Hi,
I would like to buy a 35mm SLR camera.  I have a dog that I would like
to take pictures of.  I was wondering if anybody could help me pick
the right camera for me.  I'm new to photography so I would like a
basic camera that is easy to use, with lots of automatic features, and
a good zoom feature.  It also has to be good enough to take pictures
of a dog that is constantly in motion.  I guess I would need something
that allows me to take multiple pictures per second.  I'm willing to
spend up to 300 hundred dollars.  I have a good digital camera but it
is good only if the subject sits still.  My dog will not do that for
me.  I was looking at the Canon Rebel EOS camera.  That looks like a
good one.
mediatek01

I would recomend the Cannon EOS 300 range. There is wide range of
lenses available certain to meet your needs. It also has an auto mode
as well as being able to lock the shutter speed to a fixed level an
the cammara will auto adjust the apature to ensure correctly exposed
photos.

Saying this most of the entry level have similar features and there
are very good entry level offerings from Nikon and Pentax but I am a
big fan of the EOS 300 as it is great for beginers but also has more
advanced features that you can grow in to.

xav,
Do you know what the difference between the canon eos 300 and the
canon eos rebel 2000? Also, it looks like canon came out with a 300v
model.  Do you know anything about that?

mediatek01

Hi, mediatek01,

For many years I was a full-time photographer. Without giving my full
CV here, let me say that in the mid-80s I was accepted as a member of
several professional photography organizations. Since then I've done
lots of commercial photography, as well as free-lance photojournalism
(for a big-city paper), and portraiture. Now I split my time between
photography and writing (it's a long story <s>).

Three years ago I wanted to get myself a snapshot camera. I've owned
and used professional-grade equipment that ranges from 35mm to large
format. But I got tired of taking my heavy, metal 35mm bodies and 2-3
lenses on vacations. I bought myself a Canon Rebel 2000 body and the
Canon 28-105mm lens. It's a great combo!

Let me restate my lens. If you get the Canon Rebel 2000, I HIGHLY
recommend that you NOT get the lens typically sold with it, the Canon
28-80mm. There are many reasons why the 28-105mm lens is superior to
the 28-80, and it doesn't cost that much more. Please, if you go with
Canon, spend the few extra dollars to get a MUCH better lens. Let me
be specific: The lens I suggest is the Canon zoom lens EF 28-105mm
f:3.5-4.5.

If you can afford it, I further recommed that you buy the Canon lens's
lens hood (Canon #EW-63II) and a Hoya 58mm UV filter. (For the utmost
in photograhy quality a UV filter might compromise image quality a
small bit, but if you're not taking pics for high-resolution magazine
photography or billboards, a UV filter is good lens insurance. For
almost all amateur photo needs, having a UV filter on the lens will
make absolutely no difference in photo quality.) Hoya makes
first-class filters. B&W's filters, I think, are better, but much more
expensive. In my opinion, Tiffen's filters are lower in quality. I
have a Hoya UV filter on my Canon 28-105mm lens.

I'm not familiar with the Canon EOS300. Xav's recommendation that you
get that camera body is misleading: all current Canon
bodies--including the Rebel 2000--will accept the full line of current
(i.e., EF) Canon lenses. I might have read something about the Canon
300, but I'm not an equipment maven. If I have something that works
great, I don't go shopping for something just because it's newer. I
love my Rebel 2000, and trust its electronics, its pic-taking ability,
and its flash-exposure explicitly (assuming that you stay within the
built-in flash's range). And I'm hard to please!

Where to buy it? I get almost all my equipment from New York City's
B&H Photo. I bought my Rebel 2000 body and lens for them, and I've
bought a lot of my professional photo equipment (35mm as well as
Hassleblad--mega-$$$) from them. Every once in a while I'll see an
advertised price that's lower than B&H's. Beware, becase there are
many companies that try rip you off, and I'm only talking about a
$10-20 difference on equipment this inexpensive. With B&H you have no
worries, and you can easily return items if there's a problem. BTW, I
mentioned that I've long been associated with professional photo
organizations. I have no connection with B&H except as a fully
satisfied customer who pays their full price. If you want to, you can
phone B&H at 212-444-6615 or 800-606-6969. They're on the web at
http://www.bhphotovideo.com

Another good mail order camera company is Adorama. You can probably do
a Google search and fing them. I've ordered from them, but not for a
long time, and I don't have their contact info handy.

