Sheets wrote:So I'm looking at getting my first dSLR since I just can't get the quality I want out of my point and shoot.

In anycase, for climbing and nature photography does anyone have any opinions on the Nikon d40 vs. the d50? I know there are like a million reviews out there but without any dslr experience I have a hard time knowing who to trust.

The D40 is a good introductory model as goes d-SLR. I own a D50 and a D80. I like the D50 for its light weight, but I never use it anymore as my D80 is a superior camera. The D40 more or less represents Nikon's effort to get the point-and-shoot photographers into SLR with a relatively low cost and easy operation. In this sense, the D40 was made to replace the D50. If you're like many of us, you will buy the D40 and before long it will become a backup camera.

In a nutshell, the D40 is Nikon's least expensive and lightest model d-SLR. The D40 has been put together without some of the shortcomings of the D50. It will take very good pictures. In my opinion you should give consideration to what Cannon has to offer as an alternative to the D40 and forget about the D50. See the following review for all the details:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/NikonD40/

I just purchased the Canon Rebel XT. My original reason for discounting the Canon's was the price difference between them and the Nikon's even though I liked the features on the Canon more. But I found a Rebel XT kit for about ~$460.0 which made it comparable in price to the Nikon D40.

I dont think you can go wrong with any of the latest bunch of new dSLRs out there now. Canon and Nikon will always have the best available lens system. But in comparison, the following cameras offer these alternatives for the outdoor photographer.

Olypmpus 410 & 510: Lightest dSLR's

Pentax K20D: 14.2 M built in stabilisation, weather proof. Best value?

Sony A700: same sensor as D300 with cheaper price

Sony A350: tilt LCD

radson wrote: Canon and Nikon will always have the best available lens system.

Good point, radson. And it is the differences between their lens systems that will generally cause one to go with Nikon over Cannon or vice versa. Once one commits, however, it is very difficult to ever go back and change course as the money invested in serious photography will be in the lenses, which will last forever with proper care, unlike the camera itself.

Not a DSLR per se... but all SLR photographers and climbers should take notice.
Sigma is about to release a fixed lens camera with a Foveon 14Mpix sensor - DP1. Focal length is 28mm. Price in the US will be roughly $750. I saw photo samples already and they look impressive. I will be buying one for technical climbing, for sure!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08013108sigmadp1.asp

Lots already written about this elsewhere, but for those who don't know, the Foveon sensor in the DP1 uses stacked color receptors (ie, blue, green red stacked on top of each other), unlike other cameras which have different color receptors side by side.
Sigma has decided to advertise each color receptor as a "pixel", which strikes me as deceptive. A "pixel" has previously been defined as full color. In other words, Sigma is using its own definition of "pixel" which results in a tripling of the pixel count.
To be fair, the stacked receptors (and the large-by-P&S-standards sensor size) are a very good idea, and result in very good results. Those who have looked at the output of the "14 MP" Sigma (which should be described as "4.4MP") say it's roughly comparable to a 9 or 10 MP conventional sensor (but with different strengths and weaknesses).

For me, the fixed lens length (technically 16.6mm, but 28mm FOV equivalent) is a deal-breaker. (The price isn't too attractive either.)

And it is the differences between their lens systems that will generally cause one to go with Nikon over Cannon or vice versa. Once one commits, however, it is very difficult to ever go back and change course as the money invested in serious photography will be in the lenses, which will last forever with proper care, unlike the camera itself.

having said that, which would you choose if you were starting out now?

choover wrote:

And it is the differences between their lens systems that will generally cause one to go with Nikon over Cannon or vice versa. Once one commits, however, it is very difficult to ever go back and change course as the money invested in serious photography will be in the lenses, which will last forever with proper care, unlike the camera itself.

having said that, which would you choose if you were starting out now?

I'm very happy with Nikon. However, I have no hands-on experience to truly know if I'd be happier with one over the other. That said, I'd want my D80 if I were starting out now. I know the buttons, I like the choices the buttons give me, and I like where the buttons are located. The D80 feels very good in my hands.

choover wrote:

And it is the differences between their lens systems that will generally cause one to go with Nikon over Cannon or vice versa. Once one commits, however, it is very difficult to ever go back and change course as the money invested in serious photography will be in the lenses, which will last forever with proper care, unlike the camera itself.

having said that, which would you choose if you were starting out now?

Im currently ebaying my canon and pentax gear to buy nikon

So I'm a couple of months out from having purchased my first dSLR. I'm friggen' addicted to this new hobby. Why, oh, why did I have to pick up a new expensive hobby?

Recently I picked up the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens & I'm amazed at the quality one gains going to the prime lens over the kit one. Right now I'm trying to decide whether the EF 70-200mm f/4 L or the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 as my next lens.

Anyone have a relatively inexpensive lightweight tripod they recommend? G Dan Mitchell uses the Velbon 540 “El Carmagne” Tripod, which would fall in my budget. Dunno any others.

It was this thread that in initiated my induction into the world of d-SLR photography. Having been a 35mm film shooter for my earliest years in the Sierra, I had lost the "habit" of SLR photography when the first P&S cameras came onto the market. I went through three of those handy P&S jobs when I came across this thread. It was a long thread back then, but I read every page and before I knew it, I owned a D50 and I was off to the races. Several books and a few software programs later, not to mention the filters, tripods, and lenses, I am now purchasing my third d-SLR... a D700! (It should arrive in the next few days.) I am so excited about this new camera that I went back and reread my favorite digital photography books, including the user manual for my D80 (which will make for a great backup camera). And, I have upgraded from NX to NX2 software for photo-editing. Nikon has been very good for this amateur digital photographer.

NX... it is fun and relatively easy. NX2 has taken NX to a better and even easier level. I don't imagine I'll ever use or take the time to learn Photoshop which for me equals more time spent shooting.

Photography is once again becoming such a passion, I am slowly relegating fishing to second fiddle while in the mountains. And, I might add, my backpack weight is slowly inching back up... but that is about the only negative that crosses my mind when it comes to d-SLR.

Thanks Misha.

peninsula wrote:I am now purchasing my third d-SLR... a D700!

Hey, congrats! Let us know how it works out for you; I've been dying to talk to someone who's used one.