Where and what?

arleitiss

Hey, I know I posted about DSLR few days ago that came with 3 lenses and stuff but is used, so I kind of had thought and decided to buy brand new DSLR, I mean it's something I want to be perfect working.

My budget is around 500 euro only, any suggestions where and what camera to buy? Previously I had only Olympus E-450 it was an okay camera, not a wonder of the world but still okay.
I need camera that can have interchangeable lenses (not those crappy cameras with fixed lens). Suggestions? Obviously has to have Manual mode and preferably which has wide variety of lenses on market.

Splinters

At that budget your options are either get something reasonable (at best) brand new or get something very good second hand.

That kind of budget would get you a second hand Canon 550D no problem. Actually I just checked Conns there and even the lowest end Canon DSLR they have is €479 (with a lens, and not a very good one either)

You really would be better off increasing your budget slightly or else go second hand.

arleitiss

Splinters wrote: »

At that budget your options are either get something reasonable (at best) brand new or get something very good second hand.

That kind of budget would get you a second hand Canon 550D no problem. Actually I just checked Conns there and even the lowest end Canon DSLR they have is €479 (with a lens, and not a very good one either)

You really would be better off increasing your budget slightly or else go second hand.

How reliable are second hand? I mean if something breaks down can it be fixed at some service?

pixbyjohn

arleitiss wrote: »

How reliable are second hand? I mean if something breaks down can it be fixed at some service?

Being realistic, I have some DSLRs that I bought new, 1 in 2007 and more later and they are all working perfectly. So really secondhand cameras do work perfectly 99.999% of the time.
Most users on Boards are using "used" cameras which are similar to secondhand and are working fine.
And yes they can be fixed usually if something goes wrong.

amdgilmore

Most photographers take pretty good care of their cameras. More often than not their old gear funds their new gear, so it's in their interests to keep it looking and working like new.

I wouldn't be too worried about buying second hand.

There's two things you need to be on the lookout for though:

First is the shutter count. Entry-level DSLRs are rated for about 100,000 actuations. The shutter will (probably) fail somewhere in or around that number and replacing it could cost a couple of hundred euro.

Anything under 20,000 is a good purchase. And if it's in or around the 30-40,000 mark you could still buy but use the shutter count as an excuse to haggle the price down.

The other thing to look out for is fungus or scratches on the lenses. Scratches will be easy enough to see, but fungus can be almost unnoticeable. You'll need to hold the lens up to a light and look through the reverse side of it (and angle it around a bit). A fungus spot will look like a tiny spider-web or snowflake pattern on the glass.

At your budget you should be able to pick up a something like a 450D with a couple of lenses (maybe even a 500, if you're lucky).

Do you know anybody who knows about cameras? You could bring them with you to inspect it before you buy.

amdgilmore

Doing the hard work so you don't have to:

http://www.adverts.ie/digital-cameras/canon-550d-body-with-50mm-f1-8/1929730

That's a decent deal, and it's right on your budget. The 550D is a great camera, and the 50 1.8 is the lens every beginner loves. Price says 500 but in the description he says he'll take 450 ono EDIT: 450 is for the camera only, but offer 450 for the lot and see if he takes it.

Less than 2500 shutter clicks.

arleitiss

I know bit about cameras, well I know how to use Manual mode, exposure, aperture and timing which sadly these days teens and kids dont know and use only auto mode but well yeah I thought that average camera sensor lifespan is around 20'000?

As said above it could cost few hundread to fix, woudl; it not be easier to just buy new body of same model? I mean isn't the lense the 90% of cameras cost?

amdgilmore

arleitiss wrote: »

I know bit about cameras, well I know how to use Manual mode, exposure, aperture and timing which sadly these days teens and kids dont know and use only auto mode but well yeah I thought that average camera sensor lifespan is around 20'000?

Nope, 100k. The ad I posted above is at less than 2500 shutter clicks. I've had my 600D for 6 months and I'm only at 9k (and I use it almost every day).

I mean isn't the lense the 90% of cameras cost?

Deoends on the lens and the camera, really! The professional grade lenses cost upwards of €1500 in many cases. But you can get good quality lenses like the 50mm 1.8 for about 100 euro.

Tokyo

arleitiss wrote: »

I know bit about cameras, well I know how to use Manual mode, exposure, aperture and timing which sadly these days teens and kids dont know and use only auto mode but well yeah I thought that average camera sensor lifespan is around 20'000?

Not in the days of digital, where unlike film, you can point the camera at your subject, and rattle off five or ten shots of the subject without any extra cost. I take a lot of HDR photography for example, which means that I can often take nine shots of the same subject to generate one image.

According to info released by Canon, the shutter life expectancy of the 550D is 100,000 clicks, and quite often they can far exceed this.

As said above it could cost few hundread to fix, woudl; it not be easier to just buy new body of same model? I mean isn't the lense the 90% of cameras cost?

Not by a long shot. If you're going to stick at photography, even at amateur level, you'll soon find that glass will be your greatest expense. Unlike your camera body, which you WILL end up upgrading because you'll eventually want a higher pixel count/better camera/new toy to play with, the right selection of lenses will last you forever. I still take a lot of my landscape shots on a 20 year old prime lens, because I've found nothing since that can match its sharpness and depth of field.

