Beginners dslr

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freeman3030

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James
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Hi, I'm looking for a beginners dslr. I'm used to a point and shoot on automatic, but really want to crank things up a notch.
I've been looking at beginners dSLRs and am particularly interested in the nikon d3100, I really like the guide mode and the fact it shoot 1080p hd video.
I've read though that it doesn't have inbuilt auto focus and that you need auto focus lenses, is that right?
* Have any other beginners got the d3100? If so, what do you think of it, and do you wish you had bought anything else?
* If I buy a different nikon camera in the future, will the lenses I buy now be compatible?
* Is the lens that comes with the D3100 (18-55mm VR lens) an auto focus lens?
* Is the 18-55mm VR lens a good all round lens? As I said, I'm a complete beginner and not sure which lenses are best for different types of photography. I mainly take photo's of family/friends at parties, photos of my pets or just photos of architecture.
If anyone can help, it would be much appreciate, many thanks.
 
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freeman3030 said:
Hi, I'm looking for a beginners dslr. I'm used to a point and shoot on automatic, but really want to crank things up a notch.
I've been looking at beginners dSLRs and am particularly interested in the nikon d3100, I really like the guide mode and the fact it shoot 1080p hd video.
I've read though that it doesn't have unbuilt auto focus and that you need autofocus lenses.
Have any other beginners got the d3100? If so, what do you think of it, and do you wish you had bought anything else?
Also, if I buy a different nikon camera in the future, will the lenses I buy now be compatible?
many thanks
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The nikon D3100 seems an excellent starter camera, I haven't seen anyone on here that's been dissatisfied with one. It'll be capable of stunning image quality if you use it right :).

It's worth going to a photographic shop and trying some models out, they all feel different in the hands and have different button and menu layout, you might find that some suit you better than others. A lot of people walk into a shop intending to buy one model, then try a few and decide that another would be far more suitable.

I wouldn't worry too much about the auto-focus motor thing. It's mostly older lenses that need in body focus motors, nearly all the ones you can buy new now have them built in.
Just make sure to check that any lenses you buy are labelled AF-S, unless you're comfortable with manual focus.

Any lenses you buy now fill fit future models (with the exception of DX specific lenses that won't fit full frame professional models like the D700, but don't worry about that)

It's also worth putting some thought into lenses. The standard kit-lenses that come with the camera are pretty similar to the typical focal range on most compact cameras, but you also have a vast choice of more specified lenses that will do specific jobs very well. It's worth taking a look back at the type of stuff you photograph, then doing a bit of research into what lenses would suit you, getting the right lens is very important, even more so than picking the right camera body.

Hope that helps.
 
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Thanks for the reply, you've been very helpful. I just went back and edited my original post to make a bit more sense, but you've covered pretty much everything that I wanted to find out.
I think manual focus is just one step ahead of me at the moment, not saying that I wouldn't consider one in the future, but for now, I think it's best that the lens does all the focusing for me.
One this I also forgot to mentions was, what type of SD card is best for DSLRs? I've read its better to get multiple smaller capacity cards than one larger card incase it gets corrupt of mislaid. I'd read that it really should be class 6+ but really unsure of which brands to trust, For instance: Are Kingston cards better that SanDisk ones?
Also what is the difference between SD, SDHC and SDXC cards?
 
I have the D3000 - there are some amazing Deals out there at the moment, I met someone on holiday who had it with the D3000 + 15-55 and 55-200 for £300 new, but I havent seen anything that matches that, its a pretty addictive hobby!!!!
 
Thre three x types of cards you mention are different SD 'systems' and they increase in maximum capacity as they go up.
i Think a 3100 should take any of them.
IME though I would stick with Sandisk and 4/8GB cards are the right sort of size. That way if one dies or grts lost you don't lose everything.
As to speed 20/30 MBS cards work well.
 
