Best Value dslr for beginner

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Robwan

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Hi,

Sorry if this has been asked before, but, in a nut shell:

I need to get an entry level dslr which is is a good all-rounder.
I would like to take up photography as side hobby (I'm an architect student) and ill be shooting anything and everything, nature, wildlife, portraits, buildings etc etc.
oh and I know that dslr's can come with hd video record so i would like that too :)

I would like to know:

Any dos and don'ts when it come to buying a camera.
Is it cheaper to buy the body and the lens separate?
What to look for in the spec?

I'm currently researching as much as i can on the net, but it would be cool to get some advice from you guys.

I'm looking to spend £200 - £300 as i'm no pro, and happy to buy manufacture refurbished/second hand from ebay.

Thanks, any help is greatly appreciated

P.S I'm pretty nerdy with computers, so feel free to ask any questions in regards to pc/laptop needs since i know u guys like a powerful computer for photo software etc.
 
P.S I'm pretty nerdy with computers, so feel free to ask any questions in regards to pc/laptop needs since i know u guys like a powerful computer for photo software etc
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most pcs will be fine
I used photoshop version 7 and elements when it was LE
on a AMD 1.6 CPU and 512MB memory running XP

what PC do you have

do you want a DSLR with interchangable lenses are would you consider a bridge camera
you range of interests is demanding a wide and and telephoto lens range
 
I would start by trying both the Nikon and Canon cameras in your price range, and seeing which you prefer. There are other manufacturers out there, and Sony & Pentax also make some good cameras. But I'd start by looking at Canon & Nikon.

The reason for this is that they're the biggest, when you buy a dSLR you're buying into a system and once you start buying additional lenses and other accessories you'll soon find moving to a different brand a major upheaval.

The bundled 18-55 lenses are ok starter lenses, and it's certainly better value to buy them in a kit.

But I will reiterate, get out there and try some cameras. Even if you can't try the exact camera you will get a feel for the different makes and also learn the difference between a semi prop level camera (like a Canon 30D or Nikon D200) and an entry level camera like s Canon 1100D or a Nikon D3100.
 
etaf said:
most pcs will be fine
I used photoshop version 7 and elements when it was LE
on a AMD 1.6 CPU and 512MB memory running XP

what PC do you have

do you want a DSLR with interchangable lenses are would you consider a bridge camera
you range of interests is demanding a wide and and telephoto lens range
Click to expand...

Sorry, what i meant was, if anyone would like advice when getting a computer/laptop which runs photography/video software well, then i'm pretty good in that area hehe.
i myself have i7 920, 1gb hd gpu, 6gb ram, 32" screen, but i use it for 3d rendering as well as photoshop :)


I've heard about bridge cameras, however yes i would like a camera which does have a changeable lens if i ever want to change it when i become more experienced

Thanks
 
KC Leblanc said:
I would start by trying both the Nikon and Canon cameras in your price range, and seeing which you prefer. There are other manufacturers out there, and Sony & Pentax also make some good cameras. But I'd start by looking at Canon & Nikon.

The reason for this is that they're the biggest, when you buy a dSLR you're buying into a system and once you start buying additional lenses and other accessories you'll soon find moving to a different brand a major upheaval.

The bundled 18-55 lenses are ok starter lenses, and it's certainly better value to buy them in a kit.

But I will reiterate, get out there and try some cameras. Even if you can't try the exact camera you will get a feel for the different makes and also learn the difference between a semi prop level camera (like a Canon 30D or Nikon D200) and an entry level camera like s Canon 1100D or a Nikon D3100.
Click to expand...

Thanks! :)
 
Robwan said:
I need to get an entry level dslr which is is a good all-rounder.
I would like to take up photography as side hobby (I'm an architect student) and ill be shooting anything and everything, nature, wildlife, portraits, buildings etc etc.
oh and I know that dslr's can come with hd video record so i would like that too :)
Click to expand...

That's a big range of photographic genres, ie. pretty much everything.

Robwan said:
I'm looking to spend £200 - £300 as i'm no pro, and happy to buy manufacture refurbished/second hand from ebay.
Click to expand...

That's an incredibly small budget for a DSLR body and lenses.

If that's the total budget, get a good compact - being smaller and easier to carry you're also far more likely to use it more often. The right compact will cover the range you've listed far better than any DSLR and lenses available for that money. A good compact would equal (if not better) the quality you would achieve from the body and lenses you could get for twice that budget (at least).

If you think the budget will expand in the future, then also consider m4/3 and CSC cameras from Panasonic, Olympus, Sony and the Nikon 1-series.


Being honest - you could get a basic DSLR body and kit lens for not much over £300, but once you factor in a telephoto for wildlife and a wide-angle for architecture, and a fast lens for low light the budget soon expands - and that's just to *match* the range and quality of a compact. Once you start wanting to get *better* results the budget expands further.

Photography is a very expensive side hobby.. .. and it's very easy to get caught up in the gear and not the photographs.
 
Robwan said:
What to look for in the spec?
Click to expand...

At this price range your going to limate your choices of on specs as most entry level bodies arent that different.

