Good beginner camera

JackieO

Ok, so trying to get into more serious photography after completing a photography evening class.

I have a pretty decent digital camera for general use but I'm now looking for some advice on buying a more serious camera that I can hopefully add to over time with accessories etc.

Any advice on where to begin, what to look for and how much I should be spending?

This as probably been asked 100 times before so apologies if it has!

If anyone has any suggestions of suitable camera's aswell that would be great.

Thanks

Duchovny

What is your budget?
You want one DSLR?

I would say 400D...

SemperFidelis

Depending on budget go with the canon 400D or 450D.

There's a good review here,
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-Rebel-XSi-450D-Digital-SLR-Camera-Review.aspx

The site also has reviews of the lenses and flashes etc that you can get with it, but for starting you should stick with the kit lens.

JackieO

I suppose I would want to spend in the region of €1k - but would be a little bit flexible. I really want to spend my money well in a way that will be a long term investment in a camera that can be improved with lots of accessories over time.

Arciphel

If you don't want to go with a Canon you can always opt for a Nikon D40, D40x or D60 also, depending on your budget. There's also Sony, Pentax and a few others worth considering.

:pac::pac:Shameless self promotion:pac::pac:, I have a D40x for sale at the moment if you are interested - http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=55817&cat=500

Thirdfox

JackieO - the digital age has brought alone a lot of waste and endless upgrading, looking at adverts.ie you can see a top of the line Nikon D1 (from a few years back) being sold for less than 8% of its original price. dSLRs are not investments anymore - you'll be upgrading after 4-5 years (or the camera will have broken before then and it will be cheaper to get the newest one than to repair the old one).

So with that in mind - buy for now, you can buy into a system though (Canon/Nikon/Olympus etc.) and the two biggest ones are Nikon and Canon. They'll still be around in 10 years time and your stockpile of lenses/accessories will still hopefully be compatible with whatever Dxx/xxxD camera they have.

I use a D40 (Nikon) myself - wholeheartedly recommend it.

Arciphel

Thanks God Thirdfox, i was wondering when the rest of the Nikon brigade was going to turn up to this thread ...

JackieO

ok, so the guy giving our photography class was basically a Canon fan as he pretty much recommended only buying a canon. Already have a sony and not particularly happy with it for reasons I can't really explain. Maybe its just the fact that its not particularly user friendly and I have a feeling I got pretty ripped off for it.

But anyway, the Nikkon one sounds good aswell. Mind me asking why you are selling it?

ThOnda

I have to second that opinion that also PENTAX has good, cheap and user friendly cameras. Not to mention excellent lenses :-)

Thirdfox

Arciphel wrote: »

Thanks God Thirdfox, i was wondering when the rest of the Nikon brigade was going to turn up to this thread ...

Well I wouldn't leave a fellow Nikonian high and dry surrounded by Canonite blasphemers

JackieO wrote: »

ok, so the guy giving our photography class was basically a Canon fan as he pretty much recommended only buying a canon. Already have a sony and not particularly happy with it for reasons I can't really explain. Maybe its just the fact that its not particularly user friendly and I have a feeling I got pretty ripped off for it.

But anyway, the Nikkon one sounds good aswell. Mind me asking why you are selling it?

You'll find that some people get a bit too into brands - kinda like PC/Mac/Linux etc. I would say that the budget dSLR department is the most competitive one right now as companies scramble for a market share - so any of the cheap and cheerful dSLRs will be great for now - just looking into the future you should pick a company that will give you the flexibility you may want.

But really anything listed below will probably meet your expectations (and in all likelihood exceed them):

Nikon: D40/40x/60/80 (you say you have a 1000 euro budget right? D80 is an advanced beginner camera)

Canon: 400D/450D/30D

Olympus: E420/E510/E520

Pentax: K200D(?)/K20D

Sony: A350/320(?)

snellers

would consider D200 viable as well considering the price many are going for now

Lionsden

JackieO wrote: »

ok, so the guy giving our photography class was basically a Canon fan as he pretty much recommended only buying a canon....

Hi JackieO,

I also did a photography class and got the same sort of response.:rolleyes: I later found out that it was 'cos he knew Canon and was comfortable showing us them.. didn't really know the Nikon and was afraid in case he looked foolish.

Anyway, I went with the Nikon D40 and highly recommend it!

Leo.

Arciphel

JackieO wrote: »

But anyway, the Nikkon one sounds good aswell. Mind me asking why you are selling it?

Jackie, I am selling it to feed my NAS, Nikon Acquisition Syndrome! You will soon know all about it! I am selling because I have moved up to a D300 and haven't been using it in the last few months so might as well pas it on and use the cash to buy some lenses & flashes.

Anouilh

JackieO wrote: »

I suppose I would want to spend in the region of €1k - but would be a little bit flexible. I really want to spend my money well in a way that will be a long term investment in a camera that can be improved with lots of accessories over time.

I bought the Canon D400 (Digital Rebel) with the Kit Lens (available, as far as I can see, only when you buy with the camera body). Having added a Sigma zoom lens, it was only a bit over your budget. (The Sigma came with a camera hood, an item I had thought a bit of a luxury up to that time, and a well made
lens bag).

A camera bag is the first accessory to buy, I think, so making a list of essentials should help.

My previous camera had a 58mm diameter lens, so I did not need to buy another set of filters.

Anouilh

The kit lens with the Canon eos 400d has got very poor reviews overall.

However, when I brought some sample work into a shop recently, the sales person was pleasantly surprised with some of the photos.

It's light and easy to use.

Thought a sample photo might help your choice. This was hand held and there was next to no light in the sky.




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