Nikon D60, Sony Alpha DSLR-A300, or the Canon EOS 400D / Rebel XTi?

Question

I've read reviews untill it feels like my eyes are bleeding, and after awhile all the reviews blur together. I know in the end I'll have to go to the store and try each camera out. But for now I'd like some opions on these three cameras (hopefully first hand experiance, as I've said I've read a lot of reviews already). I used to take a lot of photos, but that was back with 35mm film only, so it's been awhile. But I plan on getting back into photography so I'd like a camera that will last for awhile and allow me to "grow" into it. Most of my photos will probably be nature photos (animals, landscapes, waterfalls etc ...), so distance and speed will come into play a bit. Not to mention a lot of the photos will have to be taken in less than optimal lighting conditions. Right now I'm looking at arond $1000.00 or so, maybe a little more.

Answer 1

D60 ALL THE WAY. I got mine for graduation and it's AMAZING. It uses an SD card which is more common and less expensive then the sony (Sony) or canon (Compactflash). If you go to http://www.ritzcamera.com you can find great deals on all cameras and you don't pay sales tax or shipping. You can click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellylokken to view my photos with my Nikon D60. Good Luck!!!!!

Answer 2

I guess the first question is what 35 mm SLR do you own?  If you still have lenses for it, then buying the matching DSLR would make good sense.

As you know, your lenses will be a reflection of the subjects you shoot.  For general shooting a 18-55 mm is just fine, for shooting landscapes a 12-24 mm is outstanding and for nature and wildlife something in the 70-300 mm is just about right.  Of course to buy all three lenses at once will blow your budget, so spending under $500 on a camera body and lens will leave you with $500 toward maybe the 70-300 mm since the 12-24 is just under $1000 alone.

Answer 3

Well, let me suggest the Nikon D40 instead of the D60. While the D40 has slightly fewer megapixels (you can't really "see" more than 6MP anyway unless you do heavy cropping) than the D60 and comes with a non-VR kit lens, it is almost identical in it's interface and limitations (AF-S or AF-I lenses). You can get a new D40 on www.amazon.com for $460 compared to $630 for the D60. The money saved with buying a D40 will help fund another lens with more reach (the $250 55-200mm VR or $480 70-300mm VR or if you want an all-around, the pricier $680 18-200mm VR) and a flash unit ($110 SB-400 or fancier $190 SB-600).

I messed around with a Sony dSLR today and it felt to plastic-y to me. More like a toy than a tool. I dislike Canons because of their button placement and user interface (and lens zoom direction). Remember, when choosing a camera it's more important to decide on how you can get around the menus and use the buttons (like it would be while actually taking pictures) quickly and accurately than by the camera's megapixel count and other fixtures.

Best of luck, hope I helped!

Answer 4

In the choises above, I suggest Nikon D60. Coz I hold one and used Nikon D40 as well. :-)

Sony and canon too personally have tested.

I am perfectly happy with my D60, worth the extra money with respect to Nikon D40.