The main choice I'd say you have would be between a slightly older prosomer body and a more modern comsumer one.

Canon 40D - £300 used - A larger camera with better build and more manual controls, the autofocus is also better for picking up moving targets.

Canon 500D - £300 used - A smaller less well built camera with higher megapixels(15 vs 10 for the 40D) allowing for sharper large prints(or more cropping) plus it has HD video.

Lens wise things need not be THAT expensive, on the Canon side the 18-55mm IS for a general zoom(£70 used), 50mm f/1.8(£70 used) for shallow depth of field/focus portraits and the 55-250mm IS for a telephoto zoom(£110 used) are all pretty sharp lenses. There main weakenss would be the zooms having fairly slow appatures so makiing moving subjects in low light harder to capture and the build quality being fairly cheap, the front elements of the zooms rotate for example with makes a polariser or graduated filter harder to use.

The one area where there are no really cheap options is ultrawide lenses, the cheapest you'll find is probabley the Sigma 10-20mm for £300.
 
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Yup, the budget is a bit tight to get a DSLR system. Recently I got a Canon 40d and a 50mm prime lens for £320 from the classified section on this forum, and I still need a walkabout lens (e.g. 17-40 or similar) and a zoom (70-200 range) to complete my set. Don't forget memory cards too, although not that expensive they will add to budget.
 
When investing in a DSLR system it is more about the Glass than anything as this is where you will end up spending most of your money.... Remember once you invest in a DSLR system bodies change but as long as you stay with that brand then the Glass can stay with you.... Go try some different systems..... BUT if you feel this is a hobby/passion/career that will grow I would look at either Canon or Nikon. With your budget I would go secondhand to get a foot in the door.....
 
I picked up a canon 1100d wit 18-55 kit lens (Refurbished but looks mint) for well within your budget on eBay.
 
sony have some good features to help newbies and in body lens stabilisation helps :)

I've got an a33 having sold my canon 1100d and i find it much easier to get decent shots
 
£200 is fine for a DSLR, you just need to get an older one and a decent range kit lens. The quality you will get from it will exceed a compact and give you all the functionality you need.
People get too hung up on needing 5 lenses and the latest camera but then it is a photography forum I suppose :)
 
For that budget you could pick up a second hand Canon 500D and a fairly decent kit lens. Or go for the 40D as some people have suggested, though that will be a bit older so you will need to make sure it is good knick.
 
For that money I'd have thought you could pick up a Nikon D70 and a 18-105 VR lens. Not new kit but still decent enough and a step-up from a compact.
As an architecture student you will probably want a wide-angle lens at some point. A Nikon body with a in-body lens motor will allow you to get the much-admired Tokina 11-16.
 
I think for someone starting out from scratch with digital photography the Nikon 3100 with 18-55vr kit lens is probably a good bet if you can if you can find an extra £65.

These are pretty compact and not much bigger than a Leica rangefinder - anything much smaller is going to get a bit fiddly to hold and use. It also has an optical viewfinder so much better than having to rely on an LCD or "electronic" viewfinder only like many compact cameras have.
 
Architecture – in the long term, you may be wanting fairly specialised lenses (eg tilt-shift). Don’t invest much in one manufacturer’s DSLR system at this stage.

Consider buying a cheap secondhand bridge camera, one that gives the option of full manual exposure control and has a viewfinder in addition to the LCD. It certainly won’t be as nice as a DSLR, but if you take lots of photos at different settings you will quickly learn about exposure and composition, and find out what focal lengths you actually need. Then you will be in a much better position to make the right choice of equipment if you do decide to go down the DSLR route.

Don’t rack up the student loan buying a system that might be obsolete by the time you are qualified and earning a decent salary.

An expert with a DSLR and a sack full of lenses will get much better results than a beginner with a bridge camera. But if they swapped cameras, the expert would probably still get the better results.
 
As a matter of interest, no one has suggested a 1000d, I started with, and still have this camera. Okay, I only bought a dslr for product photography and this was the newest and cheapest at the time and came with a non is kit lens. Stuck on a tripod and used only for product it has been as good as I ever wanted a camera to be, my results are brilliant and I am widely know as a genius. I obviously started to shoot kids and family etc and got a nifty fifty which I hardly use now as I think a shallow depth of field looks ***** no matter what way you look at it (just my opinion) and would never have bought the thing for that feature. I then got an is version of the kit lens off this forum, not a scrap of difference from my original kit lens and therefore hardly used since, *** my old kit lens is sharper.

For me, Dslr cameras, all Photoshop products, lighting and particularly lencarta threads, digital imagery in general are a complete nerd fest inhabited and fertilized by nobs and wallies.

My advice would be to get a good camera phone then spend all your other money on beer, sex, cars, fishing, golf, and buying hand made tiles.

If you would like a 1000d, I shall be selling mine soon(y) comes with a Goiter pod, underwater brolly mount, L series Bra, Flying helmet with (mint) ND condom tweasers, strapless lowpro, high viz birding bivouac and spare diesel can.

Will post pics as soon as it's out the dishwasher if your interested;).

Don't forget...photography need not be confusing if you do something else instead(y)


England 3 Italy 2.:p
 
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