On 1/18/2018 3:07 PM, Neil wrote:

snip

No doubt that brand choices are made for various reasons, and some of
the makes are comparable in most ways. I was fortunate, in that all of
my kits paid for themselves through the work that I did with them. In
terms of image quality, I think that lenses make the biggest difference.

In the digital world, I'd say that ease of use is pretty important,
since they're all less efficient than film cameras. So, control
placement, menu structure, and a well thought out user interface are the
most important factors to me.

Each of us has our own criteria.


I've never been a fan of autofocus, finding it more of a compositional
hindrance than a benefit. When combined with a varifocal lens, the
camera becomes pretty useless to me. So, my choices are mostly for the
least frustrating kits!

Autofocus can be a real PITA, or it can be a blessing, depending on the
subject you are shooting. i rarely use AF for macro and landscape. When
shooting critters it depends. For fast moving ones, I have found AF
quite helpful. For some shots I prefer to preselect focus and exposure.


--
PeterN