Prosumer cam or Entry level DSLR?

m-jeri

m-jeri

A Nobody.
Skilled
Hi all.

I am about to buy a new cam(by this month end).. been digging to get a 500D.. guess that plane did a crash landing.

My budget is 20k only. Maybe, maybe if possible 25k.

Type of pics i take are mostly during tours, functions and special occasions.

So should i look for a high end prosumer or a entry level DSLR like 1000D or D3000.

I use macro and zoom a lot on my old cams. Prime and Zoom lens dont come cheap for a DSLR. And for 25k i will be missing out on both. unless i use the kit lens for now and upgrade to a all in one tamron/sigma len later. but most kit lens i have seen are basically avg. just good for normal pics. no scope of versatility.

On the other hand only gripe i have abt prosumers is the small sensor. other than that i dont find one bad thing. but i never take print outs of any pic. Maybe few A4 size pics.

Last cams i have used for long are from fuji and canon. but i am no loyal fanboy. Any models in my budget i am game for..

so please give me ur suggestions...

TIA

m-J
 
m-jeri said:
Hi all.

I am about to buy a new cam(by this month end).. been digging to get a 500D.. guess that plane did a crash landing.

My budget is 20k only. Maybe, maybe if possible 25k.

Type of pics i take are mostly during tours, functions and special occasions.

So should i look for a high end prosumer or a entry level DSLR like 1000D or D3000.

I use macro and zoom a lot on my old cams. Prime and Zoom lens dont come cheap for a DSLR. And for 25k i will be missing out on both. unless i use the kit lens for now and upgrade to a all in one tamron/sigma len later. but most kit lens i have seen are basically avg. just good for normal pics. no scope of versatility.

On the other hand only gripe i have abt prosumers is the small sensor. other than that i dont find one bad thing. but i never take print outs of any pic. Maybe few A4 size pics.

Last cams i have used for long are from fuji and canon. but i am no loyal fanboy. Any models in my budget i am game for..

so please give me ur suggestions...

TIA

m-J
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How about E-PL1 now with kit lens and procure the required adapters for older lenses. You'll get some AWESOME macro and zoom lenses in old mounts at throw away price :D. I got a macro kit for about 8k which can help me go up to 4:1 mag ;).
 
Please explain. that model was not even in my list thats why..

and i have no idea abt that category of DSLR. 4/3rd or something like that r8?.

EDIT

no mate.. that cam form factor blows for me. its small for me i guess. reminds me of a kodak cam i had like 5 or 6 years ago.

I want a firm grip like DSLR form factor. I am too used to it.
 
In my opinion as a prosumer user for the past 2 years, it would be better if you postpone your purchase for a few more months, save up sufficiently and buy the DSLR of your choice. A prosumer is definitely better than a P&S. But you will miss on quite a lot, especially if you are a serious enthusiast.
 
why not buy a second hand DSLR (saw 1 500d being sold for 26~30k) ? Also in future instead of buying a prosumer cam invest that money in better lens
 
m-jeri said:
Please explain. that model was not even in my list thats why..

and i have no idea abt that category of DSLR. 4/3rd or something like that r8?.

EDIT

no mate.. that cam form factor blows for me. its small for me i guess. reminds me of a kodak cam i had like 5 or 6 years ago.
I want a firm grip like DSLR form factor. I am too used to it.
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As I have been stating on the other thread that DSLR takes a lot of effort to master and the learning curve is pretty steep but interesting. And DSLR is a money pit, you'll keep adding stuff to it. My case was like yours, just that the 1000D was above 30k (in 2009) and my budget was just 20k. So I went to Jayesh (Fotocircle) and asked for an FZ28, he gave me the quote for it as 20k. I was about to buy it, but I asked him if he has any used DSLR, and he gave me a 350D with 18-55 lens (decent condition) and I haven't regretted that decision :). But on the other hand, my camera body still remains the same, I have added more lenses, tripod, flashes etc (total expenditure has been more than 50k+ now). Basically, what I am trying to say is, if you think you'll enjoy photography, dive into DSLR (a money pit) else invest in a Prosumer for now, explore it, see how often you'll use it and then go ahead and buy a DSLR next year.

