Camera Labs

Hi All

First of all a great site.

A little about me, my father taught me how to do D&P at the age of 6, have owned film cameras such as Yashica FR1, Contax 139, Contax RTS II and Contax 159. I switched to digital in 2000 with a Fuji 4900 and have been very happy with since then. I worked in IT for 30 years and am about to retire. I bought my daughter a Canon a710is last month and was amazed what you can now get for £200.

Been thinking of getting a DSLR as the only thing that annoys me about the Fuji is the lack of a realtime electronic viewfinder (for sports panning etc).

Having now read a lot of reviews, I am now more confused that ever - all I want is a decent SLR with decent optics based on SD cards, with long battery life.

Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Andy

Hi Andy, welcome to the Cameralabs website!

Ruling out any DSLR which can't take SD is certainly one way to narrow down your choices, but it does mean you're missing out on Canon and Olympus to name but two. I assume you've made this decision based on an existing collection of SD cards, but remember at current prices, you could be paying just $25 USD or £15 GBP for a 2GB card - and a decent brand one at that.

But if you're after a first-time DSLR which takes SD, then the obvious range to consider is from Nikon: the D40, D40x and D80 should all be on your shortlist depending on budget, resolution and features.

Our D40x verdict sums up all three models:

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/NikonD40x/page6.shtml

Pentax are also an option for SD, but I've only personally tested the higher-end K10D, and from my time with it, I'd say it's not a great first-time DSLR unless you like tweaking. The K100 could be worth adding to your shortlist though.

Gordon

Hi, Andy!
Great, you contacted CameraLabs on your quest for a satisfying DSLR!
I'm sure you'll be astonished, what a DSLR can do for you even when you consider how far the compacts have evolved in the last years!
Obviously image quality (I.Q.) is at the centre of your interest. Let me tell you: I was running around with some decent Sony compacts and never thought that DSLRs could give me any benefit. Unitl I met the Nikon D80 and was sold on the jump in I.Q. that you can get out of a DSLR.
But most of the I.Q. depents on the sensor of the cam and the lens - not the memory cards
So if you're really into some serious improvement in I.Q. consider the cameras that are tested here at CameraLabs without regard to the memory type.
But fortunately, time and again, Nikon bodies and optics turn out to be very hhigh quality gear and they (D80 and D40(x)) take SD(-HD) cards. So you can kill two birds with one stone: Get astonishing I.Q. and (re)use your SD-cards - if you buy Nikon gear. But this fun is starting at 700EUR upwards
So you better think about your budget...

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses