Buying an SLR on a budget

Joebl

Joebl

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Joe Bloom
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Hi,

Firstly I am quite new to the forum, so - Hi. I'm looking for opinions for my first dSLR, though I'm on a budget of around £250. I have previously been recommended the Fuji S9600, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8. I found a great deal on the DMC-FZ8 which includes a carry case and memory card, however I am still open for thoughts from you experts before I make a final decision/purchase.

I just recently began a two year Photography course which after I can use to go to University, so I would really like to purchase my own camera so I can start working out my faults and get a style of shooting in my own free time.

Thanks in advance,

-J.
 
Hello

Neither of the cameras you mention is a dSLR. If you're going to start a photography course, you should really consider a dSLR, which has interchangeable lenses.

The best deal I've heard of recently is Asda selling the Pentax K100d (non-Super version) at below your budget with a holdall and memory card. It may be hard to track down that deal, though, and it's not available on-line, I just checked.

Apologies for brevity - in a bit of a rush.

Andrew
 
You could get a second hand Nikon D50 with kit lens for under that budget. Be aware that you'll soon be after new lenses, tripods etc. If you're going to buy a dSLR, don't expect it to be a one-off cost. The cameras you mentioned are prosumer/bridge models, not dSLRs.
 
marky_h said:
Welcome. £250 just about gets you a S/H 350D these days - maybe try an ad in the Wanted forum here?
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OK, I'll try that, thanks!

TomB said:
You could get a second hand Nikon D50 with kit lens for under that budget. Be aware that you'll soon be after new lenses, tripods etc. If you're going to buy a dSLR, don't expect it to be a one-off cost. The cameras you mentioned are prosumer/bridge models, not dSLRs.
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I see, I'll consider that. OK, well for now I just want to concentrate on getting a decent enough camera for a beginner. I don't know much on lenses for the moment. Thanks for that.

dundiggin said:
Hello

Neither of the cameras you mention is a dSLR. If you're going to start a photography course, you should really consider a dSLR, which has interchangeable lenses.

The best deal I've heard of recently is Asda selling the Pentax K100d (non-Super version) at below your budget with a holdall and memory card. It may be hard to track down that deal, though, and it's not available on-line, I just checked.

Apologies for brevity - in a bit of a rush.

Andrew
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Oh I see, sorry for that. OK thanks for letting me know, I'll take a trip to Asda this weekend to see if I can find it, and no problem you were very helpful.

I'm still interested in anyone else's thoughts, if they care to share.

-J.
 
Look out for a Nikon D40, Canon 350D or Nikon 50D, all second hand, you should get an OK deal. If you could spend a little more look for the Canon 350D kit, Old but NEW if you know what I mean, try www.camerapricebuster.co.uk the Nikon D40 new is pretty cheap to as its been discontinued in most places.

For second hand gear the London Camera Exchange are OK, a little pricey though at times. Also Camera world do OK offers on second hand gear at times.

I would personally stay clear of auction sites for cameras and lenses (im sure a lot of transactions are fine, but its always worth looking and trying what you are going to buy first).

Kris
 
iancandler said:
Trouble is you have high shipping costs along with import duty and vat to add to the price as they are hongkong based I believe.
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No that is the price including shipping. Yes there MAY be import duty but I bought a D200, D40x, 3 lenses and 2 flashes coming to £2700 and the duty payable was £60 so even if it gets caught and you have to pay the duty it is not likely to be much. Also if you pay by bank transfer you get 3% more off. They have feedback of 20K+ so not much of a risk.
 
I have a suggestion:

Olympus E-410 from PC World, great camera with liveview! £350 from PC World, and you get £50 cashback from Olympus! Making the price £ 300!

THen you can buy an adapter from Ebay for about £6 and use all the old OM lenses.

You can't go wrong, it's a great DSLR, trust me, I have one :)
 
If you can get hold of a Pentax K100d for under £250 then you've got a bargain, go for it.
 
Asda apparently, mentioned further up ^
 
Featherlake said:
I have a suggestion:

Olympus E-410 from PC World, great camera with liveview! £350 from PC World, and you get £50 cashback from Olympus! Making the price £ 300!

THen you can buy an adapter from Ebay for about £6 and use all the old OM lenses.

You can't go wrong, it's a great DSLR, trust me, I have one :)
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Totally agree with this. The E-410 is a great camera and you'll get more camera-for-your-pound with this than with most others at this price.
 
I picked up a hardly used 350d with a kit lens, a 1gb card, a 512mb card, a tabletop mini jessops tripod thing, a hoya polarizing filter and a magic lantern guide book. Boxed with all the cables, software etc... for 270 on ebay a few weeks ago. My first slr and it's fantastic :)
 
yep it's my first slr, after reading a couple of guides on general slr useage i'm finding it really simple to use, very user friendly and theres a little ? button which gives you a little info about the setting which is handy.
 
I went for a look in Asda for the Pentax K100D, I found it, but the price was £399. It was around that, definately not below £300. Bummer :(
 
Joebl said:
I went for a look in Asda for the Pentax K100D, I found it, but the price was £399. It was around that, definately not below £300. Bummer :(
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Did you get them to scan the tag or was it the K100sd, not all photo staff are aware the K100d has been reduced.
 
Slipper-one said:
Did you get them to scan the tag or was it the K100sd, not all photo staff are aware the K100d has been reduced.
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No, I just saw Pentax K100d on the shelf. I remember the name, it definately said K100d as I remember reading it.

Though I didn't bother asking any staff about it. :thinking:
 
I just got into this dSLR malarky myself after years of playing with digital compacts and dreaming of the days I could afford a proper camera. I hadn't thought about second hand until I saw the prices of second hand kit on another forum. I got a D70s with a 50mm 1.8F and a 1GB CF card for £250 delivered. Probably the best £250 I've ever spent...

Since then I've bought two Crumpler bags (one backpack for lagging lots of kit around and an over-the-shoulder bag for gigs), just got myself a second hand Nikon 18-55mm (kit) lens and Nikon IR remote and about to get a new Nikon 55-200mm VR. I don't grudge spending money on this hobby at all :)
 
Joebl said:
I went for a look in Asda for the Pentax K100D, I found it, but the price was £399. It was around that, definately not below £300. Bummer :(
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That is a bummer - but it does sound like that was the K100d Super, as that's about the price you'd expect for that model (it's the K100d with added dust reduction and support for forthcoming lenses with snazzy motors in them).

I had heard reports from two different sources about the Asda deal, which sounded realistic, given that the K100d has been replaced by the Super model.

Hope you find something suitable soon.
 
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