new camera ideas

grant brown

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hi everyone
first post , i am looking to buy my first dslr , i have about £400.00 to spend on camera alone and another 100.00 to spend on other bits i might need ,
i have been looking at 350d so far really like the look of it. i have noticed on ebay there is a few for sale with various bits of kit as well .
any ideas anyone .:thinking:
 
Before you do ANYTHING ask yourself what kind of photographs you will be taking. It also goes far beyond what camera to buy as there is a wealth of lenses to choose from too. You are buying into a system, not a brand.

You have:

Nikon
Olympus (not to be overlooked as their lens range is extremely good now)
Pentax (some new * (star) lenses on their way, looks impressive)
Canon (keeping mouth shut ;))

Cameras I would look at for the price range.

Olympus E-330/E-500
Nikon D40/x or D70s
Canon 350d
Pentax K110/K100

Of that lot the Olympus cameras offer a wealth of features over the others. There is a nice set of lenses available now with over impressivley high resolution figures and low vignetting.

Let us know what you will be doing and we can push you in the right direction.

King.
 
Definately get yourself into a shop and try them out. The only reason I shoot with nikon is that I find the ergonomics suit me better than canons.

I would stay away from ebay, I know it's a source of bargains (sometimes) but it can also be a source of much woe, especially with sensitive equipment like lenses and cameras. You just never know what sort of life they've had.

Keep an eye on the classifieds here, someone is always suffering from upgraditus!
 
thanx for replies
i will be mainly doing landscapes and wildlife , i tried the 350d not bad at all i only have small hands so didnt feel too bad , i am looking at getting the 350d or Olympus E-500 , what other bits of kit would i need to start with a camera of this type ? sorry for all the questions .
 
Thats quite cheap for what you get, but the E330 is approx £50 more and you will have the added benefit of the swivel thing LCD screen which is quite cool.

Anyway.

Good luck and let us know how you get on / what you choose.

King.
 
Best Canon offer would seem to be:

350D with 18-55mm kit lens - £357.95 from Warehouse Express
Sigma 55-200mm - £90.74 from tecno.co.uk
Total: £448.69 (prices include delivery)

There has been a thread about the Sigma lens on POTN and the quality looks very impressive for the price. More so (to me) than the popular 70-300mm APO.

If you are willing to mess around with eBay auctions there is an authorized Canon refurb store where you should be able to get the 350D kit for under £300 with full warranty:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet

For landscapes and wildlife an advantage of the Olympus would be its smaller sensor size which will give more reach for the same focal length (helpful for wildlife) and larger depth of field for the same angle of view (helpful for landscapes). The downside for landscapes is that the widest lenses with comparable angles of view cost more and have more distortion because of the difficulty manufacturing lenses with the smaller focal length required.

Also the Sigma lens above will give more reach than the Olympus telephoto, but you can also get it in a four-thirds mount with the effective extra reach for about £2 more than the Canon mount price.

One other difference to consider is that the Olympus has a squarer 4:3 ratio sensor while the Canon has a wider 3:2 (4.5:3) one. Most labs can produce print at both ratios, and many standard sizes will require cropping regardless, so it is just down to personal preference whether that matters to you.

Michael.
 
i would never choose a sigma lens over an olympus one. 4/3 is designed for digital and has much better optics than most other manufactures though this does come at a price.
 
Sigma are a member of the Four-Thirds consortium, and their 55-200mm lens is a DC one designed specifically for digital cameras.

I have no experience of either lens to say whether one is better than the other, but I would always recommend checking reviews on specific models rather than making such blanket assumptions based on manufacturer.

This is the POTN 55-200 thread which impressed me.

Michael.
 
olympus make much better glass
just cause a third party does compatibles doesnt mean they compare

ps please excuse my lack of grammar my full stop is fubar
 
Hi,

If I had the choice, and that budget, I'd buy a mint Canon 20D and an EF 20-35 USM from a dealer and get a warranty.

You couldn't buy better for the money. The 20D is difficult to beat, and the 20-35 USM is one of Canons best lenses.
 
well we have decided to go for canon 350d ,and a few extras memory card , bag , tripod , then learn how to use it before anything else. so now have to wait untill end of month to buy it all.
 
well we have decided to go for canon 350d ,and a few extras memory card , bag , tripod , then learn how to use it before anything else. so now have to wait untill end of month to buy it all.

Good choice, I have one myself and if it feels too small just get the battery grip for it and have the advantage of the vertical controls and double the battery life (or thereabouts) :)
 
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