| Digital Cameras Reviews : Digital SLR Cameras |
 | Nikon D3000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
Camera -- 2010-09-02
Camera has great picture quality and is really easy to use. Shipping was really fast.
Fabulous, light and accessible -- 2010-09-01
I love my new D3000. I've only recently gotten big into photography, and after having joined the college Photography Society and playing with what they had, as well as stealing my father's Olympus on occasion for our trips around Ireland, I NEEDED to get my own camera. As described, it's lighter than the Canon and perfect for someone just starting off with digital photography, and is sick of the regular point and shoots. Can't stop me from snapping now!
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 | Canon EOS Rebel T1i 15.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-Inch LCD and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
Great for action shots -- 2010-09-03
Up until this camera I was a compact, point and shoot kind of person. My cameras have mostly been Canons because I really like their ease of use, quality, and pictures. This is my first digital SLR and I chose this one for its features, including the HD video. It's got all the bells and whistles for taking great pictures in all sorts of situations. I am a beginner when it comes to all the manual program settings, aperture, shutter, ISO, etc. but where I really love this camera is action shots. It captures moving subjects so well, even if I don't figure out or use all the other features, I'm happy to have this camera just for the action shots. I can actually get the picture I want when I want it. As opposed to a point and shoot with the lag time that got me the shot I wanted after it happened. Very frustrating. Love this camera.
Holy Moly!! -- 2010-08-29
I only buy things with good customer reviews, but I never tend to write them. With this product, I have to. WOW! I am BLOWN away by this camera. I got this for my photography class for college and I figured since I was spending a lot, might as well go for it. This camera has surpassed every expectation I have and is completely worth the money. Especially for a newbie just starting out, it's great.
I HIGHLY recommend it.
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 | Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
Un-Freakin-Believable -- 2010-09-03
Wow, what can I say that others haven't already? I played extensively with the D90 and the T2i before I purchased the T2i. The Nikon was bigger (substantially) and heavier (again, substantially) but otherwise it felt no different than the T2i. As I have rather small hands I actually preferred the size factor of the T2i and any less weight I have to heft around for a full day of shooting is a definite plus. All buttons and controls felt identical and the sound of the shutter on both sounded solid, substantial and like a fine tuned instrument. It's low light performance, in particular, deserves mention. This thing can take a well exposed picture in a coal mine without flash. It's just amazing. The price of this is just hard to believe. You might expect to pay at least double the asking price for anything close to it's photographic performance. No sense repeating what many others have said. It's an incredibly well made product that delivers on every aspect of its promise. There is no better crop sensor camera. To get (incrementally) better photographic qulaity you'd have to go to a full frame camera and deal with the size and weight that come with these full size sensors.
Great camera! -- 2010-09-02
The first digital camera (and I have had about 5 different ones over the years) that shows the colors the way that I actually see them. I am simply blown away by how much it accurately reflects what I see. I can ask nothing more from a camera. So far, I have found ease of use and accuracy of recording. I like it. I recommend it.
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 | Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD (Body Only)
Great for EXPERIENCED photographers who can take advantage of extensive features. -- 2010-09-02
Previous to buying the Canon EOS 7D, I had the 10D (since 2003) and did a lot of work with the 40D so I've got about 7 years of experience with Canon DSLRs. I can't say that I was overwhelmed by the quality of the images on the 7D but they are outstanding. If your primary concern is image quality, it seems to me you could buy a 50D or 60D and spend the extra money on quality Canon lenses and your images would rival the 7D. The features that sold me on the 7D however were the wireless flash control (finally!); the weather sealing; shutter durability; large, crystal clear LCD; and 8 fps. Professional grade stuff for a "prosumer" camera. Also great is the RAW/JPG button and the Q button which is great for changing settings FAST without scrolling through tons of menus (which all pro photogs can appreciate). At ISO 1600, images are still acceptable in my opinion. If you shoot mostly still photos like I do, the HD video was not that important but it is very impressive what cinematographers are doing with this DSLR. There's plenty of sample videos to watch and I'm excited to try this camera out on my occasional film projects that I produce for weddings and other special events. I wish they included the NTSC DV resolution (720x480) so the footage would match my miniDV camera, especially because the HD video takes enormous amounts of hard drive space. As most reviewers already noted, the reading the manual is very helpful. There are only 2 automatic settings on the camera (which work quite well) but 3 custom settings so you need to be familiar with how the camera operates. My only problem was with the autofocus. I couldn't seem to get a sharp picture when I left all the AF points on when indoors but it was VERY sharp when using just the center point only (the highest sensitivity when used with an f2.8 or faster lens). So far, I've been using the 7D for 6 months and it is working great, even up to now I'm still finding things it can do that I didn't know before.
