Ultimate Camera Setup?

[speedminded]

Ok, i'm retiring from the point & shoot world [well, unless someone wants to give me a Sony DSCR1]. Anyways, I am completely lost in what direction to go, I have virtually no experience with a DSLR. Got to use a Nikon D100s with some crazy $1,600 lens sunday night to shoot my car (haven't seen the pics yet and it's killing me!) and I might get a chance to play with a D2X at Drift Atlanta :eek:

Basically it comes down to Canon or Nikon...from there i'm lost. I can get a killer discount on Nikon but can also pick up a Canon 30D for around $700 but would want a better lens. Should i just sell my car for a Canon EOS 1DS MK2? :D lol, jk. I'm sure most people have a preference between Canon and Nikon but i don't have enough seat time to know any better.

My questions are...
1) What's your ultimate dream setup, body and lens(es)...?

2) What setup is the most user friendly?

3) What setup do you recommend for a "starter" that doesn't want to feel like they need to upgrade 6 months down the road?

[speedminded]

Ok, most of us on here shoot the same things: cars, race events, & random shit...but we all have differant styles. Here's most of the photos I've taken in the past year or so if it helps with picking out any particular setup???

Races & Shows:
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=7061 - Drift Atlanta
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=7155 - Historic Race
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=4395 - Grand Prix
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=3846 - AJC Auto Show
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=3148 - GT Auto Show
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=2121 - Road Atlanta
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=5115 - Year One Show
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=26104 - Roebling Road
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=29155 - VIR Endurance Race

Car Shoots:
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=29364 - Integra @ Road Atlanta
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=4210 - Integra - Parking deck
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=28330 - Pher GS-R
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=27001 - Batlground Meet & Photoshoot...
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=28114 - Jeep Scrambler
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=36585 - Got Wood?

Car Meets:
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=26781 - Gwinnett Meet
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=24567 - North Point Meet
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=27978 - Mountain Run
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=2624 - Mountain Run

Random:
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=35224 - Thrashers & Teg...
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=13282 - Tallulah Gorge...
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=16753 - Meet Jada...
http://forums.importatlanta.com/showthread.php?t=26621 - Lea Anne & Jada

[A.P. Photography]

Ok, i'm retiring from the point & shoot world [well, unless someone wants to give me a Sony DSCR1]. Anyways, I am completely lost in what direction to go, I have virtually no experience with a DSLR. Got to use a Nikon D100s with some crazy $1,600 lens sunday night to shoot my car (haven't seen the pics yet and it's killing me!) and I might get a chance to play with a D2X at Drift Atlanta http://forums.importatlanta.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

Basically it comes down to Canon or Nikon...from there i'm lost. I can get a killer discount on Nikon but can also pick up a Canon 30D for around $700 but would want a better lens. Should i just sell my car for a Canon EOS 1DS MK2? http://forums.importatlanta.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif lol, jk. I'm sure most people have a preference between Canon and Nikon but i don't have enough seat time to know any better.

My questions are...
1) What's your ultimate dream setup, body and lens(es)...?

2) What setup is the most user friendly?

3) What setup do you recommend for a "starter" that doesn't want to feel like they need to upgrade 6 months down the road?

Ok, well I don't have that much expierence since I have only been shooting with a DSLR since November but I will offer my insight as to what I have seen.

I have shot with Canon (350D) exclusivley and I love it, wish that I had a few more features but alas this is the price you pay when jumping in and learning. At Drift Fury I shot a couple pics with Tom's D70 and I will admit that the camera felt good in my hands and from what I could tell colors were great. Nikon does have a vivid color mode that really makes the colors pop as compared to Canon but both cameras have their good points and drawbacks. For a more in depth look you can go to www.dpreview.com (http://www.dpreview.com/) and find a complete break down of the camera you are looking into getting.

