All I can say is: Great job readers!

The age old (insofar as modern photography goes) question of Canon vs. Nikon vs. Other? often times brings up one-sided and heated debate over features and personal taste. So when Amy Loke posted this thread in our Flickr Group

“I’m thinking of buying my first DSLR. And I have a budget. Max US$1,000. I’m contemplating between the Canon 450D, Nikon D80, and the Sony Alpha A350.

I really need some help in deciding. Other models are welcome.

Thanks.”

I really did expect to see a barrage of biased answers. Instead, we got this:

• “Weigh them up and see which is best for you, there’s no other way of doing it. Suggestions and advice is great, but they might not be to your taste.” from Kippy!

• “go to the store and handle all of them and pick the one that feels the most comfortable . . . just me but I’d stick with Canon or Nikon” from poppaJ

and

• “You just have to decide which one you like better. But to me, if I can control shutter speed, aperture, and focus, then I’m happy.” from Bo Eder

Plus a myriad of other really great answers!

Just another reason our readers rock!

This is exactly the right advice. Pick your budget and go with what feels right. There are a couple of additional things I would otherwise consider:

1. Is video a want or a need? I for one have no need at all for video on my DSLR but that’s just me (and of course that could change at any moment).
2. When considering Sony are you comfortable with the possible incompatibilities that may come up? Sony is a very proprietary company and doesn’t like to play well with third party manufacturers . This can often lead to frustration and extra cost.

Want to throw in your thoughts and ideas? Head on over to the thread and leave a comment.

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