I've got £400 to spend on a D-SLR. What to buy.....?

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Like the title says really.

£400

D-SLR

I'm an amature but want a good bit of kit for my money.
I don't mind buying a second hand one of ebay or online shops etc.

Thanks in advance!
 
well if i was you i'd be looking for a decent 20D / 10D
not sure what the nikon equivelant is but thats my thought..

ps i got a 10D last year and still love it..

md:thumbs:
 
Id personnally opt for a nearly new 350d/400d rather than an older 10d/20d... Feature wise there isnt a lot of differance between the 20d and a 400d. The main reasons being you know it hasnt been abused and will have much more of its rated shutter life left. Also, the new camera will have newer generation of electronics, which, id imagine will give less noise and faster image->memory card write speeds.
 
Yep 400D would be a good choice, they are around £400 aswel.
 
In that price range you may be better off staying away from the premium names of canon and nikon. I don't know a lot about the alternatives but I have had a little chance to use the Sony a100 and I thought it was a better spec'd/built bit of kit than the canons/nikons at the same price.
 
Im of the opposite opinion... In this case if the OP buys a Canon/Nikon a quick scour on ebay will turn up a whole range of bargain compatible accessories, lenses, batteries and bits and bobs... Whereas a less known/popular alternative will have less 2nd hand compatible gear available for it.
 
You will certainly be able to get an Olympus E-410 for that, complete with kit lenses, but I read recently that Olympus are doing £100 cashback on the E-510 so you may even be able to stretch to that model.

You get in camera image stabilisation with the E-510, and live preview all inc.
 
Stick to Nikon my friend, always purchase the best quality you can afford.
 
J Gordon said:
Stick to Nikon my friend, always purchase the best quality you can afford.
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35mm was so aptly named small format wasn't it. :p:lol:

anyway, I believe you're actually just repeating the sentiment I've used already. ;)
 
First piece of advise is to look at this choice as your first step into photography and that your fist camera basically buys you in to a camera system and that it defines how you move forward.

The worst thing you can do is rush out and buy the camera that has the most features as that may end up being the wrong choice and ultimately very expensive. If you end up getting bitten by the photography bug and find that the system you have chosen was wrong and you may need to move to another system because your current system doesn't offer what you need.

My second piece of advise is to consider the DSLR body as something that you will probably want to upgrade in 2-4 years and when you come to do this it is effectivly worthless. Lenses, Flash, Tripods etc last much longer ultimately until they break.

I would suggest that you look at all the available systems out there and ask which system is most likely to meet your future needs.

I have started to produce a summary of all the main camera systems out there at the moment listing the pros and cons of each along side what might be considered an aspirational kit in each system. This is the thread that gives the link to my summary. When looking at it please note that the kits listed are what I consider to be kits that most serious enthusiast photographers would like to end up with over time if they chose each particular system. In the next week I shall be updating this to show how you might go about entering each system and building up to the aspirational kit.
 
I managed to get a Canon EOS-20D on e-bay last week for £300 with kit lens and 2GB card. It was a Canon refurbished to new unit and boxed as from the factory. My budget was close to yours so with the saving I am on the lookout for a quality lens such as the EF70-300 IS.
 
there are a few places still selling refurbished Nikon D50s which are a good camera for the price range (better in my opinion than the D40 or D40x because of the lens problems)

for example

http://www.parkcameras.com/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/6343/groupID/8/categoryID/39/v/

is selleing them for £250 with kit lens, which would give you 150 left of your budget for a nice sigma 70- 300 apo lens and still have enough change for a little bag

and there you are, firmly in the realms of DSLR photography.


edit :- that link might iss just the body, they have a balck d50 with kit lens for 299
 
Bolerus said:
there are a few places still selling refurbished Nikon D50s which are a good camera for the price range (better in my opinion than the D40 or D40x because of the lens problems)

for example

http://www.parkcameras.com/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/6343/groupID/8/categoryID/39/v/

is selleing them for £250 with kit lens, which would give you 150 left of your budget for a nice sigma 70- 300 apo lens and still have enough change for a little bag

and there you are, firmly in the realms of DSLR photography.


edit :- that link might iss just the body, they have a balck d50 with kit lens for 299
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Nice tip... i think i may go for one of them :)
 
WOW!

Thanks all for the great advice on what camera to choose. I love forums like this! :D

The information has given me plenty to think about!
 
