Buying my first DSLR

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Lee99

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Lee
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Hi, first post! I did a quick Google search and these seem to be the best photography forums, so hopefully I can get some good advice.

I've always liked taking pictures and have half wanted a DSLR for a while now. But recently wanted one more & more. I currently just use an iPhone 4S & a £200 Canon digital camera.

I'd be willing to spend around the £1k mark for the camera, lens/lenses, memory card, case, flash etc. I'd probably mainly (for now at least) be taking pictures around the home of family & friends, local buildings/scenery, while out camping etc. I'm wanting a camera that can take good quality pictures with a good amount of detail, more in the daytime. Something that will blow my camera phone away!

I suppose it would probably be a Canon or Nikon as they seem to be the most popular cameras. Having looked at places like Jessops to see what's available, it gets a bit confusing, especially knowing what type of lens to get.

So I'm hoping someone can help me out a little and narrow my search on what models to look at and what would suit my needs better. Thanks!
 
Best advice is go to your local camera shop and try out as many camera's as possible, see which one you feel comfortable handling and operating.

A flash unit would set you back about £220
You could go full frame (landscapes/people/cityscapes) and buy a 5D MKI (used) from somewhere like mpb photographic, park camera's etc £500-600
and a lens like tamron 17-50mm f2.8 would start you off.

Otherwise, you have 550D/600D or 40D/50D from canon 1.6x crop

Nikon personally I would go D90 (used) or D7000 just for the fact that they have an inbuilt focus motor, so you have a large selection of lenses to choose from, especially from nikon. (D200 wasn't a great camera, or at least, you really need to know what you're doing to get the best out of it, so definitely not a camera for a beginner) Nikon flash system by all accounts is slightly better than canon, but Full Frame out of reach of your budget, so only 1.5x crop.

Just try them out, also panasonic G series, or Nikon V/R? series or sony N? series are other options, so don't dismiss.
 
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I'd take into consideration what friends and family have. Get recommendations from them.

All of my closest friends have Nikon equipment so borrow lenses from them if I need to.

One thing I find though is canon zoom lenses are a lot cheaper than Nikon.
 
Lee99 said:
Why post that? No help whatsoever.

pete.rush, thanks.
Click to expand...

I agree. Brilliant helpful advice to a novice - not.
 
I started with a Canon 350D which I picked up on eBay and the standard 18-55mm lens. It was a small outlay initially, but enabled me to build up my lens collection. I've now moved up to the Canon 40D which still suits me, and I've exchanged and upgraded lenses too.

I think the 350D / 18-55mm is a good place to start, maybe throw in a 50mm f/1.8 too (because it's cheap and produces beautiful results). You'll still have funds left in the bank so that once you get a hang of the camera you can upgrade lenses / body as you figure out more about what it is you want to do. The Tamron 70-300mm is also cheap to pick up and gives you a good idea of what the camera can do zoom wise, then maybe look at picking up something like a 10-20mm for buildings, etc.

I'd really advise holding on to your pot of money just now and dip your toe in the water to begin with. Don't jump right in with £1k of equipment off the bat. If you like photography you'll soon find that that £1k could be spent 20 times over on equipment :D So get a taster, figure out what you want to spend your money on then target the funds in a specific direction.

Just my 2p worth but welcome to the forums all the same.
 
If you want to go the whole hog and spend a grand and buy new, I'd seriously consider z canon 550d / 600d. A high quality sensor at a very reasonable price.

Pair that with a tamron 17-55mm f2.8 lens, again high quality for the money and covers the range you need in your opening post.

For a flashgun, as good as the canon ones are, look at sigma, nissin, Metz and others. The important thing to look for is a bounce / swivel head which you will really appreciate in the future.

Nikon and pentax do comparable models, so nip to your local store and have a play around.

Mike
 
I'd go for used Canon 40D (~£250 off ebay) + new Canon 17-55/2.8 IS (~£750)
Canon 40D is a good old camera, more than enough for starters. Lens is much more important.
Image quality you will get from 17-55/2.8 will blow your brain away.
 
My first was/is a canon 550d, I had quite a few MF lenses around that I use though, so that wasn't added to the initial investment.

I'd honestly wait a bit more until the Canon 650D is out, that way used and even new 550d/600d will drop in price.

The truth is pretty much all DLSRs are good and offer way more possibilities than a phone, just make sure the glass in front of them is of good quality :)
 
my first camera was a panasonic fz38 which I still use and have just purchased my first DSLR i decided to go for a nikon d90 (used from a member on the forum)

i went on flickr and typed in the camera body followed by the lens that i fancied most and had a look how good quality other nikon d90 owners photos were.

Maybe try and have a look at both the canon 550d and the nikon d90. that was my two favourites anyway

hope this helps
 
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