Advice on new camera

C

coni7

Suspended / Banned
Messages
44
Edit My Images
Yes
Looking to upgrade my basic compact camera for a DSLR, i'm looking at the new Nikon d3000, would this be a good entry level DSLR camera or is there anything better for under £500
 
Hi coni7 & welcome to the forum :wave:

First off would be to get yourself to a camera stockists and try a few cameras out. Find out what you feel comfortable with, with regards to handling, menu system, ease of use etc.

HTH
 
Ditto, on advice, their are plenty of entry level camera's out on the market place from the Nikon you mentioned, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax etc all offering entry level models.

Best advice is to try as many of them out as possible before making a judgement/decision.

Nikon and Canon brands are the market leaders, so there's more choice for accessories and lenses, but there are some good offerings from the other manufacturers, so don't rule them out.
 
go out and handle a few in the shop first of all. i upgraded to the D300 after having the D70 for 5 years which was a great 1st camera for me.
 
As above, but for the money you could get a very decent..

Canon 30D
Nikon D80
Pentax K10D
Sony Alpha A300

For under £500 you could get any of those bodys with a decent lens (or two) second-hand and have plenty of cash spare.

I cant recommend enough buying second hand, just check ebay feedback, because you get such good deals.

My second bit of adivce would be to print of all the specifications of the above cameras, compare them side by size, and see what you fancy!
 
I'm in the same situation....

I've been and handled several Nikons, and the one I liked best for the money is a D5000 - definitely better than the 3000, lots of the same features if you have a Nikon compact, and as I've got small hands it's not too big. Best price I've recently found is just a smidge under £500 including a 18-55 lens, extreme III card, and something else that eludes me temporarily!!! :lol:

I found this article very useful, as it compares the D5000 to some of the 'weightier' Nikons.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Nikond5000/

I'd love to hear what your final choice is going to be! :thumbs:
 
The D5000 has alot of features but I found it more like a point + shoot than a DSLR it just felt (plastic), im sorry if any of you own the D5000 here, but I would think you would be better off with an older body that is built to a higher standard :)
 
Luke_ said:
As above, but for the money you could get a very decent..

Canon 30D
Nikon D80
Pentax K10D
Sony Alpha A300

For under £500 you could get any of those bodys with a decent lens (or two) second-hand and have plenty of cash spare.

I cant recommend enough buying second hand, just check ebay feedback, because you get such good deals.

My second bit of adivce would be to print of all the specifications of the above cameras, compare them side by size, and see what you fancy!
Click to expand...

i brought my first dslr second hand and was in good nick and i got more for my money for sure.

as for the above list, i have a sony a300 which i'm considering selling. this would be with a general walk around all purpose lens, sony 18-200 and possibly with a battery grip and near your budget

if your in bristol area, more than welcome to check it out
 
Luke_ said:
The D5000 has alot of features but I found it more like a point + shoot than a DSLR it just felt (plastic), im sorry if any of you own the D5000 here, but I would think you would be better off with an older body that is built to a higher standard :)
Click to expand...

Not yet, but I'm saving :thumbs: From speaking to several people, I understand (and I'm really pleased to hear more views :)) that the D5000 is virtually identical (and in some cases slightly better) than the D90 which esentially just has a heavier duty casing and has slightly different dimensions ..... please PLEASE correct me if that's not right :thumbs:

And (from what I gather) it is slightly better than 'just' and entry level DSLR.... but again, I'm happy to hear more views on this (as it's likely the camera I'm going to buy, but I don't want to make any mistakes!)

thanks:thumbs:
 
HopefulM said:
...the D5000 is virtually identical (and in some cases slightly better) than the D90 which esentially just has a heavier duty casing and has slightly different dimensions ..... please PLEASE correct me if that's not right :thumbs:
Click to expand...

One thing to watch out for is that, unlike the D90, the D5000 does not have a focus motor so will not auto-focus with some of the older lenses...
 
I am more interested in live view and the D3000 doesnt have it, so I am looking at the D5000 now. Is this camera easy to use for a novice?
 
why not think about my sony a300

10MP, image stabilisation, live view with tilt feature, great condition as new
easy to use features, menus, buttons ;-)
 
p1tse said:
why not think about my sony a300

10MP, image stabilisation, live view with tilt feature, great condition as new
easy to use features, menus, buttons ;-)
Click to expand...

How much is it, how old is it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top