Best SLR for around £300

fritter

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Edward
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Hello, :wave: my first post so please be gentle with me. :D

I'm really after some advice as I would like to buy a digital SLR. If you had a budget of £300ish which camera would you choose and why?

I have been advised to go for a second hand Canon 20d, but I like the look of a new Canon 1000d, are there any views on that?

Many thanks
ED
 
You could by my 400D body that I'm selling for £230 ;)
 
If you like the look of 1000d, buy a second hand 400d. you can't go wrong! Shame really, as the 450d's for £320 at boots are long gone!
 
No, the 40D is prosumer, and better features but the 400D is a great camera in it's own right. Go get one!! :)
 
No the same bud the 40d is a wee bit better. I have the 400d though and just got it at christmas but it's a real nice camera and takes amazing pic's.
 
first off, the question is like saying what's the best car for £30k

go to a local camera shop and chat with the people, have a feel for the ones in budget.

looks, feel, menu's alone will swing your thoughts.

but at around £300 if buying new, can't really go wrong with the main brands, nikon, canon, sony.
 
There can be some amazingly good refurb deals too - I saw a place that did Pentax K100D's for £199 including a kit lens. That's a bargain and would leave you some £££ for glass!

Cheers,
James
 
nikon d40, with extras on jessops like £300ish...
scott
 
Was in my local Currys the other day, they were selling Canon 400d for £250 + lens new.:) Sony A200 + lens around £250ish,:) Olympus E410 twin ED lens kit £290ish.:) As usual go to the shop and handle all, and navigate there menus see which one suits you. If you what more for your money go secondhand if you want to go that route.
 
Was in my local Currys the other day, they were selling Canon 400d for £250 new.:) Sony A200 + lens around £250ish,:) Olympus E410 twin ED lens kit £290ish.:) As usual go to the shop and handle all, and navigate there menus see which one suits you. If you what more for your money go secondhand if you want to go that route.

In fact Sony A300 can be had for under £300. The Canon 1000D and the Sony A300 come with live-view so does the Olympus E410 if you need it.
 
This is going to hurt seeing as i am a Canon user..:gag:

Amazon have a Nikon D40 with kit lens for £225 delivered. I doubt you will get better value for money than that.

Linky.

Now i'm off for a scalding hot shower and wash with carbolic soap. :gag:
 
You could probably pick up a used Nikon D80 for £300 now.
 
Good, you got any extras yet?
Gary

We will get kicked for this.lol
Yeah i got a 70-300mm Tamron from santa:lol:

Going out with it the mora to take some pic's of my bike so keep an eye out and give me your comments:)
 
yeh i found it just after posting lol :)

O found it
Lovely blade, 900?
Btw waterfall pics are imence
How do you download into the members gallery

Ah not sure you need to hit the upload on the right had side when your in there if i draw my mind back.
And yeah its a 918 to be spot on.
 
On a restricted budget like this, just get the cheapest DSLR you can get. Use any money to get another lens/memory cards, a bag etc. In a couple of years once you have got use out it, then upgrade the body if you feel like it. This time you will already have lenses and thigns so literally you can spend all your cash on just the camera.

I went for the £225 D40 deal. Bargain. I'm looking at £320 all in right now, for the D40, mem cards, and a 2nd hand 55-200 lens. Just need a bag and a flash and I'll be set for just about anything for the next while. Is the 'free' bag with DSLR user really worth it?
 
This is going to hurt seeing as i am a Canon user..:gag:


Now i'm off for a scalding hot shower and wash with carbolic soap. :gag:

As everyone knows Canon users are diseased;):p

On a serious note go and handle the various bodies before buying.
 
first off, the question is like saying what's the best car for £30k

go to a local camera shop and chat with the people, have a feel for the ones in budget.

looks, feel, menu's alone will swing your thoughts.

but at around £300 if buying new, can't really go wrong with the main brands, nikon, canon, sony.

Best advice so far you never know what a camera is like until you test drive it
 
Best advice so far you never know what a camera is like until you test drive it


Hello Captain :wave:

That’s the problem, its not good enough to hold a camera to know which is going to be the best of the bunch.

The only way would be to buy all three cameras and compare the results, but the truth is there's probably nothing much in it anyway. I narrowed my choice down to three, the Canon 1000d, Sony 300 and Nikon d60, I would have got the Canon (because of the name) but the cash back offer had just finished so flicked a coin and went with the Sony. So far I’m quite impressed, the one benefit over the other two is the live view.

Thank you to all the people who posted a reply. I wanted to let you know what I’ve bought and why, which may help anyone else looking for an SLR at the lowest end of the market.

I’m a complete newbie at this, so you may see me pop up from time to time to ask questions on just about everything! :bonk:
 
Good choice with your budget. Also all other lenses will have stabilization with the Sony.

Enjoy.
 
first off, the question is like saying what's the best car for £30k

go to a local camera shop and chat with the people, have a feel for the ones in budget.

looks, feel, menu's alone will swing your thoughts.

but at around £300 if buying new, can't really go wrong with the main brands, nikon, canon, sony.

That is and always has been the best advice you can read as many reviews as you want talk to mates listen to folks on TP drivel on but until you have actually handled a particular camera you aint gonna know if its the one for you
 
That is and always has been the best advice you can read as many reviews as you want talk to mates listen to folks on TP drivel on but until you have actually handled a particular camera you aint gonna know if its the one for you

I would agree with that! Although I haven't handeled the A300 itself I did have a good play with the 2 cameras I was considering at the time, the e-410 and the A200.
The e-410 while small and light wasn't actually nice to hold, if I hadn't held it I would have bought it due to the price and probably hated it, I hadn't really been too struck on the Sony's and to some extent I had kind of preferred the Olympus "brand" but holding the A200 felt nice in the hand, weighty and with a nice grip which led me to the A300, definetly have a go reviews and opinion are not enough!
 
When I was choosing mine, I took a memory card into Jessops and took lots of identical shots on different bodies (all with kit lens attached). They should let you do this, although I live near the main Jessops head office shop in Leicester which has to be the biggest Jessops in the country (as most of them are tiny!)
 
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