dSLRs Again...

probably either depending on features of each, my pref Cannon for what its worth...silverback

It's personal choice, you will find people who use Nikon will stay with Nikon and people with other brands do the same.

We use a Canon 40D and have always used Canon.

Start readng reviews on the net and make up your own mind.

10+ years is a long time to keep anything electronic, we had a 20D and skipped the 30D (not a big improvement over the 20D) and went for a 40D as there was alot of improvements.

Regards Richard

I have a Nikon D200 not only because of its features but because I have long fingers and found the Canon hard to use because of its smaller size.
The Nikon also has the ability to record your GPS position with the addition of a bluetooth GPS receiver
The Nikon VR lens are excellent but not cheap.
Whichever you buy make sure its an Aussie version from an accredited seller and not an Asian import.
I got mine that way off Ebay and bought my lens in USA with a world wide warranty.
The cameras only have a warranty in country of origin (or where you bought it)
Really good reviews here
www.dpreview.com

Digital cameras arnt really made for 10+ years they would be well and truly defunct by then I mena look at a computer or digital camera from 10 years ago and ask yourself how usefull it would be to you.
its the lenses which dont become obselete so spend your money on those more so than the body

In fact all (and this mean all) modern DSLR give you good results if used properly and lens is by far most important “hardware” factor. Your choice of hyper zoom 18-200 does not excite to me – they as any compromise does not excel in any area except of being hyper zoom. Forget about all this stupid review with resolution, noise, dynamic range, JPG quality and focus accuracy – any DSLR can deliver excellent pix and all system has very good (read expensive) and incredibly dodgy (read cheap) lenses. You need to enjoy your toy and thus it need to be comfortable to you, so go to the store and try to handle and look via viewfinder. Also remember that SLR been develop with changing lens in mind – this is their nature and blood. So if it not appealing to you to change them, but you rather like to have one universal solution, I would recommend look somewhere else. Buying DSLR and stick to one only lens is like buying 4WD as a shopping trolley. Still advantage over sedan – you can put more groceries inside, but do you really need such advantage?

Good luck in your choice.
Serg

Have a look at this site for lots of photographic information:

Ken Rockwell

The guy himself is 'interesting' and has very strong views, uses both Canon and Nikon and gives some fairly good advice on various aspects of photography.

An interesting perspective on the value of photographic equipment:

Why your camera does not matter

Not trying to discourage you from spending your hard earned money on great toys, but I guess you need to be aware that it's not the camera that takes the picture, it's the person and even the best camera in the world will take rubbish in the wrong hands. I cringe everytime I hear someone say to me...."what a great photo. You must have a fantastic camera..." It's akin to complimenting a chef on his food by informing him what a great oven he must have.

My best photos come from a camera manufactured in 1972 and for serious work, I would use this over the Nikon I have anyday. For taking pics of the kids etc....yep, the digital Canon/Nikon is great, but for any serious landscape work, you still can't beat larger format film.

Cheers,

Mark

As a dyed in the wool Pentax user, I'd suggest Pentax K10D for the following reasons -

Now being discounted (<$1000) due to release of K20D
Weatherproof
Can use beautiful manual lenses fron the 70's & 80's
Easy camera to use
It's a Pentax


Cheers

If you buy a Pentax or Sony you will get Image Stabilisation in the body - so EVERY lens you attach will be image stabilised.

If you buy the K10D it is weather sealed. If you buy the K20D you alos get 14 megapixels and up to 6400iso.

Nikon D40X. Best lenses and good value for money right now. I bought one around Christmas with two lenses 28-80 and 80 - 200 I think for $1250. I red a few write ups and the Nikon did very well. Battery life is excellent, at about 500 shots before recharge.
Great Camera.
Reiner

As a photographic retailer and enthusiast for many years I can still offer an unbiased opinion.
I have an S2 pro and a Canon EOS400D amongst my collection and have also used and sold many more.
I also have an EOS 5 film camera and it is still my choice when taking pro shots.
Whilst you say what you want the camera for now, you may have other uses in mind as well. I suspect that by the mention of the S5.
The S5 has reduced in price recently to an acceptable enthusiast level. The 400D has also recently dropped to a price half of what I paid last year.

I have been tempted to move to the S5 myself but I am still haunted by the S2 and I have never been a Nikon lense enthusiast. The S2 is a good camera and I have taken many shots with it but the percentage of sharp ones is lower than I hoped for. I have been much happier with the sharpness of the Canon lenses.

That said (with no bias) I am happy recommending the 400D for what appears your general requirements. It is a good camera that is easy to use and has many features should you wish to explore them. And it is cheap enough to spend the extra on good lenses.
You would find the S5 would reduce your potential budget for lenses. Bearing in mind the necessity for a comparable flash to complement the package.

Others have mentioned the Pentax K10D and it really is worth a look also. The packages on offer are good value.

If you are not into pro-photography then go the Canon EOS 400D and spend a bit on a couple of good lenses and flash unit + a monopod/tripod for the landscapes.

Everyone will have an opinion and more so after your purchase. Make a choice then stop looking.

