DSLR Recommendations

[mdearlove]

I am looking to purchase my first DSLR and am looking for recommendations. Budget wise I want to spend no more than £500 including lens. Will be doing a whole mix of stuff - portraits and landscapes etc so need an all purpose lens to start with.

 

Cheers

[Minty]

Do you want something brand new? You can get more for your money if you go secondhand and if you're not silly you'll get a body that is still in A1 condition and will more than meet your needs if you're just starting out. Plus, as most people on here will suggest, you're better off spending more on the lens(es) rather than the body, as they'll last far longer than any body.

 

Others will recommend Nikon stuff, my personal experience is with Canon. Which system you choose is entirely up to you and frankly, if you're just starting out in SLR's, I really doubt it matters. Both make excellent cameras that professionals use the world over. Don't rule out other makes either, but you'll find more people with these two makes than any other, so if you want to try out new lenses or the like, you're more likely to find someone with a Nikon or Canon.

 

As for your specific price range, not got time to look right now but probably a secondhand 350D or 400D would suffice, which would come with an 18-55mm lens, and leave you some money (£200-£300) left over for another lens... perhaps the 75-300 (various versions up to about £160 I think) initially to give you more range. Alternatively, you could just save a bit and wait until you know what kind of lens you really want... for example the 50mm f1.8/f1.4 are excellent portrait/low light lenses for £50/£200.

 

I could go on, and others almost certainly will. Personally though, for now I'd suggest going secondhand and save some cash to see what lens you really want.

[Ponty]

This appears a good price...

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-D40-Digital-SLR-Camera/dp/B000KIX65S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218560630&sr=8-1

[Pancake]

Fully agree with Minty, take your cash and try to get hold of a second hand Canon 400d with the 18-55 kit lens. With the rest, get the 50mm f1.8 for aropund 50 squid (the plastic fantastic), get a tripod and a decent sized memory card... and maybe some storage for your PC (yeah, you have to think about that as camera gear with a DSLR).

 

The use that and learn.

 

Its the basic kit I carry around now, but with a couple of other lens as and when I need it (10-20 for super wide and a tele-zoom)

[Al de Man]

With the rest, get the 50mm f1.8 for aropund 50 squid (the plastic fantastic)

 

I've always known of it as the "nifty fifty". How can one lens have so many nicknames?!?

 

On the storage front, Amazon have the Sandisk Extreme III 4Gb CF for £16.99, which is half what I paid for a counterfeit card a year ago, but then again who's to say that these aren't fake?

[Weston Super Saint]

I've always known of it as the "nifty fifty". How can one lens have so many nicknames?!?

 

On the storage front, Amazon have the Sandisk Extreme III 4Gb CF for £16.99, which is half what I paid for a counterfeit card a year ago, but then again who's to say that these aren't fake?

 

They aren't!

 

I ordered two of those from Amazon about a month ago.

 

Apparently the way to tell if fake or not, is if they come with a little round foam case, and a cdrom [mini one], that will retrieve the info from the card if it 'crashes', both of mine did

[Al de Man]

They aren't!

 

I ordered two of those from Amazon about a month ago.

 

Apparently the way to tell if fake or not, is if they come with a little round foam case, and a cdrom [mini one], that will retrieve the info from the card if it 'crashes', both of mine did

 

Unfortunately not. The way to tell is inspect the card itself because my fake came with both accessories.

 

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/FAKE-SanDisk-Extreme-Compact-Flash-Cards-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001456526QQ_trksidZp3286.c0.m17

 

One of my colleagues was delighted with his "Sandisk" card until I pointed him towards that page.

[Weston Super Saint]

Unfortunately not. The way to tell is inspect the card itself because my fake came with both accessories.

 

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/FAKE-SanDisk-Extreme-Compact-Flash-Cards-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001456526QQ_trksidZp3286.c0.m17

 

One of my colleagues was delighted with his "Sandisk" card until I pointed him towards that page.

 

LOL even more confused now!!

 

I have three 4GB cards, two of them have all of the genuine features, one of them has all of the features, but doesn't have the 'ESP' bit!!

 

I have no idea if they are genuine or not, but all of them work, and all of them are adequate for my needs, so I'm a happy chappy

[Al de Man]

Don't think the ESP is important so they're probably ok. The way I remember when I'm shopping is the brushed finish on the metalwork.

 

Funnily enough, all the cards I saw whilst shopping in Hong Kong were genuine. They obviously save all the fakes for eBay.

[mdearlove]

Thanks for the recommendations - I have started searching ebay, amazon etc for second hand Canon 400D. Any other places online that sell second hand kit?

[mdearlove]

just found that Canon sell refubs on ebay - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet_Canon-EOS-SLR-Cameras_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Prices seem decent so will try and grab one.

[Weston Super Saint]

£300 will get you one guaranteed - I've used this seller before, and although encountered a problem, not only did they sort the problem quickly [they upgraded me from a 300d to a 350D free of charge, they even gave me some freebies too!!!], I would definitely recommend them.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CANON-REBEL-XTi-EOS-400D-CAMERA-LENS-4GB-CF-6-BONUS_W0QQitemZ180276502984QQihZ008QQcategoryZ31388QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

 

A little more than the Canon one [if you win], is also refurbished by Canon, but they throw in some extras which would add up if bought seperately....

