Beginner Another Noob Looking For Buying Advice (DSLR).

Finnthedude

Finnthedude

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Finn
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Hello all,

As per the title I'm yet another new guy looking for what camera to buy. I've had a browse through the forum and have enjoyed it.

My experience level is pretty low. Back in the 80's I had a Praktica MTL5B (still got it somewhere) and a very basic developing set up. All I have now is just a little Canon compact but I do use it a lot. I'm looking to purchase a DSLR. The reasons are twofold, firstly, whilst the compact is a nice, convenient little thing, it is rather basic and I'd like to upgrade to something I have a bit more input to. Secondly, my nephew, whom I am guardian of, is studying graphics and photography at college and would like a DSLR to help with his studies. Video capabilities not particularly important as it's main use will be for stills.

My nephew's college use Canon DSLR's - EOS 600D's to be exact. I realise that this is a 10 year old camera but it's what they have and it's what he's used to so I was thinking of maybe an EOS 800D kit with the 18-55 IS as a starting point. We want to stick to Canon so we can borrow the college extra lenses when need be. I've seen a few kits 2nd hand for around the £500 mark and that's about the limit of my budget to be honest. Once we've got the basic set up we could always add to it over time. Again I realise this is old tech but it seems a decent machine for our needs and budget.

As you can see I have a setup in mind so I'm looking for advice as to whether it's a good choice. I'm also open to alternative suggestions if anyone has them. I'd also like to know if there are other options to Ebay and Amazon as the pickings are pretty slim on there. Back in the day here in Stoke we used to have a cracking 2nd hand camera shop called Tung's where you could handle the merch before you bought it, but that's long gone now. Is there anywhere like that anymore within reasonable driving distance of Stoke?

Thanks for reading.

Finnthedude.
 
I'd advise at least having a look at mirrorless as it's the future. I understand you want to stick to Canon and borrow kit but one day you wont have access to that kit anymore and DSLR kit is slowly fading into history. Anyway, the choice is yours.

On buying new and used kit, there hasn't been a photography shop for miles for me for years apart from the usual Currys so all my kit is bought on line from the likes of Wex Photographic, Bristol Cameras, and used kit from places like Ffordes, evil bay etc. Just Google what you're looking for and that'll give you some choices.
 
Normally I'd suggest different, but in this case buying an older obsolete canon of the same type as the college have is probably the best bet. Don't invest heavily because this kit IS obsolete and the world of camera gear is going elsewhere, however it's still capable of good pictures.
 
There are a few branches of LCE within 50 miles. Derby is probably the nearest. Their shops normally have a decent range of secondhand gear, and I think can get stuff from other branches (or you can order directly):

London Camera Exchange | Our Stores

Visit London Camera Exchange, the UK's premier photo, video specialists for new and used camera equipment! Best deals, trade in prices and expert advice on photography, binoculars, scopes, lenses and more. Shop locations, online sales and click & collect.
www.lcegroup.co.uk

Check out this excellent site from a TP member (covers cameras and lenses):
usedlens.co.uk

Used Cameras and Lenses

Search used cameras and lenses from over 60 UK retailers. Price comparison for used digital, film, lenses, medium and large format cameras
usedlens.co.uk usedlens.co.uk
This site covers new and some secondhand gear:

Camera Price Buster - Compare UK Stock Prices

Compare genuine UK stock prices for Camera Equipment. New & Used prices.
www.camerapricebuster.co.uk
 
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Thanks everyone, that's some useful guidance from you all. It is much appreciated. I think we'll go for the 800D, then after his course finishes I'll keep it and maybe invest in a mirrorless for him if he's still interested.

Once again, cheers for the help all

Finnthedude.
 
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Welcome to Talk Photography @Finnthedude and I'm glad to see you have got some good advice. It's likely that a mob of moaning old gits will turn up shorty to advise you repeatedly and in extreme detail of the 800D's short comings ... just ignore them ;)
 
Just an update, I managed to get an 800D. Almost unused with 18-55 kit lens and 75-300 IS lens that looks a bit older. Very happy with it and my nephew is absolutely ecstatic.

Been a nice weekend so was out experimenting in the sunshine, really enjoying it. We're lucky to have a garden that is a haven for butterflies so mostly been snapping them.

