Best starter camera

[mojonito]

so my girlfriend has pretty much taken her point and click to it's limits and she has expressed interest in learning photography and taking a class at the local college. i want to know what everyone thinks is a good all around slr type starter camera. i want to get her something that has some potential for her to grow with. i don;t want to spend a fortune either as i want to be able to get her a lense. what do you all think is a good starter camera and a good starter lense and do you think a used camera is a bad idea. thanks for the input.

 

[Okiewan]

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=16307

EOS Rebel XSi EF-S 18-55IS Kit
Kit with 17-55 lens. $700 delivered from Amazon.

Excellent camera.

 

[dohp]

knowing a budget would make it easier to let you know what's available.

Xti or XSi wouldn't be a bad start for a body, if she likes nikon, D60 or D80 would be nice.

Let us know the budget ballpark and we can suggest lenses. Going telephoto can go from $50-100 for a 70-300mm kit lens to $1700 for a 70-200 F2.8 L IS. something wider like a 18-55 kit lens would run you pretty cheap. 17-85 F4-5.6 IS would be a little better. Maybe the nikon guys can suggest some choices, these are Canon lenses. The kit lenses are all cheaper, obviously alot more affordable, but are also lower quality. Going to a Sigma or Tamron can get you the same lens for cheaper. They do have a tendancy to be cheaper for a reason though.

 

[mojonito]

thanks for the input. i was thinking i would go canon route and i didn't want to spend more than $1000 for the camera and a lens.

 

[dohp]

nikon makes a good camera also, not sure if it's supposed to be a surprise, but i'd take her into a good camera shop, and they should let you try out a couple to see if she has a preference, some people like the canon setup some like the Nikon setup. Both of the lower end lines have smaller bodies, which can help the ladies run them. Canon lenses do tend to be a little cheaper then Nikon's b/c they produce/sell more then nikon does. If you could find a low actuation XTi/XSi That would definately be a good choice. The XTi is a pretty good camera, with the right glass you would get some awesome photos. XSi is even better. The only problem is at high ISO the grain is pretty visible, compared to the xxD series (40D/50D). But it's managable if she's just starting out with the DSLR world. If you have a couple minutes, browse around
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=14
and you can get a feel for how much stuff goes for, maybe even buy something off there.
one to look at
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=695806


any idea what kind of photography she's into? general photography, sports, modeling? just wondering what she'd need for focal lengths, so can suggest a couple lenses