Gizmodo: giftguide, Digital Cameras

The Four DSLR Cameras for Every Budget

matt buchanan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST

We're in kind of a golden age of DSLR cameras. They're cheaper than ever, so they're affordable, and they do more stuff than ever, so the time's right to jump in. Here's our DSLR picks for every (non-pro) budget.

Baby's First DSLR: Nikon D3000

The D3000 is cheap. We're talking a full kit (i.e., it comes with a lens) for just $460, making it the cheapest DSLR kit around. But what really makes it stand out for beginners is a built-in tutorial system that explains how to get certain kinds of shots—like shallow depth of field—in plain English.

Amateur Hour: Canon T1i

The next step up is Canon's T1i. What we like is that it packs a bigger boy's image sensor—it's got the same 15-megapixel sensor as the pricier mid-range 50D—and 1080p video into a camera that's $720 with kit lens. Also, for the money, it edges out Nikon's D5000 on a few points, namely superior video handling and Live View.

Bigger Britches: Nikon D90

Nikon's D90 was the first ever DSLR to shoot 720p video with manual controls, but that's only part of the reason we like it. It's got the awesome image sensor from the semi-pro D300, in a package that's just over $1000. And at that price, it's $100 cheaper than Canon's competing 50D, which has the same image sensor as the cheaper T1i above, but none of the video benefits of either camera.

The Budding Auteur: Canon 7D

The only camera on this list that's more expensive than its competition—the D300s—the 7D overwhelms with DSLR video that's superior to every camera but Canon's very pro 1D Mark IV (which costs $5000). It shoots in 1080p, with full manual controls, and it's amazing what it can do in low light. Besides that, Canon's somehow cheated physics with an 18-megapixel sensor that doesn't explode with noise at high ISO settings, all while cramming a whole bunch of new features, and an actually good autofocus system. It's $1900 with a kit lens.

Beyond here, honestly, you should already have a pretty idea of what you're gonna buy without our help. And if you've got your own opinions about what's best in every price range, let's hear 'em in the comments.

Gifts for Aspiring Artsy Photographers

matt buchanan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:59:15 EST

Every photographer wants to be artsy, because if their Flickr stream isn't fancy enough to pull in lots of "Oh, you're so talented" comments, what's the point? Here's some gift ideas for aspiring artsy photographers.

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Crumpler Industry Disgrace neckstrap Fancy cameras, especially German ones, are heavy. Fancy lenses bolted to fancy cameras? It's like lugging around a (fancy) dump truck. Normal camera straps are thin and cut into your neck. Crumpler's Industry Disgrace neckstrap is fat, super padded and breathable. And, they come in patterns. $30-$40. [Link]

Lensbaby optics Crazy lenses for DSLRs, like tilt-shifts and fisheyes, can be ridiculously expensive, way too expensive for a starving artiste who must save their pennies for vintage boots. Enter Lens Baby, which produces cheap, quick and dirty single-effect lenses and adapters for DSLRs. While their quality isn't exactly bulletproof, they do deliver the special effect shots Flickr whores crave. The core lenses do variations on the whole small area of focus, lots of blurriness surrounding it, while the optics system lets you swap out inserts for different effects, like fisheye or pinhole. $95-$300. [Link]

A 50mm prime lens Back in the day, a 50mm prime lens is what photogs cut their teeth on. No zoom, no wide-angle, no image stabilization to fiddle with. Just sharp focus. Meaning it's pure composition on the photographer's part. If you're buying for a DSLR that's not full-frame—basically anything other than Canon 5D Mark II or D700—you're gonna wanna grab a 35mm lens (with the crop factor, it becomes about 50mm, give or take). They get pricier as they get faster, but you can score a cheap 50mm for about a hundred bucks, and a cheap(ish) 35mm for between $200 and $300. $90-$320 [Nikon 50mm, Canon 50mm, Nikon 35mm, Canon 35mm]

Joby GorillaPod A cheap tripod that'll fit in a hipster messenger bag, for long exposure shots. $30-$50 [Link]

Crumpler camera bags Most camera bags aren't very befitting of actually cool photographers. They're boring. Corporate. Ugly. Crumpler's 5 Million Home holds a DSLR, an extra lens and flash and is sunny sky blue. Stepping up a model, the 8 Million Dollar Home has more space for more stuff, if needed. $80-$170. [Link, Link]

Diana F+ CMYK lomo camera Real artsy photographers shoot with cheap lomo film cameras to produce vintage-y lo-fi photos, with crazy saturation, exposures and optical effects, perfect for Vice Magazine. Don't think, just shoot. And the super bright CMYK paint job? You know what it is. $105 [Link]

