Help needed - Which one?!

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stevotc

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Stevo
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Hi people,

Fantastic forum!!

Well I have spent about 5 days trawling through the forum, reading peoples posts, looking at all the amazing pictures that you guys take etc...

... my issue is that I still have no idea what camera to buy!! I am looking to spend around £300, give or take.

I was looking at the 40D, but I think I have come to my senses and would like to start with something a bit simpler that still has plenty of toys and settings.

This will be my first real camera. Previously, I have only had point and shoot's.

I am heading to Australia for 6 weeks very soon, so I would like to start my Photography collection out there.

Sorry about the long post and I look forward to hearing from you all soon!!

Regards,
Steve
:)
 
hello Steve :wave: and welcome
I have a 400D plus bits for sale in the wanted forum
take a look:thumbs:
the 24-85 is still available due to previous "buyer" wandering off into the widlerness!:thumbsdown:
 
You wont get a new 40D with glass for that sort of money. Not sure what/if they are going 2nd hand.

A new 450D with kit lens will set you back about £450.

I've no real idea what the Nikon/Sony/Olympus DSLR models are, but as far as Canon goes the 350D or better the 400D with a lens can be obtained fro about the £380 mark.

ie: £389.99
http://www.elitegadgets.com/P/Canon-EOS-400D-with-EF-S-18-55mm-Lens-in-Black(269).aspx?F=T

Of course you can always go 2nd hand
 
Try a Nikon D40 - you'll get one on Amazon for about £275. I suggest this a) as it's what I've got and I'm biased :) but more imortantly b) it's really quite small and light (for an SLR) and this is important when you're travelling - to cut weight and baggage space down. It's also simple to use. I'd suggest you go an hold a couple of cameras first. The reason I bought the D40 in the first place after comparing at all the technical options was because it felt right in the hand.
 
The choice would appear to be Nikon or Canon, but there's also Olympus, Samsung, Sony and Pentax you could look at, if you're on a budget. Oh, buy second-hand, you'll get more for your money!!

EDIT - Camtech have a used D60 + kit lens for £325... http://www.camtechuk.com/shop/shop-list/product-list.php?manufac=nikon

Wilkinson are doing a new D40x + kit lens for around that price.

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/index.html for new gear, http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=30638 for used suppliers
 
Guys,

Thank you very much for your warm welcome and all your kind responses!!

I am currently at work, so I cant really spend 2 hours shopping!! I will take a look at all those links tonight and evaluate what is best.

I think I would prefer to purchase brand new as the warranty is quite important I think.

mmcp42 - Thank you for your offer, I will take a look at your kit later tonight.

Once again, thanks guys!! Your help is much appreciated!!
 
I've been asked (PM from stevotc) if the following is a good buy:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4GB-CANON-XTi...rkparms=72:12|39:1|65:12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
£314.95

My comments are thus:
- I know nothing about this ebay seller (or any others for that matter). You should be OK, but then its Ebay.

- Note that this is for the body only. You'll need a lens to go along with this. £110 gets you a 17-55EFS "kit" lens http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=1021794
There are some of the earlier non-IS versions around still.
However you'll almost certainly get a better deal buying the body and lens bundled.

- Canon is a good brand and you wont go far wrong with Canon/Nikon (or probably the others). What's most important is what is right for you. I'd really advise going down to your local Jessops and having a play with all the bodies in the store. Some people find that Canon bodies dont fit their hands and some people dislike the shape of Nikons. It's a personal thing.

- Moving away from Canon or Nikon may restrict the lens selections you may want to get in the future, but none of them have a bad selection.
 
You really need to get to a shop and assess the feel of the camera bodies. Canon 350d/400d are smaller than a 30d/40d and some like that/others don't. Ditton with Nikons - more consistent in body size across the D40/50/60 range but the button and control layout is differen to Canon - some prefer it, some don;t.

You could pick up a new Nikon D40 with kit lens for your money - good all round camera, and you can always add other lenses later.

Have a look at www.camerapricebuster.co.uk for all the best prices/deals

A kit type lens is great for general pic taking - landscape, city scape, building etc, but is very short on range for anything sports or wildlife related - maybe not an issue for a trip to Australia?


If you go second hand you could pick up a Canon 20d for around £220, not that different to the 30d, and it would leave you £80 for a kit type lens and a bag.


another option new is the Sony Alpha 200 - its kit lens is 18-70mm so a little more scope than the Canon/Nikon offerings and the sony has image stabilisation built into whereas C/N only use it in their expensive lenses. http://www.dixons.co.uk/product.php?sku=024224&source_id=aw&camp_id=DVD+Bargains
 
The Pentax K100D Super with 18-55mm kit lens is £250 at Argos. A refurb from SRSmicrosystems is £20 cheaper. Shake reduction is built into the body and the kit lens is considered a cut above the Canon/Nikon equivalents. For a longer lens, the DA 50-200mm lens is about £140 new or you could get a 2nd-hand manual or autofocus Tokina 70-210mm and still be comfortably within your budget.
 
Don't forget Sony A200 with kit lens around £270 new should beable to pick up telephoto lens with the rest, maybe secondhand from ebay. Also Pentax k100d super can be had for £250 from argos leaving you £100 for telephoto. Pentax only 6 meg though. Also Olympus E410 twin lens kit can be had around £300ish and the kit lenses cover 28-300mm and also they are amongst the best kit lenses on the market. Plus its got live view if needed. As advised go and have a play.
 
Oldgit, sorry about the PM system, I use it a lot on other forums, so I appologise about this.

Guys, once again, thanks for all the input and advice.

I shall pop along to my local Jessops/Camera guys this week and see how these cameras weigh up.

Thanks again :)
 
Hi guys,

Just a quick update. I decided to be impatient and I purchased an Olympus E510 off ebay with the twin kit lens for £350 delivered. What do you guys think to that? Good deal?

I now need your advice on memory cards. Should i be looking for something with a good read/write speed? Any recommendations? i think I will be looking for 1x8GB card or 2x4GB cards.

Cheers,
Stevo
 
Nothing wrong with Oly. You'll get just as many varying opinions about memory cards :)
I'd suggest more 4Gb's rather than larger - eggs in one basket type thing. Speed is down to what you shoot as much as anything. Sports and waiting for the camera buffer may be a problem. landscape and general shots you'd probably never notice the difference.

To get the best possible pictures you'd set the camera to save RAW files - which are bigger than jpegs and take a bit of computer work afterwards to process, so for 6 weeks you are going to need a lot of storage.
 
Whatever you do don't buy anything until you have handled it,you may end up buying on line but get into a high street store and handle the cameras to see if they sit comfortably in your hand.
I am biased as a Canon user but as the 400D is being discontinued there are some serious good deals to be had both online and in the high street with this excellent camera
 
CaptainPenguin - Thank you for your reply, but I have already purhcased an Olympus E510.

On my lunch break today i went in to Jessops and handled it, it felt confortable and i really liked the look of it. They were selling it at £430 and I bought exactly the same on ebay for £350 delivered, so I am fairly happy. I know it may be cheaper elsewhere, but I got impatient!

Regarding the memory, I think I may invest in a couple of 4GB DX cards and take my 2.5" portable USB drive with me to Australia for larger storage.

http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Compact-F...ingston-4GB-133X-ELITE-PRO-Compact-Flash-Card

Is that the kind of thing I should be aiming for?

Cheers,
Stevo
 
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