Complete photography novice - deciding to invest in a good second hand SLR - HELP?!

rheinhessen

rheinhessen

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HI all,

Looking to invest in a quality second hand digital SLR camera but havent got the first clue where to start..

I need/want something as simple to operate as a bog-standard laymens digital camera but that comes with some software so I can give my children milky skin and beautifully, glassy, shiny eyes and blurs the background..

I know blurry backgrounds has something to do with aperture (and probably a whole load of other stuff) BUT I'm just sick of paying a pro-photographer to do something I can hopefully learn to do myself..

I'd rather be able to shoot them - not literally - more than 3 months apart. As you can imagine, shoot costs PLUS the price of ordering the images etc and getting them into a snazzy photo album - more than 4 times a year can get pretty out of hand and expensive.

Would LOVE some help with pointing me in the right direction. Definitely can't afford to buy one brandnew - I'm not after the latest technology or a camera bag full of lenses.. Just something simple to begin with and we'll see how it goes after that.. perhaps I'll have the knack for it and get the bug, but just for the time being I want to be able to take pictures of 7 year old, 9 month old and then my new baby when she arrives in May..

Thanks in advance..
 
As you are new to the game and have no brand tie in at this time, I suggest you try them all.

None of the main DSLR makers make a pup and so it's all down to which one you will be most comfortable with. Get yourself down to Jessops and try them all. Then you will have something that you are ergonomically happy with before you begin your road to ruin!! Keep your eyes open on here as there are always some great bargains once you have decided on what system you like the feel of. It's an expensive hobby!! The kids will soon be in shoes with holes in and eating value beans!!!

Have a look here for a good tutorial too.
 
I would suggest go with the lower ends such as 350D on Canon or Nikon equivalent. You should get one of these luckily under 150 quid.

Then hop on to TP to learn some tricks & techniques or use the net.

Post as many piccies as you can and learn from the critiques.

Good Luck :thumbs: and welcome to the madness :D
 
A 350D or 450D with a "Nifty Fifty" (50mm f1.8) is ideal for photographing children:

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All of these were taken using available light.

I prefer the "Nifty Fifty" to photograph children because they move so fast and trying to use a zoom can mean you lose shots if you try to frame then re-frame.
 
:clap: petersmart
 
Hello and welcome.

As has been said, try some out and then have a look in the classifieds on here. Nearly everyone selling on here really looks after their kit and it will be cheaper than most other places, also we are an honest bunch of poor but happy photographers. I also agree about the 50mm lens option, really sharp, really cheap and good to begin with as you learn how to compose without the aid of a zoom.

Good luck

Andy
 
Thanks guys... I think I'm going to go into Jessops and have a fiddle about... Whatever I get, it's going on the Ol' credit card since it has a zero balance! Maybe they have a refurbed/secondhand 350D/450D in store... won't know until I get there!! :] Just a bit daunting as I have ZERO idea what anything means... Is it worth looking at taking some sort of photography course I wonder...
 
You will learn loads from this forum. Look through the tutorial section, loads in there to help you along your way.

Very much doubt Jessops will have any refurb stuff at all. They only sell new. If you have a London Camera Exchange (LCE) near you, they sell secondhand stuff. The other alternative is that a member on here may spend some time with you explaining stuff if we knew where you were.
 
as swag says...go and try them all out somewhere like jessops.don't discount any of the makes,as they all will give fantastic results....what is important is how a camera feels,user interface,menu's etc,as if you don't like the feel of it when you pick it up,you'll be less likely to want to use it.

i'm not sure jessops sell 2nd hand camera's by the way...
 
I'm in the North-East.. Newcastle-u-Tyne...

Ah well, I'll just have a look arounda nd see whats what, it's not going to be an immediate purchase - though I would very much like instant gratification LOL Then again, when spending a large amount of cash, I think I'd rather take my time..
 
Jessops sometimes have refurb cameras but if you have a LCE in your town they usually have a range of secondhand cameras which they will put a short guarantee on for peace of mind. Canon 400D a good buy.

50mm f1.8 lens is a good buy - £ 70 ish NEW from Kerso.

18-55 kit lens is a good first purchase as well. £ 30 ish secondhand or £ 70ish for the newer and better one with image stabilising.
 
Andysnap said:
Hello and welcome.

As has been said, try some out and then have a look in the classifieds on here. Nearly everyone selling on here really looks after their kit and it will be cheaper than most other places,
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I can definitely agree with that - over the last year I've bought on here a Canon 450D, the 50mm f1.8 lens, a 17-85mm IS USM lens, a 28-135mm IS USM lens, and a set of Kenko DG AF extension tubes.

By buying s/h on here I've probably saved about £800 and I've been very happy with all the purchases.

So I can definitely recommend this site for s/h purchases.
 