[edit]Just saw amdgilmore's link. I'd consider something with less than 2500 shutter clicks on the clock as practically a new camera. Grab it while you can, if it fits your needs.

arleitiss

I was offered this:
Samsung GX-1s Camera Body : http://www.ephotozine.com/article/samsung-gx-1s-digital-slr-review-4331
Samsung D-Xenon 18-55mm Lens
Samsung D-Xenon 50-200mm Lens
Sigma APD DG 70-300mm Lens
Sigma EF-500 DG ST PTTL Flash with case, off-shoe stand and diffuser.
Delsey gopix Camera Bag.


55mm Circular Polarised Filter
ND Graduated Filter.



For 300 euro. Should I get it?

amdgilmore

Three lenses isn't bad, but they're not going to be great lenses, and the camera is nowhere near as good as the 550D.

Comparison chart here:

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon_EOS_550D-vs-Samsung_GX-1S


It's up to you, really. If you're very serious about your photography, and you're planning on investing a lot of time into it, then the 550D is the one to get at your budget. And then buy more lenses later.

But if you just want to get out and have fun taking photos, and have a couple of zooms and accessories to hand, then get the Samsung.

Purely on specs and available lenses, the 550D is in a different league. But, you know, I don't know you or what your needs are. You might be happier just having a DSLR and a bunch of lenses that cover the whole zoom range... or you may get it and find that all you've done is prolong an upgrade to a better camera.

Unfortunately, photography is one area where that saying 'you get what you pay for' tends to hold true.

arleitiss

amdgilmore wrote: »

Three lenses isn't bad, but they're not going to be great lenses, and the camera is nowhere near as good as the 550D.

Comparison chart here:

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon_EOS_550D-vs-Samsung_GX-1S


It's up to you, really. If you're very serious about your photography, and you're planning on investing a lot of time into it, then the 550D is the one to get at your budget. And then buy more lenses later.

But if you just want to get out and have fun taking photos, and have a couple of zooms and accessories to hand, then get the Samsung.

Purely on specs and available lenses, the 550D is in a different league. But, you know, I don't know you or what your needs are. You might be happier just having a DSLR and a bunch of lenses that cover the whole zoom range... or you may get it and find that all you've done is prolong an upgrade to a better camera.

Unfortunately, photography is one area where that saying 'you get what you pay for' tends to hold true.

Well I can afford any camera really but not RIGHT now
I have job like but I would need to work 2 months without spending a single cent to buy decent camera brand new.

I enjoy taking pics even with mobile phone
I just like doing it, so i was thinking perhaps getting a cheap one with some accesories, seeing how they work, differences of lenses and so, then getting a proper one after I learn better.

amdgilmore

Well that's fair enough. It's better sometimes to just have all the gear you need.

But I'd still go with Canon instead of Samsung, because sooner or later you will want to upgrade, and when you do you'll probably get either a Nikon or a Canon - so it'll be good to have compatible lenses.

There's a few 350Ds and 400Ds (with lenses) going for the same price as the Samsung on Adverts.ie. They're both better cameras than the Samsung.

This is the one I'd go for if I were you:

http://www.adverts.ie/digital-cameras/canon-400d-digital-kit-18-55-lens-and-almost-unused-55-250-zoom/1930930

He says he'll take 350 for the whole lot. And the 55-250 lens is actually pretty good - one of the best budget lenses available. It has image stabilisation (which is very important with zoom lenses) and it's better than either of the zooms with the Samsung.

Offer him 325 and see if he bites.

Tokyo

A lot of it depends on where you want your photography to go, and how you want your skills to develop. One thing I wish that someone told me when I was starting out, was to invest in good glass, one piece at a time, rather than buying a range of cheapo lenses and being somewhat disappointed with the result. You don't have to jump straight in and buy a $3000+ full frame camera and all the trimmings, but set yourself a bar for starting off, and try not to compromise. If you don't, you'll be sitting on your hands waiting to sell your cheap kit for something better.

What exactly are you looking for in terms of photographic style? Are you looking for an all rounder, or are you more of a landscape person? Or portrait? You can do a LOT with a single prime lens a fixed focal length and a decent f-stop. Sure, you don't have the ability to zoom in on your subject, be it a person or a mountain range, but it forces you to move around the place, to get closer to your subject, to frame your photos better, to be more aware of your camera settings, and in short, make you a better photographer. This of course, is my own humble opinion, and others I'm sure will disagree. But I still use a twenty year old prime lens for most of my landscape shots, as I have yet to find a zoom lens that can beat it in terms of sharpness.

Something else you'll need to decide is what brand of camera you want, as that choice echoes into the future. Realistically, in terns of quality and lens choice, you're talking either Nikon or Canon, and the lenses you choose now more or less dictate where your future lies. I recommend going into a good old fashioned bricks and mortar camera store, holding a few of the different models in your hand, see what you like and don't like, and deciding from there which model you like, as both Canon and Nikon have pretty comparable cameras across the board in terms of features and cost.

In short, I guess my recommendation is fairly general. Whether you want an SLR for taking holiday snaps that you can learn on, or whether you want to improve your photography to a more professional level, my suggestion is the same - one GOOD lens, and a body to match. Learn how to use that lens forwards and backwards, and when you see the areas of your photography that your lens simply doesn't cover, use that as the criteria for your next lens purchase.