Beginner - yet another thread asking which camera to get and where to buy

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I've had a look through the forum and seen lots of helpful suggestions to beginners about what to get and where to buy but everyone's budget and needs are a bit different - so here are mine, and would be most grateful for any help and advice.

I want to buy a DSLR mainly to take photographs of my baby daughter, friends, pets and family but would also like to photograph landscapes. I have tried a friend's Canon 450D which persuaded me that buying a DSLR would be an investment worth making, as it was fast enough to get some nice pictures of my constantly moving little girl which my current point and shoot is too slow to deal with.

I have a budget of about £800 and would like a camera that would be accessible for a beginner but would allow me some room to grow as I (hopefully) become better at taking photographs. I won't be able to afford to buy anything else for a few years so would like to get something as good as I can afford now rather than have to upgrade again within a year or two.

I had a look at the 500D and 550D at the weekend and thought they were great but am not really interested in the video feature; we have a separate recorder for that and I would rather get more camera for my money than paying for the video feature, if that makes any sense. I understand the importance of lenses and would consider buying a second hand body and investing in a good lens if that is the most sensible way to go.

Also any tips on good places to buy - I gather Ebay may be best avoided.

Any thoughts much appreciated.
 
If you want to get the best value for money then buy second hand. Loads of quality stuff here in the classifieds.
 
You started on the right foot. Grab a 450d (best beginners DSLR bar none -we love 'em so much we bought two!) with kit lens and a nifty fifty, do some learning and you're on your way.
 
Don't forget to budget for a memory card and a lens. I found somewhere around 18-70mm lens covers most needs to start with. You could go with a kit lens (one that comes with the camera), but look around for a good second hand lens instead.
Buying a camera I would stick with a UK version because of the warrantee and if you have to send it back for any reason.

Its hard to make any firm recommendations it depends on what you are happy with and get used to. I would say not to get a camera that doesn't have a good range of lenses that you can add later, which is why Canon and Nikon are the most popular .

Realspeed
 
The Nikon D90 is an amazing camera. You can get a brand new one off Amazon for £544 delivered (with the Nikon £60 cashback). IMHO that is an absolute steal. You then have a top notch camera and plenty of budget left for a decent lens, memory card etc.
 
PatrickO said:
The Nikon D90 is an amazing camera. You can get a brand new one off Amazon for £544 delivered (with the Nikon £60 cashback). IMHO that is an absolute steal. You then have a top notch camera and plenty of budget left for a decent lens, memory card etc.
Click to expand...

true thing, the D90's price just gone mad by now :lol:
 
Many thanks for all your replies so far - particularly enjoyed martshar's link!!

So in light of that and a couple of the other posts maybe best to go second hand and get the best model I can now rather than upgrade - gut I don't want to overspec myself, I'm going to look pretty stupid if I have a super camera but can't take a decent picture with it (at the moment)......

I can see the point about getting cameras that you can get more lenses for later so will probably look at Canon and Nikon - have tried Canon already with my friend and liked it. Any recommendations as to model within my budget? I could maybe spend a little bit more if necessary for a good package to get me going.
 
I'm just starting my dslr journey. I'm really happy with the second hand one I bought on here. I was thinking of scrimping and saving for the very best I could afford and then saving up even more for a good lens (which is the most important bit).

However having a decent camera (more than a match for my capabilities) is really good and if I'm still taking lots of pics this time next year I'll have this one as my spare and then get an "expensive" one. Getting one that is comfy to hold is really important as you end up wandering around with it in hand a lot.
 
A sony a300, kit lens, 50mm lens, card, bag & battery bundle. The fifty stays on it all the time and it goes in my bag whenever I might be somewhere to have a quick snap. A prime lens is brilliant if you don't want the weight/size and the pics are great (even with me taking them)

I think they alot of people want to go the canon/nikon route because of their reputation and ability to upgrade but I'm just starting out and I'll go for one of these in a while if I want. I took it off auto straight away and mainly use aperture mode but there is so much to learn even with an entry level DSLR that its going to be a while before I can be proficient. Its is alot of fun. I've always had a 35mm film camera and enjoyed that but digital is so much better.
 
Ajj1001 thanks for the info!

A colleague of my other half does a lot of photography and has suggested something like a 40d body second hand (as I'm not interested in video capability but want good AF and good speed) and then buying a 'nifty fifty' to go on it and possibly a zoom. He thought it should be fairly simple for a beginner to use but would give lots of room to grow.

Any thoughts - would you agree this camera would be accessible to a beginner?

I have been looking around at second hand prices and although I wondered it ebay might be best avoided there are a few D40s on it for sale with less than 2000 actuations which may go for around the £350-400 mark so I might go for one of them perhaps.
 
The 40d is meant to be good for an entry level, make sure you leave enough money for a good lens, I have read reviews and the Tamron AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II LD ASP sounded good.

Go into Jessops and handle a few bodies and see which brand feels good then get searching the classifieds.
 
If your friend has canon, stick with that as you can borrow lenses :)
 
It amazes me that nobody ever says this

GO TO A CAMERA SHOP AND HANDLE THE THING

You would never buy a car without a test drive so why think of buying a camera without handling it,different camera's feel different in the hand so try them all out and dont be bound by the "Must by Nikon/Canon cause there the best" brigade.Try out all the camera and lens combinations in your price range and then decide what feels good to you.Where you buy it from after is obviously wherever you can get the best price
 
Don't waste money on cheap lenses, check the reviews and only get the best as they should last you for years. Bodies come and go and make little difference for the type of pics you are talking about. Top class lenses hold their value, so if you get bored you can sell them with little loss. And as Nigel says, go and have a play with some bodies, but don't get suckered into buying in the shop, go home and think about it first.
 
Thanks for all the extra comments - I am hoping to get to our local Jessops this afternoon to have a play.
 
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