Good camera for beginner

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pixelbug

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I have no idea what to look for when choosing a camera and was hoping for a bit of advice.

I'm not loyal to any particular brand, I lean more toward Nikon, but I think that's more just because they're the ones I usually see adverts for on TV more than anything else.

I think I can maybe go up to £700 at the very most, but nearer £500 - £600 would be better. Some of the ones I've looked at are the Canon 700D and the Nikon D5300. I'm going to need the camera to last me a good couple of years before I can think about upgrading.

Thank you!
 
handle them, sony and pentax make really nice dslr's too

sony has best feel to them, imo. pentax best if u got big hands
 
With out knowing more about your plans on what your going to use the camera for and where your planning to go with your photography its difficult to really say. But I don't think I would spend as much as you are looking at spending if its your first camera.

I would say the smart money would be on the Nikon D3300. Its not only a brilliant camera for the money but its genuinely a really good camera and at a great price. Its one of if not the best brand to buy in to if your looking to go pro as well. The D3300 also significantly outspecs the 700D with much better image quality, less shutter lag, longer battery life and much better low light performance.

I have become a bit of a Sony fan of late I would strongly recommend looking at there rage. I have seen ex display A57 selling for £250 of late. This again has many advantages over the 700D such as slightly better low light performance, much better image quality and a much quicker burst rate. I think for the money its probably one of the best buys out there.

If you did wish to spend as much as you originally mention you may even be able to get a Pentax k-5IIS. Its a semi pro body that is weather resistant and come with all the bells and whistles. Though even the cheaper K-30 and K-50 will both easily out perform the 700D with much better low light performance, much better image quality, much less lag and again faster burst rate. I wish I had gone with Pentax years ago as I really like there k-3.
 
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I went for Pentax, as the cameras feel nice in the hand, most are weather sealed and the k50 had 2 control wheels for aperture and shutter speed over other brands 1 wheel.

There not as good as nikon for action autofocus. But there's some good deals, and you can buy quality older lenses relativly cheaply.
 
If just buying some kit beyond a point and shoot now I'd go mirrorless as you get all of the image quality of a DSLR in a smaller form factor and some would argue that mirrorless is the future.

It's a crowded and complex market out there and there's lots of choice. Personally I'd go for either a Micro Four Thirds camera from Panasonic or Olympus or a Sony Alpha.

These might be helpful...

Mirrorless revolution...
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/cameras/the_mirrorless_revolution.shtml

Camera equipment of the year...
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/camera_of_the_year_2014.shtml

Ian Berry in Rome with a mirrorless camera...
 
The Fuji bodies are very nice, the kit lens with f2.8_f4 is very good, but other lenses seem very well built but a bit pricy for newbies.

Though you can get adaptors to use other lenses manually.
 
pixelbug said:
I have no idea what to look for when choosing a camera and was hoping for a bit of advice.

I'm not loyal to any particular brand, I lean more toward Nikon, but I think that's more just because they're the ones I usually see adverts for on TV more than anything else.

I think I can maybe go up to £700 at the very most, but nearer £500 - £600 would be better. Some of the ones I've looked at are the Canon 700D and the Nikon D5300. I'm going to need the camera to last me a good couple of years before I can think about upgrading.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Best advice I have had and given over the years is to go and try them out (as best you can) and see what you like the best. Which model's buttons feel the best for you, which make's menu system seems most intuitive to you, which has the better options you like, which feels best in your hands ... etc etc

It's very much a personal choice choosing a camera, and will tend to recommend their make ...

And enjoy the process, it's a lot of money to spend, so make it a pleasurable experience
 
Only thing I'll add is that I' would only advise the DSLR route if you are intending to purchase additional lenses for it in the future. If you're not then personally I'd go for a high quality smaller camera with a fixed lens, or at least one that came with a decent (wide aperture) kit lens.
 
Thank you for the advice everyone. I think I'll go into a camera shop and play around with the ones suggested and see what one feels best for me.
 
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