I have hobby of photography. I want to buy a Digital SLR camera and lense set. I want to use this for my personal photography as well as professional (participate in competitions and Exhibitions, sell if possible). Which model should I by. Please advise, experts.

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They are all canons.
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I never read Nikon forums...probably the most boring thing to do when I can expriment with the equipments on my own and see the results myself.

Most of them are using Canon because of the simple fact.. inside the staduim there will be a constant and stable lighting situation and the lighting variation is mininal (almost like a studio) .... therefore neither the camera nor the photographer has to do much of adjustments interms of camera settings.

Try this anywhere where there are no overhead lights (like staduim or studio) providing constant lighting...

I think lenses are most important for making good pictures. If you have no idea about
SLR photography you should get Nikon D40 or the equivalent. Invest on good lenses.
Once you start to to feel quite comfortable using camera metering and manual mode
you should shift to Nikon D200(or perhaps D2Xs!!).
good luck.

From my experience...mostly through the net and some by hands on practice....theres good and bad points for both Nikon and Canons.... Canons are the best for sports photography...thats why in almost all sports...you'll see big white lenses all around the arena. Nikon is better than canon in low light/compromised lighting stages.

I think all comes to 2 things:

Budget and
needs (what type of pictures will you be shooting).

I don't have Nikon experience, but I have been using D20 for the last 3 years in clubs (talk about changing lighting!) and I am quite happy with what I get. Also I don't have a fast lens (17-85 mm f/4 - 5.6).

Meant to say Canon 20D, not D20 in my earlier post.

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Hi Camera experts,

Find which cameras were used ?
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Hmmm... Kodak use-and-throw available at your friendly CVS store for $7.99 but also available at your neighborhood Dollar store for, yes you got it, one dollaaaa?

Guys, stop fighting over brands. You need to understand that photography is an art, without proper knowledge of lighting, composition etc,. won't help you make good picture. Camera is just a tool to capture that moment... and digital makes it much easier these days if you know post processing .......

sayami, I assume those pictures are taken with canon because it is named as testcanon and I can not see EXIF data..........good work though.... megu na banlagu photo post yana disan....

Thanks guys. I got a lot idea about the camera. And now I am more confused....Canon or Nikon? My plan is to spend upto $1700. Anyway, I will review all response again and find out. Additional suggestions are wecome.

1700$... It is more than enough..

EOS 400 D + 17-85 IS USM
Digitale SLR, 10.1 MP,
2.5" LCD,
EOS Integrated Cleaning System,
inkl. 17 - 85 IS USM
and some GB memory cards.

It comes down to what kind of pictures you want to take.
1. For Landscapes , potraits etc Nikon D80 or canon 30D either will do.
Just get good wide lenses.
If you want to shoot birds and wild life I recommend canon because they
have Image Stabilaization technology for lot cheaper than nikons vibration reduction
i.e the technology to allow you to take handheld shots in low shutter speeds. And
canon has 100-400mm Ltype lens for reasonable price and is extremely sharp as well.

Both nikon and canon are very good camera makers so you wont go much wrong
in choosing either of those. I like nikons BTW and own a D80 myself and I am loving it
(although i wish it didin have those stupid modes on dial you know those automatic ones).
Good luck.

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Hi divdude
Try Canon 400D.
I am sure you will sell your Nikon for haif price.

and you start talking Cononese from Canonland.

hehe sayami I think i am gonna stick to my D80
400D doesnt even have a programmable Auto ISO
No spot metering
Mirror lock-up buried in a custom menu
no offence yo.

Beside white lenses are so gay hehe.

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For me quality of picture is more important than comforts.
A car with a airconditioner often gets stucked in Hwy.

aabha in US: To confuse you even more:

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

if you are thinking of around 1700, then stretch a little and go full frame with canon 5D (around 1600. - the stretching part was for a great lens).

Also don't, don't fall for the MegaPixel race. Its overhyped.

I dont understand why Canon burried important camera adjustment settings deep inside the menus.

Lighting situations canges constantly and faster accessibilty to these adjustment menus are key to make changes to camera settings instantly for getting better results without missing shots. At least Nikon has addressed this issue to some extent.

Nikon cameras and lenses are backward campatiable. You can use the any lenses made in the last 30 years on the latest DSLRs and still able to use the most important features.

My suggestion- Invest far more on lenses than on camera body. Great optics make better pics.

The other fact is digital cameras are expensive disposable cameras. Evey model gets replaced in about every two years. Ironicaly film cameras dont become outdated like digital ones because every year the scanner have become more and more advanced that can churn out more and more out of scanned film.