Beginner Getting back into photography again, new kit advice needed

terrific

terrific

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Looking to get back into photography, previously I completed a degree in fine art and used a variety of 35mm cameras - Pentax MZ50, Nikon F75, Lomo LCA, Agfa silette-f and Minox 35ML (still have them all) and lots of dark room processing.

Anyhow after a succession of Sony compact cameras (currently have DSC-HX20) I'm looking for a DSLR. I dropped into Jessops and took a look at:
Nikon 3300 (18-55mm VR)
Nikon 5300 (18-55mm VR)
Canon 1300D (18-55mm)
Canon 750D (18-55mm)

The sales guy was keen to push the Canon over the Nikon, although I liked both. I have read there are some sensor issues with Canon 750D with some models being recalled. Thinking Nikon 5300 at the moment with an additional prime lens like Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D which look just the ticket. I have a holiday in France in July and I'm looking to get everything for then - looking to shoot - landscapes, street scenes and some static car shots at Reims (Circuit de Reims-Gueux).

Along with the camera I need to upgrade my photo manager software, slightly complicated by the fact that all my pc's run Linux (I managed to export and free my 85,000 images from a very old version iphoto this week which was a mission in itself!) and whilst I can use Digikam or shotwell - does anyone use these? Otherwise I'm thinking I may need to buy a windows licence to buy and install Lightroom.

Any advice greatly appreciated!
 
Hi

Sorry cannot help with which one to choose, but if you go for the Nikon 5300 or 3300 the 50mm 1.8d will be manual focus, you will need the 1.8g.

Depending on your budget why not go for a second hand kit.
 
Nowadays there isn't any such thing as a bad camera so I would say to get the camera that felt most intuitive in hand as that is what really counts.

The salesman probably wan't on commission but uses Canon them-self and people tend to be rather fanboy about their own brand because they made that choice and think everyone else has the same requirements as they do. Not true, but equally probably not trying to sell you a dummy.

Personally, from your list the Nikon D5300 would be my choice as I have had lots of Nikon cameras. However, I would say depending on your requirements it is possible a DSLR isn't the the only choice nowadays as mirrorless cameras are now equally fantastic for most things.
 
terrific said:
The sales guy was keen to push the Canon over the Nikon, although I liked both.
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This is the most important thing when choosing - what do you like ...

If you can, try them out, see which you prefer the feel of, which menu system seems most intuitive to you etc...

I'm a Canon bod and would recommend them, but they're all pretty much as good as one another - so it's really what feels right to you...
 
Serving my time on 35mm, I found Nikon a little more unintuitive to use.. more 'dials' like my old film cameras, and less buttons and menus like trying to program a video-recorder!
Cannon? Why does it have a Television button? And one for Audio-Visual? That was a 'doss' room at school! lol.
But.. on topic.... first thunk that struck me when you said the Nikon 50 f1.8 pime, was "He does realise that the DSLR has a 'crop-sensor', and that the 50mm prime isn't a 'normal' angle on it, like it is on a 35mm film camera? Normal Angle on crop comes in at a shorter 35mm lens-length. Conveniently Nikon provide a cracking f1.8 AF-S 35 too for very reasonable money, which may be a little more useful for general purpose photography. (I bought both 35 & 50 for the daughter for her school photography 50's a great lens, but she mainly only uses it for close up and portrait. Its possibly a tad too short for portraits, but I couldn't afford to stump up the cash for an 80mm!
Kit 18-55, is now getting a tad long the tooth. Great value lens, effectively 'free' in a kit, its built down to a price, and it shows, and I think that Nkon's higher MP sensors have been showing up its limits for a while. The 35 & 50primes blow it away in the results they delver, but then so did using old legacy M42 lenses on my D3200.
You may like to ponder a lesser body, if you don't need all the added features and functions on the mid-range D5300 and opt for a better lens to get the most from it...
Alternatively... they still make 35mm film you know... and you can buy an awful lot of the stuff for the price of a DSLR ;-)
 
If you can afford the CANON 750D than forget the beginner Camera the 1300D.
 
