BEST budget dlsr

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waynaldo

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Hi guys

Im looking for a budget dlsrthat will have good features,
and that will have many lens so i can slowly build up my kit.
Im not an expert so dont want pay too much for a camera
at this moment. i currently have the fuji-film hs28exr bridge.
just want to try improve my photography.
Im interested in street, trick, portrait and landscape
photography but im no good at it at the moment,


Thanks Guys
 
are you happy to buy second hand ? and also what is your budget ? (welcome to TP btw)
 
Best advice I can give is to get yourself to a camera shop and have a feel of the budget end of the Canon and Nikon ranges. Particularly if you have friends or relatives you can occasionally borrow lenses from.

What's your budget and are you prepared to have second hand kit? There's some absolute bargains to be had at the moment that will let you bypass the entry level DSLRs if you don't mind used gear (I'm thinking Canon 60D here specifically).
 
Hi Guys

thanks for the quick reply's

Yes i dont mind second hand kit as its a hobby
i would like to get more into so second hand or new.
my budget is cheap as possible but i would say no more than £400
for a camera and len


thanks guys
 
I bought myself a 2nd hand Canon 100d £130 with kit lens, then a Sigma 70-300 for £100 (amazon new), love it best thing I ever did, what I will say though is I wish I had also kept my old bridge (FZ45), I miss the focal length and I miss having a camera just about small enough to go in my pocket, depends what you shoot really?

HS series are really good.
 
waynaldo said:
Hi Guys

thanks for the quick reply's

Yes i dont mind second hand kit as its a hobby
i would like to get more into so second hand or new.
my budget is cheap as possible but i would say no more than £400
for a camera and len


thanks guys
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Have a look at second hand 550d's. You could get one with a couple of budget lenses in your price bracket and it is a hell of a camera.
 
supersammy said:
Have a look at second hand 550d's. You could get one with a couple of budget lenses in your price bracket and it is a hell of a camera.
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Thanks mate.. I will have a look now..do they make
Some good lenses for this camera.
 
waynaldo said:
Thanks mate.. I will have a look now..do they make
Some good lenses for this camera.
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Any canon ef or efs lens will work on that camera. Basically any lens built since the 80s. It's a great camera for the price and nothing will beat it at that price point.
 
or a second hand 40D or 50D - your budget would get you a 50D and a kit lens and the xxD series is much superior to the xxxD

have a look at mpb photographic (advert link at the top of the forum usually)
 
" Best advice I can give is to get yourself to a camera shop and have a feel of the budget end of the Canon and Nikon ranges. "

Be aware that the majority of people giving you advice are probably biased. If Joe (or Josie) own a canikon they are likely gonna tell you to get one.

Truth is if you include Sony & Pentax and m4/3rds cameras from Panasonic & Olympus you are going to find excellent cameras across all ranges. Don't think you have to go with the majority and buy Canikon to be a 'proper photographer' You, the photographer are the weakest/strongest link in the photographic chain and it is your skills that will determine the quality of your output, not a particular make of camera.


badly
 
That's true - but if you go second hand in particular you'll find a far greater choice of Nikon and canon, and a far greater choice of third party lenses. (also the reason I recommended canon isn't because i'm a fan boy - its because that's what I've got experience of - one of my pet hates is people on forums who give advice based soley on what they've read rather than personal experience)
 
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supersammy said:
So wrong. Are you saying a 5d mk 1 is a better camera than a 6d?

I know I'm being pedantic, but I'm still learning a lot and stuff like this causes a lot of grief for people like me.
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Less numbers, not a lower number. Read the post.

5D and 6D are both single number Canon model designations and ranked higher in the Canon hierarchy than double digit model numbers like the 40D and 70D.


Incidentally, the 40D and 5D would both come within the OPs budget. Although without a lens (or perhaps the 50mm 1.8 as something to start with). Give serious consideration to both of these models, despite their age.
 
If you want a real budget camera, then I'd go for a Sony. They're not as popular as the big two (Canon & Nikon) and so don't command such high price tags. There's still plenty of lenses available for the Sony's (admittedly not as many as canon or nikon) but there is the added advantage of the older Minolta range that will fit, and can be picked up for peanuts!
 
Thanks guys I will keep doing a little research
As looking for a camera that has many lens
options for future use..

thanks
 
On the used front, you could consider a Nikon D90. As it's not an entry-level model, it has the full compliment of goodies missing from the low-end Nikons, such as two control wheels rather than just one (handy in wildlife photography, for nimbly hopping around with shutter speed and aperture), a flash commander, and an internal focus motor (so old lenses lacking their own AF motors can still be used).

Despite being a couple years old now, its sensor remains surprisingly competitive - its good low light performance was an attribute that attracted me originally, and I remained very pleased with it until recently moving to a D7100.

