Best consumer DSLR ever ?

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Might be opening a can of worms here but I was just wondering what the best DSLR ever to date might be.:thinking:

I don't simply mean the 'best' DSLR but the best model at a particular time at the right price that perhaps trumped the rivals or even just stood the test of time.

I'm just throwing these into the mix.........

Canon 40D - still holds off the little Canons and prevented 50D upgrades. Plenty of folk move on to the 5DII for full frame but not the the 7D.

Nikon D200 - love it

Nikon D300 - trumped the Canon 40D for my money

Canon 5D MK1 - Possibly the one DSLR I would call 'classic'

Nikon D700 - best £ for £ body ?
 
d70 at the time i think, great camera and especially with the exceptional kit lens
 
The D70 was ground breaking for the consumer DSLR on both price and spec.
 
the canon 300D was what really saw the magic of pro technology at consumer price. the advent of digital SLR's where still held hostage to the pro's until canon realised that there is a market for consumer DSLR's. i think without the 300D alot of us wouldnt be on this very forum today, i would still be using compacts or bridge cameras.

another innovation was the sony a900 with is really trying to make it affordable to go FF. its a brilliant DSLR and while its professional i cant wait to see what sony have to compare to the D3.

the D3 is the last one on the list but not the least, its gorgeous IQ and pro spec meant that pro's were screaming out to the shops to get one. and still now you can get them refurbished/ second hand for an affordable price.
 
I'd call the original suggestions "enthusiast DSLRs". To me a consumer dslr is something you use to enhance your family and travel pics.

I'd go for the Canon 450d
 
well the 550d is being called the best consumer level eos dslr ever
 
Well, the thread title says "consumer" so to my mind that excludes the likes of the Nikon Dx and Dxxx ranges and their Canon, Sony, et al contempories. Unfortunately, cameras are a bit like computers in that what was a great spec when it was released soon becomes yesterday's has-been.

Of the current Nikon consumer bodies (Dxx and Dxxxx ranges) then I think the D90 gives the best bang-per-buck in terms of features, performance and technological advancement at the point of release.

Can't comment on bodies from other manufacturers as I don't know anything about any of them :D
 
on the Canon front I'd personally say 40D, because I have one, and I think it's fantastic. Also aquired a 5D Mk II but I'm keeping the 40D as it's so versatile. But, to be honest, probably the 450D - I know a few people who've got one, and get great results without being obsessive about equipment and sharpness etc. They just love making 'better than P&S' pictures of travels and family.
 
I'd go for the 300D, too. The right(ish) price at the right time. The first (nearly) affordable DSLR kit. Arguably, it's what put Canon in a market-leading position for so long.
 
I think I agree with Luke - Canon 300D. The landmark DSLR, although the 350D was significantly better and I think may well be the biggest-selling DSLR ever.

The Nikon D3 will go down in history as the camera that arguably saved Nikon. Until then, Nikon never even had a full-frame DSLR and were being run out of the pro market. How things change! :lol:

In terms of a single camera that will do everything, and do most things very well (ie from landscapes and portraits to action and wildlife) and for vaguely affordable money, Nikon D700 and Canon 7D take some beating.

I can only see incremental improvements in DSLRs of the future. The area where new technology will take us forward now is the MILC (mirrorless interchangeable lens camera) such as Pano GF-1, Olympus, Samsung and the new Sony NEX range.
 
I loved my D70 and probably always will as I don't think I'm going to get let it go, but the camera that sort of started the whole consumer DSLR thing was the Canon digital rebel, so that has to be worthy of consideration.
 
rekkit said:
I loved my D70 and probably always will as I don't think I'm going to get let it go, but the camera that sort of started the whole consumer DSLR thing was the Canon digital rebel, so that has to be worthy of consideration.
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That's the 300D over here :)
 
mr_pants said:
I'd go for the 300D, too. The right(ish) price at the right time. The first (nearly) affordable DSLR kit
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I'd say that's about spot on.

I'd been waiting for something like that since I got my hands on an Apple QuickTake 100 in 1994 (I was working for an Apple dealer at the time). I remember setting some mental criteria right then about what it would take to persuade me to buy a digital camera.

  • SLR body (i.e. a TTL optical viewfinder)
  • interchangeable lenses
  • Less than £1000
  • > 1024 x 768 pixels resolution (how times change :D)

I was sorely tempted by the Olympus E10 and then the E20 which, by 2003, was just dipping in price below the £1000 mark and met most of my requirements (except interchangeable lenses) shortly before Canon launched the 300D in August of that year. At that point, I knew I wanted the Canon and bought one just after Christmas once I was confident it was as good as I hoped it was going to be. I think I paid about £800 for the 300D kit plus £100 for a 1GB CF microdrive and £70 for a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. For its time and the money, it was an amazing bit of kit.

