Beginner advice

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Spedz

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Hey guys,

I've always loved to be able to take great pictures, and decided to finally get into it.
My question is, what camera would be best to start? I have a budget of about £300, and would love to end up taking motorsport photos amongst any other styles that I try.

I have a couple photographer friends who all suggest the Nikon D40 / D40x, and I've heard good things about the Nikon D3000.

Any advice for a beginner?
Cheers

EDIT: Whoooooops, wrong section. My bad. Any chance a mod could move the thread?
 
hi, if you can stretch to it I would go for d3000 the d40/d40x are quite old now, do your friends shoot nikon ? if so maybe you could borrow lens etc. helps keep the costs down and gives you some variety.
 
Welcome first of all :)

I'm afraid I'm going to disagree with the previous poster and say that given your £300 budget you would probably be best to look at a second hand D40 / D40x and keep the change for a lens with more reach for your motorsport photographs.

The only downside to the Nikon D40 / D40x / D3000 is that the autofocus is built into the lens rather than the body, meaning new lenses are slightly more expensive.

If your friends have Nikon then certainly go with this and you can borrow their lenses. Have you used any of their cameras and decided that Nikon is the bet 'fit' for your hands?
 
Again, welcome spedz.

I'm going to disagree slightly with the other posters and say look a fraction older than the D40 at say a D50. There's a member here selling this lot for under your budget. It gives you a nice little kickstart into some gear, the D50 has the AF drive in the body, unllike the D40 and therefore Lens can be cheaper. I say can be, because as with any lens, they can cost a fortune and destroy your bank balance once you get hooked ;)

I have just upgraded from one of these, simply because I can and I think it's going to help me, but I'm keeping a tight hold on my trusty D50. I like it and it's not going anywhere for a long while yet :D
 
What excellent advice from KA$H, I see you took it, well done. I did`nt know the D50 had AF drive in the body that is a REAL advantage over D40 or D3000 when it comes to future purchases. I see KA$H has just upgraded ..... Have you pic`s got better or worse ?
 
djinn said:
What excellent advice from KA$H, I see you took it, well done. I did`nt know the D50 had AF drive in the body that is a REAL advantage over D40 or D3000 when it comes to future purchases. I see KA$H has just upgraded ..... Have you pic`s got better or worse ?
Click to expand...

Pics I think are better, operator is worse with all the new buttons and features :lol: I'm getting to grips with it slowly and liking what i have. In theory what i may have thought was a restriction before, isn't so now all the crap pics really are the photographer and not the equipment!
 
Thanks for all your advice!
I did go with ka$h's advice and am buying the D50. I figured I could learn more with the extra lens, and the kit gives me an excellent starting point to everything :D

So again, thanks :)
 
Bloody hell, someone listened to me :| It doesn't happen in this house with 2 kids!

Hope you get to grips with it,and enjoy it. What WillieL was selling seemed a good little bundle to get started with IMO hence my pointer :)

Once it arrives, go get to grips with it and enjoy ;)
 
The D50 was delivered with a superb 18-70mm kit lens, far superior to the 18-55mm and a real classic. if you grab a D50 make sure it's equipped with one and when you upgrade keep the lens.

D40 is fab but as said previously, no focus motor in body and no cheap nifty fifty option.
We use both D40 and D3000 for training, D40 much preffered. John
 
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