Please recommend me a suitable DSLR

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James
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Hi,

I've been looking at a few different options - Canon 450d, 40d, Nikon 300, Sony 300 and 350 aswell as another few, but cannot decide which would suit me best. I run my own lettings agency so most of the shots would be internals and external shots of the buildings using a fairly simple wide angle lens. I'd also be using it for a fair bit of external work/scenery shots etc. The Panasonic FX35 I normally use has been fine and suits the purpose, but i'd like something a bit more versatile to produce better results.

All of the above have liveview, though I believe you can't easily autofocus the 40d during liveview.

I almost bought a 450d but have read alot of mixed reviews about overexposure, poor build and other errors. The 40d appealed until the autofocus/liveview issue cropped up. The Sony's also have quite mixed reviews but do seem the best value. The Nikon would be perfect but is rather a lot more than I can justify spending at the moment. Ideally i'm looking to spend no more than £400 (second hand/ebay etc), but will increase if its worth it.

Can anyone give me a little more guidance or feedback from experience? Any help would be massively appreciated :thumbs:
 
Go to a shop and handle the cameras you are intersted in.
The ergonomics vary so you will need to find one that feels comfortable in your hands.
With regard to the 450D, I owned for a year and I couldn't fault it for an entry level DSLR.
I've taken plenty of photos with it than I am very pleased with.

The 40D is a great camera (I've recently upgraded to one), the additional features are useful and again, I love this camera.
However, you will be hard pushed to find one with a kit lens for £400.

With regard to a wide angle lens, the Sigma 10-20 and Canon 10-22 are quite often used for photos of building interiors and exteriors.
However, these don't come cheap and you will really need to raise your budget to be able to include there.
Another thing to consider that unless you have good interior lightning, you will need to consider a fast lens (f/2.8) and perhaps a flash as well.

As a workhorse for your business, an entry level DSLR will be fine and investing in lenses will be a main concern for you.
 
For your work any camera with live view should be OK (manual focus is very easy and very precise). You don't need high fps, weather sealing, but spot meter would be good. High mp count would be great to show the details.

So 450D or 40D, or 500D would be all good. Then get Canon 10-22mm USM lens (Sigma is not very sharp and has other problems if you need to print larger than 5x7) and maybe several 580EX flash units. Kit lens is no use of at all (not wide enough). Tokina 11-16mm is another good alternative.
And you will need a sturdy professional tripod like Manfrotto 190XPROB, and
Photoshop CS4 or DxO optics to correct perspective and lens distortions.

If you can afford it then 5D with 14mm or 17mm TSE lens would be even better.

I have Tokina 12-24mm and rate it well, but it could be just a bit wider.
3920982986_d40edbe06f.jpg
 
hashcake said:
Go to a shop and handle the cameras you are intersted in.
The ergonomics vary so you will need to find one that feels comfortable in your hands.
With regard to the 450D, I owned for a year and I couldn't fault it for an entry level DSLR.
I've taken plenty of photos with it than I am very pleased with.
Click to expand...

Best advice to take IMHO. I was all set to buy the 450D, went into a shop, handled all of them (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, etc), then bought the D40x, which I soon upgraded to a D200 :D

Out of your list, I would say the D300 is the best bet, but then, I may be a little biased... ;)
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm happy to invest in a good lens as they don't really seem to lose much value unlike the camera. Think i'm still leaning toward the 40d but will pop down to Jessops to make sure it feels right.

Cheers!
 
I have a 40D and 10-22mm lens and I have to say that for the things you are planning to shoot, that would be a good combination. Live View will be of great assistance in framing your shot with 100% accuracy and greatly facilitate accurate exposure with the Live Histogram. Also, the presence of grid lines will help you align your verticals correctly too. The 40D can AF with the centre point only, or you can focus manually with assistance from the little magnifier on any part of the scene you like. To make all that work for you to the maximum potential a stable tripod and head is essential - you won't get great results from handholding.

However, you might find that for a fraction less money the 500D might prove an even better bet. According to http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/index.html the 40D is £550, body only, while the 500D is £520 for the body or £540 with included 18-55 IS kit lens. While its true that the price difference is not significant, the 500D has greater resolution, probably more advanced Live View features, including Live AF, and, of course, video, which the 40D does not have at all. The price premium for the 40D comes principally from build, speed of AF and shooting, and ergonomics. For your purposes I think those things will not be of great importance, compared to the newer features of the 500D. With the aid of a tripod you can shoot longer exposures, if you need to, so you can keep the ISO low and eliminate noise, even with the high pixel count. That will give you great scope for cropping out details or simply printing large, if you want to.

That said, I've never used a 500D, so do your own research :)

p.s. it's worth repeating - a sturdy tripod is essential for best results.

Here is a quick example from my 40D and 10-22, shot this morning. The lighting is poor but you can't blame the camera/lens for that :)

20090915_104605_9463_LR-3.jpg
 
Thanks for all your help guys!

Popped into Jessops and Jacobs earlier today and think i'm discounting the need for liveview at the moment as its not really going to benefit me. Think I just wanted to avoid the whole peering down the viewfinder looking a bit conspicuous thing.

Had a look at the 450d though and it does seem quite nice and straight forward to use, however i'm definitely going to have to invest in a 10-20 or 10-22 lens as I didn't realise my standard Panasonic gives a wider angle to the 18-55 lens provided.

So my question is - for £400-ish second hand, and with liveview now pretty much not needed, are there any others I should consider before taking the plunge?

Sorry to nag, I just don't want to go for something without weighing up all of the other options first.

Thanks!
 
If you want a Canon 40d for £400 secondhand get back to me i know of one going

Dave
 
For what it is worth and having owned both.
i would go for the 40D over the 450 D every time.
Better build quality, 6.5fps but most of all picture quality and colours are just fantastic better than the 50D if i am honest.
it seems the 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor with larger microlenses just hits the spot it seems to me to be a optimum performer for a reason i cant explain but out performs the 450D and my 50D
if you are near a good camera retailer go along and ask to have a play.
 
Another vote for the 40D providing you like the feel of it. They are heavier and more substantial than 450/500D which I prefer but some do not!!
 
The 40D is a world above the /450d.

Take a look at the Pentax K10D as they are a bargin second hand or even the K20D, performs well above the price range.
 
mavron said:
And i know of a mint+ 450d +18 - 55mm IS lens +grip + extra batteries +sd cards ... / Fantastic deal. Take care . Ron
Click to expand...

Quite possibly interested if the price is right!

Will be keeping my eye out for a 40d in the meantime though, cheers again guys :thumbs:
 
Update - Got a 40d today! Just gotta figure out how it all works, oh and track down a 10-20mm lens now!

cheers again guys!
 
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