I still have the 5D (Mk1) that replaced it in 2006 and which probably deserves second place as the first affordable full-frame body.
 
I love my D700 but i think £ for £ the D90 is an absolutey brilliant camera. The D90 enabled enthusiasts to produce pro pics for (enabling to enlarge etc) for the first time. The D70 was a great camera at the time and the D80 was an improvement on that but the D90 is miles ahead of those 2.

I have owned all and it's just my opinion.
 
Depends how you define "consumer", usually that applies to the entry-level cameras such as the xxxD Canons and the Dxx/Dxxxx Nikons, which rules out the D300/700, 5D etc as these are classed as "prosumer". In the "consumer" class the winner is probably the 300D probably trumps the D70 as the latter was beset with problems from day 1....
 
i think it must be the canon 'rebel'...they seem to be going on and on
 
Still love my D70 and still use it as a second body, especially for tele shooting. Kept in in preference to the D200 which was sold to help finance the D700. In order, I would rate them D700, D70, D200, mainly due to the D200's relatively poor high ISO performance, possibly due to the higher pixel density over the D70's.

Seriously considered changing systems when the canon DSLR first appeared at under a grand but didn't like the feel of it so waited for a Nikon to be affordable and the D70 fitted like a glove.
 
gingerjon said:
I never used one but it's noticeable how many D70 owners hung on to their cameras long after it was time to 'upgrade'.
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Personally I always rated the D100 more highly than the D70, which is why I never "ugpraded". The D70 had horrible Moiré issues.

The only reason it's highly prized amongst many knowledgagble Nikon photographers is due to the fact that it had a hybrid shutter, meaning you could flash sync all the way up to 1/4000th, and it's (relatively) easily convertible to IR. The only reason it's highly prized amongst the rest of the photographers is because they don't understand what's good about it, just that people who know more than them think that it's good. :)
 
Personally for me it's the Sony Alpha 200, cheap as anything when it came out and had all the specs and quality of Nikon and Canon equivalent but for considerably less. I'm still using mine instead of a good couple of years of upgrades.

Just my tuppence.
 
Dracven said:
Personally for me it's the Sony Alpha 200, cheap as anything when it came out and had all the specs and quality of Nikon and Canon equivalent but for considerably less. I'm still using mine instead of a good couple of years of upgrades.

Just my tuppence.
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I don't think I'd describe the A200 (I've got one) as the "best" - it certainly has a lot of bells and whistles for the money, but build-qualitywise it's not really up there with any of the Nikon or Canon products
 
I believe the 550D will be known as a classic consumer camera with excellent still and video capabilities, which I think is what this market wants.

I've also had the very great pleasure of owning some 35mm classic SLR's, all Canon:
AE1
A1
T90
 
First camera for me was the Canon 20D. Just under a grand, built like a tank, 8mp for large prints. Ticked all the boxes for me.
 
40D

One hell of a camera.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
I don't think I'd describe the A200 (I've got one) as the "best" - it certainly has a lot of bells and whistles for the money, but build-qualitywise it's not really up there with any of the Nikon or Canon products
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one over here as well. it certainly can't be compared to nikons .but it's good and cheap, you just can't ask for more for that money.
 
regarding the last few replies, 40D and Fuji s5 are not consumer DSLR.
 
It has to be the canon 10D. It was the first DSLR that was in reach of everyone. Even if that reach was just seeing it at Jessops or wherever.

From the moment that camera hit the shelves, every 35mm snapper knew that they would have (or at least have the opportunity to have) a digital version of their camera in the near future. And for all the advances in tech and polish of camera gear, it's still a perfectly usable body today.
 
18-270 said:
Aww I don't know the S5 comes close
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Perhaps the clue was in the name... "Fuji S5 Pro". ;)

The D200 was considered a lowest of the low end pro body, but still a pro body according to Nikon. The S5 Pro is much better than the D200 for dynamic range. Doesn't even come close.
 
I thougth there was more to it than that? Like a really high dynamic range... and isn't it a full frame
sensor...

reply to 18-270 btw
 
I don't think it's a full frame sensor, not based on the D200 body anyway.
 
dazzajl said:
It has to be the canon 10D. It was the first DSLR that was in reach of everyone.
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It's launch price, back in 2003 was £1599 (£1399 in the shops), I don't think you could really describe that as "in the reach of everyone".....
 
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