Best Camera?

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-Burner-

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Liam
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Just wondering what the best camera is too purchase for the price range of £400?

Realistically theres not a lot but any help from you Pro's who could maybe sort me out with a decent starter set to do Automotive photography. I really dont know why, but i like the idea of the live view, whether or not this is an essential i wouldnt know.
And a list of good filters would be brill.

Thanks very much Liam
 
I can see a debate coming (Canikon) here......


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Brand new?

I got the Sony a330 for £369.
Canon 1000d goes for the same price.

You can probably get an older higher spec model second hand for that budget, someone with more knowledge will tell you.

Take a look in the for sale section, might be a good bargain for you in there.
 
what kind of automotive? rally sports? still cars?

if rally sports then i would get a sony a300 secondhand, minolta 70-210mm f4 and that should do for basics. but as said its a can of worms asking "what is the best camera"
 
Brand New;
Canon 1000D
Canon 450D
Nikon D3000
Nikon D5000
Sony A230
Sony A330
They are in and around your budget.

Used;
Canon 10,20,30,40D
Nikon D40,50,60,70?

Not 100% sure about the Nikon's I suggested but relatively confident you could get the Canon's at less than £400
 
-Burner- said:
How do you find the A330? Ill take a look into a review or something now :)
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I love it :) The screen can be rotated and stuff which I find very useful and the build quality seems very good.

Only one problem is I think if I was to upgrade cameras I'd get Canon or Nikon as there doesn't seem to be as much choice in lenses for Sony.
 
mastertrinity said:
what kind of automotive? rally sports? still cars?

if rally sports then i would get a sony a300 secondhand, minolta 70-210mm f4 and that should do for basics. but as said its a can of worms asking "what is the best camera"
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Generally still cars, e.g Photoshoots. with the occasional moving shot :)
Im also a fan of Macro shooting
Briggsy said:
I love it :) The screen can be rotated and stuff which I find very useful and the build quality seems very good.

Only one problem is I think if I was to upgrade cameras I'd get Canon or Nikon as there doesn't seem to be as much choice in lenses for Sony.
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:thumbsdown: What about filters, Starburst etc? are they common for it
 
-Burner- said:
Just wondering what the best camera is too purchase for the price range of £400?

Realistically theres not a lot but any help from you Pro's who could maybe sort me out with a decent starter set to do Automotive photography. I really dont know why, but i like the idea of the live view, whether or not this is an essential i wouldnt know.
And a list of good filters would be brill.

Thanks very much Liam
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Well, if you could stretch your budget to around £500 there are quite a few used Olympus E-3s comming on the market for around that price. It's now quite an old camera in digital terms and strengthening anticipation for an E-5 is starting to drive down prices. However it is still a very capable camera, stacked with features including an articulated screen and live view (which is a brilliant combination for low level shots) and the build quality is up to the very best on the market at any price. It also gives you access to a system of lenses, the top tier of which are unmatched my any manufacturer (once, of course, you have the additional funds). Even the kit lenses, though, match or better anything in their price range.

However, it's one weak spot is high ISO performance - not that it is bad, even ISO 3200 cleans up nicely in a program such as Dfine 2.0, but the relatively old sensor is not a match in this respect to the most recent Four Thirds cameras, let alone Full Frame. But of course, Full Frame is not within your budget anyway.

There are, no doubt, plenty of alternatives which I'm sure the Canon and Nikon boys will help you with, but the possibility of an E-3 is a great place to start. In the end, though, the best camera for you will be the one that you find handles best. That is one of the most important issues when choosing a camera but, sadly, is often overlooked.

Whatever you choose, good luck. :)
 
I'd recommend the Nikon D5000 because I know the Nikon D5000: I've used one (briefly, just to familiarise myself and to prove to the friend that she'd bought a 'good' camera) and I now recommend it to all my friends who are starting-out and want a good, budget DSLR...
The test images I shot on it (with my lenses) were virtually indistinguishable from those taken on my D3...

The Canon camera at the same price-point will undoubtedly be just as good - but I can't recommend it because I've never held or used one.

One thing we all agree on here - try before you buy. It has to feel right in your hands, not just mine...
 
I was looking today at a D5000 and a Sony A500, both felt very nice in the hands.
D5000 was £500 with £50 rebate, making it £450 which i could stretch to im sure.

