First SLR - help please

Jessica Forster

Jessica Forster

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Jessica
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Looking at buying my first SLR in the next couple of weeks

I am also saving to go to Australia in February (which I mainly want the camera for) so I don't have a massive budget right now. Around £350/£400 max

I'm currently using a family members Nikon D50 and have also used a cannon powershot.

I don't have a preference between cannon and Nikon, but have my eyes on the canon 1200d or the Nikon D3300.
Any opinions on these or recommend another?

Also what are people's opinions on buying off eBay? The only thing swaying me to buy new from currys is the £3 per month care plan
 
Lenses are where the budget makes the biggest difference on the quality of the image, does your budget need to include one or more lenses as well as the body?

What do you want to photograph in Australia? - do you have a particular focus (family having fun, or wildlife) or more general purpose?
 
As for a new Canon on a budget the 1300d looks to be a very good deal. It's got everything you would need as an introduction to dslr photography. As for second hand, you may also want to look at mpb.com, wexphotographic.com.
The canon 1200d is also a good camera btw.
To be honest, it would be hard to find a bad dslr, Canon or Nikon. Some have more bells and whistles than others, but these aren't always necessary to take a good photo (wifi, flip/tilt lcd etc).
 
Alastair said:
Lenses are where the budget makes the biggest difference on the quality of the image, does your budget need to include one or more lenses as well as the body?

What do you want to photograph in Australia? - do you have a particular focus (family having fun, or wildlife) or more general purpose?
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Photography wise I really enjoy photographing at dusk / night time but generally abit of everything ( I'm travelling )

Can't really say I know anything about lenses (I've got a lot to learn) but photographs I think will be from a distance and would also like to be able to get background blur, the ones I have looked at include just the 18-55mm, hoping I'll have the money to buy another lens before I go. However their are cameras in budget on eBay with 2 lenses and extras which is why I'm really considering eBay.

Nostromo said:
As for a new Canon on a budget the 1300d looks to be a very good deal. It's got everything you would need as an introduction to dslr photography. As for second hand, you may also want to look at mpb.com, wexphotographic.com.
The canon 1200d is also a good camera btw.
To be honest, it would be hard to find a bad dslr, Canon or Nikon. Some have more bells and whistles than others, but these aren't always necessary to take a good photo (wifi, flip/tilt lcd etc).
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Thank you- I went into currys and the advisor was the one to turn me towards Nikon D3300 and I did love it. I was originally looking at cannon,
 
It is worth considering that if your family member shoots with Nikon and they kindly lend you their equipment, that it is worth following their lead. If they have Nikon, I would buy Nikon. When they upgrade you may be able to buy their kit for cheap, or borrow when necessary. Once you go down a road - generally that is where you stay. Some change, but most stay with their first choice manufacturer.
 
Gary Kinghorn said:
It is worth considering that if your family member shoots with Nikon and they kindly lend you their equipment, that it is worth following their lead. If they have Nikon, I would buy Nikon. When they upgrade you may be able to buy their kit for cheap, or borrow when necessary. Once you go down a road - generally that is where you stay. Some change, but most stay with their first choice manufacturer.
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I took my first few pictures with a compact cannon powershot, has manual, aperture, shutter speed ext and found that easier than when I first shot with the Nikon but a compact is completely different right ?

I do like Nikon and really love the Nikon D3300 as a starting point but the fact I found the cannon powershot easier to work what what made me look over to cannon over Nikon

Maby I'm thinking to much into this? I can learn to work any camera right?
 
Once you get in to DSLRs it's all about the lenses. You will end up sticking with one manufacturer, because of the interchangeability of the lenses. If your family member has a selection you have the opportunity to borrow, you may be better sticking with Nikon. To be honest, there is nothing between the big 2. Neither can afford to sell bad products, so take your pick.
 
