buying a DSLR: advice

440Hz

Hey there,

Sorry if there are loads of posts like this already but I had not found any recent ones.

I am really interested in photography, know a good bit about it, but would still see myself as just starting off. I have a couple of different cameras that I use for various things, but none of them are very good and Im now thinking of making a proper investment and buying a DSLR.

At the moment I use an old Olympus fully manual 35mm, a canon aps jobby and an µ[mju:]-mini DIGITAL.

I have been looking at the Canon 350D, but not sure where to start with picking lenses and stuff. All/any advice would be appreciated.

rymus

Probably the best way to go is to get the standard kit lens with the 350d (18-55mm) and then decide what way you want to go later on. It's a decent enough lens for the money and it'll help you understand what you want/need from a lens for your next purchase.

dubtom

Seeing as you have an olly you should have a look at the Olympus 500. I saw it for the first time yesterday in a mag and seems to be the same price as a 350D in the UK.I'm not sure if your lenses would fit but worth checking out anyway.
PS, I'm an Eos fan so this advice goes against my normal reccomendations, it just may save you a few quid. I don't know if the olly is any good.;)

rymus

on the flipside though... it would probably make more sense to stay with either of the big two, Canon or Nikon.

440Hz

dubtom wrote:

Seeing as you have an olly you should have a look at the Olympus 500. I saw it for the first time yesterday in a mag and seems to be the same price as a 350D in the UK.I'm not sure if your lenses would fit but worth checking out anyway.
PS, I'm an Eos fan so this advice goes against my normal reccomendations, it just may save you a few quid. I don't know if the olly is any good.;)

yeah I was thinking that myself. Its my dads camera that he doesnt use anymore and he has a couple of decent lenses for it. Dont know if they would fit, guess any clued in camera shop person might be able to tell me.

Cheers guys, from the reviews ive been reading I am really interested in the 350D. The guy next to me at work has one, its fantastic!

rabbitinlights

I was in the same position as yourself just before Xmas and Im sooo glad I went for the 350D, its better than I expected and is a great camera to learn on. Depending on you budget, you cant really go wrong with the kit lense for the money. what type of photography will you be using it for? would you be intrested in a longer zoom lense or a wider angle lense?

S.

DotOrg

use the kit lens until you realise what it lacks and then buy a lens that overcomes the limitations you've found with the standard lens

i'm an eos user for years and use the 350D and would hghly reccomend it

Paddy_McDonald

You can be sure that the lenses for a manual Olympus will NOT be compatible with a modern autofocus camera, film or digital.

I myself have just bought a Canon 350D and am absolutely delighted with it. I haven't used any other digital SLRs though.

The EF 90-300mm non-USM lens for €180-200 in the shops in town is a (relatively) cheap telezoom option

440Hz

Paddy_McDonald wrote:

You can be sure that the lenses for a manual Olympus will NOT be compatible with a modern autofocus camera, film or digital.

I myself have just bought a Canon 350D and am absolutely delighted with it. I haven't used any other digital SLRs though.

The EF 90-300mm non-USM lens for €180-200 in the shops in town is a (relatively) cheap telezoom option

Thanks for that info. Did you buy the kit lens with the 350D then, and the additional telezoom?

Also to everyone. Where are the best resources as regards purchasing? I have been looking at prices online for the 350D and they vary so much. Some sites its like 'pick a random number' game! Crazy, no consistency at all.

bullpost

I bought the Olympus E-300 (8 MP) with lens kit last April. Its brilliant and the quality of the bundled lens is better than the Canon equivalent (Don't take my word for it - check out some forums, such as www.dpreview.com).
Your old Olympus lens CAN work with the new digital cameras - check out http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/index.html.
If you've got good quality prime olympus lenses this is definitely worth considering.
The E-300 has been superseded by the E-500, the good news is it can be acquired for a really cheap price in the US.
Anyway good luck with your purchase

halenger

The E-500 seems to be pretty reasonably priced too...
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/163196/art/olympus/e-500-14-45mm-f-3-5-5-6.html

Remember with Olympus that's effectively 28-90mm (x2) as opposed to Nikons x1.5 and Canons x1.5.

rabbitinlights

440Hz wrote:

Also to everyone. Where are the best resources as regards purchasing?

I recommend:

www.ac-foto.com (postage is about €40-€50)
www.technikdirekt.de


Sean.

Paddy_McDonald

440Hz wrote:

Thanks for that info. Did you buy the kit lens with the 350D then, and the additional telezoom?

I bought the 17-85mm lens on eBay from shphoto-gmbh (also www.shphoto.de) and the 90-300mm lens in Gunne's on Wexford Street. I really like the IS on the 17-85, but couldn't justify buying a second €600 lens in 2 weeks

There's no visible pattern at all to pricing between companies. You need to check prices for every lens on every website, no one site is cheapest for all lenses. Also, some lenses are cheaper in Dublin than anywhere I found on the net - admittedly not very many :-D