Fantastic! -- 2010-08-30
This is one nice camera!!!
I compared to the Nikon 300S and the only a couple of features were better on the Nikon. The Nikon has a better exposure lock. Canon's exposure lock times out after a few seconds where as Nikon's will stay locked until released. For what it is worth, the Olympus E-30 exposure lock can be toggled on/off with a button press. Some will say HDR is more difficult with the 7D than the Nikon 300S, but there is a work around using the Mode Dial that is pretty easy.
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 | Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)
Beginner's DSLR -- 2010-08-23
It really is a beginner's DLSR, mainly because the features reflect the basic DSLRs such as ISO speed and white balance, spot metering etc. but still is under par when compared to the EOS 50Ds for example. But is complete value for money if you are looking to get started in photography, which I believe is more about taking and framing a picture with good composition skills. Once that has been accomplished you can aim for better equipment. But all said, it IS a DSLR.. when you want to take that awesome shot, you can always get your awesome lenses which is such a huge segment in DSLR photography. So I would definitely recommend the EOS 450D to anyone starting out with some amateur photography. Go for it!
P.S. +ves - Lighter, good display, ease of use, cost
-ves - ISO speed max - 1600, not a higher end DSLR
Great for beginners. -- 2010-08-22
I'm happy with the camera, I purchased the body only so I could get a nicer lens. I also added a battery grip to the camera because the body is a little small to hold when you have a large lens on it. I also put on a hand strap to help prevent hand shaking, which also helps out a lot with the strain of holding this heavy camera. It has been an easy to use camera, I purchased a DVD about the Rebel XSi just so I could learn what all of the buttons do faster than it takes to read the manual. I found it to be extremely useful, since this is my first DSLR. I've had the camera for over a year now, and am happy with it, but it doesn't come with any extras. All of those little extras add up quickly, and this can be an expensive hobby! I purchased an eye piece extender, which is great. I think it should have come standard with the camera. The only complaint I have is that the LCD screen does not work the same way a point and shoot does. I was unable to take any photos in focus. Once I stated using the viewfinder I had much better success. I had gotten really spoiled using the LCD screen on my point and shoot, so it took a little time to get used to the viewfinder again.
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 | Nikon D5000 12.3 MP DX Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens and 2.7-inch Vari-angle LCD
Great for Stills, Average for Videos -- 2010-08-27
Pros:
1-Awesome picture quality.
2-Ability to magnify parts of the LCD screen before taking the picture and also for photos already taken.
3-Image stabilization (they call it VR-Vibration Reduction)
Cons:
1-Poor viewfinder forward swivel position. To see the LCD viewfinder while shooting yourself you can't swivel the LCD up or to the side. You can only swivel it down, which makes it blocked by the tripod. And there doesn't seem to be an accessory that allows you to mount the tripod off to the side.
2-There's no inexpensive AC adaptor. You have to buy a dummy battery for $30 and then you have to buy a $70 AC adaptor which connects the dummy battery to the wall outlet. It's cheaper just to buy 2 more batteries. But for time lapse photography you probably need the AC adaptor.
3-No automatic lens cleaner. I was somehow lead to believe that Nikon invented an automatic lens cleaner. But their auto cleaner just cleans the image sensor. But when does that ever get dirty? It's the outer lens that needs the automatic cleaning.
4-Poor manual focus. The focusing ring on the lens only allows course focus (1/8 turn from min to max focus). And the viewfinder doesn't have split spot focus. So you have to magnify the LCD to the area that needs focus and then turn the focus ring very gingerly until it looks sharpest. The course focusing ring makes the slightest twist an over correction.
5-Cheap lens cap. The lens cap is not automatic (like in compact cameras) and you have to put it somewhere when you remove it. It doesn't hang down on a string or open up while remaining on the lens front. Having to deal with the lens cap takes away from the awesomeness of the rest of the camera.