Yep, it's a shame I can't post in the 'wanted' forum yet - but I have to have been here for 30 days and made 100 posts! Eeeeek!
 
Hi if you go second hand i recommend canon & I like the semi pro range so I'd recommend the EOS 10D, 20D or 30D :D they're all,superb & apparently the EOS 10D is the sharpest if its NIKON again the D100, D200 or D300 the Nikon D70 & D70S are superb quality :thumbs: but if i were you I'd "try before you buy" I've ordered a Sony Alpha 300 & again there not bad either :)
 
rheinhessen said:
Yep, it's a shame I can't post in the 'wanted' forum yet - but I have to have been here for 30 days and made 100 posts! Eeeeek!
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Well I didn't post any wanted ads - I jusy kept looking in the "for sale" section until I found what I wanted.

I also bought only from people who had all got great feedback from other buyers.

And as I said I've been very happy with my purchases.

Abd BTW - if you want to photograph kids then be prepared to take a lot of pics - my pics look good mainly because I only print the good ones - on average if I take 200-250 shots in a day - and I do easily - I will probably only save about 40.

All the others will be out of focus, blurry, have poor lighting etc - so be prepared for a lot more failures than successes - and be thankful for the Digital Age - where the cost of each photograph (once you have the equipment) is almost FREE!

Thank you IBM, Intel, Bill Gates, Canon et al!
 
Hi

I started only a couple of months ago and bought a canon 400D second hand.

Now i was like you and knew nothing about photogrphy ay all but in the couple of months of being on here I am alot better informed and my picture taking skills are getting better by the week.

Like said, feel them decide which is best for you and then go looking for a goood second hand camera then once you have it ask loads of questions on here and all these kind people will help you best they can.

Post up pics and they will tell you (hopefullly in a nice way ha ha) how to improve and what to do to get a better shot.

Good luck and looking forward to seeing some pics

Spike
 
Haha, yes, well this is why I wanted my own DSLR - so it meant I could take as many pictures as I wanted without having to worry about a set amount of time and being r@ped in ££'s to get copies of them.. Haha..
 
Actually, I should add, the photographer I use is actually very good - she's even offered to give me a lesson with the camera, once I get one, so I can at least know the basics and make the most of it..
 
One thing you are not factoring here though is that your pro could easily be using £5-10K of kit to get the shots of your children. I know a very good childrens photographer and she just spent £4.5K on one body. The lens she shoots most on was £1700.

The budget end of the range does not have the autofocus, the high ISO and the wide apertures that she will be using.

Just so you have reasonable expectations of what you are going to get for your buck :)

Yes, you can get some good results especially if you shoot in good light but there are a few technical limitations to be aware of.
 
Oh yeah, deffo not expecting results as fabulous as hers!!!

But at least it means I only have to fork out for her to take pictures of the kids once a year as opposed to four times!!
 
BouncyMelons said:
The budget end of the range does not have the autofocus, the high ISO....
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As far as I know all Canon lenses have autofocus, and as for the ISO ratings, well all the shots I have on here were all shot at 1600 ISO - in fact these days I rarely use anything less.

I hope to put up an article soon showing how to get good pics at high ISOs since many people seem to have problems in that area.
 
petersmart said:
As far as I know all Canon lenses have autofocus, and as for the ISO ratings, well all the shots I have on here were all shot at 1600 ISO - in fact these days I rarely use anything less.

I hope to put up an article soon showing how to get good pics at high ISOs since many people seem to have problems in that area.
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Yes they do but then some work better than others and it was actually with reference to the bodies ;). I have a 5D, it has 9 autofocus points and won't get the dog in full flight. The 1Ds does though, with 51 point AF and a tracking system that can track planes, the dog is not too hard. As for ISO 1600 is the shallow end of the pool these days with the D3s and it's ISO of 102,400. :thinking: I use as low an ISO as I can get away with to maintain quality and there is no doubt that today's cameras are superb in lower light.
 
And once you've got your camera, you have the software and another learning curve to contend with. It's fun isn't it? ;)

p.s. Welcome to the forum.
 
rheinhessen said:
I'm in the North-East.. Newcastle-u-Tyne...
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If you're going to Jessops have a look in Jacobs, just across the road. Also Bonsers is pretty good as well (near the top of the Bigg market, just down from Alexanders Deli or across and up from the Bee Hive). I've found the guys in Bonsers to be the most helpful out of the bunch and they do get second hand gear in from time to time as well.
 
rheinhessen said:
Looking to invest in a quality second hand digital SLR camera but havent got the first clue where to start..I need/want something as simple to operate as a bog-standard laymens digital camera ..
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hi there.....
1..unless I missed it...whats your budget ?

2..something simple to operate ?

petersmart is the way to go---or similar
"A 350D or 450D with a "Nifty Fifty" (50mm f1.8) is ideal for photographing children"

good luck and watch the classified For Sale section.....:thumbs:
 
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