Buying a new camera

[Early Bird]

We're in need of a new camera. We never use our 35mm film camera anymore and the PAS isn't cutting it for our needs (or wants).It takes a lot of blurry shots and has a lot of lag time when taking pictures. Those are our primary complaints. So I'm looking for recommendations on an entry level DSLR. It will be my husband's birthday gift (September). I took an online quiz that recommended this one:

Cannon Rebel XS

I'm not at all tied to this one, but know there are many excellent and knowledgeable photographers here, so I'd value your recommendations and input.

Thanks.

 

[David Metsky]

The XS isn't current, although I suppose you could still buy one. The current crop of entry level Canon cameras is the T2i, T3, and T3i. The T2i is probably where I'd start, considering the T3i as well. The Nikon D3100 or D5100 are the comparable models in their line. I don't know enough about Sony or Pentax to recommend.

But the camera is only as good as the lens, so you should figure out what you want to do with the camera and pair it with one or more lenses. That's where the big money really comes from in DSLRs, not the camera bodies. The kit lenses are a good place to start, but they're pretty inadequate for wildlife or macro shots. You might need a dedicated lens for either of those to really get results that you want.

If you aren't as interested in all the mucking about with shoot RAW and doing all the color correction, sharpening, etc that you can do with an SLR you might consider the EVIL (electronic viewfinder, Interchangeable lenses) cameras like the Panasonic G-series or the Olympus Pens, but in either case you need to consider lens choice.

The bottom line is that there really are no bad DSLR choices on the market today. Anything from Canon/Nikon/Sony/Pentax will be a fine choice, even with the kit lens. Just be prepared to spend more (and more) if you end up getting some specialized lenses, or even just higher quality lenses.