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liamgdr

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Liam Robertson
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Hi there, i have recently become very intrested in photography, especially sports photography e.g mountain biking. But the problem is at the moment all i have done is takin a few photo's on my mates d40. So please can you suggest wat camera would be a good buy for taking fast shots usually in low light e.g forests, since this will be my first camera i only want to spend £500 max and it needs to be digital. the £500 includes any lenses accesories e.g wat would be useful, thanks for lookin liam.:wave:
 
Hi mate, something fast for use in low light is probably going to be expensive. I'd probably go for the D40 for a first SLR :)
 
To be honest I'd say pretty much all of the bodies are capable nowadays. The biggest difference for what you're looking for will be getting enough light to the sensor to allow a fast enough shutter speed to stop the action.

You can do that with lenses with large maximum apertures (generally expensive) or flash.

Have a look for some of the threads started by Himupnorth to see what can be done with flash.
 
If your mate has a D40 I would be tempted to get the same, that way you can share/borrow lenses an other equipment from each other - works out very handy! Mate of mine is a pro 'tog with a shedload of expensive lenses, many of which I could borrow for my D40 which was one of the influencing factors - unfortunately the b****r has now moved to Ireland :shrug:
 
I can reiterate what others have said.

1) The capabilities of most DSLRs in the entry range are about the same regardless of manufacturer.
2) Lenses that are suitable for low light are expensive but you can certainly get somewhere if you increase the ISO values (at the expense of noise in the photograph)
3) Flash can help in low light but you should budget about £200 for one that is simple to use (on camera flash is IMHO a gimmick).

I always advise when looking at buying your first SLR you should consider it as an investment in to a system and I suggest looking where you'd like to be in 5 - 10 years and look now at how you would get there.

The final factor to think over is what foggy said about what your friends & family have (if anything) as you can always borrow kit off each other, e.g. you could make a deal where one of you buys a decent flash the other buys a macro lens.

£500 is a good amount and will get you kit that will get good pics I'm sure you can find a D40 with 18-55mm and a 55-200 for that price and you may even find the 55-200 VR (which helps reduce camera shake) for a little over that money.

Almost forgot; also consider secondhand, refurbished or old stock as you can usually find some great bargains - I'm sure you can get a good deal on a Nikon D50 or D70s both of which have better lens compatability than the D40. If you can find either of these with a simple 18-55mm lens for under £300 will leave you with enough left over for a brand spanking new 55-200 VR with IIRC is about £200.

P.S. I only live just down the road in Poynton, so if you fancy popping down for a chat over a beer before you buy - PM me

EDIT- just noticed your age on your profile - offer of beer removed - still happy to chat but will have to be a lemonade if your parents agree ;)
 
haha, dam i was lookin forward to a beer, thanks for all the advice everyone, yh ill like to have a talk sometime after my arm has healed from wen i fell of my bike :'( its pretty easy to ride to poyton.
 
i agree with the comments above. the d40 seems a good starting place, which is why i have gone for
 
Ok, ive got it down to two cameras now they are both fairly cheap but that will then leave money left over for lenses etc. Nikon d40 or Canon eos 350d wat should i get ?
 
Ive got the D40 and im very pleased with it the lens supplied with it takes pin sharp pics and I bought the 55/200 nikkor lens for £127 its not the vr model but takes great pics you are either going to nikon or cannon but remember your mates got same camera and you can borrow lens if needed... I was told that the nikon lens supplied originally is a little better than the cannon but ultimately its down to you.
Good luck im sure you will be happy with either
 
I would recommend going 2nd hand, a Canon 400d Body only and Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 should be possible for £500 and should suit your needs perfectly. :)
 
cheers everyone for the advice, im just goin to go down to a sho and see the both cameras in peron, hopfully i will then be able to make my mind up:thinking:
 
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