Sony A330, Nikon D3000, or Canon Rebel XS. Which is Best?
So then. I’m going to New York City in April 2010 with my AP US History class. Should be fun.
Now, I’ve always had a small interest in photography, taking pictures at holidays and my brother’s soccer games and the such. However, I want to start exploring the more technical side of the hobby.
As of now, I’ve narrowed it down to three cameras.
The Sony Alpha 330
The Nikon D3000
and
The Canon Rebel XS
As this is my first DSLR, I don’t want to go higher than $650. I’m not too concerned about size, and really have no absolute preference, although I’m kinda leaning away from the Canon.
I’m not sure of anywhere near me where I can test them, FYI.
I guess I’m not so much looking for a definite, clear cut winner, per se. Just some opinions.
Oh, and I’ve already read the cameralabs and dpreview reviews.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
I would recommend the D3000 kit with 18-55mm VR lens ($529.00 including free shipping from camerakings.com). The D3000 is a very easy camera for a beginner to learn and use (has a nice guide feature), not to mention it just came out on the market so it will hold its resale value very well. Also, the D3000 kit lens has (VR) vibration reduction technology, thus making the D3000 a great value. Out of the bunch, the D3000 probably takes the best pictures.
The Canon XS (1000D) about $485.00 for the kit and XSi (450D) about $579.00 for the kit, give you a little more features for your dollar, but I have always preferred Nikon’s so I am a little biased toward them. If you really like Canon’s I would recommend the XSi (450D). Some people like Live View but to a real photographer Live View is somewhat of a gimmick and holds open the shutter to let more dirt get on the sensor.
One of the main reasons I prefer the Nikon’s over the Canon’s and Sony’s is that they have a separate auto focus assist lamp built into the body whereas the Canon and Sony use their flash to perform this function. In certain situations, using the flash as a AF assist lamp can interfere with your shot.
The only thing I really like about the Sony is that it has image stabilization (IS) built into the body so that any lens you use will benefit from this technology. Yes, lenses with VR or IS are more expensive, but if you shop around and consider third party lenses like Tamron or Sigma, they are quite affordable. If you absolutely need to have live view, then Sony has the best implementation of live view because they have a secondary sensor just for this purpose. The best deals I could find for the A330 kit are $489.00 with 18-55mm Lens and $629.00 with 18-55mm & 55-200mm Lens with free shipping (camerakings.com).
If you decide to get the A330 (this applies the other cameras as well), just remember if you decide to use older lenses originally made for 35mm film cameras then you need to multiply the focal length of the lens by 1.5 due to the smaller digital sensor size compared to a full frame 35mm film. What this means is that a 50mm lens would become a 75mm lens and a 28-200mm lens would become a 42-300mm lens.
I wouldn’t get too hung up on the megapixel ratings of the cameras because this is not really a deciding factor. Check out the last link below for a great article regarding the megapixel myth.
Canon digital camera reviews 2010 – Canon S90 Powershot Reviews Part 3
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