Digital SLR

MarkW

Member
 Solihull, UK
Want to get a new DSLR. Used to be into photography many years ago and had several 35mm SLRs. Of late have just made do with digital compacts.

Have been looking for ages, my budget is around £600 and after lots of Reading the favourite is the Canon EOS450D twin lens kit with the 18-55 and 55-250 lenses. I ideally would like two lenses within the price which the canon just about does.

Others considered are the Sony Alpha 350 with two lenses, and the pentax k20d with one lens. Would like a EOS40D but the body alone will eat up most of my budget. I like the look of the new Nikon D90 but it's too expensive too.

Things I like to photograph are wildlife, scenery, aircraft and general/holiday use. I'm more concerned with picture quality and adjustabilty over gimmicks etc

Anyone got any of the above and care to comment?
 
I have D200, D70 and D40 with 70-200, 18-200, 18-55, 14-24 lenses etc.

For your budget, I would get the D40, 18-200 and an SB-400 flash. Don't get the D40x and think you have better.

Read www.kenrockwell.com for a free inspired opinion.

It's all I take on holiday now.

Regards

Sceptre
 
im a complete dslr newbie - but i got a sony alpha 200 recently and i find it fantastic, easy to use, well worth its money. i will agree with some reviews that the body is a bit big, but i find i prefer it as its easier to hold. i got the kit lens plus a 75 - 200 zoom, covers most bases, may change to a more powerful zoom lens - when to oulton park with it and took some nice pics but found myself just too far away, but to be honest a bit of cropping in photoshop and it was fine, so until i can take better shots ill keep the cash in my pocket. up side to sony is the mount is konica/minolta compatible so older lenses will fit, which can be picked up cheaper or if you had some from an old camera.

i will say if your serious about photography the sony doesnt have the biggest range of available lenses, where as canon or nikon have much more out there / 3rd party compatibles, plus more owners selling / upgrading so more 2nd hand deals about.
 
I have the Canon 400D and I think it is excellent. If you are choosing lenses to go with the new camera (whatever it is) go for the image stabilised ones.
 
I have a Nikon D70 and a D80 with 18-70, 70-300, 50-500 lenses. I think you could probably find a D80 with a lens in your price range. I've been very satisfied with mine, but I do know that a comparably priced Canon is slightly faster at shots per second than my Nikon.
 
I have an old Canon EOS 10D the first DSLR that Canon put out a long long time ago. It is excellent. You can't go wrong with Canon. I am looking at upgrading myself to an EOS 50D or an EOS 5D. That said, I am sure there are others
excellent brands. Go to the dpreview.com web site to have a comparison of different brands. That site is good.
 
I've got the Canon 450d.

Brilliant camera, love it. I just bought it standard with the basic lens kit. My mrs got me a 70mm-300mm Sigma lens for xmas - its fantastic. Only thing its lacking is image stabilisation but I've not had too many problems.
 
If all you're ever going to get is just the camera body and a couple of lenses then all the major manufacturers put out a fine product. I think, however, that the real reason to get an SLR is the availability of a wide range of lenses for a wide range of purposes. Because of that I'd suggest you get a body from either of the Big Two (Canon/Nikon) that have the best lens selection. While both systems have their partisans they both produce great camera bodies at every level. That said, I think ergonomics is both important and personal, so you should try both the D40 and XSi(450D) and choose the one that just "feels best" in your hands.
 
I've got a Canon EOS, can't remeber which one but it's about 4 years old now, could be a 300, but what I liked was all my old 35mm EOS lenses etc just fit straight on, it's spec is looking a bit sad these days though only got 6 megapixels, that said it still takes a better pictures than I can.
 
Head for a photo store and try to spend some serious time playing around with both Nikon and Canon. Both cameras will produce excellent pictures but both also offer very different ergonomics. Make sure you get a handle on how each one does or doesn't fit what YOU want out of a camera. Lots of us here (and tons more in other forums) have one of these 2 and dearly love the one we got. That doesn't make that the one that will make you want to go shoot pictures with it so make sure you get the one you like and not the one each of us recommends.

Once you jump into the DLSR pool you will find that the lenses are actually the real investment - not the camera body. I have far more money in lenses than my camera body costs so I consider the camera body expendable once the next neat improvement comes to pass. On that level it is the case that I can't/won't ever jump ship over between Canon and Nikon because of what it would cost to replace the lenses.

For the record I shoot Canon and currently have a 5D Mk II with a 24-70mm f/2.8L and 100-400mm f/4-5.6L lens but I also know folks with Nikon setups who can match anything I can do with mine. The camera is not what makes a good photo - its the photographer.

In the end the only thing that counts is that you get a camera that makes you happy to go shoot more photos.
 
Thanks for all of your comments :)

After much research and some 'hands on' in the shops, I have finally bought a Nikon D90 with the 18-105 VR lens yesterday at a good price.

It instantly felt right in terms of handling, feel, size and weight and has a whole host of features. I'm hoping this will last me a long time as it is a better camera than I am a photographer.

Just sorting out memory cards, filters, spare battery and case now.

I need to spend some time familiarizing and learning the camera, and Reading the almost 300 page manual now.

Looking forward to taking some good pics of the z4mc soon!
 
MarkW, I'm not sure where you are in this world, but if you are in North America, I highly recommend Nikon School. They teach you a lot of ways to get the most out of your Nikon specific gtigtal SLR. I attended in February and learned a lot. Many hidden gems. :thumbsup:
 
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