see I think it's more to do with the purpose of the outing. If I'm Going Somewhere I feel awkward doing it, whereas if we're just wandering on a nice day I have no such compunctions.

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How do you like Canon? I took a long hard look at several cameras before I bought mine and I ended up going with Nikon because I thought the pictures were sharper. It's funny that when I went into a local camera store, the older gentleman that I talked to there said I can't judge a camera by how photos look online, even though I had told him more than once that my only reason for wanting a camera was for posting photos online. Odd to not judge a camera by how you plan to use it.

Anyway, I have a Nikon D50 that I bought secondhand off of eBay. It doesn't get a whole lot of use because it's too big to tote around but it takes some damn fine pictures.

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It's all about the glass, not the body.
Canon makes some REALLY GOOD high-end lenses if you can afford it, and the consumer stuff is decent. There's a reason you see so many white lenses (Canon L series) when you see lots of pro photographers lined up at sporting events and whatnot.
For both systems though you're often better off going with Sigma, Tamron, or other third party lenses assuming you're not filthy rich. They're usually better bang-for-buck, and the glass is then the same for either Canon or Nikon with just the mount differing.

I went with Canon because they had a far better offering back when I actually bought mine. My dad and sister actually both went Nikon, dad because his existing lens collection was Nikon so it was a no-brainer, and sister because she liked the control layout better. If I had to choose again today it'd probably be a coin flip honestly from an objective perspective, but my friends all use Canon so I can steal their lenses this way. ;-)

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My experience is somewhat dated, since the last time I was heavily into photography there was no such thing as a digital camera ;)

That being said though, I found it infinitely useful to have my Nikon SLR and my Nikon point-and-shoot when I traveled, for mainly the reasons you already listed. Sometimes you want to just take a shot without worrying about shutter speed and f/stop. I personally would look at them as two separate and distinct beasts. Buy the dSLR that does what you need it to do and then analyze whether you find that you need/want the utility of a smaller camera to carry around for random photo-taking.

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See these days all SLRs have a point and shoot mode anyway, the only real difference would be the convenience of having a PS in my pocket. The line between SLR and PS is blurring from a features perspective these days, with SLRs mostly just adding hardware flexibility. (Also more buttons means easier access to the settings that PS's make you delve into obscure menus for.)

Meg and I will always have a PS around because they're infinitely useful, but the question is just how I want to deal with carrying things around. The smaller Rebel bodies would certainly satisfy my actual needs (cake) as well as the 40D would, but I'd prefer the 40D for some "icing" reasons.
The question is; at what point does convenience outweigh icing? And that's purely subjective. ^_^

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at what point does convenience outweigh icing? And that's purely subjective

exactly!

for me, i'm glad the answer was clear enough to avoid any sort of agonizing over it. hope you find a solution that works for you though... yay photography!

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Does make one desire some very convenient frosting, though. (& yes, yay photography!)

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*sigh*
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm up against. You have an original Rebel too? Or is yours an Xt?

Affording a 40D is at least 6 months down the road though, and then the 50D will probably be coming out. ^_^

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Could be, I was mostly being sarcastic. ;-)

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I'm >< this close to buying my first DSLR if only I could figure out what I want and what a good price is. I'm not likely to go above the 'prosumer' level and I think Canon and Nikon glass are about equivalent in that range. I also like the feel of the Nikon bodies over the Canon bodies, which seem too large and bulky from my limited use of them.

I wish I took more photos. [...] I don't like being "that guy" who always caries an SLR around his neck and frequently stops to shoot things.

Yes. That, and that. Particularly since most of what I want to shoot is pictures of other people, it's doubly awkward. I'm often in situations of choosing between participating in the social situation and taking pictures of it.

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Didn't you run around with Johanna's Rebel for a bit? That's kind of the antithesis of large and bulky... ^_^
This crowd is also very strongly Canon, which as mentioned above can be quite helpful when you need to borrow a lens for a weekend or something. Just devil's advocating, you won't go wrong with either system honestly.

As for where to buy, BuyDig is about the cheapest reputable place I've found for camera gear. If you want customer service though you have to pay the retail store prices and buy locally. C'est la vie.

Agreed on the social situation thing. I'm been watching Ringel lately as he seems to balance it quite well at gatherings.

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No, I never managed to borrow Johanna's camera. We talked about it several times but it never actually passed hands.

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sorry abot that :}
(but i assumed that once you'd gotten your gift that it would be moot and you'd run out and buy something... oops.)

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Thanks - i do appreciate the thought. The gift was a token for "when you make up your mind we'll help you get it". I still haven't really made up my mind, though.

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i love taking photos of people, and i think i do an ok job of balancing it out... though this means i've been finding i've been taking fewer pictures and spending more time cuddling recently. which really, i can't complain about :)

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*chuckle* indeed. I'd noticed your increased tendency in that direction, didn't mean to slight your multitasking. ^_^

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didn't mean to slight your multitasking. ^_^

didn't think you were, just musing to myself about how i've decided one way or the other about whether to photograph or participate or both :)

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