P.S: I really was pissed with my DSLR unless I got the 50mm f1.8, and trust me the kit lens at times can become a major PITA.

Here's a friend's photostream, he uses a P&S and man I wish I could make photographs like him :(.
Flickr: zeeography's Photostream
 
Thnx all for the replies

@logisto

Its been like over a year since i had no cam. its getting to me. I been adjusting with my mobile cam's and my elder bro's DSLR.

but missed a lot of clickaccasion due to no good cam. so i need to get one.. been pushing this for long time.. :(

@rishabh...

my optimum and most prolly budget is 20k.. only if i get a good enough deal for a nice dslr will go for 25k range.

@Hell

I like taking pics. and i do love the amount of options a DSLR can give me. guess once u had a feel for it nothing comes close.

but the deal u got is a no brainer. :). if i can get a good enough deal for a DSLR in my budget range i will definitely go for that.

Can live with a kit IS lens for now. Can borrow a lens from someone i know for sometime.

And yeas... its the photographer's talent more than the camera.
 
m-jeri said:
On the other hand only gripe i have abt prosumers is the small sensor. other than that i dont find one bad thing.
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And because of the small sensor you'll have issues with dof, noise, dyanmic range.

Also, images come out way too soft at both ends of the lens. Then there's shutter lag. And if you're interested in macros then you'll only get 1:1 with a dslr.

tbh a superzoom will only give you decent results for landscapes. For action, macro, portraits etc dslr's are lot better.

But it really depends on how much time and money you want to invest.
 
for now 20k.. maybe 25k if i get that good of a deal.

Maybe 6 months later a 55-250... :S.

Not so cool with grey market items.. else
 
Trust me when I say you will be disappointed with a prosumer, especially after your stints with a DSLR. Take it out of the equation, and concentrate on getting a DSLR at your budget right now, or just a basic P&S for 6 to 7k now, and a DSLR of your choice later.
 
Anshul said:
Also, images come out way too soft at both ends of the lens. Then there's shutter lag. And if you're interested in macros then you'll only get 1:1 with a dslr.
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Not true. You can get magnification more than 1:1 with a DSLR (Using ext. tubes or a lens like Canon MPE65 which gives 5:1 mag).

m-jeri said:
for now 20k.. maybe 25k if i get that good of a deal.

Maybe 6 months later a 55-250... :S.

Not so cool with grey market items.. else
Click to expand...
Umm, any reason you are not looking at grey market? AFAIK, this is one of the few markets that I trust when it comes to grey market. And especially when dealing with good dealers, you should never have a problem. Also, you can look around for used lenses, I have seen a very good condition 55-250 that went for about 6-7k here in bangalore.

My friend wanted to buy a Canon 1000D and Jayesh quoted 21k (this was like a month back) with b & w. So, yeah, I think that will be a good deal for you. The only reason why I would say go for Canon over Nikon is because of AF motor being present on the body. Which means, that you can use almost all lenses with autofocus on this body, not so with a nikon camera. The Nikon D3000, D5000, D40, D60 do not have an af motor on the body and you will end up manual focusing with non AF-S lenses.

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Anshul said:
While that's true, good luck getting sharp results in lowlight conditions with a superzoom.
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And the same holds true for a kit lens on a DSLR :), unless you're using a camera that can give acceptable results at high ISO.
 
Hellwrath said:
Not true. You can get magnification more than 1:1 with a DSLR (Using ext. tubes or a lens like Canon MPE65 which gives 5:1 mag).

.
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should have worded it differently :p

I meant you won't get those results with a superzoom.
 
@logisto

That makes much sense. :S. guess HS10 is out of the equation

@Hell..

1000D got AF in body?. I thght it was like Nikon D3000, in lens. Still its cheaper. but dont u think Nikon is more User friendly cams.?

and grey market.. well, when one is spending 20k+ .. isnt it better to get company support?..
 
m-jeri said:
@Hell..

