Good beginners DSLR for under £400? advice needed please :)

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deoxymono

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Hi, I am looking for some advice on buying a digital SLR for my sister (joint Christmas pressie). Budget is approx. £400 (with some wiggle room).

Now I don't know much about photography so I thought I had best seek the advice of some pros to guide me on my way :D

Camera is for my sister who is a relatively keen amateur photographer. This would be her first SLR. Ideally I think we would prefer something more semi-pro than something purely targeted for beginners, although I realise the budget is small ;)

I had a friend at uni who had a Nikon D80 which he loved dearly, and I think this was the sort of range I wanted to look at, however I realise the modern equivalent of the D80 are way above our budget.

We don't mind buying second hand.

Cameras I have initially listed for consideration are:

  • Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm lens (though struggling to find this in stock as it seems to have been superseded by the D5100 which is a bit too much above our budget)
  • Used Nikon D80 with 18-135mm lens (can't decide whether the tech is a bit to old to buy into now?)
  • Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm (not really sure about this one)
  • Nikon D3000 with 18-55mm (on offer in argos for £329 which seemed a very good price?)
  • Canon EOS 1100D with 18-55mm lens (seems like this can be picked up for about £380, how does it compare to the Nikon D3000?)

Those are the cameras I've narrowed it down to, but like I have mentioned I'm no photographer (just a semi decent Googler ;) ) so any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

As it is a Christmas gift and with only a few days to go, it would really need to be available to buy from a high-street store!
 
Is there a London Camera Exchange near you?

They might have a second hand D80 or even a D70s. Usually sold body only so you would need a lens but they could offer advice. Although both are older models they are very capable. They also have an internal focus drive motor so non-AFS lens can be used. This opens up the possibility of picking up a relatively cheap 50 mm F1.8 prime.

However as cameras can be quite a personal choice if you sister has not indicated a model she likes you could end up getting something she struggles using (wieght, grip) etc. The D80 and D70s are noticably larger and heavier than for comparison a D3000.
 
Pentax Kr kit comes in under your price ceiling and is a great camera, not to mention small and light.
 
Nikon D3100 or the Canon 1100D are in round abouts in your price range for the kit, Nikon is a little more expensive but not by a tremendous amount.

OR

Whilst looking for a similar present to give, I noticed argos are selling the D3000 kit, possibly just old stock in their warehouses and stores. They were selling them for £330 with the kit lens, which would leave £70 odd for a bag / memory cards or possibly a second hand lens like the 55-200. Dont know if they have any left but it may be worth a look on their website and check the stock of your local stores :thumbs:

If you decide to go to a new starter dslr like the D3100 or 1100D have a look camerapricebuster.com for prices, however you may need to be quick if you wanted delivery in time for christmas, would need to call them today or tomorrow and ask specifically for them to dispatch same day with next day delivery. It is possible :)
 
Steep said:
Pentax Kr kit comes in under your price ceiling and is a great camera, not to mention small and light.
Click to expand...

would agree with hugh on this although im biased towards pentax. good quality bits of kit and good value for money!
 
if you don't mind buying s/h then consider a Canon 40D or Sony A700 as both have more semi-pro features & should be available for £400.

Sony's A200 (~£200 s/h) is also an excellent starter DSLR.
 
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