Entry Level DSLR's

emmarky

emmarky

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Mark
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I tried out some entry level DSLR cameras after realising my budget of £300 must increase to around £400.00

The 3 I played with

1. Sony Alpha 330
2. Nikon d3000
3. Canon 1000d

The Sony Alpha just didn’t fit right. Maybe having hands like a bunch of Bananas doesn’t help! Which is a crying shame as I could nick all of a mate’s lenses when needed  So that one was out of the equation… The other 2 are remarkably similar in design “ergonomically” and the only standing out feature that seemed obvious to me in my limited play time was a very good guide on the Nikon. Looking on the Interweb it appears that I am not the first to have these 3 contenders..

So if given the choice between the d3000 & 1000d which would you choose?
 
emmarky said:
I tried out some entry level DSLR cameras after realising my budget of £300 must increase to around £400.00

The 3 I played with

1. Sony Alpha 330
2. Nikon d3000
3. Canon 1000d

The Sony Alpha just didn’t fit right. Maybe having hands like a bunch of Bananas doesn’t help! Which is a crying shame as I could nick all of a mate’s lenses when needed  So that one was out of the equation… The other 2 are remarkably similar in design “ergonomically” and the only standing out feature that seemed obvious to me in my limited play time was a very good guide on the Nikon. Looking on the Interweb it appears that I am not the first to have these 3 contenders..

So if given the choice between the d3000 & 1000d which would you choose?
Click to expand...

what will you be taking pictures of?

who has lenses and other equipment that fits that need...

What is your next purchase?

You are buying into a system so you need to look beyond just the initial purchase to see what else you will need down the line...

Cheers

MIP
 
I am asking exactly the same question...the choice is hard I think!!!

At the moment I am leaning more towards the Canon...had a go with the Nikon yesterday, and whilst it felt "good", something wasn't quite right...
 
I've got the 1000D and it's a nice little entry camera, but it has its limitations. If I was to go for a budget of £400 again I'd go with a second hand 40D or a clean second hand 450D with an 18-55mm IS lens.
 
emmarky said:
The Sony Alpha just didn’t fit right. Maybe having hands like a bunch of Bananas doesn’t help! Which is a crying shame as I could nick all of a mate’s lenses when needed  So that one was out of the equation…
Click to expand...

I think Sony went the wrong way with the 330 - the A300 that it replaced was bigger, pretty similar functionally and felt much better in the hand.

Don't know anything about the Canon or Nikon, but if you should decide to go s/h instead of new, don't discount Sony.
 
Laudrup said:
I've got the 1000D and it's a nice little entry camera, but it has its limitations. If I was to go for a budget of £400 again I'd go with a second hand 40D or a clean second hand 450D with an 18-55mm IS lens.
Click to expand...

Can you tell us what the limitations are? Might be obvious, but I am not sure!!
 
Doddy1974 said:
Can you tell us what the limitations are? Might be obvious, but I am not sure!!
Click to expand...

I've got the 1000d and the lack of spot metering is the biggest one for me. Also no auto bracketing, though that's more of a convenience thing than anything else.
 
If you've upped you budget t0 £400 the the Sony Alpha 550 is that in this week AP with Camera World (I think it was them). This includes a lens, not sure which one as I don't have the AP to hand. That price is after cash back though.
 
SeagullSteve said:
If you've upped you budget t0 £400 the the Sony Alpha 550 is that in this week AP with Camera World (I think it was them). This includes a lens, not sure which one as I don't have the AP to hand. That price is after cash back though.
Click to expand...

I think you'll need to check that Steve, as I'm sure the cheapest you'll find the A550 is around the £600 mark with the standard zoom. Even with the £80 cash back, you're looking at £520. If they are at £400 however, it could be an investment opportunity! :)
 
Hi Mark

As a Canon bod, I'd say the Canon camera :D, but I don't think you'd be disappointed with either model. Both are built to and aimed at a budget and I'm sure you'll be pleased with them. If you can stretch to a 450D, then this is a better model and you might not out grow it as quick.

Good luck with your search :thumbs:
 
pauljs said:
I think you'll need to check that Steve, as I'm sure the cheapest you'll find the A550 is around the £600 mark with the standard zoom. Even with the £80 cash back, you're looking at £520. If they are at £400 however, it could be an investment opportunity! :)
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Nope - just checked. Page 35 of this weeks AP. Camera World. £399 after £80 cashback. Includes 18-70mm lens.
 
SeagullSteve said:
Nope - just checked. Page 35 of this weeks AP. Camera World. £399 after £80 cashback. Includes 18-70mm lens.
Click to expand...

Interesting, they are showing them as £499.99 after cash back on their website, typo. maybe? They're quoting the A450 as £399.99. Maybe worth a quick phonecall methinks!
 
Martin's right, you need to think of what you will be photographing.

If you are into wildlife then the Canon is the better bet. Canon do a very good (for the price) 55-250 mm lens for about £220-240 which would make a very nice future addition when the cash becomes available. The nearest equivalent Nikon lens has a max zoom of only 200 mm which is not enough for wildlife, unless it's sitting on your lap.