Unless you've got old lenses, or want to buy old lenses the old "no motor in the body" argument is irrelevant. Its a comment aimed at the bottom end Nikon’s continually, but really don’t let it put you off, its resulted in a beautifully light, compact SLR.

If your really interested in shooting video, the Canon 550D is a better choice. Having an external microphone socket, and I suspect, superior video quality.
 
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Ignore me totally how I don't know but I missed the video bit - blonde moment
 
Well I'm not sure how much videoing I'll be doing as i've never had a camcorder (only a rubbish one on my phone) I looked at the Canon 550D, but its a little bit more expensive than what I wanted to pay. Thank you so much for your responses so far, you've all really helped me.
I'm now looking at camera bags! lol!
Oh, that reminds me, is it essential to get the UV filters for my lenses?
 
As someone about to buy My third camera bag, buy 1 big enough for your future purchases!

I have filters on all my lenses and they get filthy (but I use Mu camera loads) so I recommend them.
 
I was looking at the D3100 & would have picked it up, but at the time I was looking (only about 3 weeks ago) Jessops had a fantastic offer on the D5000 complete with 18-55mm & 55-200mm lenses for £499.00. Might be worth checking if that is still running.
 
freeman3030 said:
Well I'm not sure how much videoing I'll be doing as i've never had a camcorder (only a rubbish one on my phone) I looked at the Canon 550D, but its a little bit more expensive than what I wanted to pay. Thank you so much for your responses so far, you've all really helped me.
I'm now looking at camera bags! lol!
Oh, that reminds me, is it essential to get the UV filters for my lenses?
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No it's not. Many people use them as lens protectors, but they are not needed on digital cameras.
 
Resurrected said:
I was looking at the D3100 & would have picked it up, but at the time I was looking (only about 3 weeks ago) Jessops had a fantastic offer on the D5000 complete with 18-55mm & 55-200mm lenses for £499.00. Might be worth checking if that is still running.
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there's also a new Nikon cashback scheme just going live
 
heidfirst said:
there's also a new Nikon cashback scheme just going live
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Isn't that just a pre loaded, pre-paid credit card you get rather than cold, hard cash?
 
New to photography aswell and I have just bought a canon Eos 1000d picked it up for £288 and although it's only entry level I'm really impressed it also has 7 point auto focus so no need to manually focus worth look g into if you don't want to spend a huge amount on your first one although there is the newer model eos 1100 a bit more expensive but has video mode on to I believe canon are fairly easy to use hope this helps
 
Steelfish said:
Isn't that just a pre loaded, pre-paid credit card you get rather than cold, hard cash?
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When I bought my D3100 a few months ago I got a preloaded credit card as 'cashback'. It wasn't recognised by Amazon when I tried to use it, but it worked fine in Argos.
 
roseway said:
When I bought my D3100 a few months ago I got a preloaded credit card as 'cashback'. It wasn't recognised by Amazon when I tried to use it, but it worked fine in Argos.
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OT: That's weird - no idea why Amazon wouldn't accept, do you remember if it was a Visa or MasterCard branded card?

It must be costing a small fortune to produce those pre-paid cards (I work in the card industry). I can't see why Nikon wouldn't simply mail you a cheque for the cash back and save themselves a ton.
 
Steelfish said:
OT: That's weird - no idea why Amazon wouldn't accept, do you remember if it was a Visa or MasterCard branded card?

It must be costing a small fortune to produce those pre-paid cards (I work in the card industry). I can't see why Nikon wouldn't simply mail you a cheque for the cash back and save themselves a ton.
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It's a Visa branded card :)
 
I second the D3100. I have just bought one classed as refurbished with the 18-55 lens for £330.There were only 200 clicks on it. I have bought it for holidays as my wife got sick of me taking the D700 and bits and using up the hand luggage allowance. It has replaced my G2 which I will be selling. The D3100 body weighs only 70gms more than the G2 body. It also has full hd video.
 
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