Wimpwgn wrote:.

I'm looking to purchase a beginner's DSLR camera in the nearfuture. I still can't decide which one to go with even after.

Reading all the reviews I could find on these three cameras. > I have discovered the following for each of the three cameras..

K100D:Pros: uses AA (which I have plenty of rechargeables), affordablelens, excellent prime lens selection, top LCD, internal MF on kitlens.Cons: not so great for continuous shots, heavy..

What do you mean by "not so great for continous shots"? All the frames per second will not help if they are not in focus after the first one..assuming you are taking pictures of something in motion. Please don't discount the K100 based merely on a numbers comparison of one feature.Judy and The cutterpup'pentax and proud of it'http://orchidimages.net/..

Wimpwgn wrote:.

Greetings to all SLR experts:.

I'm looking to purchase a beginner's DSLR camera in the nearfuture. I still can't decide which one to go with even afterreading all the reviews I could find on these three cameras. I haveset my budget to $600, which I know is not alot to spend..

I have discovered the following for each of the three cameras..

K100D:Pros: uses AA (which I have plenty of rechargeables), affordablelens, excellent prime lens selection, top LCD, internal MF on kitlens.Cons: not so great for continuous shots, heavy..

Yeah, it's about a 150 grams heavier. That limit on continuous seems strange though. But ask yourself, how likely are you to have problems with that?.

From what I've read it's also the best when it comes to old lens compatibility. Even 1980s vintage lenses would still meter..

D40:Pros: light, easiest to use.Cons: must use AF-S or AF-I lens for AF, only 1 prime (expensive)available(?), Li-ion (need to buy a spare), no top LCD, lens moreexpensive than Pentax(?).

At the moment there is indeed only one prime that will AF. It's not cheap but the price is reasonable seeing as it is a 1.4..

The Li-ion will last 400-600 shjots per charge. A fake replacement will cost you about $20. A top lcd does come in handy at times..

E-500:Pros: great zoom lens, excellent features, live view.Cons: very little prime lens selection(?), no top LCD, Li-ion,small viewfinder, USB1.1..

USB 1.1. shouldn't be an issue. A cardreader works a lot easier and saves battery regardless of which camera you choose. A usb cardreader will cost you abut $15..

Lens selection is indeed very, very small. I'm not aware of any quality primes at all. Also the crop factor of 2x is a bit steep..

Liveview is, in my opinion the second most overrated function on a DSLR (just after DoF preview)..

I primarily take scenary and portraits. Which one suit me the best?What other features should I look into?.

Any of these will work. So will a refurbished D70 or D50. You are making a common mistake here. What you should do is go to a shop that lets you handle all three and see which one fits your hand the best. Also check on which one you can easily and instinctively do:- AF point selection- switch from auto to aperture to shutter priority- change ISO- change whitebalance..

Those things matter a lot. Any of these three cameras in capable hands will deliver excellent shots..

Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

Cutterpup wrote:.

What do you mean by "not so great for continous shots"? All theframes per second will not help if they are not in focus after thefirst one..assuming you are taking pictures of something in motion.Please don't discount the K100 based merely on a numbers comparisonof one feature.Judy and The cutterpup'pentax and proud of it'http://orchidimages.net/.

What I meant is that K100d only takes 4 jpeg photos before buffer is full...

Wijnands wrote:.

Wimpwgn wrote:.

Greetings to all SLR experts:.

I'm looking to purchase a beginner's DSLR camera in the nearfuture. I still can't decide which one to go with even afterreading all the reviews I could find on these three cameras. I haveset my budget to $600, which I know is not alot to spend..

I have discovered the following for each of the three cameras..

K100D:Pros: uses AA (which I have plenty of rechargeables), affordablelens, excellent prime lens selection, top LCD, internal MF on kitlens.Cons: not so great for continuous shots, heavy..

Yeah, it's about a 150 grams heavier. That limit on continuousseems strange though. But ask yourself, how likely are you to haveproblems with that?.

