looking for dslr

ruffdog64

ruffdog64

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Harvey
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Hi all ,i presently own a finepix s5700 which i`ve used to take youe typical shots of the family , scenery and wildlife that`s good enough to keep still long enough for me and not too far away , but am looking to get something with a better image quality (not that the s5700 is poor but you know what i mean) and a wider range of shooting capability , my budget is approxamatly £250.00 am i expecting too much for the budget? your thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated,Harvey
 
ruffdog64 said:
Hi all ,i presently own a finepix s5700 which i`ve used to take youe typical shots of the family , scenery and wildlife that`s good enough to keep still long enough for me and not too far away , but am looking to get something with a better image quality (not that the s5700 is poor but you know what i mean) and a wider range of shooting capability , my budget is approxamatly £250.00 am i expecting too much for the budget? your thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated,Harvey
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hi ruffdog,and welcome to talk photography.for £250,i'm not sure you'll get a DSLR new for that amount,but you'll most definately get something 2nd hand in excellent condition,and low shutter actuations for that kind of money.as for which camera,that is entirely down to you...what i would recommend is to try out a few models at your local camera shop[models from canon,nikon,sony etc..]to see which you prefer for feel,user interface etc..and choose a model from the manufacturer which you feel you like best.

if you could strech your budget a little further,you could get something new if you prefer.jessops are doing a deal on these models from sony...

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/77764/show.html

or this one which includes a free tripod at the moment..

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/77970/show.html

of course these are just some examples from the sony range.plus you will need to allow for the purchase of a memory card,unless you already have one compatible with your chosen camera.as i said,go visit a camera shop and don't rush into anything...take your time and make the choice thats right for YOU:thumbs:
 
Hello Harvey,

I'm just in the process of upgrading my Fuji Finepix S1 Pro. It's been a great camera but I am just upgrading to something a bit newer. Like you I have a limited budget so have just gone for a second hand Nikon D90 body (about £450!).

The S1 Pro is an oldish model now but worth about £1600 when it first came out so was a very good model at that time. They aren't so sought after now but I found it a great body to get me started with DSLR photography.

If this interests you as a starting block I will be selling for about £100ish. This would be body only with CD Rom, USB lead etc in original box. You would need to find a lens but as it is Nikon fit this shouldn't be too difficult and you could get a 'starter' lens on 'fleabay' well within budget....

Just an option...read a review...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujis1pro/

If you want to see some of the results that I have had with this camera take a look at my blog (link below)

Cheers
 
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For £250 you could get a used Canon 400D or 30D. Personally I'd add another £100 and get a 40D or 500D. 40D is a prosumer model from 3 years ago and is a solid performer universally well regarded.

I'm not familiar with other camera brands but I'm sure there are similar bargains to be had.

This one just got listed but was bought very quickly. Keep your eyes on new listings.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-400D-XTi-10-5-Megapixel-Digital-SLR-Camera-/140496336038?pt=UK_CamerasPhoto_DigitalCameras_DigitalCameras_JN&hash=item20b63bf4a6#ht_500wt_1156

or something like this. You sacrifice build quality but the specs look good. Even has sensor cleaning.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CANON-EOS-REB...Cameras_JN&hash=item43a42a0d3f#ht_8582wt_1139
 
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for your budget you will be able to buy yourself a good little nikon no problem
send a private message to kerso amember on this forum he sell camera equipment the nikon d40x is about £195 new
go into extras then members list at the top of page
 
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Thanks for taking the time to reply people it`s certainly given me food for thought and second hand could be a real option
 
ruffdog64 said:
and a wider range of shooting capability , my budget is approxamatly £250.00 am i expecting too much for the budget? your thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated,Harvey
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A DSLR on a £250- budget will not widen your shooting capacity, it may well limit it. Bear in mind whatever kit lens comes on it will be rather poor in comparison to what the camera is capable of acheieving with proper glass - and proper glass costs! If you want to shoot close ups you'll need a Macro lens (or variosu adapters to convert other lenses) if you want to zoom in on stuff you'll need to buy a Telephoto zoom,and if you want to go wide angle then you're going to have to buy a dedicated lens again for that...

It gets very expesnive when you go DSLR, so ask yourself - is it really worth it?