Gary Kinghorn said:
Once you get in to DSLRs it's all about the lenses. You will end up sticking with one manufacturer, because of the interchangeability of the lenses. If your family member has a selection you have the opportunity to borrow, you may be better sticking with Nikon. To be honest, there is nothing between the big 2. Neither can afford to sell bad products, so take your pick.
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Fantastic thank you

So as a rule does any Nikon lens fit any camera body?
 
Jessica Forster said:
Fantastic thank you

So as a rule does any Nikon lens fit any camera body?
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Broadly yes, but it is more complicated than that.

Also, save money for the important stuff by buying second hand (I think you already are) and personally I'd choose an older better camera, the entry level bodies rely on menus where the mid range bodies have buttons for all the common settings. It doesn't matter much for 200 shots a year, but for 2000 shots a day it makes a big difference.
 
Jessica Forster said:
Fantastic thank you

So as a rule does any Nikon lens fit any camera body?
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Nope
Nikons fit Nikons
Canons fit Canons

Sigma
Tamron
etc are available in either fit but are not transferable from one brand to the other.
 
Hertsman said:
Nope
Nikons fit Nikons
Canons fit Canons

Sigma
Tamron
etc are available in either fit but are not transferable from one brand to the other.
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Sorry yes that's what I meant, any Nikon lens fits any Nikon body
Phil V said:
Broadly yes, but it is more complicated than that.

Also, save money for the important stuff by buying second hand (I think you already are) and personally I'd choose an older better camera, the entry level bodies rely on menus where the mid range bodies have buttons for all the common settings. It doesn't matter much for 200 shots a year, but for 2000 shots a day it makes a big difference.
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I really don't know what's old or new there's so many I'm more than happy to get an older camera that has more settings/options and won't find its limits as easy rather than an entry level with limitations, I'm picking it up quite quickly.

Could you point me in the direction of an older camera that's good in your opinion?
 
Jessica Forster said:
Sorry yes that's what I meant, any Nikon lens fits any Nikon body


I really don't know what's old or new there's so many I'm more than happy to get an older camera that has more settings/options and won't find its limits as easy rather than an entry level with limitations, I'm picking it up quite quickly.

Could you point me in the direction of an older camera that's good in your opinion?
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Sorry, I'm fairly useless with Noink, they don't follow simple naming conventions like Canon.
 
Ahh okay

Looking at both makes still any how, I'm very undivided. What would you say cannon if I went for cannon?
Phil V said:
Sorry, I'm fairly useless with Noink, they don't follow simple naming conventions like Canon.
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Dependant on budget, the 40d, 50d and 7d are all bargains ATM.

I'm sure there's equivalent bargains in Nikon.

And a tamron or sigma 2.8 std zoom
 
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Apart from the low light IQ, the other advantage of Nikon is the excellent 35mm 1.8 std prime.
 
For Canon I'd look for a 60d body only and something like the Tamron 17 - 50mm f/2.8.

Should be able to get the two just within your budget.

Phil - you posted about two seconds before me!
 
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Have you tried looking on the London Camera Exchange or Camera World website? I'm a Nikon user and the 3300 is a solid camera with enough features to work with. I've brought secondhand from these retailers and it's worth considering if you want to add another lens. Also, it's worth getting your gear insured as most home insurance may only cover UK use.
 
I think there is a lot to be said for grabbing an entry dslr from canon or nikon as a starting point and build on that - so d3300 from nikon or 1300d from canon which come with a handy "kit lens" - that is exactly how i started out 10 years ago with a nikon d70s and 18-70 kit lens but the good news is that stating out now is a lot cheaper than it was 10 years ago! The main thing is to get out ther and take a lot of photos and find the type of photography you really like and eventually upgrade your kit to suit that type.
 
Not much more to add further to the advice already given - other than if your interests are dawn/dusk type shots a small lightweight tripod would be a good tool to have with you.
If weight/size/baggage is an issue whilst travelling, then one of the larger Gorilla pods could work well for those longer exposures.

What you doing regarding the images? Taking a stack of SD cards or do you plan to take a laptop/tablet to keep downloading them images onto ?