From what I've read it's also the best when it comes to old lenscompatibility. Even 1980s vintage lenses would still meter..

D40:Pros: light, easiest to use.Cons: must use AF-S or AF-I lens for AF, only 1 prime (expensive)available(?), Li-ion (need to buy a spare), no top LCD, lens moreexpensive than Pentax(?).

At the moment there is indeed only one prime that will AF. It's notcheap but the price is reasonable seeing as it is a 1.4.The Li-ion will last 400-600 shjots per charge. A fake replacementwill cost you about $20. A top lcd does come in handy at times..

E-500:Pros: great zoom lens, excellent features, live view.Cons: very little prime lens selection(?), no top LCD, Li-ion,small viewfinder, USB1.1..

USB 1.1. shouldn't be an issue. A cardreader works a lot easier andsaves battery regardless of which camera you choose. A usbcardreader will cost you abut $15..

Lens selection is indeed very, very small. I'm not aware of anyquality primes at all. Also the crop factor of 2x is a bit steep.Liveview is, in my opinion the second most overrated function on aDSLR (just after DoF preview)..

I primarily take scenary and portraits. Which one suit me the best?What other features should I look into?.

Any of these will work. So will a refurbished D70 or D50. You aremaking a common mistake here. What you should do is go to a shopthat lets you handle all three and see which one fits your hand thebest. Also check on which one you can easily and instinctively do:- AF point selection- switch from auto to aperture to shutter priority- change ISO- change whitebalance..

Those things matter a lot. Any of these three cameras in capablehands will deliver excellent shots..

Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/.

Thanks for the reply. I don't have any old Pentax lens so backward compatibility is not a big issue for me unless I can find dirt cheap used ones on Ebay..

I went to Ritz and looked at both the k100d and D40 and the Pentax is noticeably heavier (not a bad thing, just observation). I do like Pentax for accepting AA batteries which will save me additional $$ for a spare Li-ion..

As of right now, Pentax is on top of my list...

Wimpwgn wrote:.

What I meant is that K100d only takes 4 jpeg photos before bufferis full..

Gotcha, I can see your point with that. How do the others compare? I never looked.Judy and The cutterpup'pentax and proud of it'http://orchidimages.net/..

K100D:Pros: uses AA (which I have plenty of rechargeables), affordablelens, excellent prime lens selection, top LCD, internal MF on kitlens..

And in-body image stabilization, unlike the other two..

Cons: not so great for continuous shots, heavy..

...and relatively few zooms, or long telephotos that have autofocus and aren't reflex lenses. The pancake single-focal-length lenses make it an highly interesting choice for street photography, but if you need, say, 400mm-equiv coverage in an autofocus lens that's faster than f/5.8, your Pentax options look rather few..

D40:Pros: light, easiest to use..

Cons: must use AF-S or AF-I lens for AF, only 1 prime (expensive)available(?), Li-ion (need to buy a spare), no top LCD, lens moreexpensive than Pentax(?).

Depends what you need..

I'd personally consider LiON a bonus, since it has a much lower self-discharge rate than NiMH (although eneloop-types have cut this back), and higher capacity for less weight. Main downside is question of availability of replacements if you intend to keep the body for a -long- time, well past most of the market has..

The AF-S / AF-I requirement is more severe, which is why quite a few would recommend, say, the D80 instead..

E-500:Pros: great zoom lens, excellent features, live view..

No live view. E-330, E-410, E-510 have it, but not the E-500..

Not sure which zoom lens you're referring to. 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5, 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6, 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 have all been used as 'kit' lenses. I use the first of these a natural choice for my E-1 body,as both are weather-sealed, and the faster aperture comes in useful..

Cons: very little prime lens selection(?), no top LCD, Li-ion,small viewfinder, USB1.1..

Quite a few single-focal-length lenses. However... very little access to image stabilization, other than with the stabilized Panaleica lenses..