Ultimately, I wouldn't sweat it too much. =:) Any camera from the last few years will be able to take excellent shots - and the less you spend on the body, the more you'll have left over for lenses, which you'll likely be able to carry on using for years on end. After a couple years, you might feel like moving to another model, by which time you'll have a much better feel for just what specific characteristics you might want of a new camera - low light performance, continuous shooting rate, dynamic range, video quality, or whatever seems most useful to what you've found yourself engaged by photographically. It's what you do with the camera and lenses that matters most, after all, even if the technology can assist.
 
Just a quick note on the 'Available lenses' mentions you'll get.

The biggest selection will be with Canon or Nikon, however, there are still over 100 different lenses in current production for the Sony mount (Sony are #3 behind Canon & Nikon in market share) - how may lenses do you need?

What you will find with Canon or Nikon is a much greater chance that if you have a camera store in reasonable distance from you, then it will stock several different lenses, and be happy to order anything they don't have - the sad fact for those of us using the 'minority' brands is we have to rely on the internet more.

The one area where Canon & Nikon do have a significant advantage in terms of lens availability is the long telephoto lenses - 400mm+, but these are lenses that cost several thousand each, so not having them in the range is not an issue for most photographers.
 
Faldrax said:
The one area where Canon & Nikon do have a significant advantage in terms of lens availability is the long telephoto lenses - 400mm+,.
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if you do want one - arguably the best budget option is the sigma 150-500 OS , which is about 700 quid new , which is available in canon, Nikon, sony , and pentax mounts
 
My best advice is: don't buy new (the last model) except if you find a very very very good offer.

The manufacturers launch new models to maintain people addicted to the technological race, but at the end, usually there is not really important improvements between one model and the next. See for yourself, for example, the differences between a Canon 450D and a Canon 650D (here we are jumping over the 550D), compare the technical specifications and then the prices.

Another advice: there are other options than Canon or Nikon, brands like Pentax and Olympus have very good DSLRs too. Keep your mind open and informed, don't let yourself be mislead by people who follow one brand only for fanatism.

:)
 
big soft moose said:
if you do want one - arguably the best budget option is the sigma 150-500 OS , which is about 700 quid new , which is available in canon, Nikon, sony , and pentax mounts
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Sorry, should have clarified - I was talking about the long primes.

Sony do have their 500 f/4 - which is good, but you've got to be very dedicated, or very rich (or both) to buy one.

Canon & Nikon both have several long primes in their ranges (again, these are all fairly expensive).

The big Sigma xx-500 zooms are the only way to get 500mm on a 'budget', unless you get hold of a s/h Sony / Minolta 500 f/8 mirror lens - which was unique in that it allowed AF on such a lens, though the way it sometimes rendered OOF 'doughnuts' made it something of a 'Marmite' lens (it also needed good light, being f/8)
 
If you're into street photography then I'd urge you to look at the Micro 4/3 system. Cameras are smaller and much more discrete, I personally use an old Panny G1 with all the white writing blacked out with marker pen for the "I'm not carrying an expensive camera" look. Wasn't expensive either, £110 on ebay with a 14-42mm kit lens.
 
There is also a Tamron 200-500 for Spny and reportably as sharp or sharper than the sony G 70-400. Downside is screw drive focusing.
 
A mate of mine recently picked up a Sony A200 with an 18-70 kit lens, 1 battery and a couple of 4Gb CF cards for £40. There wasn't a charger though so I found him a charger and extra battery for £13 off ebay and he's well away now. Snapping to his hearts content while deciding what sort of photography he wants to concentrate on. He's been impressed with my macro and wildlife shots so he's thinking of getting a couple of more lenses when he can afford them, but with a budget of £400 he'd of got the lot by now.
 
If you've got a CEX locally, they've often got a few budget or older mid-range DSLRs and their pricing is sometimes very keen.
 
Alastair said:
If you've got a CEX locally, they've often got a few budget or older mid-range DSLRs and their pricing is sometimes very keen.
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Yep, couldn't agree more! I just picked up a Sony A200 body, charger, batteries & card for £70 from there. Although I think that was probably priced wrong as they also had a Sony A100 body for £95. Go figure:D

EDIT: Forgot to say, it also comes with a years warranty!
 
I was in the same situation as you. Got a Sony a200 as it was the only camera under £200 second hand that had 10mp at that time. there's absolutely no reason to think you'll have a hard time finding lenses. there may be fewer second hand around but there's less audience as well so that kind of balances it out. Also it is highly unlikely you will ever need a lens that sony doesn't have.

If you go for a sony I would recommend something like a used a500/550/580 or a57 for your budget. They are newer bodies than the 200, very good low light performance so would keep you going for quite some time before you need an upgrade
 
I bought a second hand Fuji pro dslr of fleebay. great camera, better than nikon or canon counterparts for portrait, great colors. not fast though, canon is a better option for sports
 
Thanks for all your help.
Will have a look at sone cameras
That have been suggested and see
What I can get for my money.

Thanks
 
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