Good luck in your choice!

If you get time, have a couple of trial runs with the gear before you travel - then you have time to ask questions :)
 
Phil V said:
Apart from the low light IQ, the other advantage of Nikon is the excellent 35mm 1.8 std prime.
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Being a total beginner I couldn't make sense of this at all


the888account said:
Not much more to add further to the advice already given - other than if your interests are dawn/dusk type shots a small lightweight tripod would be a good tool to have with you.
If weight/size/baggage is an issue whilst travelling, then one of the larger Gorilla pods could work well for those longer exposures.

What you doing regarding the images? Taking a stack of SD cards or do you plan to take a laptop/tablet to keep downloading them images onto ?

Good luck in your choice!

If you get time, have a couple of trial runs with the gear before you travel - then you have time to ask questions :)
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I will look into gorilla pods! Thank you Regarding images I'll be doing both, taking my iPad and will keep them on that but also in the sd card for safe measure.

Planning on getting the camera I decide on in a couple of weeks, if I have decided by then. So plenty of time to get practice in
 
Jessica Forster said:
Being a total beginner I couldn't make sense of this at all
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Canon crop sensors have really been less than they should be for a few years.

Canon don't produce a suitable std prime for their crop cameras (which has puzzled many for years), but Nikon do.
 
Phil V said:
Canon crop sensors have really been less than they should be for a few years.

Canon don't produce a suitable std prime for their crop cameras (which has puzzled many for years), but Nikon do.
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What about EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM ? - this will act like a 38mm on crop - I get the feeling that "standard" prime seems to be gravitating from the tradational 50 to the wider 35 when you look at the number of fixed lens cameras that go with this slightly wider fov
 
boliston said:
What about EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM ? - this will act like a 38mm on crop - I get the feeling that "standard" prime seems to be gravitating from the tradational 50 to the wider 35 when you look at the number of fixed lens cameras that go with this slightly wider fov
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I'd still want a '50'.

I have a theory on the popularity of the 35mm which was in the wilderness for decades*, but IMHO a prime needs to be f2 minimum to be of any use, there's loads of options for 24mm 2.8 making that prime a bit pointless.

*its close to the FoV of a camera phone, so now we can take images similar but so much better than they can on their phone.
 
Someone on here gave me some really good advice regarding which camera system to buy - look at the lenses available and see which best suits you..

I really want a light, cheap but decent wide angle zoom (for landscapes and architecture) for that reason I'm going for a Canon - the 10-18mm looks perfect to me and is £185 new - there is no equivalent to that in Nikon world.

Its true that recently the Canon APS-C sensors seem to be rated slightly behind the Nikon ones but cameras like the 750d & 760d have closed the gap.

Nikon lenses also appear to be more expensive - fine if you have the money not so good if you don't. Of course Nikon are a bit like BMW's - some people just have to have them no matter what !
 
justa1972 said:
Someone on here gave me some really good advice regarding which camera system to buy - look at the lenses available and see which best suits you..

I really want a light, cheap but decent wide angle zoom (for landscapes and architecture) for that reason I'm going for a Canon - the 10-18mm looks perfect to me and is £185 new - there is no equivalent to that in Nikon world.

Its true that recently the Canon APS-C sensors seem to be rated slightly behind the Nikon ones but cameras like the 750d & 760d have closed the gap.

Nikon lenses also appear to be more expensive - fine if you have the money not so good if you don't. Of course Nikon are a bit like BMW's - some people just have to have them no matter what !
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I'm having trouble understanding lenses and what they do My gut instinct is telling me to go with cannon but I can't find one in my price range that compares to the Nikon D3300
 
Jessica Forster said:
I'm having trouble understanding lenses and what they do My gut instinct is telling me to go with cannon but I can't find one in my price range that compares to the Nikon D3300
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Sorry !