Sigma 24mm f/1.8Leica 25mm f/1.4Sigma 30mm f/1.4Olympus 35mm f/3.5 macroOlympus 50mm f/2 macroSigma 105mm f/2.8Olympus 150mm f/2Sigma 150mm f/2.8Olympus 300mm f/2.8.

Are all available if, for some reason, the zooms aren't sharp enough for you..

USB 1.1 is minor, given that you can use a card reader..

I'd mark 'only one command dial' as a disadvantage of all three of the models you listed..

I primarily take scenary and portraits. Which one suit me the best?What other features should I look into?.

Availability of a portrait grip? If you frequently use the camera in that orientation, a grip with the additional controls can be quite convenient. These are somewhat scarce at this end of the camera market, 'tho..

If you don't mind the gap in the long end, the Pentax K100D stabilized, and with a good variety at the shorter end makes an awful lot of sense. For these, you won't need things like high FPS or burst length, fast tracking autofocus, or so forth..

With one caveat if you were -really- into posed portraiture, to the point where you're playing around with serious lighting setups, Nikon has a good wireless flash system from what I've read and seen...

Leejay Wu wrote:.

K100D:Pros: uses AA (which I have plenty of rechargeables), affordablelens, excellent prime lens selection, top LCD, internal MF on kitlens..

And in-body image stabilization, unlike the other two..

Cons: not so great for continuous shots, heavy..

...and relatively few zooms, or long telephotos that have autofocusand aren't reflex lenses. The pancake single-focal-length lensesmake it an highly interesting choice for street photography, but ifyou need, say, 400mm-equiv coverage in an autofocus lens that'sfaster than f/5.8, your Pentax options look rather few..

D40:Pros: light, easiest to use..

Cons: must use AF-S or AF-I lens for AF, only 1 prime (expensive)available(?), Li-ion (need to buy a spare), no top LCD, lens moreexpensive than Pentax(?).

Depends what you need..

I'd personally consider LiON a bonus, since it has a much lowerself-discharge rate than NiMH (although eneloop-types have cut thisback), and higher capacity for less weight. Main downside isquestion of availability of replacements if you intend to keep thebody for a -long- time, well past most of the market has..

The AF-S / AF-I requirement is more severe, which is why quite afew would recommend, say, the D80 instead..

E-500:Pros: great zoom lens, excellent features, live view..

No live view. E-330, E-410, E-510 have it, but not the E-500..

Not sure which zoom lens you're referring to. 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5,14-42mm f/3.5-5.6, 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 have all been used as 'kit'lenses. I use the first of these a natural choice for my E-1body,as both are weather-sealed, and the faster aperture comes inuseful..

Cons: very little prime lens selection(?), no top LCD, Li-ion,small viewfinder, USB1.1..

Quite a few single-focal-length lenses. However... very littleaccess to image stabilization, other than with the stabilizedPanaleica lenses..

Sigma 24mm f/1.8Leica 25mm f/1.4Sigma 30mm f/1.4Olympus 35mm f/3.5 macroOlympus 50mm f/2 macroSigma 105mm f/2.8Olympus 150mm f/2Sigma 150mm f/2.8Olympus 300mm f/2.8.

Are all available if, for some reason, the zooms aren't sharpenough for you..

USB 1.1 is minor, given that you can use a card reader..

I'd mark 'only one command dial' as a disadvantage of all three ofthe models you listed..

I primarily take scenary and portraits. Which one suit me the best?What other features should I look into?.

Availability of a portrait grip? If you frequently use the camerain that orientation, a grip with the additional controls can bequite convenient. These are somewhat scarce at this end of thecamera market, 'tho..

If you don't mind the gap in the long end, the Pentax K100D stabilized, and with a good variety at the shorter end makes anawful lot of sense. For these, you won't need things like high FPSor burst length, fast tracking autofocus, or so forth..

With one caveat if you were -really- into posed portraiture, tothe point where you're playing around with serious lighting setups,Nikon has a good wireless flash system from what I've read and seen..

Excellent, thank you for the clarifications. My mistake on the liveview, I believe I got the E-500 mixed up with the other models..

