Nikon D80, Sony Alpha or Canon 450D?

Between the Sony A350 and the Canon450D think about stabilsation and lens cost, Sony stablisation is in the body so cheaper lenses. Read this

I recently sold my motorcycle and bought a Canon 50D body, EF 70–200 f/2.8 IS USM, EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro, BG-E2N grip and the most awesome shoulder strap from black rapid. I need a fast 50 and I’ll be set. This is my first DSLR, but I have had 4 point and shoots. I got it two days ago and I love the thing.

I guess lens selection for you really should come down to what you are going to shoot. After all the research I’ve done I found you really do get what you pay for. A $500 Tamron just will not compare to L series glass. If you are just shooting for yourself I see no need to go drop huge amounts of cash on high quality lenses, but if you plan to publish, sell, display etc save yourself the headache and get the good stuff.

I an a huge fan of Canon!

Have had several Canons, currently a 30D. They are workhorses. @tekn0lust is correct about lenses, but I now have two Tamrons (17–50 & 28–300, stabilized) among others and they are excellent if not spectacular glass (I’d call all Ls spectacular).

If you get a DSLR that has an APC size sensor, think twice before you buy a lot of digital-only lenses. The Tamron 17–50 is my only (and last) digital-only lens. I don’t want to be left with a lot of glass that I cannot use when I move up to my dream (5D) body.

Canon and Nikon are both good—it’s really a matter of preference. The usual way it breaks down is that Nikon makes good technical cameras for photographers, and Canon makes good photography cameras for technical people. I’m on the Nikon side myself (going back to film cameras) but I can respect people who buy Canons.

Sony is a distant third.

check out www.dpreview.com
detailed reviews as well as a feature to compare all three side by side.

I would go with the Nikon or Canon, and between the two it is a lot of personal preferance. Personally I prefer Nikon, but Canons are still really great cameras.

Nikon for VR and fast focusing. I love Nikon.

@steelmarket are you refering to the difference between EF-S and EF canon lenses? I know that the EF-S lenses do not fit on full size sensor bodies like the 5D, etc but the EF lenses do fit on the x0D, x50D, etc.

@tek, yes. No more EF-S lenses for me, even though my 30D has an APC sensor. My Tamron super-tele and my Canon 50 prime are EF – size lenses, and they work great, once you get used to the conversion factor (1.6 for the 30D).

@steelmarket how does the 1.6 conversion affect your workflow? Just in calculations?

It only really affects my choice of lens for a given situation. On one hand, it makes those teles really reach out. On the other hand, I don’t have a really wide lens. I have not tried out a fisheye – guess I’d only capture the center of the field.

Thank you everyone and especially c quinningham & bagardbilla for the very informative links. Bagardbilla’s link really explained a lot of the terminology and sort of put everything into words of two syllables that a photography newbie like myself could understand. Can’t wait to get started!

You’ve all been very helpful – thanks again!

Canon 450D