First DSLR

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simlam

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Simon
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Hi I'm pretty new at this, I'm looking to buy my first DSLR have a budget initially of around £350 to £400 what would you recommend? pro's and con's of different brands etc?
Thanks in advance
Si
 
really any camera brand will do the job its just down to usage. as anyone will say always handle the camera and try before you buy. but these are the camera's i would recommend;

sony a200/300/350 - any of these will do but the 300 and 350 have live view and the 350 also has 14 megapixels which will not be good for low light. the sony a200 has a bigger and brighter viewfinder. you can also get the legendary KM lenses second hand plus the calr ziess optics

canon 400/450d - never used these but they are highly rated, canon are one of the top three but i wouldnt bother with thinking of camera brand, but canon have over 60 lenses plus others from third party makes.

nikon d60/d3000 - pretty much same as above but with a few less lenses.

me personally would recommend an a200 because i never use live view and think ive wasted an extra
£100 for the privilege.
 
Get a used Canon 40D or 450D :thumbs:
 
mastertrinity said:
me personally would recommend an a200 because i never use live view and think ive wasted an extra
£100 for the privilege.
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:thumbs:

You could always buy my Sony A200 body and spend the rest on some lovely lenses!!

Just a thought..........!!:D

Oh, and welcome to TP.......you've come to the right place!!:thumbs:
 
Hi Si,

the best advice you're going to get is to go to your local camera shop and try the different models available in your price range and see which one feels right in your hand. Nowadays all of the cameras on the market from the big players can take amazing photographs, so ignore all the hype about megabells and pixelwhistles and pick one that feels comfortable for you to use, otherwise you'll not want to take it out and play with it in public :suspect: :naughty:
 
you couldn't go wrong with Nikon, at that price you'd be looking at D3000. Personally, if you were to go s/h but mint you'd get much more for your money. At the moment there is a D40 and 18-55 for sale on here for only £219. Money saved could go towards an extra lens etc. It may be only 6 million pixels, but it seems a touch sharper than the 10 mp D40x,D60 etc. Just my VHO!
 
Hi and welcome to TP.:)

Any brand of camera can take good shots, it's you that make them great.

By all means ask people here what to buy but bear in mind they including me are biased, otherwise we would all have the same camera.

The camera for YOU is the one that falls within YOUR budget, feels comfortable in YOUR hands, and has a control layout YOU find most intuitive.

So go to the shops and play with a range and get the one YOU like best.
 
Slimbert said:
:thumbs:

You could always buy my Sony A200 body and spend the rest on some lovely lenses!!

Just a thought..........!!:D

Oh, and welcome to TP.......you've come to the right place!!:thumbs:
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sony are creating some lovely lenses, like the sony 30mm f2.8 macro and the sony 50mm f1.8.

remember go with the camera brand that has the lenses you need, i doubt you will go with canon just to get all of the 60 lenses they have:lol: sony dont have as many because they are only starting but they are doing a brilliant job and hard work to keep up with the crowd.

think of sony as quality not quantity:D and the fact of the supersteadyshot IS that means you could get lenses at cheap and still have IS. woot
 
I am on the same boat as you and with the same budget but perhaps a bit less! Just posted about this the other day. After much research online I'm now choosing between two options. Either the Sony A200 or the Canon EOS 1000D. Think I'm going for the Canon though as I'd prefer a live-view option. I've learned so much online from just looking for my first DSLR!
 
Think I'm going for the Canon though as I'd prefer a live-view option.


Well Canon's live view is not very good, I suggest you try it out first to avoid disappointment.
 
lawrenceots said:
Well Canon's live view is not very good, I suggest you try it out first to avoid disappointment.
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Isn't it? Oh. To think I've been conned all this time ;)
 
lawrenceots said:
Think I'm going for the Canon though as I'd prefer a live-view option.


Well Canon's live view is not very good, I suggest you try it out first to avoid disappointment.
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Nifkin said:
Isn't it? Oh. To think I've been conned all this time ;)
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A good example of why you must decide.

People will always disagree over what is good or bad.

You will see(Nikon) that althought I use 1 make (Nikon) I have not tried to influence you in any way (Nikon)

Seriously, after you narrow it down come and ask opinions, but remember they are only that.
 
My dad told me to go for a Nikon or Canon as opposed to a Sony A200 but I think he's slightly old fashioned and likes to think he knows more than he does about photography. Or maybe he does? Who knows? It's incredible how many conflicting viewpoints I've come across when researching my choice.

As much as I know I have to decide which lens to go for I don't have a clue about either or what they're capable of which is my biggest problem?
 
Also, I think that there are many, many posts on here and elsewhere asking ultra-wide open questions about which brand to go with when starting from scratch, and you could read them all and be none the wiser, as there's no right or wrong answer.