1000D got AF in body?. I thght it was like Nikon D3000, in lens. Still its cheaper. but dont u think Nikon is more User friendly cams.?

and grey market.. well, when one is spending 20k+ .. isnt it better to get company support?..
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Yep, all canon bodies have AF motor on the body and don't depend on the lens. To be frank, I haven't had a chance to play around with a Nikon body as much as I'd have liked to. The thing with a DSLR is, you can't go wrong with either of the system in terms of usability as both will take sometime getting used to. Nikon definitely has a better grip, but I don't complain anymore as I got a battery grip for my 350D and it feels AWESOME!

As far as the grey market stuff goes, getting a body with b & w makes sense, more so, because you get free service a couple of times, def worth it. But the price difference in lenses is so high that I prefer grey market over the regular ones. Even with slightly better bodies, for ex, 50D is priced at 50k+ with b & w, where as we can get it for 39k in grey market. So, depending on the price difference, you can go with either the grey market or the retail one. In bangalore, many a times when someone wanted to buy a camera from the canon pro zone, they were sent to Jayesh as he gives the best price here.
 
^^ Yes M-Jeri is right. :)

Canon decided to have the AF in the lens when they launched the EOS mount. Nikon however kept the AF mechanism in the body till the launch of the D40.

Also, at least for a camera body, I would suggest getting it with warranty but there is nothing inherently wrong with buying from the grey market if you know the dealer.
 
well.. i do know the top dealer in tvm via a friend. guess ill go around there tmrw and check if there is something for me. :)
 
Hellwrath said:
Here's a friend's photostream, he uses a P&S and man I wish I could make photographs like him :(.
Flickr: zeeography's Photostream
Click to expand...

Which P&S camera :O (theres no EXIF data on any of the images)? I'm not doubting your friends talent but that pretty darn impressive for a P&S unless he had done some minor editing .....
 
Hellwrath said:
Yep, all canon bodies have AF motor on the body and don't depend on the lens. To be frank, I haven't had a chance to play around with a Nikon body as much as I'd have liked to. The thing with a DSLR is, you can't go wrong with either of the system in terms of usability as both will take sometime getting used to. Nikon definitely has a better grip, but I don't complain anymore as I got a battery grip for my 350D and it feels AWESOME!

As far as the grey market stuff goes, getting a body with b & w makes sense, more so, because you get free service a couple of times, def worth it. But the price difference in lenses is so high that I prefer grey market over the regular ones. Even with slightly better bodies, for ex, 50D is priced at 50k+ with b & w, where as we can get it for 39k in grey market. So, depending on the price difference, you can go with either the grey market or the retail one. In bangalore, many a times when someone wanted to buy a camera from the canon pro zone, they were sent to Jayesh as he gives the best price here.
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Sorry Vereesh bhai, but I had learned bit different thing..

I guess, no Canon body has AF motor in them... instead all Canon lens (atleast EF not sure of FD) have them.. hence AF is not the issue irrespective of the lens u pick..

whereas Nikon had the AF motor in cam body until they came with D40 and started producing AF-S series..
 
BF1983 said:
^^ Yes M-Jeri is right. :)

Canon decided to have the AF in the lens when they launched the EOS mount. Nikon however kept the AF mechanism in the body till the launch of the D40.

Also, at least for a camera body, I would suggest getting it with warranty but there is nothing inherently wrong with buying from the grey market if you know the dealer.
Click to expand...

ashvarybabul said:
Sorry Vereesh bhai, but I had learned bit different thing..

I guess, no Canon body has AF motor in them... instead all Canon lens (atleast EF not sure of FD) have them.. hence AF is not the issue irrespective of the lens u pick..

whereas Nikon had the AF motor in cam body until they came with D40 and started producing AF-S series..
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Oops, may be my facts were messed up or may be I never checked up on what I heard. Thanks Brendon and Ashvary. One question though, in that case, why doesn't the D40 focus with a 50mm af lens?
RD274 said:
Which P&S camera :O (theres no EXIF data on any of the images)? I'm not doubting your friends talent but that pretty darn impressive for a P&S unless he had done some minor editing .....
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It's a sony P&S. Don't really know the model name. And yes, most of the photographs you see on flickr would have been edited to some extent. And the JPEG file that you get from your camera is also a processed or an edited photograph :).
 
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