Advice please.

Francis Drake

Francis Drake

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Francis
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Hi everyone, I am new to talk photography and this is my first post. I am looking to buy my first DSLR there is so much choice out there, I have little expierence as a photographer and from no age have been a Nikon fan so naturally you'd think Nikon would be my first choice...As this is my first DSLR and really I am just learning the craft of photography I was looking to spend around £500 give or take....thing is Ive kinda fallen for a the Pentex K-3 yes its twice what I wanted to spend but from what ive been reading it looks the bizz....any thoughts?
 
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:nikon: Why don't you go for a secondhand Nikon, a D300 for example (a very fine camera), you should get a good one for <£350, but then you will need a decent lens or two, so I would go for a 50mm f1.8 which I think you can get new for around £100 or a 35mm for around £145 new.
There are several independent camera shops that sell second gear, many advertise in Practical Photographer magazine.
If you do decide to buy secondhand it may be worth asking on here about the place you are buying from before you commit.

I have never used a pentax camera but I know they have had good reviews. However I'm not sure you get much choice on lenses.
 
Thanks for your advise BBR, I really appreciate it....my old camera is not digital its a Nikon FG-20 with Nikon lens 20mm 1:2.8
50mm1:1.8
28mm 1:2.8 , I am excited about moving digital. A nice thing about the Prntex is its sealed so I dont have to worry about water damage...would this be a common problem with DSLR's?
 
Some of the high end dx range nikons are weather sealed e.g. D7000/D7100 - I think D300s too - This along with a weather sealed lens - should allow to shoot in the rain etc. However, It all depends on what you are shooting.

D7000 has fallen in price - and it would be a great 2nd hand buy now and good starting point if weather sealing is important to you.

;)
 
Depends what you are looking to shoot. But a used d7000 or d300 would be good. A d90 would be 250 or less and leave cash for a couple of lenses.
 
You get a long of bang for the buck with Pentax. IMO, the only shortcoming in the system is if you get into specialty lenses (TS, Long/Fast). The K5iiS might be right in the sweet spot for you.
 
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Sphinx said:
Some of the high end dx range nikons are weather sealed e.g. D7000/D7100 - I think D300s too - This along with a weather sealed lens - should allow to shoot in the rain etc. However, It all depends on what you are shooting.

D7000 has fallen in price - and it would be a great 2nd hand buy now and good starting point if weather sealing is important to you.

;)
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Thank you, I think I will take your advice and buy a second hand Nikon D7000
Do you know a good place to buy one from?
Starting off I will most likely shoot portraits.
 
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Ive noticed the Nikon D7000 doesn't get great reviews, I still haven't purchased a camera in fear of buying the wrong one...I looked at best D.S.L.R 2012/2013 but its still confusing. ..I have given myself unitl this weekend to decide.
 
So what reviews are you looking at?

The D7000 is one of the best DX format cameras Nikon have ever produced and it sold in droves. When they finally released it's successor, the 7100, the price really dropped which makes it one of the best bang for buck cameras around atm. And tbh, the 7100 hasn't really took off anywhere near as much as the 7000 did. Paired with a 35mm f1.8 it is an absolute dream of a camera.
 
I think it's a great camera - admittedly you can get similar IQ with a d3100 but in terms of functionality and ISO performance, it's great for the money in my opinion
 
Love my D7000, it was my first dslr when I recently got in to photography heavily. Despite the poor reviews some people rumour (usually the yawn subject of back focus) I haven't had a problem at all with mine and I love it. I bought it from the classifieds here. Highly recommended and if you are familiar with Nikon and possibly have some lenses already then I would say it is a no brainer.
 
Hi minnnt, just reviews of youtube , thanks for your advice I really appreciate it. ..
 
Thank you everyone you've really helped...I will take all your advise and buy one asap.
 
Go with your first choice - Pentax K3. You'll find if you handle it you'll fall in love. It's a photographers camera with near-perfect ergonomics, and yes I shoot Pentax, but no, not a K3.

I don't want to come over as a rabid fan-boy here, but on a couple of photography courses I've attended over the past year I was very surprised at how long it took the other non-Pentax togs to navigate around their camera controls, and it appeared that the reason was that unlike Pentax both Nikon and Canon tend towards software/menu based controls. Pentax uses buttons for most of the essentials.

Bottom line is go and try before you buy and enjoy whatever model of whatever marque brings a smile to your face.
 
Francis Drake said:
Ive noticed the Nikon D7000 doesn't get great reviews, I still haven't purchased a camera in fear of buying the wrong one...I looked at best D.S.L.R 2012/2013 but its still confusing. ..I have given myself unitl this weekend to decide.
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I originally purchased a D7000 and it is a great camera. You will definitely not be be disappointed. I regretted selling it.

Have a look here for some real world sample pics :

http://www.pixel-peeper.com/cameras/?camera=1496
 
Done a google search and found a d7000 for £439 a great price, I phoned the seller top end electronics but paypall is not working he said bank transfers only this sent alarm bells ringing so I done a quick search and found a previous post on here also suspicious of the company.....this is what I feared.....thanks guys.
 
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Francis Drake said:
Nikon lens 20mm 1:2.8, 50mm1:1.8, 28mm 1:2.8
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Your old Nikon lens might work with your new body as long as its D90, D300, D7000 models etc, as you film camera was an f-mount, but you'll need to confirm this
 
I was hoping they would otherwise I would need new lenses yes I will be purchasing a D7000 ....old camera was F mount pete.
 
Only certain models will meter through a legacy MF lens (there's a menu where you can enter the focal length and max aperture; thereafter you are meant to select which lens is mounted each time) and my recall is that this includes D300 and D7000 but not D90?
 
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