Camera Labs

Very simply my question which is the best??? I want a good all rounder which is very good for sports photography, can take good video & is easy to use bearing in mind this is my first step into the world of DSLR. I have narrowed my search down to these 3 but I just cannot make up my mind. Thanks in advance Padraig.

They are all good, as are many others by these brands. Go to a shop and buy the one you prefer the feel of. That will be the one you are happiest with.

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

More info needed. What cameras have you considered, before narrowing your search to these? What reasons did you choose to narrow down to these ones? What types of photography do you need them for (daytime kids playing sports, indoor kid sports, outdoor fast sports, professional sports, professional indoor sports? Personal use or professional use? What do you consider important in video - aperture control, autofocus, both, neither? What other photography might you use the cameras for?

Right off the bat, one can see you've got three not-really-comparable cameras you've narrowed down to, which makes one wonder what your criteria were to arrive at these three. Based on price alone? Brand name? Features? Image quality or ability? The 500D is a very entry-level model, not as good at higher ISOs and not very fast at continuous shooting. The D5000 is an outgoing model discontinued recently - a nicer entry model with good high ISO ability, and some lens limitations as it doesn't have an in-body focus motor. The KR is a brand-new model and better at high ISO and a fast shooter compared to the others, with a more limited overall lens selection from Pentax. All, by the way, are fine cameras - but different photographers with different needs would likely not even cross shop some of these cameras.

I'd say if 'sports' is going to include any challenging lighting or tracking motion, the Pentax is going to be a bit faster at continuous frame rate, with the Nikon a notch behind, and both capable at higher ISO levels. I'd encourage you to revisit other brands and models too, as there are some which would be comparable to these two which aren't on your list, such as the Canon T2, Sony A500/550/580, Sony A33/55, Nikon D3100, and Pentax K5...it would be good to know why those weren't on your list or why you eliminated those from consideration.

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

And if U ask me, camera's like the T2i or the 550D are very beginner friendly. If you do some reading about the basics of photography and do some reading on this forum/website. You'll begin to understand pretty quickly.

I can't speak for the other cameras but from what if heard/seen, they are slightly more complicated. But don't quote me on that because I have little to no knowledge about these cameras.

If you do want to go for a Rebel for example, do keep in mind that the slow continous shooting will not be ideale for shooting sports.

Each camera and brand will have it's strong and weak points.. up to you to find out wich one suites you best. Just remember to maybe test the cameras you are considering or atleast do allot of reading. So you know exactly what you are buying

Good luck finding your camera!

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550D + 18 - 55mm kitlens
50 mm F1.8
I apologize in advance for my poor spelling..

If video recording is that important to you, you may have to consider crossing out the D5000 as it can only shoot 720p videos for up to five minutes regardless of the capacity of your memory card. It also can't auto-focus in video mode either.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

The D3100 has full time AF during video (Which is 1080p by the way), it has a pretty good Sony 14MP sensor with low noise and pretty good for beginners. It's 3FPS frame rate may be a bit slow for sports, however you could be the judge of that. It'd certainly recommend it.

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

for Me it is Canon.

Design and layout

simplicity
stand alone shutter (no switches surrounding it)

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Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

For me, the Canon of course!

go for the 550D, its like a mini version of a 7D!

User friendly button layout (not like nikon spread all over everywhere)

well the nikon has fulltime AF on video mode, but it miss focuses the object most of the times if you want to film something moving.

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http://www.AnderssonPhoto.com
Cameras: Leica M8, Nikon FE-2, Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, 40D
Lenses: Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm 1.4, Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm 5.6 ASPH II, Nikkor AI-S 28mm 2.8, Canon 24-70 2.8L, 85mm 1.2L II, 300mm 2.8L IS, TS-E 45mm 2.8, Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro
Canon 1.4x/2X TC II, Canon 580EX II X2, Gitzo + Manfrotto.
Wishlist: Leica Monochrom, Summilux 50 ASPH, Voigtlander 35mm 1.2 ASPH II

Sigh, Canon fanboys!

What the final decision really does come down to is which one feels better in your hands. Which button layout do you like the best? Which one would you like to hold all day long in practice? Go to your local camera shop and try them all out. Whichever one feels the best in your hands should be the one that you purchase. I like the Nikon's button placement and the feel of the shutter buttons (At least the 'squishy' shutter button on my D7000), ergo I bought Nikon. However, you may like the Pentax or Canon.

As for the fulltime AF, I think that Don is right, it's pretty much useless.

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

Sigh, Canon OR Nikon fanboys...

Just sayin', apparently we all tend to recommend the brand we use personally ...

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Sony α77V/VG-C77AM/α350/18-70/70-400 G SSM/NEX-5/18-55 OSS/Lowepro Pro Trekker 600 AW/CompuTrekker AW/Nova 140 AW/Street & Field gear/Toploader Pro 75 AW. And a huge wishlist...

My photos on Flickr...

@Joris Van den Berghe

I guess that's a good sign, that we al chose the right camera

There will propably be few "bad" camera's...

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550D + 18 - 55mm kitlens
50 mm F1.8
I apologize in advance for my poor spelling..