Which camera do you recommend?
 

My boyfriend is looking into purchasing a new camera. Meaning he's buying it however I'll be the one snapping the pictures. Things I'll be shooting include him surfing, and other various rapid activies that require a fast shutter speed. Size isn't a problem, idealy I'll have a monopod to work with.

what sort of budget is he looking at?

can you use an SLR?

how much do you know about photography?

If you want the best, I would look at the Canon 7D (well the 1D IV is good too, but pretty expensive) with a 300mm prime (or 400mm) + the 1.4x extender. The 300 has image stabilization that I can use hand holding it. It works extremely well, and you don't have to be that close to the action to get really good pictures.

The other cameras I would recommend are the Canon 40D or 50D or the T1i. Don't worry too much about the learning curve, you will become good with enough practice.

I'm a total amateur, so I can't give a professional recommendation, but I love my Nikon D40.

This is like asking which car you should buy.

A fast shutter speed shouldn't be an issue. Even the cheaper superzooms can do 1/2000 speeds.

The main issue will be focusing speed. And then what to get will depend entirely on budget.

yeah, and without specifying size of the family, budget, uses...etc...

I absolutely love my Canon T1i, though if I could do it all again I would go for a camera with a metal body instead of the plastic of the Rebel series. (40D, 50D, etc)

Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. Buy the camera you can afford and put your money into the lenses. If you really get into it, you'll just replace the body in a few years anyway.

I started off with a Nikon D50 and sold it a few years later after I got a Nikon D300.

if you are going small the CANON A-series is a good bet, they are fast focusers and about $120 range. The A 1100is is the current model I think.

dont get an elph or a pocket mini cam if you want to do more than get snapshots of friends and parties.

Yea, I'm hoping to get a few L-lenses. I rented a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L and the pictures were AMAZING! What a difference good glass makes!

I second this option. If you have a decent amount of money to spend and want to shoot things like surfing a 7D would be nice. A 1d IV would be overkill in my opinion.

Your biggest issue is autofocus and the rebel series and other cheaper models will frustrate you as their AI Servo performance is poor at best.

Heck, if you want really good autofocus performance I'd even recommend buying an old 1D mk II or mk IIn. To date those have the best autofocus out of any Canon system (until the 1dIV comes out probably).

I use a Canon Rebel XSi but I still consider myself an amateur.

I completely forgot about this thread...he ended up going with the Canon EOS 40D SLR with the standard 18-50 lens as well as a 300 zoom lens. We went with the canon because the lenses are much more universal than the Nikons. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance. So far for action shots (ie surfing) it has done amazing when I can focus in on the surfer and not the white water.

Huh? :confused:

The 40D was a good choice. Try using the center focus point only, and AI servo mode. Pre-focus by pushing the button halfway on the surfer, and then it should track.

+1

I think that's in reference to the D40/D40+/D60/D3000/D5000 setup with no in-body autofocus motor. You can't use a lot of the older prime lenses because they don't have internal AF motors.

I thought that might have been what she meant but it's really on a matter of metering and focusing rather than any particular brand of lenses being any more universal than the other. It sounded like the bullshit of a salesman and while I don't know much about how often Canon have their mount, it's nice to know that my 26 year old Nikon EM and DSLR could share lenses if need be.

It made me cringe in the same way that I do whenever I walk into a Bestbuy and overhear a salesman pitching a camera on megapixels alone.

I got a new P&S camera a few years ago.
Everyone: "How many megapixels is it?"
Me: "It has fully manual controls, 12x optical zoom, and reviews say the sensor is great in low light."
"Cool, but how many megapixels is it?"
"You don't know much about cameras, do you?"

Took a bad picture of some good lenses:

From Left to Right:
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (T1i Kit Lens)
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

You can see one of the first pics I took with the L lens in the Photo Challenge thread.

The very next $80 you can spare needs to go to a 50mm 1.8 lens...best canon lens value ever! I know semipros who leave it on their bodies all the time.

Very true. I have one and it is very handy!