RecommendedCameras.com is a website written by professional photographers for anyone who wants to buy a new digital camera, lens, flash, or other accessories, and wants free professional advice. Simple, straight forward, and regularly updated. No junk, no ads, no irrelevant material. Read more...
UPDATED APRIL 2010
Before you buy
NEW! A quick guide to off-camera lighting: flashes, diffusers, stands, etc.
NEW! Nikon vs. Canon
If you decide to buy your equipment online from these stores, you are most likely going to get the absolute best deal when it comes to price, warranty, customer service, and inventory availability. These online stores are where all the professional photographers shop.
Adorama - our first choice when it comes to all kind of camera equipment (especially cameras, lenses, and flashes) and photo prints.
B&H Photo - very similar to Adorama
Amazon - great for refurbished kits (shipped from Adorama, priced less) and other accessories.Others: RitzCamera (same as CameraWorld and WolfCamera), Abe’s of Maine, BuyDig (same as BeachCamera), and J&R.
Local Stores (Nashville):
Dury’s - great for camera bags, tripods, and other lighting accessories that you need to try before you buy.Other Stores:
Best Buy, Wolf Camera, Office Max, Sam's Club, Costco, etc. These stores are great because they have the most common camera models in stock, but they have to charge sales tax, have very limited/basic inventory, and often charge more than any other online store. When shopping at a local camera store, keep in mind that you are dealing with skilled salesmen that have an intrest in selling you what they currently have in inventory ;)
Article: Canon vs Nikon
Intro & Amateur - either of these kits are great. Buy the one that fits your budget best.
Nikon D5000 kit - great beginner camera. Comes with 18-55mm kit lens. You can buy it brand new version or the refurbished kit.
Nikon D5000 Refurbished kit - refurbished equipment is OK for under $700
Nikon D5000 Kit with two lenses: 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses, both VR.Canon XS kit - This camera has a low price and it comes with all the features you need to get started in digital SLR photography
Serious Amateur & Budget Semi-Pro
Nikon D90 body - The Nikon D90 is the est camera for serious amateurs or semi-pros on a tight budget. It is the only camera in its class that has a built in wireless commander for external flashes.
Nikon D90 kit with 18-105mm lens
Nikon D90 kit with 18-200mm lens
Canon T2i body or Canon T2i kit with 18-55mm IS lens - similar to the D90 and equally nice in picture quality, except it doesn't allow you to trigger flashes via built in wireless. I would get the body alone and the 18-200mm lens separately.
Semi-Pro & Full Time Pro
Nikon D300s body - the best Nikon DX camera yet - ideal for weddings, sports, portraits, etc.
Nikon D300s kit with 18-200mm lensCanon 50D body or kit with 28-135mm lens - an OK camera for every day use. If you are on a low budget but want a semi-pro camera body, the 50D is a nice bridge between the T2i and the 7D.
Nikon D700 body - great full frame camera for everything except sports & photojournalism.
Nikon D700 kit with 24-70mm lensNikon D3s body - one of the best available full frame cameras in every aspect.
Nikon D3s kit with 24-70mm lensCanon 7D body - the best DX camera from Canon, particularly nice if you need to shoot HD videos at the highest quality.
Canon 7D kit with 18-135mm lensCanon 5D Mark II body - the standard in full frame Canon cameras for portraits, weddings, and landscape work.
Canon 5D Mark II kit with 24-70mm lens
Considering that you probably already have a kit lens - Nikon 18-55mm, Canon 18-55mm, or Nikon 18-105mm:
Nikon 18-200mm f/4.5-5.6 VR II or Canon 18-200mm f/4.5-5.6 IS - one of the most useful lenses ever made, since it covers a full range from wide, to standard, and to telephoto - this means you don't have to switch lenses all the time. It also has VR/IS (Vibration Reduction or Image Stabilization), which is great for low light use even at the telephoto end. Not for full frame bodies. If you can only buy one lens, this is it.
Nikon 35mm f/1.8 - very sharp lens, ideal for every day stuff. Note that the aperture goes down to 1.8, which is great in low light. To be used on DX cameras only (not for Nikon D3 or D700 series).
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 or Canon 50mm f/1.8 - one of the sharpest lenses Nikon/Canon has made. Ideal for every day stuff and portraits. The 1.8 aperture makes it great for shooting indoors. Note that on a digital camera (other than Nikon D3 or D700 series, Canon 5D, and other full frame bodies), this translates to 75mm due to the crop factor.
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR and Canon 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS are both intro level zoom lenses that are an ideal companion to the 18-55mm kit lens. Of course they are not perfect, but they are a fraction of what the professional telephoto zoom lenses cost.