If you have any questions, post them here. I'm heading out of the
country for a month next week, but I'll be checking back before then.

Best of luck to you!

Hi dancethecon-ga,
will do some research on Canon 2000 today and get right back to you.

Thanks,
mediatek01

Hi dancethecon-ga,
I read lot's of reviews on the REBEL 2000 and it seems everybody loves
the camera.  Some of them even mentioned the lens package you
suggested.  The only downside I read was that pictures of fast moving
action was blurry.  Was this the case for you.  If so this is a
concern for me as I will be taking pictures of this type.  I noticed
that if I spent another hundred dollars or so I could get the elan 7. 
Do you know anything about this camera?
mediatek01

Hi, mediatek01, 

First of all, blurriness in action shots will most often come from
these sources:

1. You. Two examples are 1) camera shake and 2) panning the camera to
keep up with the action and not getting the panning's timing right.

2. Missed focus.

3. The subject moving too fast for the shutter speed you've chosen. 

4. A combination of these.

The camera has little to do with it, as long as it has a decently fast
shutter speed. The Rebel 2000's fastest shutter speed is 1/2000 of a
second--plenty fast for a non-pro camera. The Elan 7's might have a
faster shutter speed (1/4000th??).

But can you always use the fastest shutter speed? It'll depend on
variables. How much light is there where you're taking the photos? If
the light level isn't high, you'll have a hard time using your fastest
speeds. Other things affect shutter speed, too, including film speed
(faster film will allow faster shutter speeds, but the tradeoff is
higher grain) and lens speed.

Let's look at lens speed. Have you ever noticed the many
photojournalists at a professional baseball game or tennis match? Have
you noticed their huge cannon-like telephoto lenses? These lenses are
so big because they're fast lenses. These photographers are too far
from the action to use flash (besides, flash might not be allowed
during some play), so they have to rely on high-speed film and fast
lenses to get their higher shutter speeds. That's one of the drawbacks
of zoom lenses--they tend to be slow. The lens I recommended to you,
the 28-105mm, has a maximum aperture of 3.5. That's at the wide angle
end of the zoom. At the telephoto end, it's only 4.5. That's pretty
slow; a typical fixed-length lens could easily let in four times as
much light, allowing you to use slower film or faster shutter speeds
or both.

I still recommend the 28-105mm lens to you as a super all-around lens.
But if you want a faster lens, you might look at buying one fixed
focal length lens, too. You might look at the Canon 50mm. (If I
remember right, they're available as fast as f/1.2 or maybe even f/1.
My fastest 50mm lens is the f/1.4.) A 50mm lens is considered the
normal lens for 35mm cameras, because it gives no wide angle or
telephoto effects to the photos. They're cheap, too. The fastest 50mm
lens might be a little pricey, but an f/1.4 or f/1.8 lens would be
cheap. You could even buy a used one. B&H Photo would be one source
for used equipment.

You said you want to take photos of your dog. How far away would the
dog be from you? If your subject would be close enough to use the 50mm
lens, that might be an option for you. Of course, today's modern fast
film is super; you may find one you like that would allow you to use
the slower 28-105mm zoom. (I fell deeply in love with Kodak's Supra
ISO 800 film, but it's been discontinued.)

Is using flash an option for you? I'm not a big fan, usually, of
single-flash photos. They often make the subject look two dimensional.
(Photos, by definition, are two dimensional, of course, so a good
photographer will often use multiple light sources--flash or
incandescent--to make the subject appear to be three dimensional.) But
using your flash as the main light source will take any camera shake
blurriness or subject movement blurriness out of the equation, because
the flash is so fast that all movement will be frozen.