Thanks
 
There must be better deals out there than that, I'm sure...My GFs Mum bought one with two kit lenses, memory cards and a bag for 460€ - normally Germany is way more expensive for photo kit than UK...
 
i've just sold an eos 500d body only for 400 quid on ebay.

paired with a decent lens, it's not a bad body - ai servo autofocus is actually pretty good with the centre point - i've not done any autosport photography so it's a difficult call, if you could borrow a friends camera with a decent lens it will at least give an indication as to weather the body is up to the job.

another problem you'll have with an entry level eos xxxd camera is the continuous shooting fps is pretty low - less than 4 per sec. that might be ok for you, but i'd assume you'd want to rattle off as many frames as possible.

sadly, to obtain higher fps continuous shooting speed requires you to climb up the eos range. so maybe a second hand 40d or 50d would fit your budget.

another thing you're going to need if you're photographing fast moving cars is you will need a fast focussing and reasonably wide aperture lens (f4 minimum i'd say). these don't come cheap, unfortunately. depends on how much reach you're going to need too. i don't think a lit lens would be up to the job.
 
cuthbert said:
i've just sold an eos 500d body only for 400 quid on ebay.

paired with a decent lens, it's not a bad body - ai servo autofocus is actually pretty good with the centre point - i've not done any autosport photography so it's a difficult call, if you could borrow a friends camera with a decent lens it will at least give an indication as to weather the body is up to the job.

another problem you'll have with an entry level eos xxxd camera is the continuous shooting fps is pretty low - less than 4 per sec. that might be ok for you, but i'd assume you'd want to rattle off as many frames as possible.

sadly, to obtain higher fps continuous shooting speed requires you to climb up the eos range. so maybe a second hand 40d or 50d would fit your budget.

another thing you're going to need if you're photographing fast moving cars is you will need a fast focussing and reasonably wide aperture lens (f4 minimum i'd say). these don't come cheap, unfortunately. depends on how much reach you're going to need too. i don't think a lit lens would be up to the job.
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Thanks for the input and advice, i shall certainly take a look into second hand 40d/50d , its the lenses i dont understand about the f4 etc but i suppose thats for another day after ive bought the camera
 
no problem Liam. hope it's helped you in your decision process.

the lens you use is really going to be the clincher though. do some reading on the forums, make sure you understand things like exposure, aperture, focal lengths, ISOs etc.


There is a lot to learn but I find the best way is to just go out with your camera take some pictures and see what works.

As far as lenses go, like i said, it's going to depend how much reach you need (that is, how much you need to magnify the image so you get what you need in the frame).

although it's expensive, i reckon the Canon EF 70-200mm f4 would be a good choice, on your crop sensor camera it equates to field of view equal to a 112-320mm lens - pretty long. couple that with the 1.4x extender and you've got some serious reach.
 
D5000 looks like the dogs danglies to me. Top notch for the price.

Do you guys think it will still be better than the new A290 that is coming out soon?
 
lazer said:
D5000 looks like the dogs danglies to me. Top notch for the price.

Do you guys think it will still be better than the new A290 that is coming out soon?
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Well, until the A290 actually arrives, who knows? The important thing is to enjoy using the cameras that are available today rather than agonizing over what might be available tomorrow. Whatever you buy, whenever you buy it, you can be sure something even better is just around the corner.

However, when something better does come out it doesn't make all existent cameras redundant. They still perform just as well as they've ever done and in the case of most of us the potential of the camera we already have still exceeds our own abilities.

Buy a camera and enjoy it. :)
 
True but if i bought some other camera and then read a review that the A290 was an awesome DSLR i would then have to crawl into a corner and cry!! lol
 
lazer said:
True but if i bought some other camera and then read a review that the A290 was an awesome DSLR i would then have to crawl into a corner and cry!! lol
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Based on a review.... why?

And even if it were true, are you thinking that it would instantly make you a better photographer than if you was using, say, a Nikon D5000?

What if you wait for the A290, only to find out after buying it that Nikon are about to launch the D6000 which is even better - will you still crawl into a corner and cry? I'm afraid that's the nature of the game these days and unless you have the money to upgrade at least once a year there is a danger that you could become paranoid about being forced to use "inferior" equipment. Your photography will then suffer because subconciously you'll convince yourself that you cannot take a decent picture as you don't have the latest and greatest.

Don't fall into that trap, buy a camera now, learn how to use it and keep practicing, but above all enjoy your photography. :)
 
for £400 the SLR cameras are all pretty much of a muchness. The important thing is to buy one that suits you. If you like it, if everything seems i the right place to you and it feels right then you will want to use it more. If you don't want to use the camera, you won't use it, and it'll end up in a bag at the end of the sofa, then in a cupboard, then next year on fleabay.

So - get one that you like - go to somewhere like Jessops, and actually handle the camera - see if it fits your hands. Look through the viewfinder - is it clear and bright. Get it powered up and have a look through the menus. See if they make sense. And if you find a camera that suits you, buy it, use it and enjoy it, and don't listen to anyone else who says "oh you should have bought a ......." because you'll know that whatever they say, it didn't suit you as well as the one you bought.
 
Liam,

not sure if new is a definite requirement, but I have bought 2nd hand on here and the camera was like new. May give you more options at a reduced cost?
 
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