6-Did not come with a memory card. I wanted to play with the camera right when I received it. But I had to order a memory card and wait two days for it to arrive. There is no internal memory to do temporary storage. If you don't have a memory card you can't take pictures.
Making Videos:
It does not have 1080 resolution.
At it's highest resolution (1280x720) you can only record up to 5 min.
The 2nd higest res gives you 20min, but it's a weird resolution (640x424).
The optional remote control does not work for movies.
No follow focus. And manual focus is very course.
I was hoping to be able to use this as both my still camera and my video camera. But I ended up keeping the D5000 for stills and buying a Canon HF S20 to make videos.
Wow! Nice job Nikon! -- 2010-08-15
Wow! I'm impressed. First foray into DSLR photography and I can say this is a big leap from point-and-shoot. Haven't had a chance to use all the various settings available (there are so many, it's going to take a while!). Right out of the box, though, the pictures are amazing! 18-35mm lens does the job well for all-around shooting. Purchased the 55-200mm lens with this camera and it also does as advertised. Looking forward to see how the speed on the zoom lens works out shooting some Friday Night football and also shooting some wildlife photos, which I've not gotten to do either of yet . . . but I will be doing both. Will check back in later after I've had chance to explore the almost unlimited custom settings on this camera. Job well done, Nikon. I'd recommend this camera to anyone looking to get into DSLR without breaking the bank.
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 | Nikon D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
Great Camera -- 2010-08-24
I'm new to the DSLR world and did a lot of research before deciding on the D90 about three months ago. All I can say is that I have been delighted with the ease of use and picture quality. One feature that I am especially glad this camera has is the two separate rings for adjusting ap and shutter. It is a time saver and helps minimize the confusion for this newby. All in all, it was pretty easy to learn how to use. There are many options for customizing the controls as well as customizing your exposures. This camera will serve me for a long time.
I would have given this a 5 star review except for the video. I know that it is a still camera and I will be using it for that 99.9% of the time. Nikon, however, did advertise it as being able to shoot HD video. I have no problems with any of the limitations with the exception that it is supposed to be HD video and I've not seen anything close to HD quality as of yet. I'd give it 4 1/2 stars if I could.
Wait for the Replacement . . . Or Don't -- 2010-08-17
I don't have much to add about the camera itself. It is stellar. Image quality and dynamic range are superb.
However, a reviewer below comments that it could be worth waiting for the D90's replacement, which is due out sometime this fall (or maybe later). There is a strong case for not waiting and picking up the D90 now. First, the price may not actually go down that much after the launch of the successor. Like the D40, the D90 is a milestone camera that will likely continue to be in demand even after its official product life is over. The D40, which itself has been discontinued for many months, is currently sold by various sellers on Amazon for a couple of hundred MORE than the last official MSRP. This is simply a function of supply and demand, and the same may be expected for the D90 over time because of how highly it is regarded. Second, while a new model usually has desirable new features - and there is no reason to think the D90 replacement will not have improvements over the D90, especially with respect to video capability - it may be worth waiting for the launch hype to subside, take in a few in-depth reviews, and wait for any initial firmware updates.
In a nutshell, the D90 is a great camera, regardless of what will come after it. Unless more advanced video capability is a must-have, there is not much reason to miss out on shooting with the D90 now.
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 | Canon Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)
Love this camera...issues with AF lense however.. -- 2010-09-03
I purchased this camera in Dec. of 2009 and I have been extremely pleased with it. I am a beginner with SLR cameras and this one has been very easy to learn to use. Beautiful picture quality and ease of use. Just today I am having issues with the AF on the lense that came with the camera. It is not working. I am reading on the internet that others are having this same problem. I have tried everything to remedy the problem to no avail. I will have to call Canon tomorrow and probably send it back to them to get the problem resolved. I am very upset about this and am hoping this isn't a persistant problem through the life of the camera..........
awsome camera -- 2010-08-23
great product. i am a beginner at this so everything is kind of new for me. but it is very easy to use and picture quality is very nice. this camera can do a whole lot more once you get past the beginner stuff, but it will take a while to get everything down. but overall a very satisfy purchase.
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