What DSLR to get with $2000 budget?

[lsisaxon]

I am quite interested in your previous post .... wat lens were you using when you use the D100 camera and what lens were you using when you use the films. What ISO were you using at both times? While films produce grains, digital produces noise .......

I can't recall for the film because someone else shot those. Probably ISO 100 but I think the lens is a 28-70, can't recall whether it's Nikon or Tokina.

The D100 is on ISO200, the lens is the Nikon AF-S 18-70/3.5-4.5.

 

[vivientan]

Hi Vivien!

Long time no see, hope you are fine. BTW you still have your KM film bodies and lenses rite? Have you ever considered 5D/7D? If you are looking for other brands of DSLR, I think Canon 20D would fit the bill. Its currently new price is ard $2.3k, very close to 2k, and 8 MPix, can blow up to fairly large prints, and also very good noise control. :thumbsup:

If your budget is higher (closer to 3k), D200 is also worth considering, an excellent all rounder DSLR and one of the best in market rite now (for non pro DSLR class)

Hey Steven!

Yes, I'm still a KM user. My 1st choice is the 7D but concerned cos it's only a 6MP camera. However, after talking to some guys and seeing the replies to my post, it seems that there's really not much diff between a 6MP and 10MP camera if I'm using interpolation for enlarged images. Will want to stick to KM as far as possible, if not I'll feel like a deserter to my old master

 

[lsisaxon]

Hi edfck,

Thanks for your advice, actually I'm still relatively new in this though. My current camera is the Asahi Pentax SV which is a great camera but it sort of broke down on me so I'm thinking of upgrading to a DSLR and actually I'm not very sure of the features which I will use cause I'm more into photography for a hobby and area of interests are sceneries and people and places. Not so much for commercial use. So actually I'm still not sure whether to get D70 or D200. Moreover, I don't know what to look out for when buying like for D200, there's some firmware issue right, which is better if I wait for the later batch or something?

I'm very grateful for your advice and thank you very much.

What is the likelyhood that you will be blowing prints to gigantic size? If you're sticking mostly to 4R prints, D70s is more than sufficient. The file sizes are also manageable (~2.5Mb) unlike the higher mp cameras, each .jpg can hit ~4.5Mb. Of course you can shoot at a lower mp, but if you do that often enough, it would not be worth the premium you need to pay for a higher mp body. You could probably buy another lens with that money.

 

[blurblock]

I can't recall for the film because someone else shot those. Probably ISO 100 but I think the lens is a 28-70, can't recall whether it's Nikon or Tokina.

The D100 is on ISO200, the lens is the Nikon AF-S 18-70/3.5-4.5.

Oh .... then can you take out the film and read the record number of the film to check what ISO is that film?

AFS 18-70 /3.5-4.5 is a pretty good lens, even though it is a kit lens.

Now maybe you can recall what aperture are all these using?

 

[trlnlty]

what kind of photography?

its still life/outdoors

i'd suggest used xt + 17-40L

 

[Snoweagle]

what kind of photography?

its still life/outdoors

i'd suggest used xt + 17-40L

Nice combo, don't forget the 430EX speedlite.

 

[lsisaxon]

Oh .... then can you take out the film and read the record number of the film to check what ISO is that film?

AFS 18-70 /3.5-4.5 is a pretty good lens, even though it is a kit lens.

Now maybe you can recall what aperture are all these using?

Oops.. Sorry, was using the 24-85/2.8-4 on the D100, not 18-70. Here's part of the EXIF. Film should be Fuji 200 (just checked with the photographer)
Since I wasn't the one shooting for the film, I have no shooting data. The film photographer is shooting professionally, so I don't think he remembers the data. I would not, especially when it was 2 years ago.

