Best Budget Slr

jamie-dm

jamie-dm

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I am thinking of buying a digital SLR. At the mo Ive got a Konica Minolta Dimage Z1. Can anyone reccommend an slr for around 2-300 quid. Im only 15 so funds are a bit short :sadcry: !!!
Thanks
Jamie
 
Short of a used camera you won't get one for £300. The cheapest I can come up with is the Nikon D50 with 18-55 for £420 (inc pp) at Bristol Cameras

So it isn't a case of recommending it's a case of what there is at the price you want to pay. Having said that the D50 is a good starter DSLR and you wont be disappointed with it but it is a little short on features. If you don't mind used then you could try Ebay but dont get sucked into paying more than the camera is worth and there's little comeback if it goes wrong. There again - at 15 you probably should stay away from Ebay. :D

Best advice is wait a bit, save up, and buy new, you'll get 12 months warranty. HTH
 
Buying new from a high street shop might be a good option if you can get parents to do it on a credit agreement. As has been said before, you've got no idea how much a 2nd hand camera has been through, and if it dies on you - too bad.

By the way - are Canon still doing £100 cashback, or has that finished now?
 
Bear in mind that the price you pay for the camera and kit lens is just the start, you will want to buy more memory, more lenses, accessories....

My advice for what it's worth is to stick with your Z1 for now and save up to get a decent slr when you can afford it.
 
thanks for the help guys
I am registered on ebay (shhhhh):whistle2: lol
Ill probably stick with my z1 then, But i will keep a look out for any cheap stuff on ebay,
thanks
jamie-dm
 
Keep n eye on the Photograpghy forums also, as they usually sell gear for less than EBAY. You could always put a WTD ad for Canon 300D for £300.
 
Hi Jamie, why d'ya need a Digital SLR, I've returned to photography after a long break and treated myself to a new camera before going all out and buying a Nikon D50 (it's easier to hold than an EOS 350).

I bought a Panasonic DMC FZ5 after a lot of research and reading of reviews and I'm amazed at the results.

It's not perfect, but i'm finding it hard to swap it for a D-SLR even though I can afford it.

There's an old saying (coz i'm old ha ha) " A bad workman always blames his tools"...

I can recommend www.pixmania.com for amazing prices and fast service.

Good luck mate
 
Sorry Jamie I wasn't having a go at your ability with my quote, I've just read it again and it must seem a bit cheeky....It was aimed at me.
 
S2 iS for a mega zoom jobbie or wait a few weeks for the S3 iS, but for a DSLR it has to be a D50 kit for about £420.

Panasonics just produce too much noise in my opinion and after months of reading reviews i think the S2 is a good option. TBH if you can afford a DSLR you are silly not getting one, a D50 would knock the socks of an FZ5 in timings alone, half press lag on an fz5 can be up to 1.6 seconds on a D50 it is 0.1 seconds.

you compare

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz5/page4.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/page11.asp

some very comprehensive reviews on that site.
 
I guess it's a personal thing, I think my images are very satisfactory, I don't look for noise, and haven't spotted any that would spoil my images, but then again I dont interigate them that much.

I'm happy to get the image I was after in the 1st place.I suppose if I start to enlarge to A1 or A3 I'll notice a difference in quality.

My daughter works at the National Gallery and is amazed with my images, content and quality ( she is kind and it only cost me £50 ;) ) and cant work out why she cant take decent photo's, as i told her, you have to keep your camera with you.

I've taken very spontaneous shots recently where I doubt 0.1 or 1.60 seconds would have made a huge difference.But if I'm honest I don't know what "half press lag" is anyway :shrug:

But maybe 1 day soon i'll need a bit more flexibility with my camera, to be honest I cant see a massive difference in quality to justify spending £420 on a D50 (bargain price as that is) as I only paid £230 for the FZ5 and not the advertised £349, so i'm a happy snapper for the mean time.(y)
 
Cracking price for the FZ5 & like you state for normal shots you won't notice a lot in difference in image quality. If you're not looking for the flexibility of a DSLR, why pay the extra !! At the end of the day the most important judge of your shots is yourself. Keep those shots coming in :)
 
I would suggest the FZ7 or FZ30.They're both very good bridge cameras and the noise issue is greatly exaggerated. I've had images shot with the FZ30 accepted by a stock agency who are very fussy about picture quality. There are a lot of shots from this camera in my gallery linked below this post. They'd be the best option for your budget, as they cover a good focal range, have full manual controls and a leica lens ;) the fz30 shoots RAW also which is a major plus.

HTH?
 
I'd reccomend an EOS 350D (If you can afford it). The cheapest I've seen it is £450 with an 18-55mm lens.

I'm also 15, and I've been saving for months (and months) for the 350D, and I'm going to be buying it in the next week or so.

The 350D is more than the D50, but its got far superior low light capability (High ISO's) and the image quality in general is much superior to the D50 (don't believe me, have a look here) - in my opinion the 350D has far superior image quality in that example.

Anyway, the 350D and the D50 are kind of similar, with the extra £30 getting you 2 more megapixels and superior image quality.

Leo
 
thanks fro your help guys looks like ill bethinkingbout a 350d
 
the 350d is very capable but i think saying it is 'far superior' is stretching the truth a little.

it does have a few more features than the d50, but the d50 has spot metering which i couldnt do without myself. the iso handling is also better than the d70 so is certainly capable enough for most situations. the lens is of a better quality than the provided kit lens on the 350d. it takes SD cards which i presume your existing Z1 takes and the clincher for me is the handling, the d50 is a pleasure to use :)

swings and roundabouts, personally i'd save the money and get a d50
 
SD cards are a pain if you try and upgrade (but if the OP doesn't mind its a null point). Spot metering is a definite plus. The ISO handling of the 350D is way ahead of the D50 though. Admittedly, the kit lens on the 350D is utter tripe and b*****ks, but it can take some nice photos stopped down. Another advantage of the 350D is the EF lens mount, which is wide and shallow enough to allow many older MF lenses to be used (M42 screw mount, Nikon F etc). This means the OP could get very cheap high quality primes (that are fast) for less than £50 (often)


Anyway, its really up to the OP. Remember that your buying into a system, not just a camera. If you buy a D50 and lenses, you'll only be able to upgrade to Nikon, and likewise if you buy a 350D and lenses, you'll only be able to upgrade to Canon (unless you scrap all your lenses and start again :D)

My advice? Read the reviews, find the comparisons (not done by Nikon owners or Canon owners - there is always bias :D), price out the body and lenses, and work out how soon you can own said camera. Remember to consider the 300D as well - its cheaper, and with a firmware hack (the Undutchables :D), you can get almost all the functions of Canon's 10D, a much more expensive camera.

Leo
 
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