I intend to buy a prime lens for regular use and seems like the Pentax 50mm prime has good quality and is quite affordable. I've checked out similar Olympus primes and they seem to cost at least twice as much..

Honestly I don't quite use burst shot often, and I almost never find the situation for my need to tele-zoom beyond 200mm..

With that in mind, I believe the Pentax is a good choice, right?..

Additionally, how effective the camera IS compared to lens IS?..

They'll all take wonderful photos. All you need is a lens..

You'll be fine to start with using the kit lens. If you want a Nikon, get a D50 - it has a slightly better auto-focus system ( 5 point instead of 3 on the D40 ). It can use older ( and cheaper ! ) primes and uses the same sensor and has a pretty good continuous mode..

The K100D is also attractive, as it too can use older lenses. They aren't as easy to find as Nikon or Canon lenses, but there really are a lot out there. You won't be able to distinguish image quality from the D50 or D40 without a microscope !.

Also a used Canon 300D or new or used 350D would be fine..

Any of these should be relatively straightforward to get a prime lens for later ( or with it if you prefer )..

I like the Olympus system, but the cost of lenses and the very small range available is prohibitive. That said the standard twin lenses on the E-400, E-410 and new E-510 are good. However, if you're serious about portraits, prime lenses are really where you'll end up going, and on the 4/3 system, that's a tricky option..

StephenG.

Fuji S9600Fuji S5200Fuji F30Fuji E900Canon A710ISPCLinuxOS..

Work just as well?.

DOF control is the only reason I can think of. You certainly don't need ultra sharpness in a portrait..

As for the choices, the D40 and E500 will have the fastest AF. The K100 has the biggest VF and more than one usable AF point, 11 actually..

This is a big advantage of the k100, eliminates a lot of focus recompose..

E500 has the most "features" as far as customization and image and shooting parameters goes..

The D40 is the most stripped down of the three in functionality..

The Oly lens selection is just fine. A little more expensive, but there is a lens for every occasion..

Gene..

Wimpwgn wrote:.

Additionally, how effective the camera IS compared to lens IS?.

They're about the same. Conventional wisdom is that in-body IS is better for short lenses, in-lens is better for long telephotos, but nobody's ever tested this...

I was all set to buy the e500 two-lens kit, on sale for $600. As an amateur looking for my first DSLR, the subtle differences in image quality and performance between the Canon Rebel XT, Nikon D40, and others were insignificant. The Olympus had plenty of good reviews, and the price of the kit with two lenses was hard to beat. As others noted, there were fewer lenses on the market for the 4:3 standard, and they were more expensive, but I didn't intend to need more than the 300mm equivalent range of the zoom lens included in the kit any time soon. It even uses xD memory card, of which I already had a 1GB from my old camera..

However, they didn't have any e500s in the store, so I talked myself into the e410. 10mp, digital viewfinder, and lighter weight and smaller grip which my wife really liked. Two lens kit for that was a little over $800..

I really liked the look and feel of the Nikon, the controls seemed very easy to use, especially the simple switch between auto- and manual focus which I expect to be one of my favorite features with a DSLR. But that two-lens kit was $750, and I'd need a new memory card, so I went ahead and got the Olympus with higher resolution and more features, for just a bit more money. The Olympus' dust-free system seemed like a smart idea as well, since I'll be opening it up to change lenses quite often. I don't recall if the e500 has that feature..

I can't speak for the others, but the photo editing software that came with the Olympus seems really good, easy to use. It was praised by several reviewers. If you already have PhotoShop, that may be a moot point, but I didn't have any decent software already, so again I saved a bit more by getting everything I needed, high quality, in one package..

Anyway, as usually happens, I went into the store with one thing in mind, and came out a couple hundred bucks lighter than expected, but excited to have a new toy!..

Wimpwgn wrote:.

E-500:Pros: great zoom lens, excellent features, live view.Cons: very little prime lens selection(?), no top LCD, Li-ion,small viewfinder, USB1.1..

