Best dslr out there under $2000?

Question

Best dslr out there under $2000?

Answer 1

Nikon D300.

The person who submitted your 2nd answer nailed it.  

I bought one in April hoping I was making the right decision and it's even better than I had hoped for.  

If you need an alternative, the Sony A700 uses the same CCD as the Nikon, but everything else about the Nikon beats the Sony.

Answer 2

Canon Rebel XTi.

Amazing camera.  

Can run anywhere from $600-$1200 depending if you buy it with the lens kit or not.

Answer 3

The D300, no question.  I had been using a D200 for nearly 18 months when I got the D300 ... whoosh!  What a camera.  The features, especially when fine tuning white balance are superb.  The huge LCD with a ginormous number of pixels and super zoom to look for image sharpness is rather amazing.

Of course for you scientists who shoot through telescopes and microscopes the live view actually works...It actually has a live view system that works .. in two modes, in a fixed platform (like on a tripod) and hand held.

Unless you have some experience using 35 mm SLR's or DSLR's, the camera may become frustrating.  This is not an all automatic, glorified P&S camera, but a real tool that can be used by professional photographer, shooting in any field (scientific, wedding, editorial, medical, spots, etc)

Answer 4

Go with Nikon!

If you want to save your money go with a D60.

If you have more money to spend you may want to go with a D80, D200, or D300! :)

Or just wait until the new Nikon D90 comes out!

I heard it will in November...

Answer 5

Ask yoruself this question:

What does my camera body need to do and what am I going to use it for?

The Pentax k20d kicks Nikon's D300. It's a great performer, Pentax has some of the sharpest glass out there and the body is weather sealed. It's a perfect combo. Plus you can snag the body at under $1000. How perfect! That leaves you with $1000 bucks to spend on some of pentax's new glass. The glass is so good, it's top quality and it's undoubtedly better than a lot of Nikon stuff out there. Do some research... dont' buy just because of a name.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_...

Answer 6

EOS-1 ds, D2x, or 5D

Answer 7

D300, given the last week's price reduction from Nikon on the D3 and D300 (D300 body only now just barely over USD1500 street price in Japan).

Answer 8

For the camera alone, there is no serious answer other than the Nikon D300.  Don't take my word for it.  Besides all of the answers above me who named the D300, read this review:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond30...

The conclusion says, "Nikon's biggest problem now will be bettering the D300; it raises the bar to a new high, and represents the state of the art despite strong competition from the likes of Canon, Sony and Olympus. There's simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market."

Nikon just dropped the price on the camera, so you can even get the D300 with an acceptable lens for under $2,000.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/51...

Here's my stock answer on the D300, which I own and love.  Like fhotoace says, it is a MAJOR step up from the D200.

~~~~~~

Nikon D300

I have had mine since December 2007.  I got the D200 in January 2006, so I used that for almost two years before getting the D300.  As great as the D200 is, the D300 is a phenomenal improvement.  The D300 is now $500 more than the D200 and I would say that it is worth every penny of that.

You can read reviews everywhere by now, but the major difference is obviously the switch to the CMOS sensor and the new Expeed processor.  Both are great moves for Nikon.  The camera has excellent image quality, exceptional low-light performance, and very fast auto-focus.  It has many features that make it easier to use faster than the D200.  Live view is not something that you will use the same way it is used in a point and shoot camera, but when it is appropriate, it is a major enhancement.  I appreciate the ability to show the top LCD info on the reaer LCD.  It's much larger and easier to see.  If the camera is on a tripod, this feature along with live view really make your life easier.  There is an in-camera dynamic range booster called "Active D-Lighting" that helps with unevenly lit subjects and scenes.  It's not the same as shooting HDR, but it is a step in that direction.  I could go on for an hour about all the features, but it has a 400 page user manual!  That tells you something.

See the review in PopPhoto where the by-line says, "...pushed the D300 to new performance records in the Pop Photo Lab." http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4911/cam...

See where PopPhoto chose the D300 as the 2007 Camera of the year:

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4857/cam...

See the 4½ minute video explaining why:

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4925/cam...

See Michael McNamara's editorial on digital surpassing film in the March 2008 issue of Popular Photography and see how highly he praises the Nikon D3 and D300.  If people keep saying this kind of stuff about the camera, it's going to start selling at a $200-500 premium...

See the dpreview.com review where the D300 where they conclude, "There's simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market."

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond30...

See Ken Rockwell's review where he says, "The Nikon D300 is the world's best amateur camera."

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d300.ht...

I must say that I have not read a bad review on the D300 yet.  Practically the only complaint I've read is that it is so hard to find something to complain about!

See a few of my samples and while you are here, click on the link to "All public photos tagged D300."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

Specific samples:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...