Best digital camera?

Question

Hello,

I am looking for a good camera with professional results. I will be taking pictures in the Caribbean on a regular basis so it has to be great with landscapes and zooming. I will also be traveling in England and will be taking both landscape and close up pictures (people). I would also like to have one that keeps dust off the lens (vibrates) effectively because I will be spending a month in desert areas of Africa.

I know this is a lot of information but I really need this camera a soon as possible. As for the weigh, It does not really matter and my budget goes up to 1200$ CAN.

Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

If you're looking for professional results and weight isn't a concern, your best bet will be a decent lens on a consumer digital SLR camera. I mention the lens first because the quality of your shots will be determined by the glass in front of the camera, not the camera itself. For the most part, all DSLR's on the market from all the major camera manufacturers are going to take professional quality pictures if a good photographer is using good glass with them. When searching for a lens, a great website to check out is www.slrgear.com. Find the lens(es) that would suit you in both price and quality, and then choose a camera to go with it. I very very rarely used zoom lenses, I normally go with fixed focal lens (no zooming) for their quality, but I can attest to the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 as being a high quality piece of glass.

As for the camera, the consumer-level offerings of Canon (400D/450D), Nikon (D80), Olympus (E-510), and Pentax (K10D/K20D) will all be great choices. Canon and Nikon will be more readily available because these are the two biggest camera manufacturers. These are most often the systems used by professionals because of the huge selection of lenses and accessories available. Both Olympus and Pentax offer the most camera for your buck, but that's countered with the fact that you may have issues finding professional lenses to go with your camera if you ever decide to get into more specialized niches. One thing I do have to say for the Pentax K10D and K20D is that both have excellent weather sealing against dust and water, which sounds like that could be useful in your travels to distant lands. This weather sealing is available for other cameras, but the Canon and Nikon equivalents will cost more than your budget for just the camera. A great website that I always use for reviews on camera bodies is www.dpreview.com