1st digital slr q?

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aerodynamic18

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guys lookin to get a digital SLR in the next couple of weeks. have had a look at the canon 450d and quite liked the look of it/feel. what would the nikon version be called? also been recommended to look at the sony alpha range. what else should i be looking at or anything else to consider? Thanks guys:)
 
Not too hot on the Nikon range, but I think you'd be looking at the D40 line..up to D90 now is it? Yep...I'm that out of touch with it :LOL: Anyway, the DXX line :)

Your best bet is to go to Jessops or somewhere and try them out (which it sounds like you have with the Canon?)
 
i went to black and lizars but they didnt have a huge range tbh. i want a camera that i can learn with and wont grow out of 2 quickly. i was told that with canon/nikon that i can use the lenses up the range except for profesional camera so if i want to change the body i dont have to buy more lenses
 
It seems as though you've started to consider it, and I'd advise you to invest some more time in researching the lenses that are available for each brand, comparing prices, functionality and results, to suit your needs. I think then you should look at the different bodies available, and then check future compatibility. Will the lenses you plan to buy work with other models? (Most often yes, but there are a few exceptions.)

What you DON'T want to do is to buy the camera, and then find that the lenses you want are either far too expensive, or just won't do what you want. You'll keep the lenses forever - it's the body you'll be upgrading.
 
see thats the problem im not sure what ill get into. at the min i want good standard shots with a good zoom when required and also the abilityto take fast shots. i guess in the future maybe portaits but not sure so which brand wouldbe better for functionality etc
 
aerodynamic, we have all been through this tough time of "first SLR" and i know its hard for you so lets get it sorted. first off it doesnt matter about brand, and if you going to buy every lens for you camera then lens choice doesnt matter either. i worked out that the average photographer has 3-4 lenses and so you dont need much choice apart from when you want to upgrade. currently the cheapest SLR's are the D40 and the A200 but many choose the a200 so the best thing to do is to try them out and see what you like. its best to also buy a twins lens kit because you'll be wasting you time with one lens and you would have been better off buying a bridge camera. hoped this helped.
 
its not the cheepness that im looking for ts a camera that will last a while before i need an upgrade. think it will be either nikon or cannon tbh but what is the nikon version of the cannon 450d
 
aerodynamic18 said:
i went to black and lizars but they didnt have a huge range tbh. i want a camera that i can learn with and wont grow out of 2 quickly. i was told that with canon/nikon that i can use the lenses up the range except for profesional camera so if i want to change the body i dont have to buy more lenses
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I'm not up to speed with how Nikon lenses work, but any Canon lens with the EF mount will fit any Canon EOS body made since 1987, whether it's a professional grade camera or not.
 
thats a very good thing to know but i was told that the canon lenses wouldnt fit the profesional ones but if thats wrong thats good and exactly what im looking for. does the 450d have the EF mount?
 
found out it does :D Compatible with EF/EF-S lenses and EX Speedlites
 
i was told *** that nikon had more features than canon but on searching this is false is that right?
 
I'm really not up to speed with the ins and outs of Nikons range to be honest. I started with a Canon film SLR a few years back and have moved to their digial bodies so I didn't have to buy a new set of lenses. But yes a 450D will take all EF lenses, and also the EF-S lenses made for crop-sensor bodies.
 
is the 40d you have more the profesional range than the 450d that im looking at?
 
aerodynamic18 said:
what is the nikon version of the cannon 450d
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I just got my first d-slr a few weeks ago. My dad has the Canon 450D so I tried that out, but I went with a Nikon (the D90) in the end. Nikon have the D60, which is a good entry level d-slr but I'd say is slightly below the Canon 450D, and then the next Nikon up is the D90, with movie mode (which I really wanted) but is quite a bit more expensive than Canon 450D.

However, you might also want to look at the brand new Nikon D5000 just out (as I think this has quite alot of the features of the D90 but is aimed as the next one up from the D60) plus Canon also have a brand new 500D model out. If you are interested in video mode then the Nikon D5000, D90 and the Canon 500D all have it.

Like everyone else says though, the best thing is to go feel what they are like in a shop. Personally I much prefered the ergonomics and feel of Nikon, and I much prefer something abit bigger like the D90, to the smaller D60. But that's all personal preference. When I went into Jessops the sales guy was also super keen on the Sony alpha 300... though being exclusive to Jessops I'm not surprised! There's also a widely available alpha 350 but I don't know much about those.

Good luck!
 
aerodynamic18 said:
is the 40d you have more the profesional range than the 450d that im looking at?
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The 40D is a mid-level body, so yes it is higher up the Canon range than a 450D, even though its pixel count is lower. If you can afford a 40D over a 450D I'd strongly advise you to buy the better body. You'll only want to upgrade in a few months as your skills grow.

I started with a DSLR in March 2008, with a 400D body and a cheap Canon 70-300mm zoom lens. By the end of the year I'd spent an additional £1000 upgrading to a 40D body, and buying a Sigma 120-400mm zoom lens, plus a couple of other lenses and various bits and bobs. This gets expensive, trust me.
 