Here's the EXIF of the D100 shot.
ImageDescription -
Make - NIKON CORPORATION
Model - NIKON D100
Software - Ver.2.00
ExposureMode - Auto
WhiteBalance - Manual
FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 52 mm
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Normal
SubjectDistanceRange - Unknown
ExposureTime - 1/60 seconds
FNumber - 5.00
ExposureProgram - Normal program
MaxApertureValue - F 3.25
MeteringMode - Multi-segment
LightSource - Cloudy weather
Flash - Strobe return light detected
FocalLength - 35.00 mm

 

[blurblock]

Oops.. Sorry, was using the 24-85/2.8-4 on the D100, not 18-70. Here's part of the EXIF. Film should be Fuji 200 (just checked with the photographer)
Since I wasn't the one shooting for the film, I have no shooting data. The film photographer is shooting professionally, so I don't think he remembers the data. I would not, especially when it was 2 years ago.

Here's the EXIF of the D100 shot.
ImageDescription -
Make - NIKON CORPORATION
Model - NIKON D100
Software - Ver.2.00
ExposureMode - Auto
WhiteBalance - Manual
FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 52 mm
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Normal
SubjectDistanceRange - Unknown
ExposureTime - 1/60 seconds
FNumber - 5.00
ExposureProgram - Normal program
MaxApertureValue - F 3.25
MeteringMode - Multi-segment
LightSource - Cloudy weather
Flash - Strobe return light detected
FocalLength - 35.00 mm

Gald to know those ..... the iso 200 film does seems to produce relatively better results then ur output.

 

[edfck]

Hi, just wondering why nobody suggests a D50 coupled with a decent lens?

i heard the d50 has got more advance tech than d70. not sure how true is this

 

[lsisaxon]

Gald to know those ..... the iso 200 film does seems to produce relatively better results then ur output.

Paiseh. Just got to know that the film was also using the 24-85/2.8-4. Same lens.
I would like to know what aspect do you find the film better than the digital. For one, I would think that the contrast for film seems better. Sharpness wise, I think it would not be a fair comparison because I picked regions which are similar but were not in the focus for the digital shots.

I just wanted to show the graininess of film compared to a 6mp digital sensor. If I had downsampled the 6mp image to a 4base resolution, I am quite confident that in terms of smoothness, the digital would appear better.

Let's do that again.. This time, another 6mp D100 image is downsampled to 2.2mp and levels adjusted to more closely match the film scan and 100% cropped. So it's grain vs noise again. What do you say? Either is fine for me though I would have probably opted for ISO100 in both instances. Each has its own merits and in this instance it's really hard for me to to say which is better. My only conclusion is that a 6mp DSLR is probably sufficient to match film of the same ISO.

Film ISO 200

Digital ISO 200 - 100% crop from downsized 2.2mp (4base) image

This is the 6mp 100% crop from this same image, levels adjusted to more closely match the film.

 

[shchow]

hi, vivientan,

have you considered Olympus E-500? it's quite a capable camera, you can check for more information at various forums and also the CS Olympus forums. i'm upgrading mine, therefore, intending to sell it as a complete set.

Here is the link...
http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=182394

follow the links, you can also see some pictures taken by me. Just to offer you an option.


Regards,
Sheu Hau

 

[lsisaxon]

i heard the d50 has got more advance tech than d70. not sure how true is this

That I am not sure but it sure has a lot of functions reduced from D70. For example, the matrix metering segments are reduced, only 1 wheel for shutter speed or aperture control (selectable via another button), D70 has 2 wheels. Other customizations like WB has no fine tuning etc.. With the D50, I would say that as your skills grow, it might not be adequate to grow with you. The D70s, for that little bit more, has the potential to grow much further with you.

 

[edfck]

Hi edfck,

Thanks for your advice, actually I'm still relatively new in this though. My current camera is the Asahi Pentax SV which is a great camera but it sort of broke down on me so I'm thinking of upgrading to a DSLR and actually I'm not very sure of the features which I will use cause I'm more into photography for a hobby and area of interests are sceneries and people and places. Not so much for commercial use. So actually I'm still not sure whether to get D70 or D200. Moreover, I don't know what to look out for when buying like for D200, there's some firmware issue right, which is better if I wait for the later batch or something?

I'm very grateful for your advice and thank you very much.

yes there were some firmware issues but they hv already rectify the problem.... well. d200 is generally a good cam but like the saying goes, new doesnt necessory mean gd. u decide wats best for u... cheers