Advice for buying 2nd hand- budget €350 approx

dinneenp

Hi,
I'm a novice photographer, take photos with a Sony Cybershot or Sony Ericsson K810i. Recently I borrowed a Canon EOS 300D from a friend and now want to buy a digital SLR myself so can play around with apeture, focus etc.

I'm looking at 2nd hand cameras, budget max €350 approx. I'd like an easy to use camera....

Sunday Times Bench Test have a good article here, 2 of the cameras here could be in budget range- Pentax K-M and Canon EOS 1000D

I've looked at Adverts.ie and Ebay etc so far. Adverts seems to be cheaper than Ebay.
Ideally I'd like a camera with standard lens and a good zoom but am willing to buy the zoom later if budget restraints demand so.

1. Anyone recommend a camera to me and why?
2. Any recommended sites for buying 2nd hand cameras.
3. Any other advice?

I'm living in Galway but would travel to meet, view, buy camera. I konw I'd have to check it out, play with it before buying.
Here's a sample of some of my
Flickr favourite set to give you an idea of my 'skills'.


Here are some that I've been looking at (online, will go into a store this weekend)-Sony Alpha DSLR-A100, Canon EOS 1000D(stuff best cam), Pentax K-M, Nikon D60(expensive?), Olympus E-410(easy to use), Canon Powershot S3 IS

---

Update-
Now I'm 1/2 thinknig of getting a good bridge camera instead- something like Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, Canon PowerShot SX10 IS or Casio Exilim Pro EX-FH20. Cheaper, smaller etc. Going to call into a store and play with both types...





Cheers,
Pa.

njburke

Hi Pa,
I was in the same postion earlier this year, after years of using point and shoots a friend loaned me his DSLR for a couple of hours on holiday. I did a bit of a root around on the web and eventually purchased an older but immaculate Nikon D70.

Most folks here would advise you to stick either Nikon or Canon, mainly as theres a large market in secondhand lenses and other accessories, a camera such as a D50,D70 or D80 has an inbody focus motor which means you can utilise older lenses (those without a focusing motor in the lens).

Keep an eye on adverts.ie.
NJ

Covey

Canon 1000D is my recommendation.

For the price it's very hard to beat. Played around with one for a while lately and compares very well with my 40D, which is much more expensive.

dinneenp

NJ Burke-
Would you be happy with your DSLR instead of a 'bridge' camera, something like Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, Casio Exilim Pro EX-FH20 etc.

Some people have said to me that the aboves have great features, zooms etc. at lower costs and size.

I've got a lot of info to chew on- going to call into a store and play with some DSLRS and bridge cameras.

conor_mc

Bought a Canon 1000D in Jessops in Newry a couple of weeks back (before the rush!!)

£330 = €380, £20 Jessops voucher included and £30 cashback from Canon yet to come.

That's a brand spanking new DSLR for pretty close to your €350 budget.

EDIT - see they're down to £323 now, so that's another €10 off!

Sleepy

You might well find a Canon 400D for under your budget second hand and while it's been replaced by the 450D recently, it's still a very good beginner dSLR.

njburke

Hi Pa.
You seem to be going through the agony of choice.
I've used a bridge camera before ,a fuji S5700 but they seem too much of a compromise, smaller than a DSLR but still not small enough to fit in a shirt pocket.
If you suspect that you'll develop anything more than a passing interest in photography, then a DSLR is the way to go.


NJ

silverside

for peace of mind just get a 1000d as mentioned above , can always upgrade to 40d in the future if you really feel the need.

WexfordMusings

Hi Pa,

If you havnt made up your mind yet, think about a bridge camera. Spend lots less money and still enjoy yourself. i have a Fuji S9600 and its fab. i got it a year ago and am really getting into manual modes now. For more info on Bridge Cameras check out my previous post - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055142074&highlight=wexfordmusings.

You should easily get one now for about €300 leaving you money to get extra memory and would defo recommend getting some good rechargable batteries. i picked up a fast charger and set of batteries ( 4 x 2500 mah) for €30 last week that will fully recharge in the car in an hour or so, so as your driving from one place to the next recharge your batteries!

J

dinneenp

thanks for the advice!
Mind made up-I'm going with the Canon SX10 is. Bought it today from camerabox.co.uk for £220 (with £30 cash back), great value-pixmania charge about 340 and €429 in bricks and mortar store in town!