Thanks again to all that posted. Sorry for resurrecting this post but I didn't want to be one of those guys who just asks a question then leaves forever.

Finnthedude.
 
Just a small point about the mention of the camera being "10 years old" in the first post.

A few months ago I bought a Nikon D800, which was probably going on 10 years old (I can't remember if it said the age?), along with some lenses which may have been even older?

The 70-200 zoom I got sounds like ED209 in the original Robocop film when it focuses, and I absolutely love it! :)

The shots are far superior to the D7200 I had before that, I don't have to knowledge or vocabulary to full describe it, but there is a depth and a richness to them, that I didn't get with other cameras, even when all other variables were the same.

I've never shot anything higher end than this, but I'm very pleased with the old camera and it cost about 1/5 of what it did new.
 
Nytol said:
Just a small point about the mention of the camera being "10 years old" in the first post.

A few months ago I bought a Nikon D800, which was probably going on 10 years old (I can't remember if it said the age?), along with some lenses which may have been even older?

The 70-200 zoom I got sounds like ED209 in the original Robocop film when it focuses, and I absolutely love it! :)

The shots are far superior to the D7200 I had before that, I don't have to knowledge or vocabulary to full describe it, but there is a depth and a richness to them, that I didn't get with other cameras, even when all other variables were the same.

I've never shot anything higher end than this, but I'm very pleased with the old camera and it cost about 1/5 of what it did new.
Click to expand...

The D800 was always an excellent camera, and the high resolution FX sensor can give images a depth I don't think can be had from crop sensors.
 
I started in the DSLR world many years ago with the Canon 350D - which I still have - since I had been a pro photographer I knew exactly what I wanted in a DSLR and found it in the 350D. I have 4 other Canon cameras, including the 1Ds MkII which I bought on here.
Almost any DSLR will give great results as long as you have a decent lens.
I ised the 350D for about 5 years until I felt I had finally outgrown what it could do and moved on.
 
Too late to influence your decision, but my first DSLR was a Canon 600D and it was and still would be a capable camera.

To complement that (as my daughter started to show some interest in photography) i bought a SH 300D. To be honest, the 300D would take comparable shots to the 600D - and it cost just £30 for the body, as opposed to around £600 for the 600D and 13-135 kit lens.

One from the 600D

IMG_4720 by Kell Lunam-Cowan, on Flickr

One from the 300D

IMG_0790 by Kell Lunam-Cowan, on Flickr

When she decided she didn't actually want to put any effort in to learning photography, I sold the 300D, and was almost simultaneously offered a 20D for £50. This was probably two and a bit years ago and it was still a very capable camera. Resolution was down if you loved pixel peeping, but it produced much 'cleaner' images than I was used to.

Link to 20D album - https://www.flickr.com/photos/119343618@N08/albums/72157706364663034

Like the poster above, I can't quantify that statement, but everything I shot on it appeared to have less noise than my 600D - which seemed counter-intuitive.

Anyway, the fact that I had a XXD rather than a XXXD pushed me to look to replace to 600D with an 80D - which I did as I got a cracking deal from John Lewis when they were price matching a rival deal. TBH - I didn't really see much improvement over and above the the 600D in terms of outright image quality.

Finally (almost) sold the 20D on and picked up a MKI 5D for just under £200 - loved it. Even though it must have been around 13/14 years old. Still very capable - and again produced very clean images. Preferred it in many ways to the 80D.

Link to 5D MKI album: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmLUDi35

i loved the colour from this - far richer and less harsh than from the cameras before it. It was only when shooting at night that I noticed the limited ISO and thuoght about getting a more modern version of the 5D, so I sold it (for what I paid for it) and bought a SH 5DIII. I wished I could have kept it, but three bodies was too much. I ummed and ahhed about keeping both 5Ds and selling the 80D and all the EF-S lenses, but in the end the fact that I could have a 'small' camera and a big camera and that they shared batteries swayed me that way.

All of my L lenses are SH and are the older versions of that lens. i.e. a MKI when a MKII or (MKIII) is available.

The point I'm making, I guess, is that there is nothing inherently 'wrong' with old kit. In fact, in some ways, having the 20D taught me a fair bit more about the technical aspects than the 600D because everything was more manual.

So my advice would have been to possibly go for something like the 600D (or older) and use any savings to get the best lenses you could afford.
 
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