Total Newbie - what are my options?

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Cookaaaaay

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Liam
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Hi guys :thumbs:

I've recently become really interested in photography, and I am looking into buying my first DSLR camera.

I am particularly interested in macro shots. I'd love to take close up shots of insects and water drops.

I LOVE the photos on this thread:
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=269370
I'd love to try and do something like this.

What are my options? what camera would you recommend? I don't have a very high budget though. :bonk:
 
Hi Liam, it might be an idea of you could let us know your budget, that would help point you towards the best camera/lens combo for you :thumbs:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Hi Liam, it might be an idea of you could let us know your budget, that would help point you towards the best camera/lens combo for you :thumbs:
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yeah, I should have included this.. sorry.

I know I'm not going to get the best camera for my budget.. but, £300 max.

Cheers.
 
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just noticed! that's not a dslr! thought it was too good to be true!
 
Hi Liam - welcome to the forum and the hobby.

Without doubt the two most popular camera manufacturers are Canon and Nikon. There are reasons for this, but it does not mean that the other manufacturers are without merit. For example I have a Canon for things travelling at 450 mph or a long way away and a Pentax for things which are slow and close.

One recontamination would be to see if there is a camera club near you and talk to people and see what they are using and what results they are getting.
 
If you are interested in macro maybe that could work a little to your advantage as macro is often manual focus so maybe you could pick up a nice and relatively cheap manual focus macro lens?

Almost any DSLR body should get you started but to give you scope for cropping a little and producing a reasonably large picture / print you might be best going for as high a mp count as you can afford.

There are oodles of DSLR's to choose from so maybe you could check out the used bargains here...

https://secure.ffordes.com/index.htm

http://www.mifsuds.com/acatalog/Second_Hand_Equipment.html

A body and a macro lens for that budget is gonna be tight but it might be achievable.
 
I just bought my first DSLR. It seems like there's a mountain of info about to wade through!

I found the monthly magazines really helpful for a start. The included discs are really good. Try a couple of local shops if you can as well as some will be really helpful to you.

There are loads of archived camera reviews online which are of use as well.
 
You will be better looking at a bridge camera if you have a limited budget, Ajophotog on TP sometimes uses a Panasonic FZ8 with a Raynox macro adapter to great effect which will come in at around the £120 from fleabay. DSLR macro lens start around £270 used on their own and you'll also need a flash £150 and a body to fit it all on.
 
Until you are sure this photography lark is definately for yopu dont spend to much,I would initially steal clear of an SLR and look for a bridge camera (something like a Fuji 6500) which you can probably pick up for around £100 second hand.Once you are hooked then start saving and move onto a DSLR
 
Hi Liam, if you go another £70 on your budget you could get the Nikon D3000 18-55 VR Kit, its £369, check the internet and your local camera dealers, this time of the year they all want your money mate, and if you have cash in the hand they don't want you leaving there shop with it
 
Lesco said:
Hi Liam, if you go another £70 on your budget you could get the Nikon D3000 18-55 VR Kit, its £369, check the internet and your local camera dealers, this time of the year they all want your money mate, and if you have cash in the hand they don't want you leaving there shop with it
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Unfortunately thats not going to be of any use for macro work

"I am particularly interested in macro shots. I'd love to take close up shots of insects and water drops."
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
Unfortunately thats not going to be of any use for macro work

"I am particularly interested in macro shots. I'd love to take close up shots of insects and water drops."
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Which makes a bridge camera with the macro options they nearly all have the best point to start
 
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Looking at the post the OP originally quotes I would think these photos were more likely taken with a kit lens. I would keep my eye on the TP for sale sections for a cheap dslr and maybe get a reversing ring with an old and very cheap manual 28mm lens to delve into macro. I wouldn't think the OP would lose too much for the resale and I would think a bridge camera would soon need to be upgraded if he did enjoy his new hobby.
 
Wow, I wasn't expecting so many answers.

Thank you so much everyone, the answers are very helpful.
I think I'll look into the hobby a bit more and I'll try and search the internet for good deals/second hand dslr's.

Thanks again! :notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:
 
I've seen some great results with the nifty fifty and extension tubes and that option doesn't just limit you to macro work and wouldn't cost the earth. Of course if I'm wrong you all free to shoot me down :p
 
CGeezer said:
Looking at the post the OP originally quotes I would think these photos were more likely taken with a kit lens. I would keep my eye on the TP for sale sections for a cheap dslr and maybe get a reversing ring with an old and very cheap manual 28mm lens to delve into macro. I wouldn't think the OP would lose too much for the resale and I would think a bridge camera would soon need to be upgraded if he did enjoy his new hobby.
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No very good advice for a total new person really - a reverse mount prime with no aperture control from the body - and all the trouble and frustration that brings !
 
neoboy said:
I've seen some great results with the nifty fifty and extension tubes and that option doesn't just limit you to macro work and wouldn't cost the earth. Of course if I'm wrong you all free to shoot me down :p
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You can get excellent results with a nifty and auto tubes - but used you still looking at about £150 and you still need a body to stick them on.
 
I'd look on here for a good second hand deal. You might find after that, that you get hooked and want to upgrade
 
neoboy said:
I've seen some great results with the nifty fifty and extension tubes and that option doesn't just limit you to macro work and wouldn't cost the earth. Of course if I'm wrong you all free to shoot me down :p
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Dogfish_magnet said:
You can get excellent results with a nifty and auto tubes - but used you still looking at about £150 and you still need a body to stick them on.
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What's a "nifty fifty"? :bonk:
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
You can get excellent results with a nifty and auto tubes - but used you still looking at about £150 and you still need a body to stick them on.
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Yeah I was thinking on the same lines, if he/she decideds to go second hand then there's plenty of decent bodies available, I picked up a Canon 20D for £157 less than a month ago.