Personally If I could start again on my DSLR path on that budget I'd be hunting out an Olympus E1 kit, which may be old, but it was the top of the range model of it's day and is fully weathersealed, so you don't get live view or a lot of pixels, but you get proper camera features, like a viewfinder you can use, and they're dirt cheap!
 
Harvey, check out second hand.

A lot of folks upgrade their first camera quite quickly as they progress or often just because a new model comes out. So you get a hardly-used bargain.

The for sale section here is very good :thumbs:
 
For that money I'd get a panasonic bridge camera. FZ45 about £250 and has a 24x zoom range so you're looking at 600mm equivalent reach. Olympus and canon do ones with 800ish mm reach but the olympus image quality is poor and the canon one is outside of your budget.

Main downside of these cameras is noise at higher isos, often only iso 400. For all round capability I don't think you can beat them without spending a lot more money.
 
I'd definitely look at second hand if i wanted quality on a shoestring budget. A second hand D200 can be had for not much more than £250, and a D80 is also not a bad cam and a bit cheaper. Consumer zooms can be pretty dire quality wise but you can grab a prime for about £70 and then get the quality glass when you have saved a bit more. It is never worth skimping on glass as this is what ultimately makes the picture.
 
After some researching and finding my budget is going to be around the £350.00 to £400.00 mark i`m leaning towards the Canon EOS 1000D, the zoom lens will have to wait a while , one thing i can`t seem to find out is can the images be saved in raw rather than jpeg can you guys/girls help and your thoughts on my choice (not yet set in stone) ,thanks Harvey
 
I bought my son (16) a 1000D for Xmas he is very pleased with it and it does capture in Raw. Its menu system lets you select Raw, Raw with Jpeg or Jepg.
 
ruffdog64 said:
After some researching and finding my budget is going to be around the £350.00 to £400.00 mark i`m leaning towards the Canon EOS 1000D, the zoom lens will have to wait a while , one thing i can`t seem to find out is can the images be saved in raw rather than jpeg can you guys/girls help and your thoughts on my choice (not yet set in stone) ,thanks Harvey
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Good camera, but I think it's available with a choice of kit lenses, the 18-55 IS and also the non-IS (cheaper) version. The IS version if only slightly more expensive and is much better optically, plus it has IS of course.
 
So are you looking at a new 1000d? Have you ever actually held one? I'm a girl with tiny hands and even I find them TINY!

Just saying...
 
Thought I would mention as an other option.
Park Cameras have the Pentax K-x at a reduced price until 2pm today going for £300 including kit 18-55.
Worth considering due to its spec of the camera
 
I bought a 1000d as my first DSLR a little over a year ago. After a couple of months of using it a began to get frustrated by some of it's limitations and went out a got myself a 7d.

As punkuate point out the 1000d is a very light and small camera when compared to others it the range. You might want to get some hands on a camera before you buy. Most of the high street shops will let you see one of their display units in you fein interest in buying it.

You might be better off looking at some of the higher spec cameras or the 2nd hand market with the budget you have.
 
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the Photo Shopping section of this forum is a good place to pick up a bargain. As members outgrow their cameras and upgrade for whatever reason they tend to offer them on here for other members to benefit. You can definitely get a good cam for £300 from the used section whether it be Canon or Nikon.

This is exactly what I did a couple of months ago, tried a few out in Jessops, looked at the prices on here and ended up with a 40D for just £350. Best decision I ever made.
 
ive just been reading your post about wanting a dslr

i would just like to point out a couple that i am able to use
there not mine but i have used them alot but thought i would point them out as there very good cameras

first of is the pentax http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/penta...oom-lens-50-200mm-zoom-lens-03858320-pdt.html

i think that this is a very good camera. the build quality is imo better than that of other dslr in the same price range and higher.
the zoom lens is very good and very crisp, one advantage is it also takes aa batteries so if you were out of power they are easy to get hold of in the shop, plus the energiser extreme/ultra last for about 1500 shots, although a decent set of rechargeables last just as long.

also has live view

second is the sony a290
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/77764/show.html

this also comes with a zoom lens 70-300 but you can buy it with out for £309

this is a very good camera that gives great pictures, both lenses are pretty good and give good results.
you get about 500 shots from the included rechargeable battery, obviously if you use flash on every shot it will be less but 500 is about average
the downside with the sony is it does not have the live view which i miss on it, for that reason i find i use the pentax more for macro and the sony for everything else. but there are times when the live veiw is handy other than macro.

the pentax is £480 with the zoom lens and the 18-55

and the sony is £480 with the zoom lens, a bag, 2 filters, 8gig card and the 18-55 lens

if i were to buy one of these, talking from experience i would buy the pentax but it is a very close cut

hope ive been of some help
 
I'm surprised we've got to post number 19 without someone saying.

