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Dread

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Hey guys.

I'm new to photography overall and I want to get my first SLR as I'm going to college soon and I'm taking Photography and I want to get into it.

As cheap as possible really. £400 maximum.

I love taking Macro shots and image quality is the main factor for me.

Any recommendations or pieces of advice are appreciated.
Thanks.
-Dread-
 
My advice is that you should start by maiking a short list, maybe you could buy a photography mag and scan the adverts and see what's available?

Once you've got a rough idea and a list of possible cameras you could go to your local friendly shop and see which handles best for you. As the cameras all seem to be pretty good these days your main problem might be picking a lens. DSLR's often come with a "kit" lens, something like 17-50mm, and these are fine but probably not the best lenses available so you could buy a body only and pick a better lens.

As you like macro and place a high priority on image quality maybe one option to think about could be to buy a body and a macro lens? A 50mm macro will give you good image quality, allow some macro shooting and can also be used as a general purpose lens, but you don't get zoom or wide angle. Just someting to think about :) and might just be possible in budget.

Good luck choosing.
 
My advice would be to read up on the current models available in your price bracket, then visit your local camera shop and have an actual play about with some of them.

Once you have a shortlist of possibilities, trawl the net for the best price. Somewhere like camerapricebuster.co.uk, would be very useful.

If you're interested also look at buying second hand. Some good deals on the classified's here and most members of this forum look after their kit very well.

Finally a personal recommendation - the nikon D40. Great camera which can be picked up 2nd hand for a very reasonable sum, allowing you to also look at buying a secondhand macro lens.

Hope you enjoy the hunt and enjoy the photography even more.

One word of warning, it will get very addictive :lol:
 
So far I'm leaning towards a Nikon D3000 body with a Nikon 50mm lens, but I'll keep looking. :)
 
The reviews that the D5000 has got are very good, but it's kinda expensive.
 
Dread said:
So far I'm leaning towards a Nikon D3000 body with a Nikon 50mm lens, but I'll keep looking. :)
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This might not be an issue if you're only going to be using the camera for macro work but most of Nikon's 50mm lenses don't auto focus when mounted on a D3000 or D5000 because they lack a built in focusing motor. You need to look fr the letters 'AFS' on Nikkor lenses, other wise they won't auto focus on their bother end cameras. One way round this might be to buy a higher end but older model second hand.

I personally wouldn't buy either of those cameras at the moment since the D3000's replacement is just round he corner and on paper looks better then the D5000.

If you're keen on the D3000 you might want to look at used D40, D40X and D60 cameras. There isn't really anything used that's quite comparible to the D5000 since it uses a sensor that's only become available in the latest generation of Nikon cameras.
 
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Dread said:
So far I'm leaning towards a Nikon D3000 body with a Nikon 50mm lens, but I'll keep looking. :)
Click to expand...

canon 1000d is even cheaper always u fancy canon. Its usually either canon or nikon, then a few stray off that path

The lens is a 18-55 IS which isnt too shabby really. And for macro buy off ebay an invertor (i think its called) which will allow you to turn the lens the other way round to make it macro. And there u go with around 300 u have all needed to start your new fun adventure :)
 
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a vote for the Pentax Kx here
likewise a newbie and i found it v easy to learn to use and produces excellent pictures
well features and specced also
i'm defo no expert but it gets good reviews everywhere and it's a bit of a bargain compared to Nikon/Canon
Pentax lenses seem to get universal praise also
:wave:
 
"What's with this sort of lens?"

I have a set of these that cost under £30. You screw these onto the end of your existing lens and they magnify and allow you to focus closer. They're ok for fun but they are no way as good as a macro lens.
 
woof woof said:
"What's with this sort of lens?"

I have a set of these that cost under £30. You screw these onto the end of your existing lens and they magnify and allow you to focus closer. They're ok for fun but they are no way as good as a macro lens.
Click to expand...

I'm not surprised that they aren't as good, costing less than a third of a proper macro lens.

But the Pentax K-x has gotten very good reviews, I've found..
 
Cool, I'll probs get one of those.

I'm not really into second hand. And I know I should but meh.

So far it's between the Pentax K-x and the Nikon D3000.

Anyone got anything to say about either of those or any others to recommend?
 
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