Decision decisions

[Einholt]

Hi guys, think I may have jumped the gun getting a new lens for my a290 as after spending waaayyyy to much time over the last week reading reviews and pricing up systems I have pretty much decided to move away from sony to either a Canon 600d or Nikon d5100, of course I am going to try the Sony a57 before I rule it out and will be trying the other two out as well but the sony will cost significantly more to upgrade.

I did look at the next models up but cannot justify the price and it seems these mid-rangers will give me plenty of new options to play with and learn.

From reviews I have read the 600d is rating very highly with me, very good ergonomics and a good sensor, although I know all of these are much of a muchness.

Kit I want to get is a midrange camera, kit lens, 55/70mm-300mm, a 35 or 50mm 1.8 prime and a set of macro extension tubes with contacts, macro tubes are to combine with the zoom or prime depending what I am shooting and to let me have a go at some decent macro without splashing a lot of cash on a 100mm macro lens, budget is £6-700, the nearer to or under £600 the better.

I have priced up a second hand d5100 with kit lens, tamron 70-300mm 1.2 macro lens, nikon 35mm 1.8 lens and macro tubes with contacts for £600-640ish.

Canon kit I have priced up is the same lenses apart from a 50mm 1.8 instead of the 35mm(no cheap canon 35mm, but a ridiculously cheap 50mm)
and macro tubes with contacts all for £620.

I have spotted a 600d on ebay, brand new for £400 with kit lens, I know its going to be a grey import but its listed as having a 3 year guarantee with the seller and the feedback is very good and there is very little negative feedback, I know ebays feedback can be deceptive so what do you guys reckon?

Link to camera and seller:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-EOS..._DigitalCameras_JN&hash=item43b4b2e07e&_uhb=1
http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayI...sspagename=VIP:feedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller

What do you think of those set ups and will I miss image stabilisation on those lenses?

Thanks.

 

[Einholt]

Anyone?

 

[ecniv]

Pop to a used camera store and handle them first...

I'd prefer looking a bit higher spec than the ones you've posted, perhaps a 50d or 60d for canon and a d90, or d300 for nikon

d300 used body only is around 400-600 and a 35mm f1.8 lens new is around 180, so used should be around 120.

I have a d300 and as a step up from the minolta 5d (the one before sony took over) its brilliant. But best to go handle the models before deciding.

Not sure whether the nex7 might be worthy of a look too. Its newer and a nice spec but not sure whether you'd need an adapter for your current lenses. Could be worth asking whether they have any sonys used too and comparing the prices.

 

[Einholt]

Pop to a used camera store and handle them first...

I'd prefer looking a bit higher spec than the ones you've posted, perhaps a 50d or 60d for canon and a d90, or d300 for nikon

d300 used body only is around 400-600 and a 35mm f1.8 lens new is around 180, so used should be around 120.

I have a d300 and as a step up from the minolta 5d (the one before sony took over) its brilliant. But best to go handle the models before deciding.

Not sure whether the nex7 might be worthy of a look too. Its newer and a nice spec but not sure whether you'd need an adapter for your current lenses. Could be worth asking whether they have any sonys used too and comparing the prices.

Thanks, I will go try the bodies out ofc, but as I said before the higher spec bodies would be wonderful but out of my price range with the kit I want to get for that price, I would far prefer to buy into a midrange then when I do reach its limitations sell it on and go for a better model then but I think it will be quite some time before i reach my limitations with one of those.

 

[Einholt]

Pop to a used camera store and handle them first...

I'd prefer looking a bit higher spec than the ones you've posted, perhaps a 50d or 60d for canon and a d90, or d300 for nikon

Reconsidering what you said earlier I think I dismissed your suggestions a bit too quickly, whilst I cannot afford a current generation higher tier body have you got any suggestions for the last generation / generation before bodies that are still competitive today?

My requirements would be liveview preferably with a tilting screen, good intuitive ergonomics (although on the higher bodies this is less of an issue as there are more controls ) and a price point of around £400 with a kit lens.

 

[Einholt]

After reading lots more reviews I am interested in a Nikon d90 or canon 40d (50d does not seem to offer many advantages and even though it has 5 MP more reviews say the image quality is not as good as the 40d?), how do these these cameras fare in today's market?

I went to my local London camera exchange as online it was showing they had a secondhand d90 and 40d, they apparently did not not have the 40d so I handled the d90 but it was in poor condition and they did not offer to put a lens on and a battery in so I could have a play, when I asked what the shutter count was I was told they could try and find out but they "probably" couldn't.

In fact the service was pretty poor in general, three staff, one serving another customer and the other two ignored me for several minutes and when I said I wanted to look at some second hand bodies I could clearly tell they were not interested.

Does anyone know of any good secondhand camera shops around Lincolnshire / Nottinghamshire or if any of the LCEs in my area (Derby, Nottingham etc) are any better for service?