My first DSLR

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mark1d

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Hi all, Hope this is the right area to post this question.
Im looking to spend around £700 for either a nikon or canon with a lens upto 300mm.Il be mostly out in the woods at stage rallys or 4x4 comps but also taking pics of my growing family and the surrounding scenery right outside my front door :).
Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks Mark
 
commonly asked question here

first of all go to jessops and hold both a Canon & a Nikon .. feel them both and play with them and then you can decide which manufacturer you want.

Then its down to model

Personally im a canon man .. so you have the XXX series the XX series and the X series.

the less X's the more £££ lol .. as long as your comfortable with the body for that money id be looking at

Used 50D
Used 18-55 IS
Used 55-250 IS
a nice lowepro bag
couple of decent CF cards
spare battery

And you should be looking at having some change if you look carefully :)

Dont be afraid to buy used. Photographers "generally" not always but most look after there kit so it shouldnt be at a disadvantage in any way.
 
Agreed, some bargains to be had for sale on this forum. Would avoid paying the over inflated of new lenses or ones from eBay. :)
 
Im only looking at new as its alot of money either way and i need some reasssurance that if something did go wrong id be ok :)
 
For the money you want to spend you will get a cropped sensor.

This means any lens you put on it will be 1.5 times the focal length shown. So if you are buy an 18-200 for example, you're really getting 27-300.

So, you can either get an 18-200 and be happy you have the extra range or buy something that is up to 300 and really get 460mm.

Hope that makes sense.
 
If you are determined to get everything NEW, then I think your hands are tied. Just look at the prices on Camera Price Buster.

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/index.html

Nikon D3100 & 18-55 - £440
Nikon AF-S 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR DX - £230
Total - £670 which leaves you £30 for memory cards, filters, bags etc

Canon 500D & 15-55 - £515
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS - £166
Total - £681 which leaves you £19 for memory cards, filters, bags etc

Any higher model over the D3100 or 500D will bust your budget.

I suppose you could look at Pentax if you want a cheaper body option?

Maybe a compromise would be to buy the body new and then look in the classifieds or on MPB for 2nd hand lenses. I can vouch for how the people look after their gear on here. I bought a lens from the classifieds that could easily have been passed off for new and I saved a few quid. :D
 
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I've bought pretty much all my kit second hand and it's been great. Not only was it a relatively cheap way of finding out I actually like DSLR photography (and that I'm not too bad at it ;) ) but I've managed to stretch my budget.

I would also vouch for the classified section on here. I've recently bought a new body and a new lens from there.
 
Just want to echo what BarryG said, a 200mm lens will give you around 300mm of reach on a cropped sensor, I used to use my Nikon 55-200mm for motorsports and get photos that made me happy :)

It's well worth reading up on the crop sensor thing, it's confusing but useful!
 
BarryG said:
For the money you want to spend you will get a cropped sensor.

This means any lens you put on it will be 1.5 times the focal length shown. So if you are buy an 18-200 for example, you're really getting 27-300.

So, you can either get an 18-200 and be happy you have the extra range or buy something that is up to 300 and really get 460mm.

Hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...

The crop factor doesn't change the focal length at all. This is a common misconception, but a 18 - 200mm lens is still an 18 - 200mm. It's the field of view that changes.
 
mark1d said:
Im only looking at new as its alot of money either way and i need some reasssurance that if something did go wrong id be ok :)
Click to expand...

Hi Mark

Can't help you choose between Canon & Nikon, sorry.

I'm a Canon bod so from that angle, you should be able to pick up a 500D and kit lens and the 55-250IS model within your budget. Obviously things like cards and bags are very personnel choice so have a look around to see what you like and what size you need / want.

If you can stretch your budget a little, the 550D is very nice as is the 70-300 IS (non L lens) so you could choose a slightly better body or the longer lens.

If you can find a new 450D this will be cheaper and may give you some money left over for a diff lens ?

Hope this is of some help .....
 
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You should check out Dixons at your airport, sometimes have good deals.
You can phone them to check stock & current prices.
 
I got a 500d with 18 - 55 kit lens for £499 from jessops. Low pro bag. 8gb card and uv lens filter for £60 also from jessops. Really happy with it. That was 3 weeks ago so all should be same price. Money left over towards a lens ** after aswell
 
WillieL said:
and dont forget Quidco
Click to expand...

Good point! I find topcashback.com give slightly better returns than quidco but if you shop around and keep track of prices and cashback you should be able to squeeze more into your budget.

I'd recommend a nice big spreadsheet :D [/spreadsheetlover]
 
there nothing wrong with second hand gear and if you choose to go brand new your limiting yourself a great deal mate
 
Wow thanks for all the comments,certainly alot to think about im heading towards a new nikon d3100 with a Nikon 70-300 AF-S VR lens then a decent lowepro bag for the long treks into the woods :) Thanks again and i hope to upload pictures soon for the comments and criticism :thumbs:
 
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