Best camera for a photography student

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alisonaxworthy

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Ali
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Hello there everyone,
Next week I begin to study Photography at degree level, currently I just have a digital camera but I would love a DSLR. The problem is I have no idea where to start looking for one as there are so many! Can anyone recommend a suitable DSLR for a photography student? Im willing to spend up to £400 - £500.
All help is greatly appreciated, thankyou.
Ali
 
the main options are entry level nikon or entry level canon.

Go to your local camera shop and ask to hold them both (and any other you fancy in the cabinet )

most of them really have simialar features it is just which feels best.

then in my opinion, forget the shop prices, start looking at the price comparison web pages, and the second hand market.

sometimes you can get a great deal. For example I got a "reconditioned" Nikon D50 from an online shop for £264 the reconditioned was the box was dirty with a tiny ripped sticker teasr mark (they cant sell them as new once they have been sent out to a customer or shop and retured or somewthing like that)

there are a lot of deals out there, dont be hasty, do make sure you do your homework first

and good luck
 
i guess it mostly depends on whether your uni has a lens library, and if so, whether the majority are nikon or canon
 
I'm sure I saw a Canon 10d on the sales forum a couple of days ago for under £200!! A real camera, not a toy, and you can buy the 'kit' lens new for £50!.

One of my favourite ever cameras.
 
Bolerus said:
the main options are entry level nikon or entry level canon.
Click to expand...
Not only those... consider the Olympus E-410, available here for under £400.

Also, whichever camera you go for, contact Kerso (Ian Kerr) on here, he will always try to give you a better price... I have used Ian for many items and he's a star, you could end up saving yourself a fortune.

Good luck ....(y)
 
Assuming DSLRs are OK for your course (many still insist on film or manual cameras) then personally I would go for only Nikon or Canon simply because of the range of lenses and accessories available for hire as well as second hand.

Incidentally my advice remains the same for film cameras but starts to push towards Nikon for the older manual cameras as any lenses you buy can be used (with variable metering abilities) on most Nikon DSLRs.
 
a nikon D50 may be ideal, it was my first SLR and it did me proud, its a great camera for someone who just wants to use it now and again or a beginner, its simple to use and pretty cheap because its a fairly old camera, mine cost me £400 second hand about a year ago with a D80 lens, spare battery, 2gb memory card etc etc.
hope this helps.
P.s. hello to everyone (first post)
 
I'd recommend a Canon 20D for a number of reasons:

1) They are quite cheap. You can get one second hand for a touch over £300 if you look carefully.

2) They have good manual control - the quick control wheel and the other wheel mean that its easy to shoot full manual. A lot of entry level DSLR's have only one control wheel, and require you to hold a button to change the aperture in manual.

3) Canon has a wide and short mount, which means you can use adapters with it. In laymans terms, you can get old manual-only Nikon and M42 lenses for almost nothing. By using a Canon you can meter in Av with these, or use them in full manual. I assume if you're doing a student course on photography you'll spend a lot of time in manual anyway, and so being able to use very cheap lenses in all sorts of focal lengths. Because these lenses are normally primes, they also tend to be very fast - f/2.8 or faster.
 
If they do insist on a manual film camera, you could do a lot worse than look at some of the older pro or semi-pro Nikons. The lenses have the big advantage of working with modern DSLR bodies (well, except the D40 to some extent)

http://www.cameraquest.com/nikonslr.htm has some useful advice on the subject of old Nikon film SLRs.

I was recently offered a totally mint FE and 50/1.4 AIS for about £150. (Alas I didn't make up my mind fast enough) and you can get full-on pro kit like an F3 or F4 for £200-300 if you look around.
 
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