Go out and try some cameras both new and used and see what feels right.
 
This is becoming a nightmare :thinking:so many options , i`ve been to a couple of shops and had a look at the pentax , the sony and canon and it does look like second hand is the only way i think i`m going to get anywhere near what i want for the budget; i do have a concern with second hand in as much as how old is too old for a camera body , i know it`s got a lot to do with usage but there have been some good bargains but i`m worried about the age ,confused!! of yateley
 
Not really a nightmare - just get at Canon or Nikon that you like the feel of and fits your budget. That's it. There is really nothing to choose between them pound for pound and you will never go far wrong, now or in the future :)

Used is fine, and you can get some real bargains. I would look to buy from the for sale section here - the chances of being ripped off, though can never be eliminated, are as low as it gets :thumbs:

With respect to the Sony and Pentax folks, I wouldn't go there. You'll find out why when you want a good range of lenses and accessories to choose from, especially on the used market. Not that there's anything wrong with their cameras, just nothing special about them either. Canon/Nikon have 80% of the DSLR market
 
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I went down the dslr route earlier this year, I bought a 2nd hand EOS 400d, got a lens and off I went, never looked back.
I choose Canon because there is such a massive amount of cannon fit gear out there, so hunting for a lens gives you a much wider choice and access to some really decent glass.
I wouldn't be put of the kit lens, have a look around on the forum, some people are getting some great shots with these, and just because you have a top lens won't make you take good pictures. I learnt via my mistakes, and recently did an evening class, I am feel I am getting better each time I take the camera out. I have now got a 40d because I wanted slightly quicker frame per second, bigger physical body and bigger view finder, the 40d does this all for me.
Whatever you end up getting enjoy! There are people on this forum using all sorts of different cameras who can help and advise.
 
What in the range of lenses are sony/pentax missing exactly? There is a reasonable choice second hand on ffordes, carmarthen cameras and harrison cameras websites for sony for a start. Often canon don't have a certain lens that nikon users have and vice versa. The in body IS puts sony and pentax way ahead of the game for value as you can use older glass which you can't really do and have IS with canon/nikon.

Always best to pick them up and find out how they behave and see how much you have to pay for the features you want. When you start out it doesn't really matter which you buy if whatever you buy does what you want it to do at a price you can afford. There are plenty of people that swap back and forth between canon and nikon so it's not set in stone that you have to stay with one brand forever anyway :)
 
I was in a similar position to the OP about a year ago, and on a similar budget too. I'd had a Fuji s7000 for a number of years and wanted to upgrade. After much deliberation I made my choice and bought a used 30D from TP's For Sale section. Since then I haven't looked back and even now - a year down the road - the 30D still amazes me.
 
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srichards said:
What in the range of lenses are sony/pentax missing exactly? There is a reasonable choice second hand on ffordes, carmarthen cameras and harrison cameras websites for sony for a start. Often canon don't have a certain lens that nikon users have and vice versa. The in body IS puts sony and pentax way ahead of the game for value as you can use older glass which you can't really do and have IS with canon/nikon.

Always best to pick them up and find out how they behave and see how much you have to pay for the features you want. When you start out it doesn't really matter which you buy if whatever you buy does what you want it to do at a price you can afford. There are plenty of people that swap back and forth between canon and nikon so it's not set in stone that you have to stay with one brand forever anyway :)
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To be blunt Suz, none of the rival brands can hold a candle to Canon and Nikon for breadth and depth of range. They both have about double the number of lenses compared to Sony, and they have held such dominant market positions for so long, that the used market is very busy. Just compare the for sale forums here, and see how much activity there is. Selling Sony/Pentax isn't so easy either.