A camera's built-in flash is weak (though it's fine for snapping party
pics and the occasional fill-flash photo outdoors). If you decide to
use a flash to freeze the action that's more than about 15 feet away,
you might like to investigate the line of Canon flashes. I also
recommend Metz flashes. Another advantage to not using the built-in
flash is that you'll get the light source farther from the lens axis,
which means you'll reduce the likelihood of getting red-eye in your
subject.

I looked at the Elan 7. It's a really nice body, from what I remember.
I'm sorry, but I don't remember the specifics. I think that the Rebel
2000 had one or two points in its favor, and ditto for the Elan 7. I
went with the 2000 after weighing both. You might check how many
focusing points the Elan 7 has to determine its automatic focusing.
The Rebel 2000 had seven, which is fine, I think.

One consideration for you would be the maximum number of shots you can
take per second. With the Rebel 2000 that's 1.5 frames per second.
That's not exactly fast. You might see what the Elan 7's fastest is
(maybe 3 to 4 fps??). Having said that, though, I rarely used a motor
drive or even a winder when I shot sports. With practice you might
find that by anticipating the action and learning to trip the shutter
at just the right moment (taking into account any delay between when
you press the shutter button and the shutter opens), you can get your
photo at exactly the right instant. I've seen many photographers miss
the shot with the highest drama because it fell between their
motor-driven exposures. On the other hand, if you're not a highly
experienced amateur, a shotgun approach would probably increase your
odds of getting the photo you want. Just be prepared to throw away
lots of photos.  :-)

I mentioned camera shake a couple times. You can learn to hand-hold a
camera and take good photos, even if the subject is moving and even if
you're panning the camera along the line of the action. But it's
tricky and takes practice. You might consider using a tripod or a
monopod. You'll get far sharper results, but the downside is that
you'll lose spontaneity. That's your call.

OK, I have an appointment to get to. I'll check back this evening to
see if you have any follow-up questions.

G'luck!

Hi dancethecon,
Thanks for the info.  I've decided to buy the Elan 7.  I priced it at
B&H and for a 150 dollars more I'm getting an upgrade.  I am taking
your advice on the lens.

Post an answer and I will reward you.

Thanks,
mediatek01

mediatek01,

Since dancethecon is not a Google Answers Researcher, he or she will
not be able to post an answer nor receive compensation. One of the
great things about Google Answers is that sometimes very useful free
assistance is offered by commenters.

To tell an authorized GA Researcher from a non-Researcher, look to see
whether the username is highlighted in blue. All GA Researchers' names
will be blue, and are "clickable." Clicking on a GAR's name will take
you to that Researcher's profile, where you may view his or her
ratings and see all the answers that he or she has posted in the past.

Hi again,

I'm glad your search is over. You've picked a fine camera body and a
fine lens. I wish you the best of luck with you photography. I'll
check back here a few more times before I leave for France next week
to see if you have any follow-up questions.

Pinkfreud, one of the the Google researchers I most respect, is
absolutely right: I'm not affiliated with Google at all, except as a
user like you. Therefore I can't post an answer, only comments and
tips. Please consider my advice a freebie, as I always meant it to be.

As I've been telling some of my local friends lately, I miss my
full-time photography, even though I absolutely LOVE what I'm doing
now (full-time writing, with some freelance editing thrown in...my
photography, which used to be my livelihood, is now on the side, maybe
taking 5% of my time at most). I used to teach some adult-education
photo classes, and am glad to lend a hand here.

One other note: One of my commercial photography specialties used to
be animal photography (cats mostly, but also some dogs). Feel free to
post a follow-up comment here, if you like, but realize that if it's
much after this weekend, I probably won't answer it until October.

Again, g'luck!

*****

Note to Pinkfreud: I appreciate your gender-neutral reference to me,
but I'm a man.  :-)

Thanks to pinkfreud-ga for setting me straight about the Google
Researchers.  I will know better the next time and thanks to
dancethecon-ga for the free advice.
It was very helpful.  Maybe you should consider becoming a Google
researcher.
I probably won't have any questions soon so I will wish you Bon
Voyage!
Thanks,
mediatek01