What kit for an amateur?

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Jay246888

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Hi all,
Hope some of you can help me. I'm a web designer and I'm interested in taking on photography as it's always been an interest of mine! I don't want to take it on as a career or anything, possibly use it in conjunction with my freelance projects.

My interest would primarily be in old buildings, nature etc... Possibly in the future sell my prints.

My question is, what kit would I need to start such a hobby and what camera would be the best to start with?

Many thanks,
Jamie
 
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Welcome jamie Nikon D5000 18-55 and 55-200mm VR Twin Lens Kit 500 quid in jessops is a nice setup to have
 
Canon 500D or 550D kits can be had at pretty good prices now, you could consider s/hand as you can get better kit for the same money something like a Canon 50D. You don't specify a budget.
 
Sorry, my budget is around 800pound.

I had a look at the 500d in jessops, 599 pound for it and an additional lens?

Would this be good? Or should I go for a nikon.

Also, i don't know if I could trust buying a second hand camera. What would you advise to look out for?
 
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Go into a shop and hold the different cameras in your hand and see what feels right in your hands.

Buying second hand is no problem. You can buy them from places like Mbp photo or Wilkinson. Most give you 6 months warranty.

For 800 pounds look for a Nikon D90. Or see want people you know are using. Either Nikon or Canon and may be buy the same as them. This way if it is okay with them you can share the lenses.
 
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Hi Jamie

I've just bought some kit to assist me in the development of some of my commission based websites.

I've found that with good pictures I can sell more items!!!

I've just got a Panasonic GF1 with a 20mm pancake lens and also a 45-200mm zoom.

I decided that having a full size dslr was no good as I wanted to also use the camera for family days out and holidays.

The GF1 has been superceded by the GF2 but I got one of the old stock GF1's because of the rave reviews. I have only had it a few days, but I love it already:love:
 
When I was starting few years ago there wasn't much choice. Canon and Nikon both had only two entry level models and my decision was purely based on the good deal I got from a shop.Now given the vast choice of cameras available for £800 you might need to set another criteria i.e ergonomics (need to try out in the shop), weight as well could be an important factor for some. Don't neglect other brands such as Sony or Pentax. In the end it's going to be quite a pain to choose one but I guarantee you'll be happy with your choice. One last thing - I would go for a new camera for now as normally the difference in pricing is only 15-20 % and by buying a new one you won't have those creeping doubts about malfunctioning camera when some photos come out blurry.
 
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Best bang for your buck right now is the Nikon D3100, it is arguably better than the D5000 and the kit lenses very good. You can pick them up new for about £400, which would leave you enough spare change to get the 50-200mm AF-S VR and the astonishing 35mm AF-S 1.8 and a nice bag/tripod.
 
Canon or Nikon isn't important, its like Windows/Mac, just down to personal preference. You can't go wrong with an entry level DSLR with kit lens, then adding a 50mm f1.8 and/or telephoto zoom lens.
 
It's all about how it feels in your hands. I have a inkling that the reason the D3100 has taken off over Canon's 1100D is that the latter is so so shiny. It may very well be a good camera under all the plastic but I defy anyone to pick it up and not think that it feels like a fisher price toy. As far as first impressions go "I'm going to drop this if my hands get sweaty" isn't a great one. Shame really, if it wasn't for that one thing I would be a canon user.
 
Ramaz said:
When I was starting few years ago there wasn't much choice. Canon and Nikon both had only two entry level models and my decision was purely based on the good deal I got from a shop.Now given the vast choice of cameras available for £800 you might need to set another criteria i.e ergonomics (need to try out in the shop), weight as well could be an important factor for some. Don't neglect other brands such as Sony or Pentax. In the end it's going to be quite a pain to choose one but I guarantee you'll be happy with your choice. One last thing - I would go for a new camera for now as normally the difference in pricing is only 15-20 % and by buying a new one you won't have those creeping doubts about malfunctioning camera when some photos come out blurry.
Click to expand...

+1 to that. Sony makes really good cameras for the money. The new a580 can be had for just above £500 and it has some great features in it, with great high-iso performance..

But your best choice would be to go to a shop and handle those
 
The articulated screen on the A580 is also quite useful. It uses the same sensor as the much more expensive Nikon D7000 so I think it is a steal.

I don't like the plastic they have used though. The older alpha series had nicer feeling plastic. Ergonomics are ok. Most of the often used functions are accessed via buttons - iso, drive mode, exposure compensation, toggle between viewfinder and live view etc. AF mode, metering, white balance are in menus but it's normally just one press of the function button and arrow around to choose which you want.

Definitely always better to pick them up and play around with them and get the feel for how easy they are to use without having to read the manual :)
 
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