Although the 40D has a lower pixel count, the sensor itself is of a higher quality, the high ISO noise performance is much better (less digial noise, hence a less grainy image), the build quality is in another league, the 40D is weather resistant, the features within the camera are more advanced, it can take more shots in one burst (17 for the 40D versus 6 for the 450D), at a higher speed, and it's just generally better :)
 
Just thinking about this 'lenses not compatible' thing that you've been told. Could it be that what was meant is that some lenses are not full frame compatible?

At the top end of both Nikon and Canon ranges are full frame sensor cameras - this means that the size of the sensor is the same size as the film was in the original slr cameras.
Most digital cameras have what are called crop sensors - these are smaller and some lenses are designed to work with crop bodies and will not fill the frame of a full frame body.

Other wise the only issue I can think of is around the Nikon D40/D40x/D60 which dont have in body auto focus motors - these bodies can take any lens but will only auto focus with lenses which have motors in the lens.

Have a play with them in the shop and see how you get on the user interfaces. 'pro' cameras tend to have more buttons so that altering settings is a one step process rather than a menu/option/option/etc
 
well i went into jessops and now more confused:shrug:

i looked at the 450d(£500 inc lens) and then the 60d which i was told was the nikon equivalent (£320 inc lens). i was told the only differnce is the the 450d has live view and a larger mega pixel. then i looked at the d90nikon (£800 inc lens) but couldnt get a look at the 40d as was out of stock and they said that it was going to be discontinued so the 50d was replacing it but it was £1200 inc lens which is far too much. i like the feel of the 450d and the 90d (couldnt get the feel of the 60d as i ran out of time) and just dont understand why there is such a difference in price in which there are comparable(as ive been told) cameras. is the software for the comp. better on one than the other or anything? gettin more confused the more i look into it
 
also i was thinkin would it be worth buying just the body and try and buy a 2nd hand lens?
 
Well it depends on what sort of photography you want to do? For example if you want to get into sports or wildlife photography, the kit lens isn't going to be anywhere near long enough. The 40D is not being discontinued as far as I'm aware. It has been superceded by the 50D, but the 40D is still in production. I would take much of what is said by Jessops shop assistants with a pinch of salt, a lot of them haven't got a clue what they're on about.

The software that comes with any brand of camera is ok, but to get the best out of your images you'll need Photoshop, GIMP or something like that.
 
Yes. Im sure that there are decent staff in some jessops, but there are certainly a lot of plonkers.

One problem is that if you havnt had a dslr before, you dont really know the questions to ask or what to look for.

I would use jessops to get a feel for how the camera feels in your hand - weight, position of buttons etc.

Then have a look at how you do things like change ISO, change modes, alter settings.
Some of that will depend on how you feel using the camera. As an example I have an e1 and an e510. The e1 (bought cheap/very used) was the olympus 'pro' model whereas the 510 was 2nd from the bottom of the range.

The e1 has two dials for altering settings, so when in manual mode 1 dial controls aperture, the other controls shutter speed. On the 510 the same dial does both, you need to hold down a button to alter which function the dial alters. Also the e1 is quicker/easier to alter settings because it has more dedicated buttons - less need to go into menus to alter things.

I'd guess that you will see the same sort of things when comparing the 450d and the 40d.

I would check how easy / intuitive it is to alter the iso; change exposure modes; see what the camera thinks of your exposure and what feedback it gives you; change from single autofocus to continuous autofocus to manual focus; to set aperture and shutter speed in different modes and to review the images that you have taken.
 
i just dont understand why there is such a difference in comparable cameras from canon to nikon
 
what i mean is i held the 450d and liked the feel and felt the 90d and really liked that but there is a price differnce lol. i guess i need to find a 40D and a 60d to compare them then i can decide on which one i want per price range. also does nikon or canon have international warrenty?
 
where are you?
Blacks & Lizars says Scotland somewhere.
If you are looking at the 40D it's probably worth handling a Sony A700 too.
 
the Nikon equivalent to the Canon 450D is the D60. But as this wasn't a vast improvement over the D40X or even the D40 its probably better to consider those. I have the D40X and its a fantastic camera, I still use it as it really is a brilliant little camera.
 
aerodynamic18 said:
thats a very good thing to know but i was told that the canon lenses wouldnt fit the profesional ones but if thats wrong thats good and exactly what im looking for. does the 450d have the EF mount?
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The EF lenses work with ALL Canon cameras, the EF-S lenses only work with the xxxD & xxD "crop" bodies (eg, 350D, 450D, 30D, 40D) but not with the full-frame bodies (5D, 1D mkIII &c).

I wouldn't worry about this too much, as you'll have to be spending a couple of grand on a body (new price) before it becomes a problem, and lenses hold their resale value pretty well, anyway. Besides, the xxD are very good bodies, and I'm pretty sure there are members here using them professionally. Sure, buy an EF lens over a similar EF-S lens if you have the option, but don't get hung up about it.

Stroller.
 
does the canon have an international warranty as i have found out nikon doesnt
 
after being out looking im thinking i like the nikon 90d and i think this is the one i will go for :D
 
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