Decent starter setup for around £500 but...

JohnN

JohnN

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Hi,

A colleague of mine from work is looking to get as he puts it a decent camera for taking picture of his kids - now I would go with something like a 600 or 650D with kit lens, but I don't know other brands that well so thought I would ask here.

The main thing he wants is to be able to take a picture really quickly of his kids, so he's looking for instant on but more importantly he wants it focused instantly, thats where my worry about a SLR comes from.

He's not worried about zoom so much as he also want to get piccys of his wife with the kids, with some sort of backdrop.

Can you advise because once you leave Canon SLR I'm really not that hot, but my feeling is that he may be better with a bridge or maybe a upper end compact.

He has mentioned the Nikon One but doesn't know much beyond the advertising hype.

Thanks in advance (and I'll thank again later :))

John
 
If he wants instant focusing then a DSLR is his best option. This is the area where compacts are weakest due to their different autofocus method.

Not sure about instant on as I have only owned one DSLR, but mine (Sony A700), turns on in what seems like sub second. Paired with a 50/1.7 I don't think focusing speed could get much quicker.
 
Cheers, initially my thought was a slr because I know when its on it can shoot but I also know that unless you spend alot of money or have great light then focusing takes a little while.
 
There are varying reasons for autofocus to struggle.
Autofocus works by detecting a difference in tone in your subject, which is why in a scene that consists of mainly one colour, it can struggle.
Another thing that can factor in the speed of autofocus, is if the lens is an ultrasonic lens, these have faster motors and they focus a lot faster.
If your wanting a point and shoot, all cameras need a small amount of time to focus, but, compacts tend to be quicker.
A DSLr is great if you are willing to do more work, for point and shoot, they are a bit overkill.
 
If he wants a small new entry level body I'd say the 650D would probabley suit him best given that its got the AF system from the 60D, 9 cross type AF points instead of just the center.
 
He's very open to the type of camera - I'm going to show him the 450D today, but I saw this autofocus test on a GF3 and it looks pretty quick to me.

Now I'm not knocking a SLR its just having used one for a while now I understand its shortcomings and I've never found it great for grabbing quick pics of my kids - in fact often I would go to the PnS, which given the kit I have surprised me - now whether thats just because the PnS is sat on the side whereas the 1D3 is buried in a bag I don't know.
 
Secondhand Nikon D90.

I don't own one, so no investment justification. I am really impressed with the two that friends of us have - If I was buying again I think I may have gone with that over my Pentax.
 
The Sony A57 has got to be worth a look, it's doing very well in the reviews
 
a secondhand d90 would be worth looking at, very good camera
 
Canon 650D should be ideal for his needs and it has decent video capabilitys as well.
 
Cheers all, at the moment I'm letting him have a play around with my daughter's 450D which should give him a good idea how an SLR would feel, although all this research for him has got me almost buying a Panny GF3 for myself as a backup body!
 
He's had a play with the 450D and doesn't reel a SLR is for him - to be honest I know where he's coming from and I grab the PnS over the SLR for quick picks of the kids as if I mess about getting the SLR, right lens etc the shot is long gone.
 
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