Newbie with £200

jelizabeth

jelizabeth

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Hi,

Ive been interested in photography for years but never owned a digital SLR so im taking the plunge. I only have £200ish to spend :(

The Nikon D40 has been recommended, any other ideas??

Looking forward to using the forums and being inspired!
 
canon 1000D maybe , you will be looking at secondhand though for that sort of money :)
 
Welcome to the forum.

With a budget of just £200 you need to think very carefully about what you spend it on. Obviously the advantage of an SLR is that you can interchange the lenses but for £200 you'll be struggling to get a body and lens that can do everything you want it to do. A Nikon D40 is a good starter camera but it doesn't have an in-body focus motor so unless you are prepared to manually focus, the lenses you buy will be slightly more expensive because you have to get a lens with a focus motor built in to it.

Another recommendation I would make is that even though you will have to buy second hand to stick within your budget, try to have a play with several camera before you buy to get a feel for which ones you like. If you have small hands then the D40 could be ideal as it is a smaller body. The larger bodies will be out of your price range so it may not be an issue but some prefer Canon over Nikon for their functionality and ease of use. Personally I prefer Nikon, it's all personal choice.
 
As above, I think you need to be looking second hand with your budget.

Perhaps something along the lines of a 350d, theres a number of them on ebay, complete with lens for around £200 - £250. I've had one for a number of years and it's a good little camera.
 
Mifsuds and Ffordes are both well stocked with 2nd hand kit but £200 isn't a lot to play with. At that budget, you can't do much better than read the for sale board here. There's always e-bay as a last resort but that may be best left to someone who knows what they're looking for and what questions to ask the sellers.
 
I think a D40 with the kit lens would be an excellent place to start.

There was one for sale in the classifields for £220 the other day if I remember correctly.
 
£200 is a little on the low side to buy a DSLR and a lens. It will just about buy a D40 with a kit lens, but in my opinion, a D50 with a kit lens would be a better choice.

The built in focus motor on the D50 is a big plus.

This one on eBay looks good at £250, and I'm sure you might find the same kind of thing here eventually.

So, save another £50 and buy a D50 would be my suggestion.

(I'm Nikon only so there will be a 'Canon' answer too...)
 
budfox said:
£200 is a little on the low side to buy a DSLR and a lens. It will just about buy a D40 with a kit lens, but in my opinion, a D50 with a kit lens would be a better choice.

The built in focus motor on the D50 is a big plus.

This one on eBay looks good at £250, and I'm sure you might find the same kind of thing here eventually.

So, save another £50 and buy a D50 would be my suggestion.

(I'm Nikon only so there will be a 'Canon' answer too...)
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Thanks for the advice, i can stretch to £250. Do you mind sending me the link to the one on ebay you saw?? I appreciate your help :)
 
Ziggy said:
I think a D40 with the kit lens would be an excellent place to start.

There was one for sale in the classifields for £220 the other day if I remember correctly.
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Yeah its gone now :( which is a shame
 
Why not think about Olympus?

I started with an E500. there's one on ebay with the 14-42 lens (thats 28-84mm @35mm equivalent) for £122. All a beginner needs. I used it on two courses and only swapped it once I understood the basics.

There's also an E510 current bid £200, and this also includes a 14-42 lens and a 40-150mm (thats 40-300mm @35mm equivalent) This was my original setup

Kind regards

** Edit - My son has the E420. There are a number on e-Bay including the 14-42 lens for around £160. Olympus kit is also quite light and compact too. Nothing wrong with Canon or Nikon but something else for you to consider.
 
Look at an older model, 300d are around £120, or a 10d or a 20d for £180 ish on MPB.

I was thinking this, with a kit lens then a Nifty FIfty, so 20d, Nifty, Kit lens, should be about £230.
 
£200 is a very low budget for a DSLR, as always I had a look around ebay and got some deals for you to see:

Canon 20D: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-20D..._JN?hash=item4399d1527c&_trksid=p4295.c0.m299

This is without a lens but what your getting is a semi pro camera for under £200. I would be putting offers in around £180-£200 but only put these prices in when theres less than 30 seconds to go. I normally put my bids on with 10 seconds to go on expensive items ( eg my 40D :lol: )

Nikon D70 - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-D70-Dig...s_JN?hash=item41487bac2f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I recommend this, its a great buy at £225. With a Lens as well so your getting everything, Apart from a few wires which are cheap to get hold of (eg usb cord) Not sure about the charger ill have another look once I posted this and report back :)

EDIT: Yes you get nearly everything: quote from ebay:

Selling with battery, charger (both non Nikon) 1x 2Gb CF card & 1 x 512Mb, manual and box.

Good condition but has a few small marks from general wear and tear.

No strap or leads but uses standard small USB.

Seems a good buy.
 
Personally I would recommend a 20D over the D70, personal choice. 20D's a great camera, still using mine as a second body and still taking great shots. This would also be a better camera by far than the Nikon D40 (limited with no built in focus motor in body), I would rather have the D70 or D70(s) if you can get it than a D40, the D70(s) is definitely more usable/flexible camera, like the 20D.

Have a look for a second had 18-55mm or 50mm lens, that will get you started and your budget should just about reach (if £250).

Personally look at saving abit more money and expanding your budget so more, this will give you more choice in the long run.
 
Oh yes 100% 20D over the D70, but for the price I dont think you can get 20D and a lens.
 
Andy said:
Oh yes 100% 20D over the D70, but for the price I dont think you can get 20D and a lens.
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That's why £200/250 just isn't enough for a DSLR, an extra £100 would really get OP started on the way
 
pete.rush said:
That's why £200/250 just isn't enough for a DSLR, an extra £100 would really get OP started on the way
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BUt £250 is enough. D50 and a kit lens can be had for £250 as I pointed out. Nowt wrong with a D50.
 
Hold on, did everyone miss out my post? Why we going to a d50 for £250 when i pointed out a d70 for £225.
 
Thanks everyone for replies, lots to think about. Been looking on ebay for Nikon D40, D50, D70, Canon 20D and Olympus E510. Correct me if im wrong but the E510 is the only one with image stabilisation.

How important is this???
 
Depends how often you shoot handheld in poor light. The other brands use lens based image stabilisation rather than body based, so it's still available.
 
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