Nifty fifty is a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Mark II lens, available for £70 from these very forums (Kerso). There are also alternatives for Nikon, Sony, etc I just used Canon since that's what I have.
 
neoboy said:
Yeah I was thinking on the same lines, if he/she decideds to go second hand then there's plenty of decent bodies available, I picked up a Canon 20D for £157 less than a month ago.

Nifty fifty is a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Mark II lens, available for £70 from these very forums (Kerso). There are also alternatives for Nikon, Sony, etc I just used Canon since that's what I have.
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oooh! thank you!

I've been looking around the internet at second hand cameras and I've found several cameras! :1st::1st:
 
try looking in the sales part on here, there are some good deals to be had. Plus you know the camera is what it says it will be coming from a forum member.

I started life with a canon 400d with kit lens 18-55, took some great and interesting photo's with it, and learned alot too.

Ok you will not get true macro shots with it BUT you will be able to do most things till you save up some miore money for a proper macro lens.

Photgraphy is an expensive hobby (it must be true the wife keeps telling me it is) so start with a body and buy decent glass as time goes on.

spike
 
Check out the Fuji bridge cameras like the Fuji S9500 or S9600 etc on ebay. I bought a S9500 for £50 off ebay and its a cracking camera. I also have a Fuji S8000fd which is still my best camera (so far) for macro shots

This shot was taken of a toad with my Fuji S8000fd which cost me £130 brand new and will be cheap on ebay

Toad2.jpg
 
SpikeK6 said:
try looking in the sales part on here, there are some good deals to be had. Plus you know the camera is what it says it will be coming from a forum member.

I started life with a canon 400d with kit lens 18-55, took some great and interesting photo's with it, and learned alot too.

Ok you will not get true macro shots with it BUT you will be able to do most things till you save up some miore money for a proper macro lens.

Photgraphy is an expensive hobby (it must be true the wife keeps telling me it is) so start with a body and buy decent glass as time goes on.

spike
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I've had a look in the classifieds on here, but I haven't seen anything.
Yeah, that's probably what I'm going to do.. buy a camera, have a play about with it and then buy a macro lens.

haha! yeah, it looks expensive! worth it though.
Why do I have to choose the more expensive hobbies?! My other hobby is reptile keeping, that is pretty expensive too! haha.

Thanks for the reply. :thumbs:
 
Tell me about it, I have three hobbies all bloody expensive

Photography
Diving
Bikes (I own 2)

Good luck with your search, I bought my 400d from ebay, just check out their feedback and what else they sell and ask lots of questions and you will be ok.

spike
 
SpikeK6 said:
Tell me about it, I have three hobbies all bloody expensive

Photography
Diving
Bikes (I own 2)

Good luck with your search, I bought my 400d from ebay, just check out their feedback and what else they sell and ask lots of questions and you will be ok.

spike
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haha!
Ooh, yeah! Totally forgot about ebay. Thanks for all the help. :thumbs:
 
TheCrewDesigns said:
Check out the Fuji bridge cameras like the Fuji S9500 or S9600 etc on ebay. I bought a S9500 for £50 off ebay and its a cracking camera. I also have a Fuji S8000fd which is still my best camera (so far) for macro shots

This shot was taken of a toad with my Fuji S8000fd which cost me £130 brand new and will be cheap on ebay

Toad2.jpg
Click to expand...

oops, didn't see this.

That's a great picture!
Is a bridge camera a DSLR? haha.
 
Cookaaaaay said:
oops, didn't see this.

That's a great picture!
Is a bridge camera a DSLR? haha.
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No its in between a DSLR and a compact (hence why called a bridge). I wasn't sure if you were being sarcastic or not though!!!!
 
Bridge cameras lie somewhere in between compact point and shoot cameras and SLRs hence the name. Usually you'll find that they have fixed lenses although there has been some new cameras appearing that allow you to use different lenses although those are usually relatively expensive. Can have a read of the Wiki article should explain it in more detail than me.

EDIT: Beaten :(
 
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mike_6480 said:
No its in between a DSLR and a compact (hence why called a bridge). I wasn't sure if you were being sarcastic or not though!!!!
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neoboy said:
Bridge cameras lie somewhere in between compact point and shoot cameras and SLRs hence the name. Usually you'll find that they have fixed lenses although there has been some new cameras appearing that allow you to use different lenses although those are usually relatively expensive. Can have a read of the Wiki article should explain it in more detail than me.

EDIT: Beaten :(
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Thanks, Ohhh, yeah. The name makes sense, haha. Should've been able to work it out for myself! haha.

(Oh, btw.. I wasn't being sarcastic.)

SpikeK6 said:
here is a link to a camera on the bay,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-400...Cameras_DigitalCameras_JN&hash=item1c1726345e

It will prob go over your budget but there are loads of deals on there to be had

spike
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Cheers, I'll have a look. :thumbs:
 
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Dogfish_magnet said:
No very good advice for a total new person really - a reverse mount prime with no aperture control from the body - and all the trouble and frustration that brings !
Click to expand...

Frustration you say!!!! That's not frustration THIS is frustration :)
 
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