The comment above on not needing it to last 10 years is not as it will not be usable is not as true today as it was 5 years ago. I still have a Fujifilm 6900 ($2000 6mp slr lookalike 7+ years ago) that I use most weeks and expect to more many years yet. Todays cameras (the better ones) will be very acceptable in 10 years.

Your choice as listed will still be in use by you in 10+ years time. It wouldn't be worth selling though. But the lenses would still be worth a reasonable amount.

Cheers Cam

I guess also no camera purchase would be complete without visiting this site
www.dpreview.com

see you in a few days after youve waded through all the info on here for your prospective purchase

Once you buy a decent DSLR and some good lenses you are generally committed to that brand unless you have plenty of money as a change is expensive.

I'd buy the best glass I could and then decide on the body. I'd never buy kit lenses again as I have a few lying around unused.

I upgraded my body and the lenses still work on the old body, although with Canon, the EF-S lenses will not work on the full frame bodies.

Good luck with your decision.

Oh dear, I can’t resist this thread any longer. Sorry, this will be a bit lengthy
In my opinion, what you need should be decided by more consideration of what you want to do with the camera. If you are going to show your photos on TV screens (and that is what most people now do) or if you aren’t going to make prints bigger than A4, then you don’t really need a dslr. You really only see the differences once you start making prints, and bigger prints at that. If that is what you want to do, then a dslr is the only way to go.
Apart from the weight and cost of dslrs, their big drawback for outback photography is the dust their sensors attract like a magnet each time you change the lens. Most models now have some sort of auto sensor cleaning, but it is still a factor in dusty environments. Not a problem for non dslrs.

I now assume you really need a dslr. You listed “landscapes” as an interest and both the lenses you are interested in start at around 17mm. I am guessing that therefore you like wideangle shots of landscapes. There are some technical reasons why wideangle lenses are a bit of a problem for digital cameras, especially when you combine them with a longer zoom. It is all just a question of image quality, but unless you are showing your shots as prints around A4 or bigger, it there isn’t much to worry about.
OK, assuming you do want bigger prints and wide angle shots. I agree completely with those arguing that you will want to choose your lenses first because you will keep them for years and probably change the camera a couple of times. Think about which couple of lenses you want, not just one lens. Reason? Plan on buying (even if you only buy one at this stage) a couple of lenses with the same lens diameter because then you can use the same polarizer on both lenses (and if you are a landscape photographer, you will want a polarizing lens. Really look at the performance of the wide angle when it is at its widest angle. Some zoom lenses are better at the tele end, some at the wide angle. As a general rule, the smaller the zoom range, the better the performance. A really interesting lens is the Sony 16-105 which seems to have been optimized at both ends with its weaker area being in the 70mm range. That extra 1mm wide advantage doesn’t sound much, but it is quite noticeable as well.
Camera bodies. Your suggestion of the Fuji is interesting. Why this one? Most pros who use this camera are wedding specialists and they use it because it has an incredible dynamic range which is a real advantage for this kind of subject. High dynamic range is also very useful for some kinds of shots in landscape photography. If this is why you were looking at the Fuji, also have a look at the better Sony models that have the DRO+ feature. You can extend dynamic range on Canons and Nikons even further by bracketing shots with wide EV which both of these tend to do better than the Sony, but this is complex and technical.
As a landscape shooter who like wideangles, I really like to take them from very low to the ground. If this is your style, the Sony A350 has the best live view system on the market by a mile. You can take shots very low to the ground without having to crawl around on the ground try to look through the viewfinder (I don’t have one of these.) The other way to do it is to get a right angle viewer attachment for about $60 from ebay. (which is what I use). The Seagull brand is mechanically and optically outstanding and is made in China and just as good as the brand names. They come with attachments so they can be used on most brands. This may seem a small thing. For what I shoot, it is very important.
Which brings us back to thinking about exactly what you want the camera for as being the only real way to make the decision.

That's true Mike DID, but you still want to plan the purchases together because you want to know the max diameter size you are going to use. If you buy the smaller diameter lens first and you want a polarizer, buy a polarizer that will fit the larger size of the lens you intend buying. You will need a ND filter on both anyway to protect that expensive glass. Even then, you need to check the vignetting that can be an issue with step up rings, especially with wide angles. The whole problem with discussing this issue is that to cover all the bases is a massive topic. Its why I suggested the starting point really needs to be a lot more discussion about what exactly you want to shoot and how you want to view your shots afterwards. The number of photographers who waste huge sums of money on dslrs and never use them for what they are designed to do always amazes me.Topics we haven't covered include low light; inbuilt versus lens image stabilization; action shots; weight you want to carry; etc etc. This topic can go on for ever, its better than toyo versus Nissan.

Thanks everyone for comments and suggestions. I've been
to all those photo review suites before I asked a question...

I've decided to go with Cannon EOS 40D due to cost/value for money, however I now got 3 lenses, flash and a few filters on the purchase list

EF-S 17-85mm
EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM AF
EF 50mm f/1.8 II AF

After reading some comments about getting best lenses,
should I look into getting L type lenses instead of those?

What I want to do with the camera? I don't think I know exactly
at this stage other than what I said before kids and landscape photos. It is like a 4wd - some buy it cause of extra capacity and then it is gets used as it supped to ;)