Can you recommend me a camera?

A

Andiio

Suspended / Banned
Messages
12
Name
Andrew.
Edit My Images
Yes
Hey,

I've got into photography quite a bit these past few months, however I haven't got much in the way of a 'real' camera. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a decent camera for an amateur such as myself?

I'm cautious not to go too cheap just for the sake of saving a few bob, so I just thought I would ask!

Thanks very much. I've gotta nip out now, but i'l pick up this post when I get back! :)
 
Whats your budget?

Canon 450D - £400 Entry Level
Canon 50D - £800 Mid Range/Semi Pro
Nikon D40 - £250 Entry Level
Nikon D60 - £350 Entry Level
Nikon D90 - £650 Mid Range/Semi Pro

Canon 450D would be your best bet I think, its a great entry level,

I think they have stopped making the D60 and the D40 to make room for the Nikon D5000 although you may still be able to buy it.
 
Andy said:
Whats your budget?

Canon 450D - £400 Entry Level
Canon 50D - £800 Mid Range/Semi Pro
Nikon D60 - £350 Entry Level
Nikon D90 - £650 Mid Range/Semi Pro

Canon 450D would be your best bet I think, its a great entry level, I think they have stopped making the D60 to make room for the Nikon D5000.
Click to expand...

Isn't he going to need a lens with those? Prices look a bit cheap for that (but please do prove me wrong! If i can get a D90 for that ill buy one!)

also consider the Sony A200 and Nikon D40, both can be had new for around £250 including kit lens. The Sony is arguably a better camera in this case, but its the person behind it, not the camera, that really makes the perfect shot.
 
Andiio said:
Hey,

I've got into photography quite a bit these past few months, however I haven't got much in the way of a 'real' camera. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a decent camera for an amateur such as myself?

I'm cautious not to go too cheap just for the sake of saving a few bob, so I just thought I would ask!

Thanks very much. I've gotta nip out now, but i'l pick up this post when I get back! :)
Click to expand...

The important question has been asked £££££ (budget), but what type of photography you do or want to do (landscape, portrait, wildlife, motorsport) as this will also have an effect on the budget as well... i.e. the lens(es) you'll have to buy on top of the camera body, plus other additions.

Peter
 
the bang for buck entry level camera is the a200, it has good noise handling, 10MP, cheap £250, in bulit image stabilisation that will work with any lens. however as said before try before you buy and dont forget other brands, i however went with sony because they are the new boys and i was amazed the DSLR lineup.
 
Oh sorry, I didn't realise I had missed off a budget! Doh! :lol:

Most probably looking about about £250-£350 for primarily nature/landscape photography. Thanks for the help so far, i'l start to delve into those links!
 
you can get started on landscape with a kit lens but nature is probably going to involve the purchase of another (tele or macro) lens - or both ...
 
heidfirst said:
you can get started on landscape with a kit lens but nature is probably going to involve the purchase of another (tele or macro) lens - or both ...
Click to expand...

Aha okay, thats good to know that i'm half covered. Are we talking big-bucks for a macro lens? Excuse my ignorance, but everyone has to learn sometime :)
 
Andy said:
Whats your budget?

Canon 450D - £400 Entry Level
Canon 50D - £800 Mid Range/Semi Pro
Nikon D40 - £250 Entry Level
Nikon D60 - £350 Entry Level
Nikon D90 - £650 Mid Range/Semi Pro

Canon 450D would be your best bet I think, its a great entry level,

I think they have stopped making the D60 and the D40 to make room for the Nikon D5000 although you may still be able to buy it.
Click to expand...
50d, you can pick up for £672 with £20 postage atm.
 
Andiio said:
Aha okay, thats good to know that i'm half covered. Are we talking big-bucks for a macro lens? Excuse my ignorance, but everyone has to learn sometime :)
Click to expand...
OK, so it's macro that takes your fancy re. nature?
A proper 1:1 macro lens is going to start from about £100 new depending upon lens mount from a 3rd party manufacturer. Spending more will get better build quality, longer range, wider aperture etc. & of course you can also buy lenses s/h.
there are also other, cheaper ways of doing macro than a "proper" macro lens e.g. reversing ring, extension tubes, conversion lens (e.g. Raynox 250).

if you go DSLR rather than a high end compact/bridge then it's very hard to beat an A200 for vfm but get to a shop & handle different models as ergonomics & user interface are really the main differentiators now - there isn't a bad current production DSLR.
 
heidfirst said:
OK, so it's macro that takes your fancy re. nature?
A proper 1:1 macro lens is going to start from about £100 new depending upon lens mount from a 3rd party manufacturer. Spending more will get better build quality, longer range, wider aperture etc. & of course you can also buy lenses s/h.
there are also other, cheaper ways of doing macro than a "proper" macro lens e.g. reversing ring, extension tubes, conversion lens (e.g. Raynox 250).

if you go DSLR rather than a high end compact/bridge then it's very hard to beat an A200 for vfm but get to a shop & handle different models as ergonomics & user interface are really the main differentiators now - there isn't a bad current production DSLR.
Click to expand...

OK that sounds great. Ideally then, i'm looking for £250-£300 for the Camera (perhaps the A200?) then £100 for the lens, as I can plump to £400 if necessary.
I'm realising now that i'm very low down the grade of cameras (I expected to be near the bottom but not quite so low :lol:) but still it seems silly to spend any more if for some reason my new hobby doesn't really take off.

Thanks for the help Heidfirst.
 
an A200 with the kit 18-70mm is going to cost you from ~£260 atm.
To this I you have to add a certain amount for a Compact Flash card, a bag of some kind & I would suggest a rocket blower for cleaning. So let's call that £300.

Ffordes currently have a s/h Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro (aka the plastic fantastic) in MAF/Sony fit for £65. It's not the best build quality but for it's price you'll struggle to beat it.
the next step up from that would probably be something like a Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro but that'll be ~£300 new.
btw pretty much all macro lenses are slow at autofocus so you'll probably end up using manual focus most of the time.

Don't worry about being low on the totem pole as the A200 is inherently a good camera - what you pay more for on camera bodies are features & build quality, image quality (using the same lenses & size of sensor) doesn't really vary that much.
 
heidfirst said:
an A200 with the kit 18-70mm is going to cost you from ~£260 atm.
To this I you have to add a certain amount for a Compact Flash card, a bag of some kind & I would suggest a rocket blower for cleaning. So let's call that £300.

Ffordes currently have a s/h Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro (aka the plastic fantastic) in MAF/Sony fit for £65. It's not the best build quality but for it's price you'll struggle to beat it.
the next step up from that would probably be something like a Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro but that'll be ~£300 new.
btw pretty much all macro lenses are slow at autofocus so you'll probably end up using manual focus most of the time.

Don't worry about being low on the totem pole as the A200 is inherently a good camera - what you pay more for on camera bodies are features & build quality, image quality (using the same lenses & size of sensor) doesn't really vary that much.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'll look into the stores around me and see if I can find a A200 model that I can have a try-before-i-buy with. Either way, generally would it be cheaper to order off the net or instore when it comes to SLRs?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top