Just pnder over how much you will be able to spend each year on lenses. (More than 75% won't go beyond 2!). E500 with twin kit-lens goes for <$550. Great value in somewhat complete package..

I primarily take scenary and portraits. Which one suit me the best?What other features should I look into?.

1. For scenery, if you use tripod, any DSLR will do. If not, than PentaxK100D (SR is akin to virtual tripod)..

2. For portraits all are good, but D40 has slight edge due to it's spot-metering and AF assist lamp (convenience in focusing. For other DSLRs like K100D, E500 etc., flash is used as AF assist.).Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..

Leejay Wu wrote:.

K100D:Pros: uses AA (which I have plenty of rechargeables), affordablelens, excellent prime lens selection, top LCD, internal MF on kitlens..

And in-body image stabilization, unlike the other two..

Cons: not so great for continuous shots, heavy..

...and relatively few zooms, or long telephotos that have autofocusand aren't reflex lenses. The pancake single-focal-length lensesmake it an highly interesting choice for street photography, but ifyou need, say, 400mm-equiv coverage in an autofocus lens that'sfaster than f/5.8, your Pentax options look rather few..

D40:Pros: light, easiest to use..

Cons: must use AF-S or AF-I lens for AF, only 1 prime (expensive)available(?), Li-ion (need to buy a spare), no top LCD, lens moreexpensive than Pentax(?).

Depends what you need..

I'd personally consider LiON a bonus, since it has a much lowerself-discharge rate than NiMH (although eneloop-types have cut thisback), and higher capacity for less weight. Main downside isquestion of availability of replacements if you intend to keep thebody for a -long- time, well past most of the market has..

The AF-S / AF-I requirement is more severe, which is why quite afew would recommend, say, the D80 instead..

E-500:Pros: great zoom lens, excellent features, live view..

No live view. E-330, E-410, E-510 have it, but not the E-500..

Not sure which zoom lens you're referring to. 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5,14-42mm f/3.5-5.6, 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 have all been used as 'kit'lenses. I use the first of these a natural choice for my E-1body,as both are weather-sealed, and the faster aperture comes inuseful..

Cons: very little prime lens selection(?), no top LCD, Li-ion,small viewfinder, USB1.1..

Quite a few single-focal-length lenses. However... very littleaccess to image stabilization, other than with the stabilizedPanaleica lenses..

Sigma 24mm f/1.8Leica 25mm f/1.4Sigma 30mm f/1.4Olympus 35mm f/3.5 macroOlympus 50mm f/2 macroSigma 105mm f/2.8Olympus 150mm f/2Sigma 150mm f/2.8Olympus 300mm f/2.8.

Are all available if, for some reason, the zooms aren't sharpenough for you..

USB 1.1 is minor, given that you can use a card reader..

I'd mark 'only one command dial' as a disadvantage of all three ofthe models you listed..

I primarily take scenary and portraits. Which one suit me the best?What other features should I look into?.

Availability of a portrait grip? If you frequently use the camerain that orientation, a grip with the additional controls can bequite convenient. These are somewhat scarce at this end of thecamera market, 'tho..

If you don't mind the gap in the long end, the Pentax K100D stabilized, and with a good variety at the shorter end makes anawful lot of sense. For these, you won't need things like high FPSor burst length, fast tracking autofocus, or so forth..

With one caveat if you were -really- into posed portraiture, tothe point where you're playing around with serious lighting setups,Nikon has a good wireless flash system from what I've read and seen..

Pentax at the long end is rather limited...but also has access to the cheapest way of getting autofocus telephotos...any old manual focus lense..zoom or prime, even screwmount ones and a 1.7x af adapter..

Tamron 300 2.8 manual focus adaptall lense....(500 dollars and up second hand...around 600 is what I paid for mine a few weeks ago)1.7x adapter (200 to 700 dollars ....ebay sometimes has bidding duels)and you have a 510mm 4.8 autofocus lens ...not Canon L quality but not bad..