The ability to use heritage lenses is moot - I wouldn't want to, they're just not as good. And in-body image stabilisation is not as effective as in-lens. It might be different if Sony/Pentax were significantly better in some major way, but they're not and all I see is downsides and shortfalls.

I won't mention that ridiculous Sony hot-shoe, that nothing else fits. And it would be unfair to suggest that Pentax might not be around for much longer :(
 
HoppyUK said:
To be blunt Suz, none of the rival brands can hold a candle to Canon and Nikon for breadth and depth of range. They both have about double the number of lenses compared to Sony, and they have held such dominant market positions for so long, that the used market is very busy. Just compare the for sale forums here, and see how much activity there is. Selling Sony/Pentax isn't so easy either.

The ability to use heritage lenses is moot - I wouldn't want to, they're just not as good. And in-body image stabilisation is not as effective as in-lens. It might be different if Sony/Pentax were significantly better in some major way, but they're not and all I see is downsides and shortfalls.

I won't mention that ridiculous Sony hot-shoe, that nothing else fits. And it would be unfair to suggest that Pentax might not be around for much longer :(
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I don't think there will be any concern about Pentax's future , now with how well the K-5 has shaped up......
 
Canon only looks like it has lots more lenses as they have IS, Non IS, EF-S, EF and L versions :)

The only reason canon and nikon don't have in body stabilisation is because they did stabilisation in the film era so it wasn't an option. People don't upgrade glass as often as bodies so I'd be interested to know the relative reliability of IS lenses versus non IS lenses. The first stabilised ones were 1995. Are they still working?

If anyone made IS lenses for sony fit there's nothing stopping you from using them. The in body IS can be switched off. Don't think canon or nikon would dare add in body IS though.
 
Scorg said:
I don't think there will be any concern about Pentax's future , now with how well the K-5 has shaped up......
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Pentax has always made good cameras. That's not the problem.

The company has a great heritage but has lost its way, they used to be market leaders selling the ME Super SLR and Zoom 70 compact in vast numbers during the 80s. More recently, neither the tie up with Samsung nor the buy-out by Hoya has changed their fortunes.

They're heading down the super-niche route with the 645 Digital, but that looks like a the last throw of the dice - and arguably a declining niche the way full-frame is currently progressing. Hasselbald are on the skids as well, and Leica, in that rarefied end of the market.

srichards said:
Canon only looks like it has lots more lenses as they have IS, Non IS, EF-S, EF and L versions :)

The only reason canon and nikon don't have in body stabilisation is because they did stabilisation in the film era so it wasn't an option. People don't upgrade glass as often as bodies so I'd be interested to know the relative reliability of IS lenses versus non IS lenses. The first stabilised ones were 1995. Are they still working?

If anyone made IS lenses for sony fit there's nothing stopping you from using them. The in body IS can be switched off. Don't think canon or nikon would dare add in body IS though.
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Yes, Canon only has more lenses because it has more lenses :p

Of course the original IS lenses are still working! TBH there are benefits on both sides of the in-body vs in-lens IS debate. Where in-lens really scores is with longer lenses where it is undoubtedly more effective and also provides a stabilised viewfinder image. But then long lenses is where you get most benefit from IS. Third party lenses with IS/OS are disabled when fitted to a Sony.

I wouldn't rule out in-body stabilisation from Canikon. Perhaps not in a DSLR, but maybe in a new range of MILC cameras maybe (Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera, eg Pano GF1).

TBH I'm a bit torn on this issue. On one hand, I don't think the overwhelming dominance of Canikon is healthy for consumers, but when it comes to my money, or for those asking advice, that's different! On the other hand, other manufacturers don't seem that bothered by the DSLR market and are much more interested in compacts and the lower end of the enthusiast market - currently the MILC sector, where the potential sales volumes, and profits, are much greater. The next big 'event' will be when Canikon show their hand in this sector.
 
Come to conclusion the best camera is











.........the one your most happy with
 
Thanks again for all the replies, after a generous birthday i`m looking at the nikon d3100 i`m still short of the kit i`d like but am prepared to wait for some of the other bits and pieces . just need to source the best deal
 
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