Jessops seem to push Canon. Personally, I would see which feels best in the hand and puts the buttons you use most under fingers/thumbs for easy use. Very little to choose between any of the brands in terms of image quality. If you have any kit left over from your previous photography time, it may be worth sticking with that system - any of the Nikon lenses for the F75 will fit a Nikon DSLR, although some might lose their AF facility (older Nikon fit AF lenses relied on a motor in the body rather than the lens).
 
If you really want to have an inexpensive fast std prime, that rules out Canon, who haven't really grasped the nettle yet, the new Canon 50mm 1.8 STM is great, they should add a 35mm version sub £150 though.

If you do go Canon you'll need to budget for either a Sigma 30mm 1.4 or the Canon 35mm f2.

And as above, ignore the Canon 1200 or similar, the 750d would be a minimum, but I'd personally go s/h and get something stronger and better.
 
terrific said:
Along with the camera I need to upgrade my photo manager software, slightly complicated by the fact that all my pc's run Linux (I managed to export and free my 85,000 images from a very old version iphoto this week which was a mission in itself!) and whilst I can use Digikam or shotwell - does anyone use these?
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I've used both Shotwell and Digikam. A few years back Shotwell didn't handle raw very well. So I moved over to Digikam. Which was a bit daunting at first because is it does a lot more things than Shotwell. But once people had answered my questions, I found it's an ideal photo workflow tool suite, constantly being improved at each release. The fact that it has a calendar, tagging, exif editor, batch processor, face recognition, Web uploading and GPS geo tagging all in one place is ideal.

I set it to open raw files in Raw Therapee, which I preferred to the Digikam raw for some reason. But I've noticed that that has also improved.
I set Digikam to open pictures in Gimp for layer based work. I have no need for Lightroom, Photoshop or any of the Windows troubles. And there is no need to "export" or "import" images either.

You should also give Darktable and the unique LightZone a try too.
 
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Phil V said:
If you really want to have an inexpensive fast std prime, that rules out Canon, who haven't really grasped the nettle yet, the new Canon 50mm 1.8 STM is great, they should add a 35mm version sub £150 though.

If you do go Canon you'll need to budget for either a Sigma 30mm 1.4 or the Canon 35mm f2.
.
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there's the EFs 24mm f1.8 for about £125 - it might be a tad wide for street but its very unobtrusive and most modern cameras will offer a certain amount of cropability

body wise although i broadly agree that the 1300 etc are a bit of a waste of space, i recently got a 100D (to complement my 6D, 50D and & 70D ) and i actually really like it for walking arround - especially its small, light and not a total ball ache to carry on long walks ... it will never replace the others, but it may put my TZ compact into retirement)
 
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What ever you do don't settle for I will get used to it Make sure it suits you
 
This may not be applicable to the OP but for anyone just getting into photography or maybe even for someone getting back into photography after a break I'd recommend they take a long hard look at the various mirrorless systems rather than conventional DSLR's if they're into anything other than stills shooting for the advantages of the more inherently digital mirrorless systems for video shooting and the ability to use almost any lens.

Personally I wouldn't bother with the 18-50mm f3.5-5.6 kit lenses unless they're a bargain for very occasional use.
 
Thanks for all your very helpful replies, I have bought for a Nikon 3200 in immaculate used condition paired with a VXII (3300 lens). With the 3300 officially discontinued, I thought no point in picking one up until the specs for the 3500 are released.
Additionally I'm looking at getting a Sony A5000, the E-mount looks to be great to use with vintage lens and that's something i'm looking to have a go with.

I think I'm going to run with that combo for a while to see which one I prefer and get the best from to then decide where to invest further,
 
I think that you should think carefully before buying a camera without a VF, you may be happy with one but personally back screen shooting isn't for me. I much prefer using a VF.
 
woof woof said:
I think that you should think carefully before buying a camera without a VF, you may be happy with one but personally back screen shooting isn't for me. I much prefer using a VF.
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I couldn't agree more. I bought a Nikon 1 J5 to compliment my DSLR and although it took some superb pics I sold it on after a few months. I simply hated not having a VF.
 
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