£300-£400 - Best Entry Level SLR?

tattywelshie

tattywelshie

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Hi folks, not for me, but for my mate, he's getting into photography and wants an SLR for shooting pics of his kid growing up etc. He doesnt need a telephoto lens but wants HD video.

What do you guys rate as the best £300-£400 SLR with kit lens? Being a Canon man I was thinking it would be the EOS 700D with the 18-55 IS kit lens. However, I just want to sound out any other options that might be better for the money? He's not a brand slave so any brand is good :)
 
£3-400 and shooting video sounds like a job for mirrorless, potentially. Something like the Sony a5000 with kit lens maybe.

Although if there are no plans to expand a Sony RX100 II would do the job.
 
For entry level I don't think that you can beat Nikon tbh (D3200/D3300/D5200) as the sensors tend to be significantly better and so (in theory) should give better, cleaner images. Of course that's not the be all and end all, but it's a good foundation. E.G., the D3200 vs the 700D, the Nikon is significantly better in all areas.

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Usability is key though, some people prefer the layout of Nikon, some Canon etc. AS mentioned above, mirrorless tend to be good for video, and he should be able to pick up the A6000 with lens within budget (has the all important viewfinder compared with the A5000)
 
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Whichever fits him best as far as the actual fit and where the most used buttons fall under his fingers. If he'll be happy with 2nd hand, that's probably the way to go - he'll get much more for his £300-£400
 
Here is my usual advice go and try a couple out see if you like the feel, if it feels right then we are a long way to it being right. Make sure the buttons and menu system suits you and don't settle for I will get used to it.
 
As has been said, make sure he has a play with some to see what feels right for him. If your a Canon bid, let him have a play with yours and then pop to the shop re Nikon etc
 
Oh and don't forget, if you manage to get him on Canon, then you could pass on a lens to him if you upgraded or visa versa - also allows each of you to try the others lens if you fancy a new one if they have it.
 
pingu666 said:
he could get a a77 mk1 second hand too, worth considering
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Cracking camera, had one for a while.

OP, you've obviously had a fair bit of info thrown at you, but if I was to take one bit of advice away it's to get the camera that feels right. If there's no preference then get the one with the better sensor, i.e. Nikon. I personally prefer the layout of Nikon, the controls feel much more natural and Canon's feel completely wrong, especially the control dial/wheel on the back. BUT, this is probably because I started out with Sony and Nikon are closer to Sony than Canon are in this regard. It's also helped with my Olympus as the layout of the controls are also similar to Nikon/Sony. I actually think of the lot of them, the Sony A77 and A77-II I owned had the best overall layout of all the cameras I've owned.
 
The bit that concerns me with all the DSLR suggestions is the bit about filming the kid. It's really not all that practical.
 
ukaskew said:
The bit that concerns me with all the DSLR suggestions is the bit about filming the kid. It's really not all that practical.
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They're probably not the best, but not that bad. TBH though when I want to do that kind of filming I just use my iphone (although we don't have kids so it's filming the cat and dog ;))
 
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