Suitable starting out camera.

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brocco

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Hi everyone,

Big thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far in suggesting suitable places for second hand equipment.

I guess this question gets posted a thousand times a month but here we go again :)

From my research so far and my limited (cheap and cheerful :) ) budget I am looking to buy a nikon d70 (s) with one lens to start with. The lens will probably be the kit lens, 15-70 iirc.

Could anyone suggest an alternative body for similar pricing or good quality all round lens to help me start out?

It seems a bit of a minefield out there when it comes to selecting equipment or in particular lenses for someone who is inexperienced.

Seasonal wishes,
Mark B
 
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I'm planning to use it as a bit of an all rounder, landscapes, some car shows and maybe some closeups.
My idea is to buy a cheapish/well performing body (if that's not a contradiction) :P and build up a set of good quality lenses and then upgrade the body if and when I need to :) I'm mainly drawn towards nikon as I think there is a larger market of second hand lenses available (correct me if I'm wrong).
 
I would say Canon would give you the same of even more lens choice, unless manual focus primes are your thing.

If you want to use older lenses on Nikon try to avoid the entry level models (D40, D60 D3000, basicaly anything without an LCD on top) they don't have an in built focus motor so you need AF-S lenses to get autofocus.

I know it's not as easy with used, but go and try some cameras and see what you like. I basicaly went for Nikon because the Canons and Sonies (is that the plural of Sony?) in my price range had grips I would uncomfortable.
 
There's plenty of choice 2nd hand for both canon and nikon and plenty of other people do well with other brands so you've got loads of options. Everyone will have a different opinion, mine is a canon 20d body with tamron 17-50 f2.8. Probably around £350 second hand all in
 
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brocco said:
Hi everyone,

Big thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far in suggesting suitable places for second hand equipment.

I guess this question gets posted a thousand times a month but here we go again :)

From my research so far and my limited (cheap and cheerful :) ) budget I am looking to buy a nikon d70 (s) with one lens to start with. The lens will probably be the kit lens, 15-70 iirc.

Could anyone suggest an alternative body for similar pricing or good quality all round lens to help me start out?

It seems a bit of a minefield out there when it comes to selecting equipment or in particular lenses for someone who is inexperienced.

Seasonal wishes,
Mark B
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My disabled son had a Nikon D70 till some scumbag stole it, an amzzing camera, my other son also disabled had the Canon 300d, the Nikon was better and to my thinking at the time better than my EOS 10D, a great camera.
 
brocco said:
My idea is to buy a cheapish/well performing body (if that's not a contradiction) :P and build up a set of good quality lenses and then upgrade the body if and when I need to :)
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That's exactly what people suggest and is what I've just done, it's an ideal way of doing a 'rolling upgrade' as I like to call it.
I bought a Canon 350D with the 18-55 kit lens, the next purchases were a 55-250 IS, a 50mm 1.8 and most recently an 18-55 IS and now my 40D body has just turned up which means my 350D and 18-55 is ready to be boxed back up and passed on to someone else.
The good thing is that by buying used you'll not lose much when you sell it on, especially with lenses.
 
Thanks for everyones input :)
Definately a few more suggestions to think about there.
I have considered the canon 400d too, I guess it just boils down to what offer I can get at the time.
 
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Just been looking at MPB at the prices of their Canon dslr's and I'm shocked at some of the prices. A 400D at £169, a 450D at £259, a 500D at £299 and a 40D at £364. Never realised they had come down that much. So to get a 500D with an 18-55 IS (£64) you'd be able to get a decent start for under £400 with card, battery and bag. Then you can add to it at your liesure as your budget allows.
 
brocco said:
I'm planning to use it as a bit of an all rounder, landscapes, some car shows and maybe some closeups.
My idea is to buy a cheapish/well performing body (if that's not a contradiction) :P and build up a set of good quality lenses and then upgrade the body if and when I need to :) I'm mainly drawn towards nikon as I think there is a larger market of second hand lenses available (correct me if I'm wrong).
Click to expand...

brocco said:
Thanks for everyones input :)
Definately a few more suggestions to think about there.
I have considered the canon 400d too, I guess it just boils down to what offer I can get at the time.
Click to expand...

If you do go down the Canon route, seriously consider the 500D over the 400D. I have the 500D and it felt far better in the hand than the 400D of a friend of mine. It also has video (not that important to me if being honest) but what has been a joy to use is the Liveview for landscapes especially with a tripod and filters, and even more so with macro using the x10 image magnification on the 920k rear screen.

Side by Side
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=canon_eos500d&products=canon_eos400d
 
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brocco said:
Thanks for everyones input :)
Definately a few more suggestions to think about there.
I have considered the canon 400d too, I guess it just boils down to what offer I can get at the time.
Click to expand...

Hi

The best initial advice is to try as many different makes / manufactorers as you can, yes cost and what is available is the major influence for you, but you do have to be happy with what you are using...

You need to be happy with the feel of the camera and also how the buttons fall for you, how the menu system works etc - they do feel / work differently and what 1 person loves, another doesn't.

As you say in your initial post, it's a mine field !!! Decide what (doesn't matter if you can't at this early stage) you want to shoot as this may help decide on which bodies you are looking for / avoiding.

The Sony and Pentax bodies have an in built Image Stabalisation (IS) so any lens you attach has the IS function, with Canon & Nikon they don't, they are only in the lenses...

Good luck with your search,

Have a good Christmas and New Year
 
Thanks again for everyones help once again. I hope everyone has had a restful/merry/reflective/fun with the family (delete as appropriate :lol: ) christmas.

I've been looking at a lot of cameras recently, but one which has caught my eye at the moment is the EOS 1000D seems like it is a good 'starter' DSLR. Does anyone have any experiences with it (good or bad) ? I have been reading up on every review I can about it and also checking out some video reviews/guides with it also.

Im guessing that mid to late January might be a good time to buy as people pick up new bodies through the sales and sell their old kit?
 
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Well it's naturally the cheaper end of the range, but that doesn't mean it's a bad choice, especially if you're starting out. I would say it depends on your budget, and you might well do better to get a 1000D and a better lens than, say, a 550D with kit lens. You can always sell on and upgrade, especially if you buy second-hand.
 
The 1000D is as you say a good starter DSLR, worth checking out the 1100D though as this is the upgrade model, if this is what you are looking at.

Have a look on Canons web site and you can compare what the differences are between the 2.
 
Thanks for everyone's help.... I have now bought a 1000d + kit lens for a squidge over £200 ;)
Can't wait to get stuck in and get cracking now !!
 
brocco said:
Thanks for everyone's help.... I have now bought a 1000d + kit lens for a squidge over £200 ;)
Can't wait to get stuck in and get cracking now !!
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Sounds like a very good buy.

Now get the battery charged, kettle on and read the manual and then have fun.

Look forward to some photos going up
 
Thanks, I have been watching a few places for prices on 400, 450's and 1000's I thought I might have to wait a little more into January to get a bargain, but I guess its all in the timing ;)
 
brocco said:
Thanks, I have been watching a few places for prices on 400, 450's and 1000's I thought I might have to wait a little more into January to get a bargain, but I guess its all in the timing ;)
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Absolutely, timing is what it's about and it sounds like you for your timing perfect.

Well done
 
Thanks guys,

andyred said:
Absolutely, timing is what it's about and it sounds
like you for your timing perfect.

Well done
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Just hope I havent used up all my good timing buying the camera, lets hope I still have enough left to catch some good photos :thumbs::lol:
 
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