Would like some help

[Auzelia]

please picking a DSLR.

I am about to start a photography NC course with digital imaging and for this I need a 35mm SLR camera, I have a Pentax MZ50 to use for the dark room techniques and I am looking to buy a DSLR.

I dont mind ebay/second hand as I only really have a budget of £250 to begin with to see how I get on with it.

I have looked on ebay and have come across the Nikon D50 and D70.

A few people I talk to online (can you tell im not new to this forum stuff ) use the D40 and canon 450/400 .

I have read somewhere that Nikon doesnt have the option to just look at the LCD screen when taking pictures unlike the Canon, does that really make much difference NOT having that feature.

Thanks for any replies.

(oh and im still not sure what the abbreviated terms are in the photo forum so please tell me what you mean when you put just a couple of letters )

 

[tbm]

A few pointers as I don't have the time or knowledge to go through the pros and cons of each body..

Decide what features are important to you and compare reviews of the cameras to see which does what best. You mention looking at the LCD when taking photos (I think you're referring to live view) while this can be useful for macro and other things, if you don't need it then don't let its absence worry you.

Personally I'd be looking at facets such as image quality, esp. at high ISOs (don't worry about resolution, anything over 6-8 megapixies should be fine unless you want to crop heavily or print huge images), quality of user interface, A/F accuracy, avalable metering modes, range and cost of lenses avalable. Something else to watch out for with the cheaper Nikons is their A/F compatability with certain lenses..

dpreview has some excellent reviews of all the kit you should be looking at.

It's always worth having a play with potential purchases (in shops, through friends) there's only so much a review can tell you. For example, some people don't get on with the entry level Canons as their grips are pretty tiny.

Do you have a lot of glass for you MZ50? Do you want it to be compatable with your dslr? If so it's worth looking at Pentax's offerings.

When I bought my first dslr the Canon 350D was a fairly easy choice as it's image quality was notably better than anything from the competitors, and while I already had a 35mm MZ7, the lenses I had wern't good / expensive enough to justify sticking with Pentax.

If buying second hand it's also worth checking the amount of shutter actuations the camera has had (the lower the better). If the owner can't tell you or isn't trustworthy, there are programs that claim to extract this information from various image formats.

It's also worth flipping the mirror and manually inspecting the sensor and mirror assys, and also stop the lens right down (f/22 or thereabouts) and take a picture of something featureless like a white wall or the sky. Check the image for marks; dark blobs are most likely just dust, lines are potentially scratches so walk away.

There's a lot of choice and things have moved on since I was in the market, so it's well worth doing your homework

 

[Auzelia]

I only have one lens for the Pentax, the pentax is really only to get some film for the developing side of the course.

I will have a pop in some shops in town and get a feel of some of the equipment.