£1000 burning a hole!

[princeclan]

Hi,

Ive been reading up about photography for ages and have been using compact cameras for years. I have about £1k to spend and have a few questions based on my type of photography (landscape, aviation, portrait)

1: I dont mind buying second hand, but is it better to go full frame? , will i really notice the difference?

2: Which make? , i know everyone says "what feels best in your hand" but who do you think is leading the market and who will be leading in 5yrs from now?

3: Are lenses more important than the body? (eg would a nikon d60 with amazing lens give better results than nikon d90 with normal lens)

Thanks alot,

Matt

 

[andrewc]

If you've got £ 1000 to spend forget FF as you won't get a body and a lens that would do it justice. For aviation, crop sensors is probably best.

Canon and Nikon are the market leaders. Most people would say that at the current moment in time Nikon have the edge on bodies, but Canon have a wider range of lenses, especially the F4 L range. In 5 yrs time, Sony may well have a much bigger proportion of the market.

Photographer - Lens - Body (in that order)

 

[45689ajax]

Photographer - Lens - Body (in that order)

That seems to be the general concensus.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

1: I dont mind buying second hand, but is it better to go full frame? , will i really notice the difference?

Your budget is a bit tight for full frame if you're wanting glass as well

2: Which make? , i know everyone says "what feels best in your hand" but who do you think is leading the market and who will be leading in 5yrs from now?

It doesn't matter -one year it's Canon, next year it's Nikon

3: Are lenses more important than the body? (eg would a nikon d60 with amazing lens give better results than nikon d90 with normal lens)

In general, yes, but there are other factors to be considered, the feature set and ergonomics of, say a D60, are less user-friendly than a D300, or even a D90.

If your total budget at the moment is £1000 and your just starting, then my (Nikon) suggestion would be a D90 +18-105 vr kit (£678.72), plus the 70-300 VR lens (£274.99) and some memory cards

 

[princeclan]

Hi,

Would you say Sigma are good lenses? , its just i have been working out i could afford a Canon 5d body and get a Sigma lens.

Would that give just as good results as a genuine canon lens?

Matt

 

[Albedo]

Hi,

Would you say Sigma are good lenses? , its just i have been working out i could afford a Canon 5d body and get a Sigma lens.

Would that give just as good results as a genuine canon lens?

Matt

It really really depends.

Take two standard range lenses.

1. Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II

2. Sigma AF 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Aspherical IF

The first is Canon (and not especially good) the second is Sigma (and very good).

Generally speaking though, when comparing like with like, the Canon lens will be better than the third party lens (although by all accounts often not as much better as the difference in price might suggest).

With your photographic interests (landscape, portrait and aviation) you're really covering the entire range of focal lengths (from pretty wide to pretty narrow).

As a rule of thumb, Canon is better at the longer ends and Nikon has the edge on the width (this is especially true when you consider that Nikon probably have the edge when it comes to full frame at the moment). [Also, I was at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition and literally 95% plus of the shots were with Canons].

If I were in your shoes I'd get a cropped camera and as good a lens (or two) as I could.

For a grand you could get:

A body from the following: Canon 400D/450D/40D

A 'kit' lens (third party Tamron or Sigma).

A Canon 70-200 f4 L.

That'd certainly give you a good initial set up.

 

[seriousrikk]

Hi,

Would you say Sigma are good lenses? , its just i have been working out i could afford a Canon 5d body and get a Sigma lens.

Would that give just as good results as a genuine canon lens?

Matt

That really depends on the sigma lens.

I personally recommend you steer clear of the full frame body until you know you need it. The crop bodies are still very good and you will be able to spend more on the acessories that you will need

Here is one canon option
450D + 18-55 IS kit - £425
Canon 70-300 F4-F5.6 IS - £350
Canon 50mm F1.8 £65

Then you have money left over either for a flash, or tripod, or memory cards/bags etc.
Or you could go for a 40D instead of a 450D and have no money left over
Or you could take the Canon 70-200 F4 L lens instead of the 70-300. It is a very good lens, but you would loose some of the reach 300mm gives you - and IS.

As you can see, step away from full frame and you have more options.

 

[StewartR]

2: Which make? , i know everyone says "what feels best in your hand" but who do you think is leading the market and who will be leading in 5yrs from now?

I refer the honourable gentleman to the thorough and detailed answer I gave previously - here.

 

[Naboo32]

For what it's worth, I'm very new to this game and so in a fairly similar postion to yourself .

All I can tell you from experience, is that ergomics are more important than I first thought, when choosing a camera body. It might pay to think of it more like buying a pair of shoes, than buying a box of electronics - if you plan to use the camera a lot, it should feel right in your hands.

Personally, I spent the first month of my DSLR obsession looking in great detail at the middle of the Canon range, as they appeared to have the highest profile in the market and do (I believe) offer slightly more lenses than their closest rival, Nikon.

So, I was all set to go and buy a 40 or 50D , until I was in the shop and picked up one, followed by the Nikon D300 ! To me (YMMV), the Nikon felt more secure in my grasp and my thumb and forefinger found it much more comfortable to use the horizontal scroll wheels, rather than the slightly fiddly vertical front and rear scroll wheels on the Canon. Now, I know that Nikon is the brand for me .

Of course, you may try all the major brands and plump for something else altogether! The point is, try not to make any firm decisions until you've got your paws on a few different models (camera models, that is ). Others here (with more experience than me) can help you with your other, brand/budget-specific questions, but I wanted to offer you the only useful advice that I have.

Good luck in your quest and don't forget to come back and tell us what you get .

 

[princeclan]

I refer the honourable gentleman to the thorough and detailed answer I gave previously - here.

Hi,

Thats really helpful.

To be honest full frame would probably be daft for me as im not a pro and never will be.

I have read online for ages and ages about all the different manufacturers and there supposed flaws (eg: olympus high iso noise due to the smaller sensor) but i suppose the best thing is which feels best in my hand as the rule of Photographer then lenses then body are very true. I have seen some amazing shots taken with a camera that people slate (sigma) so i suppose it would just be a bit harder to get the perfect shot with something other than a nikon/canon/sony etc etc

Matt

 

[68lbs]

All I can tell you from experience, is that ergomics are more important than I first thought, when choosing a camera body. It might pay to think of it more like buying a pair of shoes...

I'd say, think of it more like a woman. Rachael Stevens is very pretty, but what would she be like with a pair of dolly parton's up front? She'd keep falling over! Look at Barbara Windsor from the carry on films... not exactly balanced. Big tits might be great, but you need a body that can carry them off!

Take off the kit lens, and get the assistant to stick a large heavy lens on the front. How does it feel now? A bit different huh? All of a sudden that balanced 400D is a little front heavy.