Thinking about a DSLR.

[rrneck]

Last edited Thu Mar 1, 2012, 12:53 PM - Edit history (1)

I've got a perfectly good film camera (Nikon 6006) that I have always used to shoot slides of artwork. But the images need to be digitized for the website that I'm rebulding and it's a pain in the butt to digitize slides. I hate shooting them anyway. Any suggestion?

You should know that if you look up cheap bastard in the dictionary you'll see my picture there.

I rarely paint oil in canvas. Most of the work is generally 3D but is wall mounted. High saturation color and contrast. Frequently glossy. Medium size is not unusual (4 to 5 feet across)

I try to shoot outdoors in daylight but that's not always possible.

Prefer to buy new.

What megapixel size can I get away with?

What should I watch for? I know white balance is important.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Did I mention I'm a cheap bastard? Around $500 is all I can stand.

[alfredo]

1. Give us a price range to work with. You can get away with a Nikon body then

use the old Nikon lenses.

If you are just using the images on the web, you don't need a lot of pixels. A 12mp will work well for you.

Here's an example of a 12mp Nikon body.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D5000-2-7-inch-Vari-angle-Body/dp/B00267S7UK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1330619975&sr=8-4

You can tweak white balance in post processing or in camera.

A friend had one of these, and I liked the output.
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D3100-Digital-18-55mm-3-5-5-6/dp/B003ZYF3LO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330619975&sr=8-3

He's moved up to this:
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D5100-Digital-18-55mm-3-5-5-6/dp/B004V4IWKG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330620186&sr=8-2

[rrneck]

2. Thanks!

Around $500 (OP updated).

Hadn't thought about swapping lenses. You just made my day.

[alfredo]

3. You're welcomed. Nikon has good lenses, might as well use them.

I don't know anything about Nikon mounts, so you should make sure there are not any compatibility issues. The worst case could be having to go manual. That's no big thing.

[Major Nikon]

4. There is a gotcha

If you go with the Nikon 3000 or 5000 series, the older autofocus lenses will not autofocus. They will work as manual focus lenses. The reason is because the older lenses do not have an internal focusing motor and need a focusing motor in the body.

In your price range you can get either a used D200 or a D80. Both are 10 megapixel cameras. Both take excellent pictures. Neither will do video. Both have a focusing motor in the body.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800841251-USE/Nikon_25235_D200_SLR_Digital_Camera.html

I'm not sure which lenses you have, but for a little more than you've budgeted, you can get a refurbed Nikon D5100 with a 18-55 lens for $579. This is a Nikon factory refurb and will be like new.

http://shop.nikonusa.com/store/nikonusa/en_US/pd/productID.242455300

It's the same price through Cameta and you get a 1 year warranty...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-D5100-Digital-SLR-Camera-Body-18-55mm-G-VR-DX-AF-S-Zoom-Lens-16-2-MP-USA-/140705000576

[alfredo]

5. A friend let me play with his D5100, and I was very impressed. I had a feeling there might have been

some issues with old lenses.

[Major Nikon]

9. On this web site there is a chart that explains the compatibility

The most common Nikon autofocus lenses are AF, AF-D, and AF-S. Only the AF-S lenses will autofocus with the D5100. There's still a lot of AI and AI-S lenses out there which won't autofocus on any Nikon body as they are manual focus only. The advantage to these lenses is they are generally cheaper (mostly on the used market), and they will focus manually far better than an autofocus lens. I still have one AI-S lens which I still use quite a bit. As far as 3rd party lenses go, they have their own designations and you just have to check with the manufacturer to see if they have an internal focusing motor.

http://bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm

[alfredo]

10. Great info. I would have gone Nikon, but it didn't fit my hand.

I'm now m4/3.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. In fact that is what I am looking at getting for street journalism

it also does well in low light.



For the moment still using my point and shoot and discovering all it can do!

[Major Nikon]

8. The D5100 has the same sensor as my D7000

I'm not sure how well the D5100 will autofocus in low light because I don't own one, but I do know the sensor itself does very well in low light.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. It should do ok with the non legacy glass

The glass itself has an AF motor. I would prefer the bigger brother but it is way out of any justifiable budget.

I mean it is not like I get provided with two Cannon 5D bodies and nice lenses like my AP and Reuters counterparts.

[alfredo]

6. Read Major Nikon's post below.