I'm starting off as a professional photographer and need to buy an SLR digital camera. What is good choice?

Of course, I definitely want to get something high-quality, but money is tight for me right now. I heard that the Nikon D50 is a good choice. Any feedback on the Nikon D50 or other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

The D50 is a "great little camera." The best thing about it is that when you buy lenses, you will still be able to use them when you move up to a D2X, D200 or whatever replaces them in the market. You will also be able to keep the D50 as a backup if and when your upgrade camera breaks. A pro always needs a "Plan B."

If you really want to be a pro, though, you will find the D50 somewhat limited in capabilities. It's not enough to hold you back from getting started, but you will quickly find out why the "big boys" all have bigger cameras.

For my advise its better to get a D70S. Its much better than D50. You also can get a D100 a professional camera. D100 has been around for quite some time so it will be much cheaper.

To be a professional photographer you really need $20 grand worth of equipment to do most aspects of your job correctly. That's not counting professional printing equipment which you can simply contract out for.

You might look into a loan or something if money is tight. Photography equipment is not cheap and more expensive is better. You should definately look into a canon digital rebel but they are quite expensive. If thats too much try your local photography shop and they should be able to suggest something in your price range, however digital slr cameras are not cheap.

The D50 is an excellent choice. For a beginning SLR its usually between the Nikon D50 or the Cannon Rebel. The Rebel is usually about $200 more and has 8 mega pixels compared to Nikon's 6. However the image processor in the Nikon is better so I find it takes slightly better photos despite having less mega pixels. I've seen a 24" x 30" print from a D50 with no pixelation at all. If buying online beware of scam sites, and there are a lot. A good way to tell is, find the cheapest price possible for the camera, 2 dozen or so sites will advertise that price...stay away from those. The rest of the sites will advertise a price about $100 more, those are the safer sites. To be sure use yahoo search and type in the name of the store + "scam" to find any reports concerning that if they exist

Just a word of advice. If all you can afford is the D50 and want to be a professional photographer, you are in the same boat as about a million other people.

Ever since the proliferation of digital cameras, especially digital SLR's, it seems like everyone and their grandma are now "professional photographers" and are trying to break into the biz.

For example, go to a site like craigslist.org and go to your local area of the site then post an ad for a photographer. You will get a million responses (if you live in a semi-populated area) from a bunch of wanna-be's. This way, you'll get a sense of what you're up against.

I've done photography for pay for quite awhile, but I don't even actively seek gigs for pay anymore. There's just no money in it unless you have the money and time to actually have a studio. Or else you're left to compete with all the wanna-be's out there that'll undercut your price.

Seems like everyone who owns a digital SLR now thinks that they are a pro or semi-pro. I just offer my services where I can help people out for little to no compensation (like family or friends).

Listen very carefully-----

OLYMPUS E SERIES

just check out the quality of the camera and the full line of accessories that go with it.

Olympus---anything else is a mistake!!!!

If you don't have the money for it...get it some how. To do professional work, you need professional equipment and it's cheaper to buy it right off the bat than buy it later after you've spent a lot of money on the wrong gear.

What will you be shooting? Weddings, portraits, sports, wildlife, architecture? If you have an area of specialty that could help you decide the best choice as different camera systems have different advantages. Remember that you aren't just buying a camera but buying into a system: lenses, flash, accessories. You don't want to limit yourself in the future.

Do you know people that you can beg/borrow/steal stuff from? If budget is tight and they all use a Canon, I would be less inclined to buy Nikon, and vice versa.

I'd also check out what lenses/accessories are available for rent at your local pro shop. That might help sway your decision.

The D50 is a good camera for the price, but it being the right choice for you depends on what you want to eventually do with it! (And always remember clients are paying for the photographer and not the camera....)