Newbie trying to get into DSLR's

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supra-si

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Si
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Hello all, Im Si aged 28 from the north east.

I have an interest in photography but admittedly know nothing about it so i thought id join here and try and expand my knowledge with the help of you guys.

Ive been tracking about 20 cameras on ebay for my first purchase of a dslr and i know you can get non dslrs at 12 mp upwards yet to get a dlsr at 12mp im gonna be looking at 3x the price.

would one around the 8mp be ok for a beginner or is it best getting the best i can with whatever money i have which is about 300ish of my hard earned pounds.

Si
 
Welcome to TP:wave:

Have a look in the for sale section on here as there are some great deals to be had. You can buy on here almost straight away but can't sell until 100 posts and 30 days. I think you need 5 posts to be able to PM people.

8mp would be fine as a starting point and may well be enough for the long term. Best to think also about the system that you are buying into as it can get mighty expensive in the long run:bonk:.

Most of all enjoy the forum :thumbs:
 
how do you mean think about the system?? proper numpty i am i know
 
Personally I would reccomend starting simple with something like a D40, which is cheap, fully featured and easily resellable. Sure it might have compatibility issues, but you need to find out IF you really want to get into photography.

Better to have £250 gathering dust than £600....
 
ive been looking at the canon eos 350 rebel which are going for about 230 on fleabay quite regularly
 
Sorry should have expanded.

You need to consider the extra's that you will undoubtedly need. Think about things such as different lenses, flash, memory cards etc. For example I have a Nikon D40. It is a fantastic camera and has taught me a huge amount however it does not have an AF motor built into the body and therefore to get autofocus you need the newer lenses that have the motor built into the lens - this means that a) the lenses are more expensive and b) you are restricted to newer lenses if you want AF.

Although this kind of thing may not be a deal breaker it should be considered as it can be very expensive to change in the future.

Hope this helps.

Nick
 
Hi Si, and welcome.

Don't let megapixels get in the way, especially when you're just starting up. 8MP is fine. A 350D is a great starting camera IMHO. There is in fact a 350D thread on here somewhere. Until recently, I still used a 20D as a back up/2nd camera at weddings and that's only 8MP (and for sale if you're interested ;-))

Without wanting to upset Sony users and others, I do think if you go with a Canon or Nikon you can't go wrong.

Oh, and if Tractor Boy reads this: UP THE TOWN!!
 
Thankyou for your replies and info guys i think i may go with canon to start with to learn about what i can do with pictures. Looking to go on a nice holiday in june so need to grab one quick and get learning
 
Get yourself into your nearest Jessops, Jacobs or London Camera Exchange (if you're considering older models) and try to actually hold the camera you're thinking of buying.
They each feel quite different, and if you're possibly going to end up using it a lot, this can be important.
When I tried the Nikon D40, it just didn't feel right but the Canon 450D felt very comfortable, so thats what I went with.
Also try the cameras further up the range, as once you'd bought lenses, switching manufacturers can be an expensive business (as many here will testify!)
 
supra-si said:
Thankyou for your replies and info guys i think i may go with canon to start with to learn about what i can do with pictures. Looking to go on a nice holiday in june so need to grab one quick and get learning
Click to expand...

are you anywhere near Middesborough

never been here but maybe close enough for a look...?

RGBphotos....."here"
 
Raddog said:
Personally I would reccomend starting simple with something like a D40, which is cheap, fully featured and easily resellable. ...
Click to expand...

that's exactly where I started and it's a good start

be warned -- you will have other bits to buy so dont spend too much on your first body/lens............

to give you an idea, I bought all mint used kit - some from here
Nikon D40 with kit lens = 18-55mm AF-S GII DX
----new/reburbished by Nikon £240
4GB Kingston SDHC card
then camera bag £40, lucky find Manfrotto tripod £50, head for same £20
then Nikon SB600 flash £70
then Nikon 55-200 DX VR zoom £130
then Nikon 35mm f1.8 prime £120

you dont need all this at once - but I reckon it will do me years till I gain experience....:thumbs:

good hunting !!
 
Thankyou, no im not near middlesbrough, more east yorkshire, i have a jessops around the corner from me but they dont inspire me to be honest always pushing me to get the top model etc.
I hate popping in and then walking out empty handed too especially if they are pushing a sale hard
 
supra-si said:
I hate popping in and then walking out empty handed too especially if they are pushing a sale hard
Click to expand...

I do it ALL the time,,,!! to heck with them then ...:thumbsdown:

have a look through our For Sale section
 
Right then i have just bought a canon d400. it should hopefully arrive tomorrow. not sure if it was anyone on here selling it but got it on ebay.

hopefully i will get to grips with it before june when i pop on holiday. any tips for the d400?
 
hi and welcome

dont let non dslr purchase put you off
get a digi cam and learn to take good photographs
then when and if you get a dslr...they will be better without the pain

nothing wrong with a bridge cam and its ever present zoom
 
Don't be drawn in by megapixels. It's not what counts. It's what Currys and Comet use to sell something to you.

If you're looking into Photography but you're not sure what you want to buy then I'd look at buying a bridge camera to start out.

Bridge cameras are like DSLR's, but don't have changeable lenses. You can focus manually and usually shoot in RAW.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fuji-Finepix-...Cameras_DigitalCameras_JN?hash=item4a9ddef3be

That's what I learnt on. Promised myself that I wouldn't move onto an SLR until I knew what all the functions and buttons did on that. Great camera.
 
Hi Si, I went from a point and shoot to an 400D and it was quite a steep learning curve,

I was actually quite disheartened after my first few times out with it as most of my pictures were either under/over exposed or out of focus but after getting help on this forum and reading "Understanding Exposure" Link my pictures started to get better and better.

Have fun :thumbs:
 
Thanks guys, i do have a point and shoot camera at the moments with a sony n50 (5mp) and do produce quite good photos already ( i must get lucky) but i want to be able to create a better image and be able to mess around with background etc to create some good effects.

i will mainly be doing still images such as cars and people but i want to try and capture sunsets beachviews and the like in the not too distant future, im sure that once i have started to take pics and understand the buttons i will be fine, im more of a practical person who learns taking the pics rather than reading manuals first lol. although i think i may give it a quick scan beforehand
 
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Welcome Si. I'm wanting to sell my Canon 400D and I see your in East Yorkshire. Would you be interested?
 
Do you not like the 400d as a camera? This is my first DSLR and hopefully a good one to start with too
 
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