Which used SLR ?

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Spy

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Hi All :wave:,

I am new here, having been pointed in this direction by some TalkPhotography forum members over on AVForums.

I would like to buy myself a digital SLR but would prefer to buy used in order to keep the cost down.

I already have a Canon 35mm film SLR that I bought many years ago and therefore have a couple of lenses I would like to use on the digital SLR (and therefore further reduce the cost).

So, essentially I am in the market for a used Canon digital SLR with a max budget of £200.

I was originally considering a 350D or 400D but a number of people have suggested the 20D (or 30D at a stretch) instead.

My questions are:
1) Which SLR would you recommend 350D/400D or 20D/30D, bearing in mind age and picture quality ?

2) What should I look for/ask about when buying a used SLR to ensure it will continue to take great photos and not break down in 6 months ?

3) Ignoring lenses, is there any equipment/accessories I should look for in a package deal that I will need eg grips, batteries etc and are worth paying a little extra for ?

Thanks :)
 
As for the choice between the 20D/30D and the 350D/400D, I would suggest that you try both sizes of body and chose the one that you feel most comfortable with. In real terms pay a visit to a shop and try the 50D and the 450D or 500D, then you will know which size of body is most comfortable for you.
 
Thanks. I have held both a 20D and a 300D in the past and know the differences between teh two. I can live with both in terms of size and weight and therefore want some advice on which is best from a technical perspective.

I realise taht the 20D was a better camera in 2004 but given it is now 5 years old, how would it compare to a 350D/400D that are slightly newer ?

Also, as mentioned in 2. what should I be looking for. Reading on here, it appears the life of the camera is measured in actuations - what is a reasonable number for each of these cameras and also, what is the potential life expectancy of each one ?

Thanks all in advance for your help and advice (y)
 
Sorry, just to confirm my understanding....

I assume that actuations is the same as number of photographs taken ?
 
Spy said:
Sorry, just to confirm my understanding....

I assume that actuations is the same as number of photographs taken ?
Click to expand...

Yes the number of times the shutter button has been pressed.

EDIT: If it was my choice and I was the one spending the money, I would push for a 30D.
 
also how old are your old 35mm lenses? They need to be EF mount to work on DSLR.
 
Of all the unlikely places to hands-on, try PC world. Their camera racks at my two locally have both a 50D and a 500D out for general demoing. With all the teenage foot traffic, you wouldn't ever want to buy them as ex-demo, but it's useful to hold them and get a feel.

No salesmen, no pressure. They also had a fair selection of Nikon, Sony and Olympus cameras.

Yes - check your lenses. if they're FD mount then you're not tied to Canon; FD mount won't fit EOS EF mount. Any EOS/EF lens from the last 20 years will, though.
 
The 350D and 20D contain similar internals but the 20D has a magnesium alloy body which is more robust than the plastic 350D body and has a few features that are disabled on the 350D

Personally I'd look for an xxD body over an xxxD body although your budget would mean either old or heavily used bodies.
 
andrewc said:
The 350D and 20D contain similar internals but the 20D has a magnesium alloy body which is more robust than the plastic 350D body and has a few features that are disabled on the 350D

Personally I'd look for an xxD body over an xxxD body although your budget would mean either old or heavily used bodies.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.

Do you think an older 20D is still a better buy than a newer 400D (assuming the 20D was in excellent condition) ?
 
30D is better than a 20D, although not by much; it's essentially an updated 20D with the same image quality.

400D is better than a 350D, but again not by much. You get 2 more megapixels and built-in sensor cleaning - which is very useful.

You can expect a 20D to be much better than a 350D in terms of autofocus and features, but image quality will not be vastly different. The 20D and 30D also have 5fps whereas the 350D/400D only have 3fps.

The difficult one to call is whether image quality will be better on a 20D or on a 400D. Again I wouldn't expect a big difference, but the 400D just might have the edge here because it's newer and may handle high ISO's better.
 
Thanks Maarten, some interesting food for thought there
 
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