Decisions Decisions - first big boys' toy?

BigSoy

BigSoy

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Chris
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Am getting to the point where I'm interested enough in this game to take the leap from P&S to something more substantial... question now is what to get?!

Budget £600-£700, looking for something that will cope with a variety of shots as I'm not fixed in any particular type of shooting yet and ideally something that has a sensible learning curve to a help support a DSLR noob...

The contenders (unless anyone has a much better idea...)

Admittedly, after being somewhat seduced by the flashy advert, but also because the smaller size might encourage me to take it out a bit more... the panasonic G2:

Panasonic G2

In the Nikon corner... a D5000 maybe?

Single lens or double lens kit:
Single Lens D5000
or
Double Lens D5000

Single lens kit does have a considerable price advantage there....

or finally from canon:

Canon 550D

Any insight, or experiences with any of these as a noob much appreciated.
 
I have a G1 and a GF1 and am thrilled to bits with them both, the GF1 with the 20mm Pancake lens is just super.

Have a read of the threads on here on them both and see some pic results too.
 
For learning I wouldn't discount the 500D (although I am biased), very easy to use and a great camera and as with the Nikon corner a history of rock solid cameras and flexibilty of growing with you.

As you grow I would always suggest getting better glass before upgrading the body and with either Canon ro Nikon there is plenty of nice glass to get along the way. With the two brands being the most popular there is also a better chance of getting the lens you want second hand and saving further pennies down the line...
 
Thanks for the input gents.

Went and had a bit of fondle of a few cameras at currys at lunchtime today... suspect I might be leaning towards a full DSLR as the size/weight difference between that and the G1 was not as much as I expected it to be.
 
2nd hand d200 or similar with 18-50 2.8 from tamron/sigma etc and maybe a 50mm and yongnuo flash from fitp would be my choice
either that or the d200 with 18-200 2nd hand

should come in at around budget :)

my honest opinion is that scene modes on the lower model cams do nothing to help the learning process :)
 
Don't forget if the DSLR's feel light in your hand a battery grip makes a massive difference :D
 
I've got the D5000 and am delighted with it :)

loads of in camera processing & effects, lightweight and that little swivel screen is fab if you don't like lying on the ground or want to hold the camera up high and still see what you're getting! :)
 
I bought a Nikon D50 as my first step up to digital after shooting with an F90 film camera. Then had a D70s, both excellent cameras, even today although LCD size and ISO performance is much better these days.

I wouldn't rule out buying a 2nd hand SLR body from somewhere like MPB, you could get things like the Canon 350D for £150, and although its old will give greater image quality over a P&S. Even the 20D can be had for £175 and even the modern 450D can be had for £300 with a 6 month warranty.

On the Nikon front cameras like the D80/D200 are still excellent value.

If you have £800 in your budget and you went to the High Street a SLR kit package would eat all of that.
If you bought 2nd hand you'd get so much more.

I made this shortlist from MPB Photographic stock: (CAUTION: CANON BIASED)

1) Used Canon 450D body (£314)
2) New Canon 18-55 IS (£89)
3) Used Canon 55-250mm (£149)
4) Sandisk 4gb CF card (£22)

This kit costs £574 and is more than enough for someone new to SLR. That leaves a lot of change to buy a bag, tripod, battery grip perhaps, spare batteries, extra memory etc.

But it's all down to personal preference and what feels more comfortable to use.
 
alexkidd said:
my honest opinion is that scene modes on the lower model cams do nothing to help the learning process :)
Click to expand...

Can see why there is some logic in this although I guess ideally of also like a camera that will help me shoot some good shots without 5 years practice first...

The thing with D5000 is that when you decide to go forward, you will very likely have to change your D5000.
Click to expand...

Genuine question - what factors are likely to make me want to upgrade as I move on as a photographer?
 
G1 is better than G2 which has a plastic lens mount on the 14-42 lens as opposed to metal one on the well proven superb IQ 14-45 which comes with G1.
G2 also has a smudgy wudgy touch screen which is a waste of time. Loads of my clients have bought G1s at the mo for about £350 with kit lens, It's my favourite camera and we run Nikon and Canon entry level cameras as well. I used to take the G11 out on the weekend now its the G1 with the 45-200mm in my pocket. John

PS G1 can be used at intelligent auto level during the learning process.
 
phototuition said:
G1 is better than G2 which has a plastic lens mount on the 14-42 lens as opposed to metal one on the well proven superb IQ 14-45 which comes with G1.
G2 also has a smudgy wudgy touch screen which is a waste of time. Loads of my clients have bought G1s at the mo for about £350 with kit lens, It's my favourite camera and we run Nikon and Canon entry level cameras as well. I used to take the G11 out on the weekend now its the G1 with the 45-200mm in my pocket. John

PS G1 can be used at intelligent auto level during the learning process.
Click to expand...

Thanks John - interesting to hear. G1 does look like good value at that price point... why do you tend to prefer it compared to the entry level canons/nikons?
 
mastertrinity said:
what about a secondhand sony a200 with an 18-55mm kit lens and 55-200mm kit lens along with a minolta 50mm f1.7 that would be less than £500!
Click to expand...

