Top SLRs

[ret]

which one of the following would you go for and why? Also give 3 lens you would pick to go with your choice

1. Canon 40D
2. Olympus E-3
3. Nikon D300
4. Sony A700

[tegan]

which one of the following would you go for and why? Also give 3 lens you would pick to go with your choice

1. Canon 40D
2. Olympus E-3
3. Nikon D300
4. Sony A700

I believe Popular Photography rated them in this order, although that probably is subject to change depending on the writer/evaluator:

1. Sony A700
2. Nikon D300
3. Canon 40D
4. Olympus E-3

They all have advantages and disadvantages and it really depends on what features individuals find most useful and the type of photography they do.
For example, Canon lenses apparently are best for resolving regular shapes such as what you see in buildings while the Zeiss and Sony lenses are best for resolving the irregular shapes found in nature. Then of course a more expensive lens will improve the image quality on any camera.

Some cameras can meter faster in very low light, but then if you are using flash or a tripod, that really does not matter. Sony autofocus is apparently faster than the Canon 40D but then to go to manual focus you may have to switch off the autofocus on both the Sony camera body and the lens.

Tegan

[ret]

^ thats a nice take on the four @ Tegan

But what I m really interested in knowing is what would you chose from the four and the 3 lenses to go along with your choice

The idea is that everyone talks about his choice which in the end will give a good insight on the type of photographer one is, along with the info on each camera and its lenses

[tegan]

If I was limited to those 4, I would probably pick the Sony A700

with Tamron 70 to 200mm f. 2.8 which tests out better than the Sigma
Sigma 18mm to 50mm f. 2.8 macro
Sony G lens 70mm to 300mm f. 4.5 to f. 5.6 handholdable

I would also be looking at Zeiss lenses as they fit my needs. As you can see I am not a brand fanatic.

Tegan

[AcadieLibre]

What until October and go with the Canon 50D. 3 reasons, just look it up and look at the specs.

[ret]

If the price was an issue, I would take the 40D but if it were not then I would have a tough time selecting one

I would probably go with the Olympus E-3 mainly because of its tough character. Shutter life of at least 150,000 clicks and advanced dust and splash protection. I guess, the difference in image quality amongst this group will not have a wide variance.

Lenses:
7-14mm
14-35mm SWD wide lens [dust/splash proof] or 12-60mm SWD [dust/splash proof]
50-200mm SWD [dust/splash proof]

That makes my camera ready to go anywhere without worrying too much about damaging it and take some great pictures

Keep in mind that this opinion is coming from a newbie to photography

E-3 in Istanbul

[Travis]

I'd take the D300 with Nikkor 24-70 2.8, Nikkor 70-200 2.8VR, and Tokina 11-16 2.8

[ret]

Checked the Olympus E-3 with the 12-60mm lens ... Most things are similar to the E-520, which I am using but this one is built like a tank! The screen size is smaller compared to the E520's but it swirls out and can be rotated

the body goes for about $1800 but would recommend buying the E520 until an E-3 upgrade shows up unless you want a tank like body



and if you shoot usually shoot in weather like in the pic below