SimonTALM said:
I would suggest that you look at all the available systems out there and ask which system is most likely to meet your future needs.
.
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I agree, also get yourself to Jessops or similar to pick up the camera's and see what suits you, then buy them on-line as probably cheaper :lol:.

I ended up going with canon because the 400d felt right to me, could easily have been the nikon D40x :thumbs:
 
if it were my £400, i'd be getting me a 30D (i paid more for mine though)
 
birdy961 said:
I agree, also get yourself to Jessops or similar to pick up the camera's and see what suits you, then buy them on-line as probably cheaper :lol:.

I ended up going with canon because the 400d felt right to me, could easily have been the nikon D40x :thumbs:
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I am wondering what camera system are alluded to here that won't meet all of your future needs...!!!
 
theMusicMan said:
I am wondering what camera system are alluded to here that won't meet all of your future needs...!!!
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Are you refering to my post MM? If so I was simply suggesting that :username: needs to consider his future needs. Fear not I wasn't Olympus bashing :lol: But I can start if you like :p
 
Oops, sorry, I actually quoted the wrong post here...!!

No, not specifically your post Simon, but it's certainly a comment I see here on tP regularly i.e. that people shouldn't make purchase decisions on the existing feature set of a camera, but should make a decision based on their on future needs. It is something I wanted the OP to be aware of before he makes his purchase decision.

That argument (most often, I'd suggest, cited by Canikonites) seems a somewhat mute point to me on the grounds of;

(1) who knows what anyones future needs may or may not be?
(2) what camera system doesn't accommodate possible future requirements - I don't know of one...!

I just get fed up with the same old same as that's all Simon... I don't know what people are afraid of...:shrug:

It's not you or your posts, sorry if you felt it was.:D Bash away sir (but in a separate thread I'd suggest :) )
 
theMusicMan said:
It's not you or your posts, sorry if you felt it was.:D
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That's OK, I didn't take it personally, although I do generally say the things you have posted against :D

Perhaps in future I can phrase it better, maybe along the lines of suggesting people research the system they are thinking of buying in to so that they know it's strong and weak points and making sure that anything they think they might like to do can be achieved in that system before finally picking the camera?

P.S. As I found out at the weekend there is one system out there that doesn't have access to a fast (f2.8) telephoto zoom beyond 135mm, not much use if you think that evening sport might be your thing :D
 
dazzajl said:
In that price range you may be better off staying away from the premium names of canon and nikon. I don't know a lot about the alternatives but I have had a little chance to use the Sony a100 and I thought it was a better spec'd/built bit of kit than the canons/nikons at the same price.
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I agree with dazzajl the Sony a100 is a very good bit of kit for the price. I opted for this due to having lenses from my Minolta Dynax but was sorely tempted by the D70 at the time. It has been pointed out to me that the lower end Nikon/Canons have a low quality build feeling. This won't really make a difference to the results as that is down to the user but for this reason I would always suggest going to a local retailer to try out any potential purchase and see how the camera feels.:thinking::bang:
 
Not sure about low end Canons, held a 350 recently and didn't like it to be honest, but that's my opinion. I'd certainly agree about the lower end Nikons though, the D40 felt like a plastic box you could get free in a packet of corn flakes, as did the D40x. I am not Nikon bashing here as there is no doubt that as you start to move up through the range that Nikons feel wonderful in the hand and are capable of producing stunning shots.

Just suggesting you keep away from the D40, as for the budget you have available you can get far, far more for your money, and still be ready for whatever you want to do in the future ...!
 
Hey :username:

Yep, that's a good deal especially as Olympus are currently running a £50 cashback scheme on the E-410 too! Don't forget though that they also have a £100 cashback scheme on their E-510.

Good choice... :thumbs:
 
I agree with TMM here. The deal at Curry's is a good one. I'm not too sure about the standard lens they're offering though as it's not the usual 14-42mm but a 17.5-45mm which I'm not familiar with.
 
I think the 14-42mm is the one offered with the E-400 and E-410, the 17.5-45mm is offered with the E-510 and the 11-54mm with the E-3. I have each of these lenses as I was bought an E-400 two piece kit, then I bought the E-510 with twin lens kit, then I purchased the prosumer 11-54mm lens.

I think that's the way the lenses are distributed... :)
 
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