What type of photography do you do or want to do ? Might be wise to buy a basic digital photography book to improve your knowledge before you buy ? A basic kit lens (that comes with a camera) tends to be an 18-55 which is useful for most things but isn't particularly wide or long. Wide angle lenses are good for landscape because you can fit more in and long lens (telephoto or zoom) are good for wildlife etc (although they can also be good for landscape!)

Prime lenses are a fixed focus length i.e 35mm or 50mm - you cannot change the focal length so they aren't as versatile but because they are only covering one focal length they can in the right hands produce better images - they also tend to be faster i.e in terms of aperture.

The Nikon D3300 is regarded as being very good in deed, probably better than the Canon equivalent but you need to look at the lenses too.
 
You should be able to pick up a used nikon d300 and a sigma 17-50 2.8 for that budget which should be a good pairing and be reasonably robust for travelling

Have a look at mpb, wex used, ffordes, london camera exchange, etc
 
Jim_Tod said:
You should be able to pick up a used nikon d300 and a sigma 17-50 2.8 for that budget which should be a good pairing and be reasonably robust for travelling

Have a look at mpb, wex used, ffordes, london camera exchange, etc
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or a Nikon D90 or D7000, from the above second-hand dealers. You mention that you want the 'blurry background'. Without spending a lot of money you will really need a Prime lens (as described above), possibly the Nikon 35mm or 50mm, both excellent lenses and good value (my personal favourite is the 35mm). For general use, and for ease for travelling, you may well end up with one of the 'kit' lenses (one of the lenses originally sold with the camera) these come in a variety of shapes and sizes, are pretty much always zoom lenses so you have good flexibility, but won't really give you the blurry look very well. To be honest for a trip to Oz and as a learning photographer, get the body you want and maybe an 55-200mm Nikon lens; you could have a D7000 (£294) and a 55-200mm lens (£99) from MPB and off you go!
 
Jessica Forster said:
Looking at buying my first SLR in the next couple of weeks

I am also saving to go to Australia in February (which I mainly want the camera for) so I don't have a massive budget right now. Around £350/£400 max

I'm currently using a family members Nikon D50 and have also used a cannon powershot.

I don't have a preference between cannon and Nikon, but have my eyes on the canon 1200d or the Nikon D3300.
Any opinions on these or recommend another?

Also what are people's opinions on buying off eBay? The only thing swaying me to buy new from currys is the £3 per month care plan
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Of these two cameras the D3300 is by far the best one in terms of sensor performance. Better noise handling (less grain on your images) which will be a real benefit for your dusk/night time photos. It also has better dynamic range (good for landscapes) and better colour depth. In pure terms of spec, the D3300 is the no brainer imo. However, it's really important that you like the controls and ergonomics so always best to try first.

Lenses are important to consider, but unless you start getting into really expensive and specialist lenses Nikon and Canon both offer everything you will ever need and are pretty much on par (give or take).

Is there a reason you're looking at DSLR only? The reason I ask is that mirrorless/compact system cameras are often smaller (particularly the m4/3) and offer all the controls of DSLR. The size and weight may be better for travelling.
 
DSLR just seemed the right choice for me, I originally had a cannon powershot but found its limitations quite quickly.
I have now been borrowing a Nikon D50 and prefer everything about it over compact.

Although I'm keeping it as a hobby for now, I am also thinking into the future that their may be a possibility I want to take it further so I would like to be able to collect a veriety of lenses and accessories along the way.


snerkler said:
Of these two cameras the D3300 is by far the best one in terms of sensor performance. Better noise handling (less grain on your images) which will be a real benefit for your dusk/night time photos. It also has better dynamic range (good for landscapes) and better colour depth. In pure terms of spec, the D3300 is the no brainer imo. However, it's really important that you like the controls and ergonomics so always best to try first.

Lenses are important to consider, but unless you start getting into really expensive and specialist lenses Nikon and Canon both offer everything you will ever need and are pretty much on par (give or take).

