New camera, advice urgently needed!!!

bbeckford

bbeckford

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Name
Ben
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Hey guys, I've always been interested in photography but have always had rubbish cameras.
I'm now looking at getting a really decent camera, budget £500ish, but there are soooo many different models to choose from!! :bang:
Any help/advice you could give me would be great as I'm am really lost!

Thanks a lot :D
 
Best advice! Go to a camera shop, try out all the cameras in your budget range, see how they all feel in your hands, you'll half make your own decision. After that, it's narrowing the tech specs down!

Broadly you'll be looking for probably a Nikon, Canon, Pentax of Olympus. With regards to the models, I can only really tell you abouty Nikon, which will be probably the D40, D40x or maybe even the D80 (depending on where you look, refurbished/new etc) Hopefully someone will be able to tell you more about the other ranges in a bit......
 
You could get a 400d new by canon which is classed as a beginner DSLR, you may be able to get a 30d second hand or even new if your very lucky which is classed as an enthusiast DSLR. But like above, go with the camera that feel good to hold and navigate.
 
davidbridges said:
You could get a 400d new by canon which is classed as a beginner DSLR, you may be able to get a 30d second hand or even new if your very lucky which is classed as an enthusiast DSLR. But like above, go with the camera that feel good to hold and navigate.
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I took the above advice......and I still get picked on for not getting a nikon/canon [why do i type nikon/canon? and not Canon/nikon? :LOL:]
Anyway...I dont conform... :)
 
whoa thanks for the quick replies!! :)

Well it'll be for a range of things really. Mainly taking photos of sculptures/artwork, live bands and gigs, and friends/parties etc.

I've been looking at everything to be honest, not a specific make/range. I was just hoping that there was one of those breakthrough cameras that evryone's raving about within my pricerange so I had an easy choice :p

I just want to be able to take great quality photos without a huge amount of effort, and then have the customisation there if I want it, though that's probably what everyone wants right? :LOL:
 
Best advice to start with is for you to pay a visit to your local Jessops and have a play with a few to see which feels right. Then search the net for best prices;)

In your price range theres offerings from all the big names Canon (400D) Nikon (D40, D40X and D80) Olympus (E410 or E510) and a couple from Pentax....if you decide to go second hand you open up the field even further (Canon 10D,20D,30D ect)

Remember at this point you'll not only be buying a camera you'll be buying into a system so have a look at lens prices both new and second hand for whatever make you decide on. Both Canon and Nikon have a massive range of lenses to choose from plus loads from third parties like Sigma and Tamron with prices from pocket money (£50 for a 50mm 1.8) to "you want how much" (£5500 for a 600mm L series)
 
Ok so I'm probably looking at Canon and Nikon then, though they're all looking the same to me!!

What sort of technical details should I be looking for for a camera at my price range?
I build computers in my spare time so I'm not a complete tech-idiot, but I do need some things spelling out :confused:

What does DSLR mean??
 
Well it'll be for a range of things really. Mainly taking photos of sculptures/artwork, live bands and gigs, and friends/parties etc.
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Well from this the gigs and parties its not going to be a camera thats going to make the difference, yes it must have good range of ISO sensitivity but you want to be looking at some glass aswell. I would recomend a 'nifty fifty' a 50mm f1.8 which is good for low light conditions and costs about £50 so bear lenses in mind with your budget

Dave
 
Ok so is that just for low light?
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, nope you can use it whenever, its a fixed focal length meaning that there is no zoom on it. The lower the number after the F (which means aperture size) means how much light can get into the camera . So a bigger hole f1.8 is going to let more light in than a smaller hole of f5.6 which you will get on a standard lens that will come with your camera . Hope that helps

Dave
 
davidbridges said:
Well from this the gigs and parties its not going to be a camera thats going to make the difference, yes it must have good range of ISO sensitivity but you want to be looking at some glass aswell. I would recomend a 'nifty fifty' a 50mm f1.8 which is good for low light conditions and costs about £50 so bear lenses in mind with your budget

Dave
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Sound advice there. It also probbably narrows down the choice to a Canon 400D as (I think I'm right in saying) the more or less equivalent Nikon (D40) won't autofocus on a 50mm 1.8, whereas the Canon will.
 