Now as for my camera, I love it and have a blast shooting with it but the lenses (read L glass) is a nightmare price wise but can produce some of the most stunning photos I have ever seen. Now if you can get the 30D for $700 then we need to talk cause that is what I need. LOL. Now I jumped into the DSLR world cause of the entry price of the camera and a hook up from Jaime on some lenses. Now with having the 18-55 and a 70-300 I started out pretty good but after a couple of weeks of shooting, you realize that you need/want better glass and that is when you start hurting because the price of the good glass ("L") is a min. of $500 and as high as $15k but this is the price you pay to play with the big boys. Now you have to ask yourself what it is you are going to do with the camera? If you are just going to be shooting stuff for yourself then maybe a high end point and shoot is all you really need, but I know you want a DSLR http://forums.importatlanta.com/images/smilies/wink.gif


My questions are...
1) What's your ultimate dream setup, body and lens(es)...?
My ultimate dream set up is a Canon 1Ds MKII with a Canon 24-70 F2.8L on the camera and a 1D MKIIn with a 70-200mm F2.8L IS mounted on it as a back up.


2) What setup is the most user friendly?
Both are user friendly with some options on the camera and some buried. Really depend on which one you have used before but since you shot Sony it will be a brand new world all together for you. My suggestion is head to Wolf Camera and play with each one and see what feels better in your hand and easiest for you to understand.


3) What setup do you recommend for a "starter" that doesn't want to feel like they need to upgrade 6 months down the road?
With a DSLR, you are going to get that feeling no matter what because you are going to run into an instance when you need a longer range, a lower F stop, etc, etc. The camera bodies are expendable but the Glass is what is the most crucial part of the equipment you buy.

[speedminded]

Ok, well I don't have that much expierence since I have only been shooting with a DSLR since November but I will offer my insight as to what I have seen.

I have shot with Canon (350D) exclusivley and I love it, wish that I had a few more features but alas this is the price you pay when jumping in and learning. At Drift Fury I shot a couple pics with Tom's D70 and I will admit that the camera felt good in my hands and from what I could tell colors were great. Nikon does have a vivid color mode that really makes the colors pop as compared to Canon but both cameras have their good points and drawbacks. For a more in depth look you can go to www.dpreview.com (http://www.dpreview.com/) and find a complete break down of the camera you are looking into getting.

Now as for my camera, I love it and have a blast shooting with it but the lenses (read L glass) is a nightmare price wise but can produce some of the most stunning photos I have ever seen. Now if you can get the 30D for $700 then we need to talk cause that is what I need. LOL. Now I jumped into the DSLR world cause of the entry price of the camera and a hook up from Jaime on some lenses. Now with having the 18-55 and a 70-300 I started out pretty good but after a couple of weeks of shooting, you realize that you need/want better glass and that is when you start hurting because the price of the good glass ("L") is a min. of $500 and as high as $15k but this is the price you pay to play with the big boys. Now you have to ask yourself what it is you are going to do with the camera? If you are just going to be shooting stuff for yourself then maybe a high end point and shoot is all you really need, but I know you want a DSLR http://forums.importatlanta.com/images/smilies/wink.gif


My ultimate dream set up is a Canon 1Ds MKII with a Canon 24-70 F2.8L on the camera and a 1D MKIIn with a 70-200mm F2.8L IS mounted on it as a back up.


Both are user friendly with some options on the camera and some buried. Really depend on which one you have used before but since you shot Sony it will be a brand new world all together for you. My suggestion is head to Wolf Camera and play with each one and see what feels better in your hand and easiest for you to understand.


With a DSLR, you are going to get that feeling no matter what because you are going to run into an instance when you need a longer range, a lower F stop, etc, etc. The camera bodies are expendable but the Glass is what is the most crucial part of the equipment you buy.www.dpreview.com is great if you know what you're getting :tongue: I've read over and over just about every Canon and Nikon DSLR they've reviewed and still don't know what to get.

I have had several offers to make quite a bit of money and don't have a camera, grrr. Might as well just get a medium level dslr with a high quality lens just so i can shoot then depending on what those offers lead to i can upgrade when i have to.

As of right now it looks like the 30D or for just under $600 i can get a D70S body...that's an extra $100 I could put towards a lens. So many choices and both produce incredible pictures. Guess the next step is to use both as i normally would (it's hard to get the feel of a camera in a store) and see which one i like better :dunno: