n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Might as well wait for the big old D850 then and spend, spend, spend.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

The three main basic types are full frame (FF), APS-C, and 4/3rds. Almost all FF are optical viewfinders, APS-C is a mix of optical and mirrorless, and 4/3rds are mirrorless. The FFs are usually the largest, heaviest, and most costly. The 4/3rds are usually the smallest lightest, and least costly. The APS-Cs are usually in between FF and 4/3rds in size, weight, and cost. Although the differences between the three for shooting in normal and reduced light are much less than in the past, FF is still the best in low and very low light. This is mostly dependent on whether one shoots at ISOs greater than 6400 on a regular basis. Other than ISO, it will depend on what size the equipment you want to deal with, how much weight you want to deal with, how much money you want to spend, and how the camera and controls feel in your hands.

My advice is to compare camera specifictions on-line and then take several trips to a local camera store to see what fits you best. A lot of people and sales personnel will tell this or that is best for you. But if you do a good job of researching, you will discover for yourself what is the best camera for you.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

If you will share your budget amount you might get better answers. If your are just starting I would suggest a Nikon D500 and a Nikon 24-120 f/4 lens. That's on the low end. It goes up from there.

donald4u Loc: California

Welcome Mike. I have learned alot from these guys. What I would do is figure out what I want to shoot. How the camera feels in my hands? Next check out Ebay and Amazon. Compare prices. All the cameras take pictures. It's up to you how they come out. Jerry 41 has a list that will inform you. But again wether its nikon or canon or the other manufactures. Its how you like it. Canon I think has the largest amount of lens. Nikon is good too. Sony is very good. So May I say good luck. One more thing. Read the instructions and have fun.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Mike, welcome to the Hog!
I'll make it really easy for you.
Get a used Canon 5D mkll.
It's a lot of camera for a starting DSLR user but it's already Full Frame and you can grow into it for a few years. Unless you're gonna shoot serious sports, it's a pretty amazing camera even today and they can be found for pretty cheap, used. Get two lenses to start. A 50mm 1.8 and a 24-105L lens. That should be all you need for a while and add a flash as you need.
Personally I would stay away from anything that is not Canon or Nikon because of the limited lenses and accessories and potential for specialized future expansion. Good Luck!
SS

JPL

You should get the Nikon D850 that is coming to shops next month. Then you will be good for up to 10 years easily and you can use it for landscapes, studio work, sports, birds, wildlife, weddings, family shots and take it to space or on a safari in Africa or shoot whatever you want to shoot with garanteed professional results on the camera side on every occasion. Of course you will need some lenses with it too. And a tripod and flash and remote control could be handy too ;) You have to select lenses and other stuff according to what you are going to shoot.

It is one hell of a camera and only has 2 drawbacks. You can not use it underwater unless you get a housing for it and it is not very compact or light so it is not a pocket camera or the most comfortable travel camera you can get.

The price which is stated around $3.300 is a very fair price for this camera and the best value for money for professional quality Dslr right now.

If you buy some old stuff it will hardly be a future camera for you, even if it is only a 3-5 y.o. model like the Nikon D800 - 810 or Canon 5DmII - III.

Sony also has some very good mirrorless full frame cameras and if you want to shoot old style, focusing manually etc., then a Sony A7rii would be an excellent choice.

Mike59 Loc: New York City

I like to photograph cityscapes and portraits. As far as money goes, I think $1000 is the very max I'm willing to do.

Mike59 Loc: New York City

I've been reading about mirroless cameras. And what I've read says that they are smaller. I have fairly large hands. That could be a problem.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

How about a used D800 or D810? Good for cityscapes and good for portraits, not as good if you were wanting to shoot a lot of photos fast, as in birds in flight. I have a D800 and it creates excellent prints and I have the D500, too. The D800 can shoot in DX mode if you want a smaller framing and a closer zoomed shot. The D800 does use a CF card but has two slots and you can use the SD slot and not have to worry about the CF slot (which appears to be technology from the past at this point and the card readers have pins that bend way too easily). I most often use my Nikon 24-120 lens, seems to cover a lot of territory with ease. I think this duo would be fairly inexpensive and you could move up from there once you learned the camera and lens. Just my thought on it.

added note...did not realize that the D800 was still up in the $2,000 range! Sorry, did not check that. Maybe one of the older Nikon models will work for you, they are all good cameras and will do much more than you are capable of doing at first most likely.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

As you can see, most people commenting/recommending think that money is no object !

Mike59 Loc: New York City

I had a Canon AE1 for years until it was stolen. Several years after I bought a Konica Minolta bridge camera which was good but limiting without the ability to change lenses. The subjects I'm interested in are cityscapes and portraits. Plus, I'd like to have a good macro lens.

Mike59 Loc: New York City

Thanks for all the links. They're already helping to reduce confusion.

Mike59 Loc: New York City

DX is for crop sensor bodies, and FX is for full frame, right?

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Yes, but FX lenses will fit crop frame Nikon cameras and if you buy an FX lens then you have that lens for that future FX camera. FX on a DX camera acts as a DX lens. This info is to the best of my knowledge, using a D7000, a D500, and a D800. It's possible that the info may not pertain to all Nikon cameras.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

There are many good brands. To keep money within limits I would consider used or refurbished. I personally like Canon, but you have no reason not to chose another brand. Look at KEH for used, and check the vendors for refurbished. Canon offers 12 months warranty on refurb products, the same as new. Here is one example that might suit from the Canon range: http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/eos-rebel-t6s-ef-s-18-135mm-is-stm-lens-kit-with-ef-s-55-250mm-f-4-56-is-stm-lens-refurbished

Good luck