How many shutter actuations is a DSRL good for?
 

Im looking to purchase a used body (Probably Nikon D60) so I have some left over cash for a decent lens. How many average shutter actuations is a camera rated for?

Thanks

I'm pretty sure it depends on the camera.

d40 and d60 won't work with as many lens as the d50, d70, d80, d200, d300, d700 etc.

+1, higher end cameras (at least older manual cameras) can also be 'rebuilt' when the parts wear or break.

Sorry should have read what I typed. The used camera I was looking at was a D70 with 37000 shutter actuations

google is your friend...
 

Thanks Soapy, just what I was looking for :mrgreen:

How much were they asking for it

$350 obo

While I have this post going I might as well pick at the minds of people that seem to know more about this than I. Been doing a fair amount of research online (Should be studying Calculus) and at stores. I just went in to get a feel for some of these cameras. I was mainly looking at the D60 and the Canon XS, both of which are leagues away from my current point and shoot. I also took a look at a few of the models a step up from there like the D90 and the 1Ti. After that the price was just too much for my needs. I also felt that way about the D90 and 1Ti a bit. The main reason for the camera upgrade is to take better quality shots of my aquariums, and my regular camera usage. Im not looking to become a professional photographer by any extent, and I feel that should be reflected in the price that im willing to pay for a camera. I received a lot of helpful information from the store, but if history has taught me anything its that salespeople are there to sell. And having as much information and others opinions can only help to further my decision.

The first question is because of conflicting information about lens. I have been told that the D60 can AND cannot wield the majority of Nikon lens.
It can't be both!

Im also curious about the pixel rating, from my understanding you tend to loose a ton of picture quality when the image is uploaded on the net or printed. Is that a true statement?

Any other info that you think may help would also be greatly appreciated, especially if you happen to own a D60. What has the experience been like?

If it was me and I had the cake I would go for the Rebel T1i. Full HD video recording plus all the available slr lenses! Nice. Or the D90 which also does video. I lean towards the rebel though.

How cool would it be to put a macro lens on and take HD video of palythoas swallowing shrimp?

Pretty cool. As long as you aren't the shrimp :lol:

There is a huge debate on whether the nikon DSLRs are better or the canon DSLRs.

Here are some difference between the D60 and XSi that seperates them.

D60:
3 point focus
10 mega pixels <-- doesnt matter its already high enough
NEF raw formate (12 bit AD conversion you lose a bit of quality in highlights)
takes more aggressive photos without adjusting settings, sharper, brighter

XSi: *i know you didnt look into this one but its MUCH better than the XS
9 point focus
12.1 mega pixels
CR2 raw formate (14 bit AD conversion, what canon uses in there professional DSLRs)
takes less agressive photos but after adjustments will result in better images than the D60

As you can see on the surface the XSi is a much better camera, Im a Canon guy and the XSi does wonders for a entry level DSLR. The photo quality with Canons 14bit AD convertor is amazing in RAW format. The important thing is WHICH camera feels better in your hands when using, both are very capable of taking good photos all DSLRs are made to take good photos in RAW imo.

The statement about losing megapixels and uploading onto the net i think is false..the uploading process cant change the amount of mega pixels it was used to take a photo on a camera. The image quality might drop due to there compression (photobucket) but other then that i dont see any mega pixel decrease.

Here is a link for you in seeing which lenses are compatible with the D60, take a look inside a manual when you go to the stores, they shuold have one...if not try looking online for an online version and see which lenses they list as compatible with D60
http://www.nikonians.org/nikon/slr-lens.html

Costco
 

I had the same debate and what I did was I went to Costco and did the 90 day trial for the Xsi. Don't get me wrong I don't do this often but I figure I had to justify the costco membership fee somehow.... Anyways, my friend and I had a shootoff against his d60 and the results were very compable so we concluded it would just come down to individual preferences. But are you sure you want to get used? There's so much packed into those cameras that even a slight mishandle could cause damages. Within the $300-$400 range there are other brands that offer new dslrs.

Thanks imisky for clearing some of that up for me, very informative.


Costco huh, never even thought about there. Damn membership fee! After some more looking around Ive decided to buy new, just for the reason you mentioned. Having a warranty is also a selling point. Thanks for the tip though, Ill be sure to check it out.

Pentax and Sony both offer entry level dSLRs but I'd stick with Canon or Nikon. The big C and the big N dominate the SLR market in part because of the massive array of lenses available - and lenses are the reason you get an SLR. Sony has never made a big splash in the SLR market (unlike point & shoot) and with the company losing billions for the first time since anyone can remember there are questions as to whether Sony will continue to support dSLRs in the long term. SLRs are core businesses for Canon and Nikon, it is not a core business for Sony. I don't know much about Pentax except for the one that my dad had when he immigrated to Canada 40 years ago. I hear they're good cameras, but again the support for their dSLRs just isn't like it is for Canon and Nikon.

Agreed, thats what people have been telling me. What I would like to do is try both of them out (D60 and Rebel XSi). Just take a couple dozen shots with each, outside and then in a less lit area. I would really like to screw around with them on my aquarium (Or another aquarium) to see what I get. But from the sounds of it the shots will be similar. So I guess I would just like to get a feel to see who I like better. Canon or Nikon, the fight is on. Does anyone know of a place that will let you try the camera out for an hour or so in calgary? Thanks in Advance! (Besides Costco, its to hell and gone)

London Drug will let you return a camera within 2 weeks so you can buy both and return one for credit within 2 weeks.