Leica M9: The ultimate photographer gift. Picking up a Leica camera instantly turns anybody into a Photographer. While holding a Leica, it is impossible not to shoot perfect, artsy photos. Even if you try. The M9 is the latest, most exquisite piece of German photographic craftsmanship yet, with an 18-megapixel, full-frame sensor that delivers the most amazing photos of all time. $7000 and worth every penny. [Link]

Superzoom Cameras: They're not DSLRs, they're not pocketable point-and-shoots, and they're definitely not artsy. They're for tourists, and for the money, you could easily get a way better cheap DSLR or vintage film camera.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

Pentax DSLR Acclaim: Both the K100D and K10D Receive Great Scores

Brian Lam — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:04:00 EST

Looks like Canon and Nikon have another worthy competitor in the DSLR range.

First, Mark McClusky and Sean Captain give the K100D the Editor's Choice in Wired's Test issue. He chooses the budget-ish DSLR over the top of the line Canon 30D and Nikon D200 because of built in image stabilization and low noise at high light sensitivity modes ISOs (1600 is its max.)

Then Pop Photo gives the higher end K10D a similar thumbs up for the same low noise characteristics. The camera also gets...

high marks for its fog, snow, and dust resistant shell. Pop Photo has a small but annotated gallery that shows off the camera's ability to shoot low light. –Brian Lam

Pentax k100d [Wired Test]
k10D [Pentax]

Ceiva Digital Picture Frames Allows Global Picture Sharing

Travis Hudson — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:30:24 EST

Ceiva has announced some interesting updates to their line of digital picture frames that may change the way you display and share pictures. They have added a 7- and 8-inch model to their lineup. The 7-inch model has a resolution of 480x324 and the 8-inch model has a resolution of 640x480 and includes interchangeable bezels in a wood finish and black.

The frame can be loaded up with images through a variety of ways. It includes a memory card reader that supports most memory card types for direct photo-viewing, but it can also hook up to your home network via an optional direct or wireless Ethernet connector. It can also receive images from PicturePlan. PicturePlan is Ceiva's monthly service that allows you to display new photos everyday, also send pictures to the digital frame from anywhere in the world and even allow picture sharing which may or not be the greatest of ideas (Goatse during Christmas dinner, anyone?). The frames begin at $150 and the PicturePlan service starts at $7 per month. – Travis Hudson

Ceiva Revamps Digital Photo Frames [Digital Trends]

Nikon D40 DSLR is Tiny, 6MP, with 3200 ISO: Eeess Nice

Brian Lam — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 04:35:17 EST

Nikon officially unveiled the D40 today, a new budget DSLR worth your attention. First off, they've stopped upping the megapixel count, and have left it alone with a 6MP CCD, which is fine, because I don't shoot above that anyhow for the web or personal images. Then it has a 3200 ISO rating making for terrific low light performance. Canon's competing Rebel XTi only goes up to 1600, for example, so the Nikon gets an extra stop. It'll shoot at 2.5 per second, and there's in camera retouching of red eye, shadow and highlight enhancement, and others. It uses SD cards, which is nice, because I've got a whole lot of em lying around. And the body itself is small, yet packs a 2.5-inch LCD.

You do lose the ability to run autofocus on lenses without built in motors, though. So you're limited to AF with Nikon's AF-S and AF-I lenses, which may limit your upgrade path. The price? Astoundingly low at $599 with a 3x lens. (The fairly ok, "18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor lens". Who the hell names these things?)

A pretty sweet camera, but clearly in a different price range than the Canon Rebel XTi. We'll see how it does when the full reviews start rolling in.

Jump for more shots from all angles, plus a great screen grab of the menus.

–Brian Lam

Nikon D40 DSLR [DP Review]

Questionable Gadgets: Two-In-One Film/Digital Camera

Jason Chen — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:42:20 EST

Apparently this two-in-one film and digital camera is such "amazing new technology" that it's available only on eBay. The camera has a 35mm motorized compact camera with auto-rewind/power-rewind combined with a digital cam that takes 26 pictures at high resolution and 99 at low.

For a price of only 19.99 ($38), you can own your own hybrid camera that isn't really good at either digital or film photography. It may be a decent Christmas present for the child in your home, though. Did you ever figure out where he came from? – Jason Chen

eBay Auction [eBay via Digicam Review]

Casio Calms Quivering Hands with New Exilims

Louis Ramirez — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:52:20 EST

We've always been fans of Casio's Exilim cameras (they're great cams for our Luddite family members) and now it seems Casio is updating the family with a 7-megapixel Exilim EX-Z7 and a 6-megapixel EX-Z6. Both cams are gonna be fitted with a 2.5-inch LCD and 3x optical zoom and if you have quaky hands like us, both shooters will also have anti-shake image stabilization built-in. Pricing hasn't been set yet, but we're already biased toward the EX-Z7. Take a look at the unborn EX-Z6 after the jump.