Use the adapter on a decent old vivtar series 1 zoom 70-200 or quality prime etc and you get a pretty good af lens.

Neil..

The E500 does not have live view or image stabilization.Now that you've judged the quality of my typing, take a look at my photos..http://www.photo.net/photos/GlenBarrington..

Ajay0612 wrote:.

Wimpwgn wrote:.

E-500:Pros: great zoom lens, excellent features, live view.Cons: very little prime lens selection(?), no top LCD, Li-ion,small viewfinder, USB1.1..

Just pnder over how much you will be able to spend each year onlenses. (More than 75% won't go beyond 2!). E500 with twin kit-lensgoes for <$550. Great value in somewhat complete package..

I primarily take scenary and portraits. Which one suit me the best?What other features should I look into?.

1. For scenery, if you use tripod, any DSLR will do. If not, thanPentaxK100D (SR is akin to virtual tripod).2. For portraits all are good, but D40 has slight edge due to itsspot-metering and AF assist lamp (convenience in focusing. Forother DSLRs like K100D, E500 etc., flash is used as AF assist.).Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612.

Thanks for the reply. K100d is about the same price after rebate for the twin lens kit, and I don't need to buy extra Li-ion battery and xd/cf card. I already have 2gb of sd card which is what the Pentax uses..

I have a tripod but I don't bring it with me every time, so SR is a big selling point for me..

In terms of AF in low light condition, I read that the Pentax has really good AF already even without using AF assist, is that true?..

R Valentino wrote:.

Work just as well?.

DOF control is the only reason I can think of. You certainly don'tneed ultra sharpness in a portrait..

As for the choices, the D40 and E500 will have the fastest AF. TheK100 has the biggest VF and more than one usable AF point, 11actually..

This is a big advantage of the k100, eliminates a lot of focusrecompose..

E500 has the most "features" as far as customization and image andshooting parameters goes..

The D40 is the most stripped down of the three in functionality..

The Oly lens selection is just fine. A little more expensive, butthere is a lens for every occasion..

Gene.

I like primes for it's lightweight and ease of use. ..

Wimpwgn wrote:.

In terms of AF in low light condition, I read that the Pentax hasreally good AF already even without using AF assist, is that true?.

As a matter of fact all DSLRs will focus in so called low light (typical indoor). But the process may take around 1-2 second. That is it. Typically if you can see the subject through the viewfinder without squinting, camera will be able to lock focus without AF assist.Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..

Of those id get the Oly hands down..

I wouldnt consider the d40 at all it isnt in the same league. Ive heard good and bad about the d80. I didnt like the feel. Big bonus with nikons though is lens selection. And you should consider backward compatability.

If you're willing to expand yoru range a bit look at the other Nikons and the sony dslr. The sony is very nice and sony has excellent color. Theyre not really a photography company though more an electronics company....

Advantage of the e500 (NOT e510 .. different price category).. the kit lenses, ease of use, ergonomics, built in sensor cleansing. Disadvantages - no live view. No is. Somewhat limited lens selection, though the 2 lens kit will cover most people for a long long time.

And at high iso the nikon/canon etc dslr's perform much much better. Depends on whether you need high iso..

Id suggest either getting the e500, forking out the extra money and getting either an e510, D70 or sony alpha. Or shopping around for "obsolete" nikon d70's etc...

Ajay0612 wrote:.

Wimpwgn wrote:.

In terms of AF in low light condition, I read that the Pentax hasreally good AF already even without using AF assist, is that true?.

As a matter of fact all DSLRs will focus in so called low light(typical indoor). But the process may take around 1-2 second. Thatis it. Typically if you can see the subject through the viewfinderwithout squinting, camera will be able to lock focus without AFassist.Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612.

Thanks for the clarification...

Creid wrote:.

Of those id get the Oly hands down..

I wouldnt consider the d40 at all it isnt in the same league. Iveheard good and bad about the d80. I didnt like the feel. Big bonuswith nikons though is lens selection. And you should considerbackward compatability.

