21MP. Might be at Hasselblad territory by now though....

This is excellent advice.

My personal question to you. I consider myself in the Personal (Experienced) category. You recommend the K10D. However, what if you threw in the requirement for good burst/continuous shooting ability? How does the K10D handle this, and would that change the recommendation? I occasionally shoot moving subjects and it's really nice to be able to review them later and pick out the best in the series.

I also notice you consider the 40D "almost point and shoot" of the DSLR's. So then what is the Digital Rebel?

[lowfat]

Well I just bought a new Digital Rebel XT for $400. Thought that I might as well buy an entry level camera to I figure out if i need something better or not.

[MaxxxRacer]

Your best bet is the Nikon D40x. Its a bit better all around compared to the Canon Rebel XTi and comes with a better kit lens.

Your best bet is to try to find a store giving the rebate where you get the 55-200mm VR lense included with the 18-55mm kit. At Costco they are selling the D40x with 18-55 and 55-200VR for 750+ tax.

I got the D40x and am currently using the 18-55 lense. Here is my flickr page. The more recent photos were taken with the D40x.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxxxracer

DSLRs use a lot more power than nearly every P&S....

I have to disagree with you. I have a prosumer Point and Shoot (olympus C-8080) and it eats through batteries pretty fast. Without any flash usage, I went through an entire battery before I filled up a 1GB CF card at full Jpeg resolution. On the other hand, with my D40x I can fill up a 2GB memory card long before the battery runs out AND that is with using the flash sometimes. furthermore, the battery on the Olympus is 1500 mah whereas the D40x has a 1000 mah battery. That tells me that the D40x is very frugal with battery life.

I have noticed that with Nikon DSLRs (not sure about Canon/Sony/Olympus/Pentax/Fuji) the power management is VERY agressive. The LCD only turns on when neccesary, and shuts off within a few seconds, the camera will go into hibernation after not using it for 8 seconds and the hibernation mode powers it down as much as the on/off switch does. That said, this does not hamper the usabilty of the camera as it takes 1/10 of a second for camera to become usable again.

[Soulburner]

Not all necessarily under $700, but the top choices right now, compared:

Canon EOS 40D
Nikon D200
Pentax K10D

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d/

[chunkylover77]

Man no one giving Sony any love? I got the Alpha 100 for XMAS and am loving it. Now just have to save up some money and get a better lens than the kit lens.

[TheGoat Eater]

my lens cost me $1400.00...my camera cost me $1100.00

what lens? I remember when we got a lens on loan from Canon that was like $14K and picked it up at the airport ... this was back in the good old days of film, like when I was 9yo and then we went to the river and took photos of the Bald Eagles as they are here in the winter. damn those are some good memories... somehow I got from expensive lens to really expensive to used one to what and when

[TheGoat Eater]

Good choices Soulburner

Pentax K10D->Some freakin great features on the K10D for sure - DNG is my favorite feature