Newbie equipment advice

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-STEVIE-

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Hiya, I am fairly new to photography and brand new to the forum. I have had a Samsung NX11 for the past 2 years which I think has given me an idea of the general basics and would now like to upgrade to a proper dslr. The question is what one?:

budget: around £500 - £600,
Type of photos : a bit of everything as I am still learning (but fancy dabling in some macro)

I Moved from samsung as you were pretty restricted with choice or tied in to samsung brand lenses and accessories so this time would prefer canon or nikon. was looking at the d3200 as it seems to be well reviewed and fairly cheap at around £350 with kit lens. This would give me a bit of cash perhaps for a zoom lens or some other accessories.

Or the d5200 is about the top end of my price limit meaning i would be stuck with the kit lens for a while.

Is the d5200 worth the extra cash? is there a better canon option?

Any thoughts or alternatives that would offer good value starter kit at this price range?

Thanks for taking the time :)
 
the thing about the d3200 and d5200 , it has no focus motor in the body , so you will be limited to which autofocus lenses you can get.
a d300 or even a d90 would give you more choice on lenses
 
The first thing you need to do is to get you hands on a couple of slr bodies, Canon, Nikon, Sony whatever and see which ones fit best in your hand, also don't just try the cheapest, also try the next up just to get an idea in case you upgrade. 600 would get a pretty modern body and a kit lens second-hand.

Oh, it's not easy but a nifty-fifty (50mm prime) and a £2 reversing ring from eBay get a very strong macro, although getting the light can be hard, plus of course no autofocus, but then I don't have it on my mpe 65 and that's my strongest macro.
 
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As john posted, get out to new and used stores and handle as many bodies as you can. Try to get on that balances in you hand and feels comfortable, doesn't really matter on brand too much.

For used the d80/90/300 on nikon and perhasp 20/40/60d on canon?

But most of the cameras are pretty good. If you are in a used store, also check what lenses they have, and backwards compatibility to the bodaies. EG Nikon uses the F mount which goes back to the 80's, and if you don't mind a bit of manual focussing sometimes these lenses are a cheaper option to check what focal lengths you use. Probably need to wait 6 months though to get a better idea and use the kit lens.

Go on a meet with other photographers and see what they have and use. Some is expensive, but can give way better results.

Take your time. Until you've bought loads you aren't tied to a particular brand.

Also check out adapters; you mentioned samsung? See what adapters are available if you have this already for other lenses and whether that saves you a bit (or not). EG m42 adapater or a leica m adapter... These will probably be manual focus though.

For nikon I can recommend the 105mm mico nikkor (around 300 ish if you get the older model) but if its small skittish insects, look to a sigma 150mm. Bigger, heavier but you don't need to get as close.
 
Thanks for all the replies, a lot of good advice - most suggesting second hand which I hadn't really considered. Probably a rookie mistake to be seduced with the newest camera / technology / high mp etc.

The main reason I was considering new was that I have a £50 off voucher and an additional 7% discount at pc world - this translates as a nikon d3200 and kit lens for somewhere around £300 which ain't bad for a brand new camera and warranty.

That said, I can see the benefits of second hand and this is definitely an option - off to the camera shop and to read some more reviews - thanks
 
Stevie the only thing I'd watch out for with the Nikons is as mentioned the focus motor isn't in the body so lens choice is difficult, also the Auto iso feature is only available in auto mode so if you want to use the more manual modes you would need to set the iso yourself ( not always a major problem as most people do this anyway).
 
I had your budget and I bought:

- Nikon D3200 with 18-55mm kit lens
- Nikkor 35mm 1.8g prime lens
- extreme 16gb sd card
 
Go to PC World and hold the camera/have a play. Also pick up a Canon and see what feels nice to hold and use. Nikon's feel at home in my hands. It's horses for courses.
Unfortunately you won't get a proper feel for it in a shop but hopefully it'll give you some idea.

Use some if your cash to buy a very good card from the start. You don't want to be buying another one in 1 month!! I wouldn't buy my card from a shop though.
 
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