If you're willing to expand yoru range a bit look at the otherNikons and the sony dslr. The sony is very nice and sony hasexcellent color. Theyre not really a photography company thoughmore an electronics company....

Advantage of the e500 (NOT e510 .. different price category).. thekit lenses, ease of use, ergonomics, built in sensor cleansing.Disadvantages - no live view. No is. Somewhat limited lensselection, though the 2 lens kit will cover most people for a longlong time. And they just introduced a new ultra zoom and have somenice macros.

Depends on whether you need high iso..

Id suggest either getting the e500, forking out the extra money andgetting either an e510, D70 or sony alpha. Or shopping around for"obsolete" nikon d70's etc..

I do like the E500, but the cheapest prime they have is $500..

You never mentioned the Pentax, any comments on that one?..

Hi Glen I love your photo's what camera do you use? I am looking to buy a new one but I don't have a lot of experience but I still would like to get a nice one so that down the track I don't have to buy another for awhile Thanks..

Well thank you for the kind words..

I use an Olympus E500 and a Canon G3. But I am being honest when I tell you that whether my photos are good or bad, my cameras had nothing to do with it..

It is my skill and talent (or lack of them) that make my photos whatever they are..

I like the 4/3s system (Olympus, Panasonic, & Leica) because I think they offer a lot of camera for the money (especially Olympus). I am currently deciding wheter or not to buy an Olympus E510 or wait and buy a single Olympus E3 (if/when it ever gets released!)..

But in truth, any name brand DSLR will probably work well for you. The traditional DSLR manufacturers all know how to build good cameras and all will do pretty much whatever you need them to do. And all come with more than adequate image quality. I'm not joking when I tell you that you could walk into a camera shop blindfolded and buy the first DSLR you encounter and be compeltely happy with whatever you pick up..

Now as far as getting something that will last a while.. Forget it. I can almost guarantee that whatever camera you buy today will be considered obsolete in two years. This technology is FAR from mature and changes are coming very very fast. That being said, an 'obsolete' camera, if it isn't broken, will take the same quality photos in two years that it does today. so if you are happy with the photos today, you will be happy with the photos then (That is, until you see the photos from the new camera your friend just bought! But that isn't a quality issue, thats a technology ENVY issue! and as far as I know, there is no cure for it)..

So here's what I think you should buy. An Olympus E510 2 lens kit. It's small and light weight. 10 megapixel sensor. It has the best optics in kit lenses and it's relatively inexpensive. It's got image stabilization, Live view, the only functional sensor dust removal system, and automatic pixel mapping.



If that is too expensive, then I would suggest an Olympus E500 2 lens kit. Yes, it has been superceded by the E510, but it is dirt cheap right now and still a lot of camera for the money. It's a bit bigger/heavier than the E510, has 8 megapixels, and has the same features as the E510 EXCEPT for Image stabilization and live view..

Now that you've judged the quality of my typing, take a look at my photos..http://www.photo.net/photos/GlenBarrington..

Dont know much about it. If you plan on buying a lot of digital lenses id say a nikon hands down though. Oly is exceedingly slack in the lens dept. Nikons are plentiful and slightly cheaper. If I bought a new camera right now and could afford it id buy the sony alpha(is, mp), the e510 (is, self cleaning, oly) or maybe maybe the d80 for lens selection and better ultrahigh-iso quality...

Creid wrote:.

Dont know much about it. If you plan on buying a lot of digitallenses id say a nikon hands down though. Oly is exceedingly slackin the lens dept. Nikons are plentiful and slightly cheaper. If ibought a new camera right now and could afford it id buy the sonyalpha(is, mp), the e510 (is, self cleaning, oly) or maybe maybethe d80 for lens selection and better ultrahigh-iso quality..

I agree in your selection, but all of the cameras you mentioned are beyond my price range. If I were to spend close to $1000, I probably would go with the e510...

The K100D Special looks good. That is the one I would recommend...