I like my Nikon D40 a lot. It has a 50 to 225mm lens. Don't know if it is standard though. $800 US

fighter25 wrote on Jun 4^th, 2007 at 11:26pm:


I love mine  mine has the 18-55mm lense f/3.5-5.6 AF-S. The only catch with the D40 is that it has very limited lense compatibility. There are only a few models that will work with it 

61_OTU wrote on Jun 5^th, 2007 at 3:58pm:


I was on the crowdline at Breighton. Even that amount of zoom isn't enough for anything at RIAT bar straight and level passes and takeoff/landings really.

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Ah....that's true, I keep forgetting that your 10D has the same crop factor......when are you going to upgrade to a 5D Steve? 

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A fair point.......meanwhile this thread has become a bit Canon-centric. I really liked the look of the Pentax K10D, with all it's fancy weather seals and image stabilisation built in.....not sure what the US model/price is though.....

BAW0343 wrote on Jun 5^th, 2007 at 9:56pm:

I can't find the XLi listed. http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=...

The orginal DSLR in this range was the Digital Rebel or 300D. Several forum members use it including Craig. I have the Canon 350D which is known in the US as the Digital Rebel XT. I'm very pleased with it but, as Heathaze points out, the lens is the important bit. I would have gone for the later 400D (Rebel XTi) if it had been available at the time.

One thing nobody seems to warn you about with DSLR cameras is the problem with dust on the sensor (dust bunnies). This can be a real nuisance, especially if you swap lenses several times during a session. Cleaning the sensor is tricky & not recommended for the faint-hearted. The 400D (XTi) is the first Canon DSLR to address this problem with the EOS Integrated Cleaning System including an automatic self-cleaning sensor that operates every time the camera is switched on. I don't know how successful this is. Perhaps Mic or other 400D users can tell us.

There is still an unmentioned line of D-SLRs ........  Olympus......I have used the Olympus E-500 for over a year now and am quite happy 'cept for one missing feature.......image stabilization.......this has been rectified with the soon to be released E-510. This new camera has been bumped up to a 10MP image sensor and includes an in-body image stabilization system which can be set to cancel unwanted motion in various ways......huge benefit of this system is that all previous lenses will use the stabilization system because it's in the body and accordingly the lenses should have a lower price than those which have the stabilization system in the lens itself.

As far as dust control, I have changed lenses many times over, by crouching down beside the runway, on the grass, and often put one lens down while switching the mount-cap between the lens from the bag and the one from the body.
I haven't had anything resembling dust on any image so far.....none which I have seen, and nobody here has mentioned any to me.  I would openly admit such a short-coming to eveyone and not advise purchase to a new user.

In addition to the new features, this line (Olympus) is the first to feature "Live View"......this is the ability to view onscreen while holding the camera in any position necessary....... the eye-level viewfinder is not an electronic LCD as some may suspect, it's the "through-lens" glass view which every SLR user expects to see.........another great innovation.....imagine, holding your D-SLR high up, to get rid of unwanted heads of taller people in front of your view..........great idea !

When finances allow, you can rest assured, I'll be getting the new Evolt E-510 body to compliment my setup......