Is there a reason you're looking at DSLR only? The reason I ask is that mirrorless/compact system cameras are often smaller (particularly the m4/3) and offer all the controls of DSLR. The size and weight may be better for travelling.
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Jessica Forster said:
DSLR just seemed the right choice for me, I originally had a cannon powershot but found its limitations quite quickly.
I have now been borrowing a Nikon D50 and prefer everything about it over compact.

Although I'm keeping it as a hobby for now, I am also thinking into the future that their may be a possibility I want to take it further so I would like to be able to collect a veriety of lenses and accessories along the way.
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Don't confuse compacts with compact system cameras, compact system cameras are interchangeable lens cameras like DSLRs and offer the same features and controls. There are pros and cons of each, but if you have your mind set on a DSLR then that's the way you should go (y)
 
Hi, I bought a Nikon d3300 about two years ago and loved it especially with the 35mm 1.8. It got me back into photography after a little break and a steep learning curve with Pentax.
The only problem with the d3300 is that I out grew it within 18months, i sold it on and bought the d5500. Its similar in size and weight( which is important to me), it has a tilting touch screen, wifi which is useful for traveling and the ability to do time lapse in camera amongst other nice improvements.
The d3300 is fantastic and I enjoyed using it. I'm no expert and I'm not trying to put you off as this is just my experience. Maybe look into a second hand mid level camera through a reputable shop which gives warranty for peice of mind, our local photography store gives 12month warranties on second hand for example. The smaller independent shops also (usually ) give advice which better suits your needs rather than a quick sale if that makes sense.
 
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snerkler said:
Don't confuse compacts with compact system cameras, compact system cameras are interchangeable lens cameras like DSLRs and offer the same features and controls. There are pros and cons of each, but if you have your mind set on a DSLR then that's the way you should go (y)
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I didn't know that. There are so many different cameras
Emma10 said:
Hi, I bought a Nikon d3300 about two years ago and loved it especially with the 35mm 1.8. It got me back into photography after a little break and a steep learning curve with Pentax.
The only problem with the d3300 is that I out grew it within 18months, i sold it on and bought the d5500. Its similar in size and weight( which is important to me), it has a tilting screen, wifi which is useful for traveling and the ability to do time lapse in camera amongst other nice improvements.
The d3300 is fantastic and I enjoyed using it. I'm no expert and I'm not trying to put you off as this is just my experience. Maybe look into a second hand mid level camera through a reputable shop which gives warranty for peice of mind, our local photography store gives 12month warranties on second hand for example. The smaller independent shops also (usually ) give advice which better suits your needs rather than a quick sale if that makes sense.
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D3300 is a good contender at the minute, continuing with research though. Definitely looking at local second hand shops although few and far between
 
not sure where you are but we have Harrison's cameras here in Sheffield they are very well established and have a website if it helps and maybe even call them? Buying your first camera can be confusing with the amount of choice there is.
 
I think it's also important the whatever camera you choose feels right to you when in the hand. Is it comfortable to hold, and are the controls easy to access. Does the camera suit the size of your hand. Is it the right weight. Hope that helps!
 
Phil V said:
I'd still want a '50'.

I have a theory on the popularity of the 35mm which was in the wilderness for decades*, but IMHO a prime needs to be f2 minimum to be of any use, there's loads of options for 24mm 2.8 making that prime a bit pointless.

*its close to the FoV of a camera phone, so now we can take images similar but so much better than they can on their phone.
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The main advantage for me with a prime is the simplicity and the massive weight and price saving by going with 2.8 vs 2.0 - 2.8 "pro" zooms on a dslr are usually monsters lol
 
boliston said:
The main advantage for me with a prime is the simplicity and the massive weight and price saving by going with 2.8 vs 2.0 - 2.8 "pro" zooms on a dslr are usually monsters lol
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Without derailing the thread too much, I'd still really like a '50mm' and Canon IMHO are missing a trick for both their EFS and EFM offerings, whereas Nikon do a great 35mm for crop.
 
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