If you're likely to be doing a lot of photography in poor light then you will be slightly better off with the Nikon.

Good luck which ever way you jump.
 
I have a D3000 Mark I got it Septemebr last year and have been finding it really easy to use. When I went to buy a DSLR I was thinking of getting either a D3000 or 1000D and was advised by Camera World that the D3000 was the better one so I invested in a D3000.
 
having hands like a bunch of bananas will affect which one you buy , I've got fairly big hands and up until a couple of weeks ago had a D60 , I was happy with this until I upgraded to a bigger camera (D90) , the difference in feel etc is substantial , it feels loads better to use compared to the smaller camera , you might need to bear this in mind when deciding which camera

hope you get sorted either way
 
Have a proper play with all of them in the shop then have a proper play with other equipment. If you buy any of those three and stay a member on here then no doubt you will upgrade and once you are in a system it is hard to break out of it and switch without re-learning all manner of stuff and buying lots of extras again. You also lose out big style unless you bought 2nd hand in the first place.

Biggest question is WHAT DO YOU WANT TO USE IT FOR? then will all three do that? Then where is you wanting to go next? etc
 
Go second hand and get much more bang for your buck, I say this everytime anyone contemplates buying a brand new base model SLR and I'm sure I'm right. You will get a much better camera for you budget if you let someone else take the initial depreciation hit for you and the rate people round here upgrade there is always something available in the forsale section!
 
What a great number of responses, thanks.

Well, I am a big fan of animal photography. If I were to choose a system it would need to be able to develop towards fine detail on furry, feathered or even scaled animals…

I am a little wary of 2nd hand canon as I have read that the shutter can fail after 15 – 20k (right or wrong, that is what’s on the interweb!) It has taken me since September to save my £400 and I am paranoid about buying a “Lemon”
 
It's more than that - depends on models, but most shutters are rated at 50k to 100K+ it's also just a 'mean failure rate' so you could easily get 150k+ or maybe less than 50k. Just like a car really...

If you do get a new camera with a Warranty, it's very unlikely to go wrong within the Warranty period anyway..
 
Here's some figures released by canon

Model - Rated Shutter Life
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS / 1000D - 100,000
Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i / 500D - 100,000
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi / 450D - 100,000
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi / 400D - 50,000
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT / 350D - 50,000
Canon EOS 50D - 100,000
Canon EOS 40D - 100,000
Canon EOS 30D - 100,000
Canon EOS 20D - 50,000
Canon EOS 5D Mark II - 150,000
Canon EOS 5D - 100,000
Canon EOS 1D Mark III - 300,000
Canon EOS 1D Mark II N - 200,000
Canon EOS 1DS Mark III - 300,000
Canon EOS 1DS Mark II - 200,000
Click to expand...
 
Right then!

Funny how the more questions I ask the more confused I get.

For the 3rd time my budget has increased and I am now looking for a new camera and one Kit Lens for around £500.00 ( no more increases)
The Sony Alpha 550 is in my budget and feels the best in my mitts than all the others in the same price range from the other brands. I know Sony takes a lot of stick from other brand loyalists but I like the feel of it and I have other Sony items (Camcorder etc) which have all served well for many years. Seems to me that Sony makes sense to the beginner as I will be able to pick up cheaper lenses all the way back from Minolta and my experience with a Dynax DSLR was all good.

Of course now I am awaiting suggestions on my madness or common sense approach.

The only issue so far is that Currys could not power on either the a500 or the a550 so I could judge the price gap that is mainly to do with the screen resolution for me.

Any thoughts?
 
If it feels right in your hands then that's a large part of it since you're going to have to use the thing. Pretty much any modern DSLR will take good pictures suitable for printing at A3 and I'm entirely happy with my A700 (to the extent that I'd buy the A900 that is for sale in the classifieds to go full frame, if I had the money to spare).

You wont have any problems finding lenses, either from Sony, Carl Zeiss, s/h Minolta or from Sigma or Tamron. No tilt shift lenses in A-mount though, so if that's a must have look elsewhere. Also there's an excellent, friendly forum at dyxum.com entirely dedicated to A-mount cameras and lenses.
 
pauljs said:
I think you'll need to check that Steve, as I'm sure the cheapest you'll find the A550 is around the £600 mark with the standard zoom. Even with the £80 cash back, you're looking at £520. If they are at £400 however, it could be an investment opportunity! :)
Click to expand...

it could well be the a500, as that is meant to be around £100 cheaper plus a cashback offer would put it right in the £400 price range.
 
also consider getting a second hand a300/350 which i believe someone is selling in the classifieds for £260, it also comes with a 50mm f1.8, so if you brought that kit, plus a 30mm f2.8 macro and a cheap 55-200mm zoom you'll be set up for now with decent spec kit.
 
Everyone dislikes Sony but I have had my a230 since Boxing Day now and love it! Feels good in my hand too... No problems, touch wood!! :)
 
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