 

You could even get one of these too, and still be under your £500 budget

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-CANON-EF-75-300mm-F-4-0-5-6-III-USM-LENS-in-UK_W0QQitemZ200244679910QQihZ010QQcategoryZ30070QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

Edited 13 August, 2008 by Weston Super Saint

[Pancake]

Try Ffordes:

 

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

[Al de Man]

just found that Canon sell refubs on ebay - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet_Canon-EOS-SLR-Cameras_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Prices seem decent so will try and grab one.

 

I'm pretty certain they have other eBay accounts and partake in shill bidding bumping people's bids up to their maximum.

 

I already had my suspicions and then my friend told me he bought a 400D from them. He didn't win the auction, but they approached him afterwards and offered him a camera at his highest price.

 

They hide the identity of the bidders on their auctions but you can hover over their name and view people's activity with that particular seller. It's pretty suspicious when a bidder is currently partaking in 50 auctions and 100% have been with the Canon outlet.

 

eBay won't lift a finger though because annually they probably receive a five-figure sum in seller's fees.

[mdearlove]

yeah I had my suspicions too as the prices were all very similar. Lots of auctions won at £279

[St Steve]

If you can afford it go straight for a d700 otherwise d300 or d80. Get the body on its own and choose a lens that will suit you.

[Iowsaintsfan]

If you can afford it go straight for a d700 otherwise d300 or d80. Get the body on its own and choose a lens that will suit you.

 

Blimey Steve they aint cheap!

[Hemel Saint]

Hello All. Great idea to have this section on the Site.

 

Anyway, slight variation to the opening question.

I currently own a Canon 300d with two Tamron Zooms.

 

In the last year or two, I have noticed that I am not able to control shake as much as I used to be able to (when not using a tripod). Maybe something about not being a spring chicken anymore!!!

 

So I have been thinking about investing in some form of anti-shake thingy.

 

The think that gets me is the price of lenses with I.S. installed. gulp!!!

 

The question is... what do you guys think around scraping my current camera and start again with a SLR that has I.S. built into it, rather than lenses with I.S. This way, every lens I attach will have IS installed.

 

The only two on the market are Pentax and Sony.

 

What are the thoughts? is it worth upgrading to a kit that has options including Live-vue, Larger LCD, I.S.... etc?

Any thoughts or advice gratefully received...

 

many Thanks!

[Weston Super Saint]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'shake'....

 

The golden rule is to have the time setting faster than the zoom on the lens, and you are pretty much guaranteed to be 'shake' free - unless shooting something moving really fast and thus get motion blur.

 

For example, if shooting at 50mm, keep the shutter open for less than 1/50th of a second, or shooting at 300mm, less than 1/300th of a second.

 

Anything shutter speed slower than the zoom length should encompass a tripod.

 

Having said that I always find it easier to mess with the ISO settings and Aperture size to allow the shutter to work faster and avoid shake....

[Al de Man]

If you're not the sort that buys loads of lenses and accessories, then it may be a good idea. I have no idea how effective the in-camera IS system of Pentax and Sony is but you will find that you have nothing like the diversity of lenses available to the 300D.

 

Getting back to the issue of camera shake, what's your technique like? I just found this tutorial which seems quite good. I use a very similar technique to the one mentioned in the section beginning "One last trick..." when I shoot with my telephoto except I grip my right wrist with my left hand and then rest the lens on my left elbow. If you prefer to hold your lens, rest it on your open palm, as if you hold it by your fingers, you're introducing three more joints (and each is a potential source of movement).

 

One thing they don't mention is your stance. Your hips allow rotation of the upper torso which is another source of camera shake. If you have nothing to lean against, the easiest way to minimise that is to rotate your hips all the way around and continue to push round whilst taking the shot. That will normally mean your feet are pointing in the opposite direction to your subject.

 

I'd try these before splashing out on a new system.

[Ajv2809]

D40x.

 

Awesome.

[Hemel Saint]

Having said that I always find it easier to mess with the ISO settings and Aperture size to allow the shutter to work faster and avoid shake....

 

I think you have hit a bit of a nail-on-a-head.

I have just moved from using nothing but the 'P' mode ...to trying all the 'untouched' settings on my SLR. Eventualy!!

As its all new to me, its all a bit confusing, and I just need to practice more with all the different settings. The one area I have not played with yet is ISO. My next task, me thinks!

 

Getting back to the issue of camera shake, what's your technique like? I just found this tutorial which seems quite good. I use a very similar technique to the one mentioned in the section beginning "One last trick..."

 

Great find. And the "One last trick..." section is really good. Putting the left hand on shoulder really forms a rock solid apex.

 

Just had a practice with my 300ml focal-length and used the Elbow technique, and playing with the ISO. Both elements have helped greatly. I shall practice loads more.

 

Keep em tips coming.

Thanks to you both, really helpful!

 

 

[BlakeySFC]

I got the Pentax K10D a couple of years ago, a very good camera with fantastic composition.

 

Has a wide variety of image settings such as aperture and shutter priority, shutter priority, ISO priority etc. when taking shots.

 

Feels very well built to hold as well, and has a great screen that really shows the composition of your pictures up nicely before printing.

[Al de Man]

Great find. And the "One last trick..." section is really good. Putting the left hand on shoulder really forms a rock solid apex.

 

I use this technique all the time as I mainly shoot gigs where a tripod or even a monopod isn't practical. It gives you a rock-solid base and it enables me to keep the camera trained on the subject for at least a minute whilst you wait for your shot. Given that my lens and body may weigh over 3kg, that's no mean feat. Your left shoulder will ache by the end of the evening though.