Beginner - Camera Choice

A

AlexH

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Name
Alex Hamer
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Hi

I'm 13 and I would like to take up photography as one of my hobbies. But don't know which camera to get and I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. It's the digital SLR's that I'm looking at. So if anyone can tell which ones are good and which ones to avoid that would be great.


Thanks
 
Whats your budget Alex? And what kind of things are you hoping to shoot?

Welcome to the forum btw...

Dom
 
Curious said:
Whats your budget Alex? And what kind of things are you hoping to shoot?

Welcome to the forum btw...

Dom
Click to expand...

Well I've got £300-£400 and I would like to shoot landscapes, wildlife and stuff like that.

And thanks
 
Alex, your just like me mate. Im 14 and im starting out on photography.

For you, I would look into the Canon EOS 400D, or possibly the Canon EOS 1000D?

If not, you could look at the Nikon D40 :)
 
Nikon D40 is an option and you could put the rest of your budget towards a tri-pod and a bag etc
 
My vote would be for a Canon 450d with kit lens which you might just be able to pick up inside your budget, but I'm a biased Canon user :). Try and get yourself down to a camera shop and have a play with a couple, i found this incredibly helpful when i bought my SLR. I went in there undecided between Canon and Nikon and came out a total Canon convert, the Nikon's in my budget just didn't seem as intuitive as the Canons. But it might be different for you, the only way to know is to try them out!
 
If you want to spend all your money on the body/kit, my vote would be Nikon D80 from Jessops - £391. But the suggestion for the Canon 450D is also a good option - I'm a Nikon man myself. :) I was in Jessops the other day to see if they had a D80 in store, they had sold out, I was in there 20 minutes, and saw SIX 450D kits sold in that time.

However, as an aboslute beginner, I would say the D40 and little extras and gear would be the best option, as you can learn the most within budget from that.
 
look out for a 400d or 450d. Great choice of lenses, and a great camera! Plus you get to show that nikon lot a thing or two!

That said, don't rule out the sony's! SUPERB prices, in body stabilisation, great liveview on a300 and a350. But the a200 can be had for little over £200! If you're not fussed about liveview, and want to keep under budget, then the a200 with 18-70mm & 75-300mm is £349!

But remember, get down to jessops and handle the cameras! See which feels best! I was all set on the sony's, but ended up getting a canon!
 
Alex, my opinion would be the canon eos 400d.
Thats the camera i started with and it gives good results.
I got the body with the lens for £289 and i searched the market for a while, and that was the best price I found.
It was off ebay, BUT it was from a ebay shop, called clearence bargains. Which I later found out are actually part of Argos.
Its a great make, thousands of people have this camera, so you can learn by asking other people and watch tutorials on youtube. Thats how i learnt!
I now make money from the photography, in local nightclubs and parties as well as landscape and scenery, and I still use the 400d!
Make sure you get in contact with us all to tell us what you got:)
Good luck mate
 
You could probably pick up a used 30D and decent lens for that price, but I would have a serious think about how much you are going to use it, its a lot of money to spend if it turns into a 3 week hobby.......however that said if you are going to use it reguarly then go for it........any of the cameras mentioned are good and provided you keep at it you will be churning out great images in no time.
 
Thanks everyone, but I have been looking in to the Nikon D40 and it sounds like a good camera by all the reviews it's had by people and magazines. So if you have any information on it then please can you post something about it on this thread http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=101324. But I'm still looking for beginners cameras so don't stop posting cameras that you would pick!!!
 
Hi Alex

Just my tuppence worth! I have recently upgraded from a Fuji S5600 to a Nikon D40 [courtesy of my hubby]. The high street camer shop beginning with "J" have an offer on them at the the moment with 1 kit lens for £229.99. However, I managed to nip into Comet who will price match. We managed to bag a price match D40 cam in Comet along with another lens + 2 gig mem card for £390.00. Had I had the finances, wouldv'e been happier with a Canon - but all in all, I am v. happy with the results from the D40 which an excellent entry level for beginners to DLSRs and very easy to use too!!

Hope that helps you.

Good luck, best wishes and let us know how you get on!

Hels
 
Best advice is to go and see how they feel and work your way around them to see what's best. I started out with a Pentax K100D Super and for £424 (at the time) I was able to get the body, kit lens, a Tamron 70-300, 4GB card, a Crumpler bag, rechargable battery kiet and a Hama tri-pod.

I get all that stuff to my partner when I moved across to Nikon, but I still use the Pentax and it's still a good camera.
 
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