Hmm - its a lot of kit for the money - but have a nagging doubt about the range of kit available for the sonys and that maybe the cameras are cheaper but the accessories expensive as a result.

Was possibly leaning towards a D5000 at one point, but having looked at them in the flesh the canons maybe look a little more up to date... and the 550D does appear to be awful lot of camera for the money (maybe too much for me?!)
 
Better to have a camera that you can grow into rather than one that leaves you wanting more after 6 months...
 
something this size would take a fair bit of growing into :lol:

big_camera.jpg
 
Nice :) Should be able to get an excellent screen on the back of there :D

Arkady - its a good point you make about having a camera to grow into, as I definitely won't be upgrading in 6 months time. Do you think the D5000 fits the bill in that respect?
 
i like the way you just give a delicate thump with a clenched fist to release the shutter :lol:

to the OP i was in a similar position to you a few months ago & chose a very little used D200 over a new D5000 :)
i guess the IQ & high ISO of the D5000 may be slightly better but i wanted the durabilty & sealing (& metal body) that the D200 gives as quite a bit of my cameras time will be spent shooting at dusty offroad RC tracks.
also the more direct access to many variables that are buried within the menus & sub menus was quite appealing. even after a few months i'm still growing into it & after dabbling with the Mrs D40x its a MUCH better interface :thumbs:
 
BigSoy said:
Nice :) Should be able to get an excellent screen on the back of there :D

Arkady - its a good point you make about having a camera to grow into, as I definitely won't be upgrading in 6 months time. Do you think the D5000 fits the bill in that respect?
Click to expand...

Actually I do...
The only caveats are that it's quite small, so if you have big hands it might not suit and that it looks a bit dinky if you put big lenses on it...
If you're just going to stick with the kit lenses for a year or two then it'll be perfect...

As I said, to prove the point I did a couple of jobs (with my lenses on it) with a mate's D5000 in Afghanistan and the shots were indistinguishable from those taken on my D3... nothing taxing, but it proved to me at least that the camera was capable of doing the job...
 
Cool - thanks Arkady - sounds good.

Is there a similarly priced equivalent of the canon thrifty-fifty for the nikons that i could easily add to my kit?
 
BigSoy said:
Genuine question - what factors are likely to make me want to upgrade as I move on as a photographer?
Click to expand...

Well, first, you can use a lot more lenses, not just those AF-S(es). (you will not be able to use the 50f/1.8D, 1.4D, 85f/1.8 85f/1.4 for example)
Then, the D90 body is much faster to operate :D
There are a lot more things such as: the D90 has better battery, better LCD, better viewfinder...

If I have to spend £250 -300 more for the D90, I may think again, but only £150 more at this time, I don't think the D5000 would be a wise choice.

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod1209.html
http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod724.html


I'm not a professional, but I was in your situation and I chose D90 after talking with many people and doing quite a lot researches.

hope that may help. :)
 
Nikon do a dirt-cheap 50mm f/1.8 that you can always find good, used examples of here in the classifieds and on e-bay. I wouldn't buy a new one as people are forever off-loading them in almost mint condition...
A better bet would be the fantastic Nikkor 35mm f/2 which is one of the most versatile lenses out there that everyone's forgotten about.
Might be worth holding out and seeing if you'd actually use one though as the kit lens is pretty good...
I bought the more expensive 50mm f/1.4 for 'street' photos and similar (impulse-purchase...lol) and it barely gets a look-in now I have my 24-70 f/2.8
 
intotherainbow said:
Well, first, you can use a lot more lenses, not just those AF-S(es). (you will not be able to use the 50f/1.8D, 1.4D, 85f/1.8 85f/1.4 for example)
Then, the D90 body is much faster to operate :D
There are a lot more things such as: the D90 has better battery, better LCD, better viewfinder...

If I have to spend £250 -300 more for the D90, I may think again, but only £150 more at this time, I don't think the D5000 would be a wise choice.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info - much appreciated. Can anyone give any insight on whether there's a similar issue in play with Canons where you can't use a full range of glass on lower end models?

And again - thanks Arkady - great info.
 
BigSoy said:
Thanks for the info - much appreciated. Can anyone give any insight on whether there's a similar issue in play with Canons where you can't use a full range of glass on lower end models?

And again - thanks Arkady - great info.
Click to expand...

Well, did a bit of reading for myself on this topic and seems like Canons don't suffer quite such an issue... probably a point in their favour I suspect.
 
BigSoy said:
Genuine question - what factors are likely to make me want to upgrade as I move on as a photographer?
Click to expand...

I got a D5000 with a couple of lenses (that I'm now selling BTW:thumbs:) but have now picked up a 2nd hand D90, the picture quality is no different but there are more buttons and everything is a bit more to hand than the D5000. I found that once I started to know what I wanted to do with a shot I didnt want to navigate menus for metering etc... its nice to just look through the viewfinder, press a couple of buttons and snap. That's pretty much the only reason I changed....

I love my Nikon but I'm sure you wont be disappointed with your 450 though... Good luck!
 
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