If you go down the Canon 400D route theres some bargains to be had at the moment...£315 body only or £362 with kit lens both after cash back form Canon. This will leave you a nice bit of your £500 budget to get a 50mm 1.8, memory card, bag ect.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/?/photo/digicameras/canon.html
 
Yey! A narrow choice! That camera looks awesome!! :D

A few questions though.
How long does the battery last on this one roughly?
How many MBs is a 10.1 Mpixal high quality photo?
What is the RAW format?
Will this camera enable me to literally point at whatever and take a photo instantly and still be great quality? My current camera takes a few seconds to take a photo and it ends up looking rubish and blurry if I'm taking something moving.
 
How many MBs is a 10.1 Mpixal high quality photo? - depends what format you shoot in
What is the RAW format? - the most basic form of capture, the hardest to process (from a computer's POV), the highest quality and widest dynamic range
Will this camera enable me to literally point at whatever and take a photo instantly and still be great quality? - YEP
looking rubish and blurry if I'm taking something moving. - that's more of a technique issue rather than a camera one as such - you need to buy a decent 'starter' book on photography!
 
How many MBs is a 10.1 Mpixal high quality photo in different formats? lol
Any idea how long the battery will last? Is it worth buying an additional one?
 
To answer your questions in order

Battery life.....I get at least 400 non flash shots from a full charge, you can also get spare batteries for not a lot of money.

A 10.1mp image is about 4MB

A raw image is one where the camera gives you all the image information to edit instead of compressing it in the camera....each image can be 8-10MB but it gives you much more control over the editing....you'll learn to love RAW

Depending on lens the auto focus on the 400D is very fast and depending on shutter speed capturing a fast moving subject is no problem at all.
 
bbeckford said:
How many MBs is a 10.1 Mpixal high quality photo in different formats? lol
Any idea how long the battery will last? Is it worth buying an additional one?
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jpeg low - could be 1mb

jpeg middle - 2mb

jpeg fine - 4mb

raw - 14mb

tiff - 20mb

Just guessing based on my D2Xs' 12.4 mp, and Canon no doubt calls them something different anyway. But the next question has to be 'When to use what setting?'

Hence - BUY A BOOK

Battery life... probably a full day's shoot - 600+, so up to you if you need another battery

My Nikon will shoot about 3,000 on a charge - so again not sure of Canon here

Now BUY A BOOK :LOL:
 
Hehe ok will do. Well thanks a lot guys! You've sold me! Hopefully getting this one for xmas then ;)

Thanks for the help,
-Ben
 
Just make sure you come back and show us some of your photos when you do;)
 
There is a question Ben hasn't asked and I would also be interested in the answer. Will a cheap memory card work alright with the canon 400D or should a high speed (high priced) card be used?
 
Thanks for your help anyone, I couldn't wait any longer so I went out and got it yesterday :D Its soooooo cool! Looking forward to taking some good photos!
 
Oh just seen page 2! I went with a hi-speed 4GB CF card, which has been nice and quick so far. I got the camera + 18-55mm lens, UV filter, 4GB ULTRA card, decent bag and Jessops 3 year new for old warrenty for £508, which I was very happy with.

Just learning it all now! The most advanced thing my old camera had was black&white mode :p
 
bbeckford said:
Oh just seen page 2! I went with a hi-speed 4GB CF card, which has been nice and quick so far. I got the camera + 18-55mm lens, UV filter, 4GB ULTRA card, decent bag and Jessops 3 year new for old warrenty for £508, which I was very happy with.

Just learning it all now! The most advanced thing my old camera had was black&white mode :p
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I'm feeling very sad for you now, buying it yourself so close to Christmas suggests you don't believe in Santa? :shake::shake::shake:



On the other hand, congrats - my query & tip... if you aren't totally certain of when to use what aperture & shutter speed combination, or when you can/can't get away with positioning something smack in the middle of the shot - go buy a basic 'How to' book and read it carefully. This will save you hours of frustration and wasted opportunities where you try to learn simply by your results

Just imagine buying a car and setting off without reading the Highway Code or having driving lessons - you may get there in the end, but it's a damn site harder

Good luck (y)(y)(y)

DD
 
I got a canon 400D, 18-55 IS lens, second battery (energiser), 2GB sandisk extreme 3 CF card, and a cheapy tamrac tek bag that is camera shaped for the £500 budget from my local london camera exchange, at a camera/photography show. And then theres the £50 cashback from canon.

I was choosing between Nikon D40(x) and Canon 400D, and the lens availablity for the Nikon is what pushed me to Canon.
 
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