Tom R

HAHAHA buy both! Thats awesome. Other than that being a pipe dream I see your point. Let me just rearrange you're idea around a little. I could buy one and try it out. Return it for the other. Choose and get the right camera. Pain in the ass but at least I will be able to test them out.

Thanks Tom

As an employee of London Drugs, I should probably clarify: the company has a 15-day no hassle return. You don't return it for credit, you can return it for ALL your money back.

:)

Happy camera hunting!

About the comment that Sony isnt a good DSLR brand...i dont think thats true, Nikon uses Sony sensors they dont make there own..So if you see Sony going down in the DSLR scene Nikon might get effected a bit but i doubt it. Canon on the other hand makes there own sensors and d*mn good ones. Walk into Walmart if you want to get a feel of what both camera feel like in your hand, bestbuy, futureshop all have DSLRs on display that you can play with i am not sure if they have batterys in them though.

In my opinion there are three things to consider when buying a camera.

The first is the Camera body. Unlike 'point and shoot' type cameras that appeal to the mass market wherein you get very good makes mixed in with not so good ones (i.e. Kodak, Coby, etc.) this is not the case for DSLR. Whether you buy a Sony, Canon, Nikon, Pentax, et al, you can rest assured that you are buying a quality camera regardless of make. That being said, some cameras have some features and/or strengths that might set them above the rest when camera shopping. Sony, for example, is merely a rebranded Minolta DSLR - as such, if you have an array of old Minolta glass at home, it might warrant a move to the Sony product.

The second thing to consider is lenses. As with camera bodies, no company makes a bad lens (well... I don't much care for the Canon 75-300 that some entry level kits have, but I digress). Also, there are literally hundreds of lenses that can fit your camera from the a similar manufacturer or from a third party company (i.e. Sigma). It's widely regarded that Pentax has some of the most premium lenses available for their cameras, but are you missing out on image quality by purchasing a Nikon? I don't think so.

The third and most important consideration when looking for a camera is you, the photographer. The absolute best thing I can recommend when purchasing a camera is to forget about specs, features, and the like (temporarily, of course), and go and pick up the cameras. Not to plug my company too much, but London Drugs (as well as Don's Photo) is a good place to do this. We have all our cameras (with batteries and a variety of lenses) available for you to play with in the store. Get a feel for the cameras. Hold them, look at the controls, compare weight and compactness. Once you find a camera that feels good, start worrying about specs and features you might use.

I suppose the summary of this is that a person cannot buy a bad DSLR these days. Many people berate Sony and Pentax for having poor low light/high ISO performance, but after looking at portfolios from professional and amateur photographers, I can safely say that the best determinant of photo quality has more to do with who is behind the camera than what is inside it.

With that being said, Nikon and Canon seem to be the most popular choices for aspiring photographers. Because of this there is a massive second hand market for these cameras. So if you're looking for cheap glass that's not brand new, you might have better luck with one of them instead of an Olympus.

how is fuji holding up with there cameras? they used to be out front but you don't hear to much latly?

Steve

Thanks Mikey, I am going to do just that. Go down and get a feel for the camera.

They still have some good products in the P&S market... but they don't really compete in the DSLR market... Canon and Nikon pretty much have it cornered, with Sony trying to stick there nose in where it doesn't belong (Yes, I hate sony :lol: )

amazing how fast things change, 7 years ago fuji was top of the slr with there S2 body. I am not much of a sony fan either. I still have the old fuji I bought a long time ago, the S602z I believe, one step under the DSLR S2, 3MP but with the "new honey comb" CCD it gave the same pic as other camersa 6mp. mind tyou in testing I would put it more at 5MP myself.

Steve

the other place you can look for good prices on camera's is at memory express. also im not sure if they offer the ipr program on these but they back their warranty like a champ you dont wait like 3 weeks while your item goes in , its like 2 or 3 days at mem ex still not fixed, replaced with equal or new version of item.

I've got the Sony A100 and am fairly happy with it. Low Light, High ISO shots can be a little noisy... fortunately for me I think I've taken only a handful of shots that fall into that category.

A couple of the features that sold me on the Sony: Backwards compatibility with the whole back catalogue of Minolta AF lenses. There is absolutely NO shortage of usable lenses for this camera, whether from Sony, Minolta, or 3rd parties like Sigma. The other big feature for me is the image stabilization is done with the camera instead of in the lens. Now, I realize that this doesn't produce the BEST image stabilization... however we shot pictures for years and years without ANY image stabilization and having the camera do it for me puts brand new lenses into my price range. Whereas the optically stabilized Nikkon lenses require your first born AND left nut to purchase.

So, I know it's not the best camera money could buy, but it's the best purchase I could've made with my money!!

So I broke down and bought a Cannon XSi at costco, came with two lense and a portable printer for the price other places wanted for just the body and one lense. all I can say is wow, it is a very impressive camera and I have not even started to explore all the features in it.

I would recomend this camera to anyone.

Steve

The number of actuations a DSLR has depends on the make and model. For example I use a Canon 30D, this model is rated for over 100,000 actuations before you would even look at replacing the assembly.

Most people will never use up their actuations, they would probably replace things before that ever happened. You know how we all like our toys.