[phildoyle]

May 21, 2008 at 8:30 pm

I ended up getting a Canon 40D and I absolutely love it. I was sort of leaning more towards the Nikon but as so many people said, you can’t make a proper decision until you actually handle the camera. I checked both cameras out in Gunns and within about 10 seconds I knew the Canon was the one for me. I loved the feel of it and the larger size compared to the Nikon gives it a much more professional feeling. Maybe that sounds like a silly reason for choosing it but it worked for me. I also really like the large wheel control on the back. I bought the kit from the UK and went for the 17-85mm USM lens and I find it very good. I know someone mentioned that the kit lenses may not be the best, and perhaps that’s the case, but I did some research on it before I bought and it’s not a bad at all. There was another option that included 2 lenses for a small amount of money extra but I felt I was going to get 2 cheaper lenses rather than 1 better one. So all in all I’m very happy with my choice. In a few years I’m sure I’ll upgrade the body, but at this stage the 10.2mp resolution is sufficient and I can focus on building up my lens collection

My next purchase is going to be a good portrait lens, any suggestions? I heard there’s a new Tamron lens that’s supposed to be great.

[phildoyle]

February 15, 2008 at 12:12 am

Thanks for all the advice. Just to clarify something, I’m not a total amateur. I’ve had a Pentax film SLR for years and I’m well familiar with the techniques of manual camera usage and darkroom techniques. However I haven’t persued it as vigorously as I would’ve liked over the years and I’ve still loads to learn. The camera I buy will be my first foray into digital SLRs so I want to get the most versatile SLR I can afford. My main interest in the future would be studio portraiture and landscapes. So thanks again for all the advice, it’s been very useful. I’ll let you know what I end up getting
Cheers