It's a better idea to work out first what sort of photography you're most interested in, and look for kit suggestions along those lines (is croppability important? or are you into low-light shooting? etc, etc). However, if it really is a case that you're a complete novice with no idea what direction your muse will take you in further down the line, then I'd stop reading and just get down to a reputable photographic retailer and hold a few cameras in your hands; at entry level none of the brands have anything between them really, so it's all down to ergonomics and what feels right for you. :thumbs:
 
I love photographing people (especially my 1 year old son!) And I love action shots...what I love most about photography is "capturing a moment", however I obviously do like to experiment with the odd woodland scene etc. And I'm doing a course next year as well.
 
mastertrinity said:
the sony has actually been proven to have the best and fastest live view so if you wanted to then get an a300
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Would love to but think its a bit outside my price range...I see you're a Sony A300 owner, would you recommend it then? Is it good for photographing people? As far as I know the A200 and A300 are extremely similar with the main difference being no live-view option.
 
daydreambeliever said:
I love photographing people (especially my 1 year old son!) And I love action shots...what I love most about photography is "capturing a moment", however I obviously do like to experiment with the odd woodland scene etc. And I'm doing a course next year as well.
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OK, well seeing as you're not planning on diving into the extremes of either UWA landscapes or macro photography just yet, ;) the choice is relatively easy and is consistent with my earlier advice; any of the major brands' entry level models with kit lens would be a great place to start, and if you like portraiture you'd could augment your kit quite quickly with something like a 50mm fast prime for not too many pennies; perhaps stick that on your Xmas list!

I got into Canon DLSRs simply because I used to use a Canon film SLR which I became very attached to due to it being trusty. However, if I were to start all over again it would probably be a toss-up between Nikon or Canon simply because, compared to the other brands, they offer a much larger system, and thus more room to grow. But like I said, get down the shops and fondle a few! :lol:
 
Nifkin said:
OK, well seeing as you're not planning on diving into the extremes of either UWA landscapes or macro photography just yet, ;)
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Not quite yet, no. ;) I'm still young...however my Dad has expressed an interest in borrowing for his macro photography - flower enthusiast. I'm sure I will get there eventually, lacking the patience and wisdom at the moment.:thumbs:

if you like portraiture you'd could augment your kit quite quickly with something like a 50mm fast prime for not too many pennies; perhaps stick that on your Xmas list!
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What is a 50mm fast prime?:shrug: I appreciate your help here...apologies if I'm frustrating.:bonk:
 
daydreambeliever said:
Would love to but think its a bit outside my price range...I see you're a Sony A300 owner, would you recommend it then? Is it good for photographing people? As far as I know the A200 and A300 are extremely similar with the main difference being no live-view option.
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oh yes im a people tog and i love the camera, even if you could get second hand it would be really cheap because the new versions are out (a330 and a380) so it will be even cheaper.

live view has been useful to me in some situations, last night i took some pics of my little bro and sis for my nan in ireland and the space in the bedroom was so small i needed the tiltable screen and live view.

im even deciding on getting a tamron 28-75mm f2.8 and a tamron 90mm f2.8 macro along with 70-300mm G SSM which hwas crowned the best consumer telephoto an issue of digital photo i think it was.
 
the 50mm commonly referred to as the nifty fifty is a 50mm f1.8 or f1.4 that was equivelant to the human eyesight back in the days of film or full frame camera's. entry level cameras have a crop factor of 1.5 (or with canon 1.6) so the 50mm now becomes a fast 75mm lens perfect for portraits to give a flattering perspective.
 
daydreambeliever said:
What is a 50mm fast prime?:shrug: I appreciate your help here...apologies if I'm frustrating.:bonk:
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A "prime" lens is a lens with a fixed focal length, like 30mm or 50mm, which doesn't zoom (you have to do the zooming with your feet ;)). Coz it has less moving parts the optical quality tends to be better, and the sub-100mm ones are small and light when compared to standard zooms. They're fast coz the aperture can usually open up very wide, to f/1.8 or 1.4, which means they collect a lot of light, so they can be used in low light situations. At wide apertures you also get a shallower depth-of-field, which is that effect portrait 'togs use when they want only the subject in focus and everything else blurry, effectively isolating the subject. I know Canon do a very good quality and popular one known as the Nifty Fifty, the EF 50mm F/1.8, which can be had for £80, or less 2nd hand, and for the image quality it's a bargain.
 
Shall we be polite and at least remember the OP whose thread now seems to have been comprehensively hijacked?
 
PsiFox said:
Shall we be polite and at least remember the OP whose thread now seems to have been comprehensively hijacked?
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Oops! Haha, I thought I was responding to the OP! Oh well; the advice I was giving was in response to a general ultra-newbie "which brand?" query, so it still stayed to the OP's original agenda :thumbs:
 
PsiFox said:
Shall we be polite and at least remember the OP whose thread now seems to have been comprehensively hijacked?
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Sorry simlam:hug: I'm in the same position as you though, so hope this info helps you as well...I just get carried away, I'm like a wee sponge at the moment absorbing everything....it's like being an inquisitive kid again.
 
Slimbert said:
I think everything being posted will be helping the OP aswell.........:shrug:
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Probably, but it does go off topic from the OP's single post about brands, to macro, flowers, 50mm primes, landscapes, portraits.

