Camera Decision?

S

SuperzShields

Junior Member
Messages
82
Name
Ryan
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi all, I'm currently in the process of buying my first DSLR but have got stuck.

I can either get a canon 20d with a 18-55 kit lens for around £250 or Get a Pentax k-r with 18-55 kit lens for around £300. I know technically the Pentax is the better camera but there doesn't seem to be as wide a range of lenses and certainly not as cheaply availble lenses.

So my question is do i get the canon for the easier more readilly availble lens or do i get the pentax for the superior features but not have the same range of lenses availble.

Also i don't seem to be able to find a 50mm 1.8 for the pentax? can anyone clarify that?

Thanks

Ryan :)
 
I don't want to go over £300 initially so it would push that abit plus i want to shoot aircraft and motorsport eventually so i thought that the high max shutterspeed and high fps would be good for that? that was why i looked at the 20d initially. Although do i actually need such a high shutterspeed and fps?
 
SuperzShields said:
I don't want to go over £300 initially so it would push that abit plus i want to shoot aircraft and motorsport eventually so i thought that the high max shutterspeed and high fps would be good for that? that was why i looked at the 20d initially. Although do i actually need such a high shutterspeed and fps?
Click to expand...

A higher fps certainly helps and does make life easier, but it is not essential, you can manage without it. I used to use my 300D for Motorsport and managed well, but did upgrade to a 40D for body size and higher fps and it's certainly a benefit.

There are people that shoot motorsport and aircraft with a 5D and manage well.

Don't forget you will need to budget some for lenses. A 55-250IS new is around £170 and a very good lens for the price, the 70-300IS is a cracker and mid £300 new, then you jump to the 70-200's which are excellent, starting £480 new upwards.

Hope this is of some help...
 
Ok thanks, i'm leaning towards the pentax at the moment. I just want to find out some more info about the lenses first :)
 
I'd go for the 20D ( i have one! )

I may be wrong, but i believe that it's easier to get hold of add-ons, lenses, flashes etc for the more known Brands ( Canon, Nikon etc )

20D i have found to be very good. It's actually not that bad at high ISO's either.

FPS is very useful too.


I payed £195 for the 20D + Kit lens on ebay ( mint condition ).

If you can stretch your budget, also get yourself a 55-250mm IS. It's £150 new.

Cracking lens as everyone will tell you, nice and sharp and isn't too bad for speed either.

I started back into photography about 6 months ago, i shoot mainly rallying ( motorsport ) and have found it to be very good. I've also been at some public events ( car shows etc ) and it's been smashing too, just when your out and about.


This is one i took at 800 ISO at 1/160th. Very dull / wet day but it worked out well:



IMG_3344 by Inlineadam, on Flickr
 
ALso, forgot to mention. If you go for the Canon brand then when it comes to upgrading, newer lenses etc - you'll find it easier to get newer lenses.

Another thing is that Canon tend to have better upgrade models. When you upgrade you'll find that there's a much bigger choice of body's, lenses, etc.

It's better to get familiar with one brand, and stick with it ( in my opinion )

I want to convince you to go CanoN!
 
SuperzShields said:
Ok thanks, i'm leaning towards the pentax at the moment. I just want to find out some more info about the lenses first :)
Click to expand...

What would you like to know about the lenses?

50mm .. you can get an AF 50mm f1.4, a AF weather resistant 55mm f1.4, there are used AF 50mm f1.7's and plenty of used cheap manual focus 1.4's/1.7's/1:2's.

Personally I wouldn't bother with any of them (even though I have the AF 1.7 and 55mm f1.4) and instead go for the cheap 35mm f2.4
 
Adam, yeah thanks basically what you said is the main reason im looking at the 20d :) im probably going to have to spend more than that as i'm really not a fan of ebay.


Basically what i was wondering about the lenses is, is there a wide range of cheap but good quality lenses like there is with canon? The two i'm looking at with canon are the 50mm 1.8 and also the 55-250mm IS, are there lenses of a similar quality and price on the pentax side?
 
SuperzShields said:
Adam, yeah thanks basically what you said is the main reason im looking at the 20d :) im probably going to have to spend more than that as i'm really not a fan of ebay.


Basically what i was wondering about the lenses is, is there a wide range of cheap but good quality lenses like there is with canon? The two i'm looking at with canon are the 50mm 1.8 and also the 55-250mm IS, are there lenses of a similar quality and price on the pentax side?
Click to expand...

I don't really know anything about pentax... a pentax user should help you out with that ( someone will shortly )

The reason i was more drawn to Canon is basically the brand and the availability of lenses.

I personally believe it's much easier to get good lenses for cheap with Canon/Nikon because there's so many users.

When you think about it , for example, if you have 200,000 Canon users, and about 100,000 pentax users... there's going to be much more Canon items up for grabs at cheaper prices.

It's a bit like petrol, the less petrol there is over the years, the more expensive it gets.

So as i said, the Canon/Nikon brands have many more consumers and hence there's alot more on the market.

It might not be a problem when you start out, but when you want to upgrade you might find that there isn't a great choice out there for pentax, and not many second hand dealers.

Adam.
 
Ok thanks again Adam

I've found out that pentax own lenses only go up to 300mm and if you want more then you have to get brands like sigma etc

Any pentax users out there that could give me some help on the lenses and what's offered?

Ryan
 
I view Pentax in roughly the same way as Minolta (which Sony took over). Both are less mainstream than Canikon, and as Adam says, you will tend to lose out a little on new lens selection if you adopt that mount. Both were innovators that the mainstream brands copied. Pentax, I believe were the first to use multicoating (SMC) on their lenses, while Minolta were the first to have autofocus cameras with the 7000 series. Both fell victim to the more aggressive marketing of the big two but both still have a large array of used lenses available that are firm favourites for many. All Pentax bayonet lenses will work on Pentax DSLRs in varying degrees, even the manually focussed ones. Of the remaining manufacturers, only Nikon can claim this. But Pentax DSLRs have the advantage of in-body stabilisation, meaning all those old lenses can be pressed into use and be image-stabilised.
So it's a case of whether you want to go for the Pentax and maybe have to work a little harder to fill in the gaps in the current OEM lens line-up, or pay a little more but get the easier option of going for the mainstream brands with their huge choice of lenses and accessory options. And Adam is right; there's a lot going for this argument.
I went the Sony route, and mostly didn't regret it as I got a lot of bang per buck by leaning on the s/h market for many of my lenses, all of which were stabilised on my Sony cameras. There were times when new model after new model came from the main camps, while Sony seemed content with revamping yet another consumer/entry level clone, and I was a little envious. But I have a stubborn streak in not wanting to follow the crowd however. I just reminded myself that some of the glass I have is totally unique to Alpha mount and went out and took photos.
Mike.
 
Yeah thanks mike, the bit about having old lenses working on it was one of the resons i was thinking pentax

Ryan
 
Is a 20D better than a newer x00D model, or even a 1000/1100D? Technology has come on a lot. I don't know when the 20D came out as I've not been in to photography that long but I would have thought that a newer, lower class of model would produce better results than an older semi pro model... But I will stand corrected if this is not the case.

Canon or Nikon would be my choice due to lens and accessory options. There's more of a second hand market as well because there are a lot more users of them.... Ie more chance of picking up a bargain.
 
well the closest to the 20d pricewise is the 350d and according to snapsort (not sure how reliable they are) in most areas the 20d is the better camera
 
sorry for the double post, but scrap that the 400d is the closest pricewise and snapsort says that there very similar?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top