Other Digital DX Lenses
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 for Canon or the Nikon version - one of the very few recommended off-brand lenses to buy for digital cameras (not full frame bodies - i.e. Canon 5D series, Nikon D3 OR D700 series). Very fast to focus, little distortion, and great picture quality. It is also $400 cheaper than the Nikon 12-24mm version.
17-55mm f/2.8 lens - Nikon version or Canon version - this is an expensive, yet professional DX lens that will replace your $100 kit lens (18-55mm) - ideal for weddings, photojournalism and every day stuff. Not for full frame bodies.
Full Frame Lenses
These lenses are designed for full frame camera bodies (Nikon D700, Nikon D3s, D3x, D3, Canon 5D series), but can also be used on DX bodies as well.
70-200mm f/2.8 VR/IS - Nikon version • Canon version - This lens is the standard when it comes to telephoto zoom lenses. If you want cheaper zooms, buy whatever you can afford until you can save enough for one of these. On a DX body this is a 105-300mm lens.
24-70mm f/2.8 - Nikon version • Canon version - The equivalent of 18-55mm lenses on DX camera, except with considerably superior optics and a constant aperture of 2.8. You will find one of these in every pro's camera bags. On a DX body this is a 36-105mm lens, which means that you will miss the whole wide angle end - you can buy the 17-55mm (above) for DX bodies.
Recommended wide angle lenses for landscapes: Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II, and Canon 17-40mm f/4.
Article: A quick guide to off-camera lighting: flashes, diffusers, stands, etc.
Filters - Polarizer filters are a must for landscape photographers. We have the Hoya HD Circular Polarizer. You can get it from Adorama in the size you need for your lens. Another filter we recommend for landscape photographers, is the graduated neutral density filter - we have the Tiffen Digital HT Color Graduated ND .6 (4X) filter, but Hoyas are just as good.
External flash - Nikon SB600 ($220) or Canon EX 430 II ($280) for beginners, and Nikon SB900 ($460) or Canon 580EX II ($450) for advanced users. The only reason why you would want the advanced flash as opposed to the cheaper one, is if you plan on using multiple flashes.
Tripods - Any of the Manfrotto tripods/heads are great. The heavier your equipment, the more expensive your tripod head will be.
Memory cards & card readers - Use Sandisk, and buy them from Amazon here
Camera bags - go to Dury's in Nashville or your local professional camera store (not Sam's, Best Buy, or Wolf Camera).
Organizing Photos & Basic Editing:
ACDSee Pro 3 - our first choice when it comes to photo organizing and basic editing. Faster, smaller, and in some aspects better than Adobe Lightroom. Ultra fast batch editing (rename, resize, edit, etc.). Download the trial first (you will eventually get a great offer when your trial expires).
Mac users get Aperture instead.Adobe Lightroom 2 - great software for those who have time to play with it, although very taxing on your computer's speed (not recommended for laptops).
Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta - free download for now, until the full version is released.
Photo Editing:
Adobe Photoshop (full time students/faculty click here for 80% educational discount). On a budget? Forget about Photoshop Elements, buy ACDSee Pro 3 for now, and save for Photoshop later.
Plugins for photoshop – Nik Software – buy any of them here at much better price (make sure you are getting the latest version!). If you are on a budget and cannot afford the complete set, we recommend you start with the Nik Color Efex Pro 3. Although these plugins are very nice, you don't really need them - it takes only a couple of weeks to get used to getting the same effect manually in Photoshop, and your photos will look much more original.
AdoramaPix.com - great prices, quality, and customer service, as well as easy online ordering. They have a huge selection of finishes and products. Tip: although you can select only one type of paper finish per order, you can add as many orders as you want in your shopping cart (saves tons on shipping).
Miller’s (photographers only) - free overnight delivery and huge selection of finishes/mounting options. Prices are considerably higher for the first prints than AdoramaPix, although they decrease the more prints you add to an order. Minimum order is $10
White House Custom Color (WHCC – photographers only). Very similar to Miller's.
Canvas on Demand - great prices and quality on canvas prints - ask them for the $84 first order discount when you sign up for an account.
Ken Rockwell – Nikon & Canon cameras, lenses, and other reviews
Chromasia Tutorials - by David J. Nightingale - wonderful resource for intermediate to advanced Photoshop users.
Strobist – off camera flash (external flash) resource
Thom Hogan – Nikon reviews & manuals
Scott Kelby - Photoshop & general photography. Check out his Digital Photography books, which are great inspiration for all levels of photographers
Recommended Cameras is a project of Made in Murfreesboro Photography. It was first designed to be a resource for our digital photography classes in Murfreesboro TN, and then made public for anyone who wants a simple and straight forward list of recommended camera equipment.
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Send us an email at info@madeinmurfreesboro.com. Also email us if you cannot decide between the models we recommend, and we will gladly send you a couple of recommendations based on your budget.
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