The OP may just be feeling a little overwhelmed (was his? first post)
 
PsiFox said:
Probably, but it does go off topic from the OP's single post about brands, to macro, flowers, 50mm primes, landscapes, portraits.

The OP may just be feeling a little overwhelmed (was his? first post)
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I'll go back and delete my stuff then :shrug:
 
daydreambeliever said:
Sorry simlam:hug: I'm in the same position as you though, so hope this info helps you as well...I just get carried away, I'm like a wee sponge at the moment absorbing everything....it's like being an inquisitive kid again.
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No problems, lots of stuff to learn, can't believe the response I got, thanks all
 
Nifkin said:
I'll go back and delete my stuff then :shrug:
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Now did I suggest you should go and do that?:bonk:

Just suggesting we don't try and overwhelm the noob:) netiquette and all that.
 
simlam said:
No problems, lots of stuff to learn, can't believe the response I got, thanks all
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Also get a copy of "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. Very informative read.
 
PsiFox said:
Now did I suggest you should go and do that?:bonk:

Just suggesting we don't try and overwhelm the noob:) netiquette and all that.
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Well so far the noobs simlam & daydreambeliever have learnt:

  • Why it's important to be hands-on when choosing a brand
  • Which cameras have/don't have live view
  • What a prime lens is, and how it differs from a zoom lens

I think they're both bright enough to deal with that mountain of info :D

EDIT: :plusone: to getting a copy of Understanding Exposure; great book!
 
Nifkin said:
Well so far the noobs simlam & daydreambeliever have learnt:

  • Why it's important to be hands-on when choosing a brand
  • Which cameras have/don't have live view
  • What a prime lens is

I think they're both bright enough to deal with that mountain of info :D
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I'm sure they are but the OP only asked 1 question.

Now Shall we agree not to similarly hijack the thread?:):naughty:
 
PsiFox said:
I'm sure they are but the OP only asked 1 question.

Now Shall we agree not to similarly hijack the thread?:):naughty:
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Psi, as I pointed out, I thought I was talking to the OP when in fact I was responding to daydream; I wouldn't intentionally "hijack" a thread. You've already made your point. Also, it wasn't very hijacked anyway, and the OP seems cool with it. I didn't see him asking for book recommendations though :p
 
lawrenceots said:
At the moment there is a D40 and 18-55 for sale on here for only £219.
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I'd go for that, and save the money for a new lens (which you will be wanting :nuts:) in about six months.

I've had a D40 for a year and have loved it - feel ready to upgrade but want a D90 which is about £650 body only - so have been buying new lenses this year. I think I will probably still keep my D40 as a back up camera, it's really sharp, light, easy to use and carry, and a great first DSLR - absolutely no complaints at all.
 
AnnaV said:
I'd go for that, and save the money for a new lens (which you will be wanting :nuts:) in about six months.

I've had a D40 for a year and have loved it - feel ready to upgrade but want a D90 which is about £650 body only - so have been buying new lenses this year. I think I will probably still keep my D40 as a back up camera, it's really sharp, light, easy to use and carry, and a great first DSLR - absolutely no complaints at all.
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See now you've really put a spanner in the works!:lol:
 
PsiFox said:
A good example of why you must decide.

People will always disagree over what is good or bad.

You will see(Nikon) that althought I use 1 make (Nikon) I have not tried to influence you in any way (Nikon)

Seriously, after you narrow it down come and ask opinions, but remember they are only that.
Click to expand...



Sony do have the best live view system since they use phase detection, but unlike the rest, the mirror does not flip up and blank out the view. The rest use contrast detection. I was pointing out that if you were taking a shot over the heads at a crowd, for example, and were using the Canon 1000D, to focus you would have to press the exposure button on the back of the camera, and to take the shot, press the shutter button. Wheras if it were a Nikon D5000(or Olympus, Pentax) you would simply do it the normal way, a half press on the shutter and fully down to take the shot. I can't see the point of Canon's system, that was all I was pointing out. But of course, best to try them out yourself!;)
 
lawrenceots said:
Sony do have the best live view system since they use phase detection, but unlike the rest, the mirror does not flip up and blank out the view. The rest use contrast detection. I was pointing out that if you were taking a shot over the heads at a crowd, for example, and were using the Canon 1000D, to focus you would have to press the exposure button on the back of the camera, and to take the shot, press the shutter button. Wheras if it were a Nikon D5000(or Olympus, Pentax) you would simply do it the normal way, a half press on the shutter and fully down to take the shot. I can't see the point of Canon's system, that was all I was pointing out. But of course, best to try them out yourself!;)
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My post wasn't a dig at you. It was just to illustrate peoples view of kit differs, so the OP must make his own decision:)
 
PsiFox said:
My post wasn't a dig at you. It was just to illustrate peoples view of kit differs, so the OP must make his own decision:)
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I don't think lawrenceots took it as a dig, but was just providing more detail about his reasoning, weren't you Larry? Even if it was a bit OT... :p:lol:
 
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