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CLARKO

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john clarkson
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Hi guys iam sorry in advance as i bet you are always getting asked this, but iam a newbie and iam thinking of my first DSLR.

I had an slr back in the day when you put little rolls in the back(canon350v).

When digital started i went to compacts mainly ixuses. As iam used to canons layout i looked at them first, I saw the eos 1000D is on offer at a lot of retailers then I saw the 450D is not a lot more. the 40D 50D is a bit much for me at entry level.

I then noticed on forums that the nikon D range are very highly thought of again the D90 is probably a bit much for me to get started. But the D80 seems comparable the canons at my entry level.

I know this is down to preference, but are is there any significant things i have missed. They are all between 10 and 12 mp and seem to have the same iso range. I noticed the af points vary i think between 7-9 is this a big issue?

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

john
 
CLARKO said:
I noticed the af points vary i think between 7-9 is this a big issue?
Click to expand...

No, it's not :) The best advice you'll get on this subject is this: Go to a camera shop and play with both the Canon and the Nikon. There is quite a different "feel" to them, and to be brutally honest, the quality of the image on modern DSLRs is 95% down to the photographer anyway:)

The D80 is an excellent camera, as is the 450D (I'm sure;)). When I started, I went with Nikon because it felt more comfortable to handle.

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll have fun with it:)
 
Hi John & welcome to the forum.

Most important is the feel of the camera, go to your local stockists and try a few out with and without battery grips, play with the menu systems and buttons to see which suits you.

Hope this helps
 
:welcome: to TP :wave:

The Nikon D80 is a great wee camera, but it's getting on a bit, that said however, it's still more than a match for the likes of a 400D.

It comes down to personal preferences, as always the advice is to go and try each of the cameras you have short-listed and see which feels "right".
 
As everyone has said, try out the cameras and try and work out which ones feels right. Another thing to consider is if you have family/good friends who have already bought into a camera system. If they're willing to let you borrow lenses, that might help sway your decision.
 
Just to reiterate go get touchy feely with the bodies:)
 
Thanks all, i took your advice and i spent some time in jessops today.

I do like the 450d and i was shocked how big and heavy the nikon d90 is?

however stan suggested i consider other makes outside the c and n categories, so i tried the sony alpha which they had on offer for 339.00 with lens which i do think is incredible value for money.

I really liked it and it seemed quite light compared to the others. I could spent the difference on a 300 lens which i could have for 130.00 as a bundle.

any advice please?

cheers

john
 
CLARKO said:
Thanks all, i took your advice and i spent some time in jessops today.

I do like the 450d and i was shocked how big and heavy the nikon d90 is?

however stan suggested i consider other makes outside the c and n categories, so i tried the sony alpha which they had on offer for 339.00 with lens which i do think is incredible value for money.

I really liked it and it seemed quite light compared to the others. I could spent the difference on a 300 lens which i could have for 130.00 as a bundle.

any advice please?

cheers

john
Click to expand...

which sony were they doing for £339?

don't forget that there's a cashback offer on until the end of this month,so you could save an extra £30-£50.

if your interested in sports/wildlife photography,then a 70-300 will be very useful indeed.

all of the above are great cameras...tough choice,but one only you can make ;)
 
Hi stan
Its the a300, the extra lens is a tamron which i know are the budget end of the market, but i have just checked and i get a 4gig card as well.

I do want to catch the birds in my garden so the extra lens would be useful.

cheers

john
 
the A300 is a cracking camera,in fact..better than the A350 in handling noise.the tamron will be a good lens to start with...or see if they will give you the sony 75-300 for similar money :naughty:..i got some fairly decent results with one....

you can always upgrade to the 70-200 G lens in time :lol:
 
if your still thinking canon v nikon having old canon glass might be a deciding factor I have a film body aswell as digital and all of the glass except my 450's kit lens is interchangable
 
stan the man said:
the tamron will be a good lens to start with...or see if they will give you the sony 75-300 for similar money :naughty:..
Click to expand...
the tammy is usually reckoned to be slightly better than the Sony kit 75-300mm, certainly better value.
 
Thanks all for your help. David the old 350v went to ebay a long time ago including the lens it was a bundle as well, so iam starting from scratch unfortunately?

Iam thinking sony now, for the price of the canon 450d body and one lens, i can have a complete set up with a 70-300 lens and tripod and bag should come in at just over 500. Its no 5D or D3 but they would be wasted on me any way.

cheers

john
 
Hi all
thanks for your help, its done ive joined the stan clan and brought an a300.

i held of for a few days as i had the chance of a 40d of the classifieds,but it was a body only deal and i missed out on it in the end anyway.

really pleased with it now i have got it.

i think i may have been wrongly advised in the shop. can you all help. I brought the sony twin lens bundle. They told me the sony lens would be better than the tamron. the sony lens is a 55-200 they where saying it wouldnt make much difference. the Tamron is a 70-300.

All the deals had a 18-70 kit lens.

which lens would you have had. i am trying to take shots of garden birds about 50 feet away and the 200 isnt getting particularly close.

cheers

john
 
the Sony 55-200mm is very good for what it is but it doesn't suit your needs - for that the Tammy with it's 300mm would have been better.
see if they'll let you exchange it.
 
Thanks heidfirst

thats what i thought, i did explain this at the time.

Iam going back into see if this can be swapped out

cheers

john
 
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