AboutSteve Meltzer Expertise I am a professional photographer and I've been shooting for newspapers, magazines, commercial clients and artists for over 30 years.
I have shot stock photography for dozens of years and in 1977 created West Stock (Seattle, WA) which was one of the first to produce stock photo CDs and later one of the first to establish an online stock photo slaes site.
I have a new book on digital photography "PHOTOGRAPHING ARTS, CRAFTS AND COLLECTIBLES (Lark Books, 2007)which is available at Amazon.com, eBay.com and in bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. I have another book, CAPTURE THE LIGHT which will be puiblished in November, 2008.
I write 20-30 feature articles and columns for regional and national publications a year.
My education includes studying with photographers like Cornell Capa, Duane Michels and Oliver Gagliani (from the Ansel Adams Center.)
Expert: Steve Meltzer Date: 12/21/2007 Subject: New Camera
Question I'm about to invest in my first good camera. The main use for this will be to photograph my kids in sports. I'm leaning toward th Canon EOS Rebel XTI (or the Nikon D80). Here is the deal for $999:
Canon EOS Rebel XTI w/EF 18-55 lens
Canon EF 75-300 Zoom Lens
Promaster Digital 4 Tripod
Promaster 1GB Memory Card
Promaster PNB-2LH Battery
2-58mm Promaster Sky/UV filters
Canon Gadget bag
Quick Pro Digital 101 DVD
My questions are: is the XTI a good camera for what I want to do (are others better?) and is this a fair price from my local camera shop.
Thanks,
Answer Mike
I've got mixed feelings about the Canon XTi. The package deal you were offered isn't such a great deal. The camera alone with an 18-55 costs less than $400 at most online stores and the additional stuff isn't worth $600.
My concern about the Rebel is its build. Its not real sturdy. I'd suggest you compare it to a Nikon D40x which I think has a much better build quality. A D40x with an 18-200mm Nikon zoom with a 1 GB card will cost a lot less than $999 and I think will serve you better. especially because changing lenses means you can get dust and dirt on the sensor and that's a big problem. One camera one lens makes life sweeter.
When photographing kids sports the issue is fast focus and shutter responsiveness. Go to one ofthe online camera review sites and check what reviewers and users think of the Canon and the D40x. And go to a camera shop and try each. See how they feel and then decide what to buy.
Especially if you aren't printing larger than 8x10 any 10 MP camera will give you excellent results and allow to crop the image as though you had a longer lens. My concenr is that many manufacturers make long telezooms that are lovely at their midranges but are soft at their long focal length.