– Louis Ramirez
Casio EX-Z7 [via Image Aquire]
Casio EX-Z6 [via Image Acquire]

Casio Exilim EX-Z500 Reviewed

Travis Hudson — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:56:36 EST

Listen up, you Gizmodo dorks. You may hold Casio near and dear to your hearts in the form of a calculator stored in a pocket protector, but Casio is punching you dweebs in the face—then taking a picture of it—with its line of EX digital cameras. This is the EX-Z500 reviewed by the crew over at TrustedReviews. It's an excellent compact camera that will fulfill the needs of any beginner photographer while also tickling the fancy of moderate-to-expert photogs. This is a 5-megapixel camera that features a 3x optical and 4x digital zoom. It has a 2.7-inch TFT LCD screen and a 1/2.5-inch CCD image sensor boasting 5.25 million pixels. Expect to pay around $350 to $400 for this, which may be a little high for a midrange compact camera.

Casio Exilim EX-Z500 [TrustedReviews]

Options and pricing for Casio Exilim cameras [Amazon]

Phase One 39-Megapixel Camera

Travis Hudson — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 15:04:20 EST

Don't get me wrong, I've used my fair share of digital cameras in the past, but honestly, who the hell would ever need a 39-megapixel camera—except, of course, for VERY VERY detailed porn.

This P45 camera by Phase One is capable of capturing at 35fps and a write speed of 20MB/s. Yeah, 20MB/s sounds good and all, but not when each picture is 117MB in size. At this point these kinds of cameras might need to look into using a hard drive system, because memory cards would be really inefficient. Oh well, whatever floats your photogging boat.

Gizmodo readers, let me know, what the hell kind of picture would require a 39-megapixel camera?

Phase One 39-Megapixel Digital Camera [BIOS]

Entry Level Kodak EasyShare

tgrumet — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 10:48:42 EST

After Kodak's first big push into WiFi-enabled cameras with the EasyShare One, the company has decided to add another product to the line, this time even less expensive at $168. With 5 megapixels, 36mm fixed focal lens, digital zoom, 16MB of internal storage and an SD/MMC card slot for added storage, the C530 is easy to use and a great entry point for those who want to use Kodak's wireless thingy. Also captures MPEG-4 video.

Kodak EasyShare C530 [Bios Magazine]

Specs and pricing for Kodak EasyShare products [Amazon]

Panasonic Lumix DMC LX1 Reviewed

Travis Hudson — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 06:12:30 EST

The LX1 is the first digital camera to offer a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. It also uses a 4x Leica optical zoom lens and we know how much you photogs love Leica with all of your heart. And there's even more! This camera is an 8.4 megapixel beast that is capable of recording movies at 30 frames per second. It is small, light and has a lithium ion rechargeable battery. All of this for just under $500. It's no DSLR, but this is a hell of a point and shoot camera for the average user.

Panasonic Lumix DMC LX1 [Digicam Review]

Prices for Panasonic Lumix DMC LX1 [CNET]

Edit: The Fujifilm E810 isn't the first 16:9 wide digital camera as previous corrected. The E810 has a conventional 4:3 sensor, but with a function to crop the photos to give 16:9 aspect photos. The LX-1 on the other hand has a 16:9 sensor. Thanks, Max.

Nikon D200 Reviewed (Verdict: Pretty Rawkin)

gizmodo.com — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 11:49:13 EST

That Loch Ness of Digital SLRs, the Nikon D200, has finally emerged from the rumor swamp. This beast is a 10.2-megapixel professional camera designed for taking excellent quality pictures, as expected, but carries a bit of a steep pricetag at $1699. What do you get for that? A nice large 2.5-inch LCD display, 11 area Multi-CAM AF system, and 1005 pixel 3D matrix metering. It also features WiFi transmission options and Nikon s i-TTL Creative Lighting System. Into action photography? 5 frames per second high-speed continuous shooting is part of the package. The D200 doesn't feel like a cheap Fisher Price toy and has rugged, solid construction made from magnesium alloy. Overall, it's a pretty sexy camera with a high price tag that will keep you satisfied for awhile.

Nikon D200 [Digital Photo Blog]
Nikon Product Page

Pricing for Nikon D200 [Amazon]