There are really only two lens systems that have a complet line up from comsumer, through prosumer and into pro and uber pro: Nikkor (Nikon Lenses) and Canon. Both lines include offerings at every level and the quality to go with it. Both brands are very high quality across the board in both the lenses and the bodies.
I was a Canon shooter in my Manual Focus days. Switched to Nikon with my first AF body. Back to Canon for Digital, and now I'm a part time professional photographer.
Nikon has started to catch up, but Canon still has a large lead in terms of image quality. All Canon DSLRs are based on CMOS sensors, which at this point are higher quality and lower noise. Only the very high end Nikon bodies use CMOS sensors. From the Rebel up to the 1D series: all are based on a CMOS sensor. Canon also has some other nice things that filter all the way down to the basic DSLR models.
I own a EOS 5D. I also use heavily a 1Ds2 and a 20D. Together with a studio co-owner we have a nice collection of glass.
I would recommend going with some Canon model. The Rebel XTi and Rebel XSi both have self cleaning sensors (so does the 40D and 1D3 and 1Ds3). That's a pretty big deal. That and live view (very useful for studio macro work) would be the compelling reasons I would consider the eventual 5D2.
Buy what you can afford, but consider the future. Getting a kit lens is fine if that's all you can do now. You will end up replacing it at some point. You will add lenses to the collection. You will add other accessories. If you end up like most, you will end up with about as many different bags as parts. These are all normal. Have fun, take a ton of pictures. Never stop learning.
Also consider how you will manage the images. Aperture (on OSX) or Lightroom (on Windows or OSX) are both wonderful tools for managing a large (huge) collection of images. Shooting tons is great, but you gotta be able to sort through and pick the good ones.
I was a Canon shooter in my Manual Focus days. Switched to Nikon with my first AF body. Back to Canon for Digital, and now I'm a part time professional photographer.
Nikon has started to catch up, but Canon still has a large lead in terms of image quality. All Canon DSLRs are based on CMOS sensors, which at this point are higher quality and lower noise. Only the very high end Nikon bodies use CMOS sensors. From the Rebel up to the 1D series: all are based on a CMOS sensor. Canon also has some other nice things that filter all the way down to the basic DSLR models.
I own a EOS 5D. I also use heavily a 1Ds2 and a 20D. Together with a studio co-owner we have a nice collection of glass.
I would recommend going with some Canon model. The Rebel XTi and Rebel XSi both have self cleaning sensors (so does the 40D and 1D3 and 1Ds3). That's a pretty big deal. That and live view (very useful for studio macro work) would be the compelling reasons I would consider the eventual 5D2.
Buy what you can afford, but consider the future. Getting a kit lens is fine if that's all you can do now. You will end up replacing it at some point. You will add lenses to the collection. You will add other accessories. If you end up like most, you will end up with about as many different bags as parts. These are all normal. Have fun, take a ton of pictures. Never stop learning.
Also consider how you will manage the images. Aperture (on OSX) or Lightroom (on Windows or OSX) are both wonderful tools for managing a large (huge) collection of images. Shooting tons is great, but you gotta be able to sort through and pick the good ones.
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