First DSLR dilemma

PaulBoy

PaulBoy

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Hi - I'm new here so please be gentle with me :hug:

I have spent some time recently browsing forums & reading reviews and based on what I read have decided on a Nikon D50 as my first DSLR - my first dilema is what to get with the body for my £500 (ish) budget

I see it as three choices:

1) Body & Kit lens (add longer lens when funds permit):
D50 body & kit lens @ £390

2) Body & 2x lens:
D50 body AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G IF ED
plus AF-S DX 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED @ £559

3) Body & 1x longer focal length lens:
D50 body & AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G @ £489
or D50 body & 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 AF-S DX @ £575

As to what I intend to photograph? People places possibly some macro & birds (feathered) - anything & everything really (?)

Hope you can help ... Paul ;)
 
Morning Paul, just want to emphasise one small point. When you say

PaulBoy said:
I have spent some time recently browsing forums & reading reviews and based on what I read have decided on a Nikon D50 as my first DSLR ;)
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Does that mean you haven't tried/handled any. If I've mis-understood then apologies but if I haven't first thing to do is get out there and handle some.
Until you have them in your hand you'll never know what feels right. ;)

As I say apologies if I mis-understood.

Good luck with your purchase. :)
 
I'd say the sooner you get started the better, so go for the cheaper option and add to it as you go.
 
Check what prices the lenses go for on EBAY s/h. That way you can go for which ever option you fancy, in the full knowledge you can sell lenses for £n leter on if you want to change. I do this with S/H lenses, knowing I can always sell on for near money paid.

The 18-70 lenses is a cracker which you could well keep, but would stop you playing with a longer zoom in your budget. Until you know which lens range is more important to you, probaly best to go with widest range of lens focal lengths, with view to sell lenses on again in future.
 
Not much to add really. I bought without a hands on (spotted a bargain price so just went for it!) - but I'd agree holding the cameras first is a sensible idea :)

And a lens with 18-70 range is going to be ideal as a walk round lens - wish my walkround went out to 18mm.

Glass is expensive but as Dave says it is some comfort knowing the resale values are high.
 
Thanks for the input so far (y)
Agro - yes I have had a "feel" of the main players in my pricerange (D50 350D Olympus etc) so I did mislead you a bit (!)
I fancy the 18-70mm lens (although the deal I spotted on the 24-85mm said this was a £399 lens for only £150!) but wondered when compared to the 24-85mm whether the wider 18mm end would be more use than the longer 85mm end in day to day use (if u get my drift :thinking:)
Keep the advice coming please ... Paul ;)
 
d50 with the 18-70 as you will keep it. also consider a second hand nikon 70-210, they go for about £100. a local friend of mine has one and after seeing his shots it really has impressed me, i think someone here has one too, maybe djw?
 
I got my D70 with the DX18-70 lens and I love it, a very versatile lens. I would then advise you to get the D50 body & 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 AF-S DX @ £575, it takes amazing landscape shots and great for portraits too :)
 
noah said:
d50 with the 18-70 as you will keep it. also consider a second hand nikon 70-210, they go for about £100. a local friend of mine has one and after seeing his shots it really has impressed me, i think someone here has one too, maybe djw?
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Yep have the 70-210, but usually sells for silly money on EBAY.....back at Christmas people were paying nearly £300 for them :wacky: . Very fast focusing lens & well made. Re PQ you can get similar results with the 70-300 G lens, for £70 new here
. It's not as fast focusing as 70-210 & feels cheap in comparision, but it does the job, with greater focal length & you can sell it on EBAY for near same money if/when you decide to upgrade that kind of lens (y)
 
getta cannon - theyre better lol :D


(hehehehe...how long will I last :))
 
I won't, honest :D

The problem with those darn Nikons is that I can't give lens advice :eek:
 
Comparison shot I took of 70-210 vs 70-300...100% crop :-

210vs300atf8.jpg
 
Definitely the D50 + 18 -70mm ... and if you hassle Jessops (yeuch ... but serves a purpose in this case !) you will/should get a great deal with them throwing in the 70-300 as DJW suggests for silly money as part of the 'package' !

Good luck and when you gottit njoyit !
 
WOW! Lots of great advice there especially from DJW & Venomator (y)
Guess I should have expected some "Cannon" (?) indfidel to try to convert me but as I see it they're both top camera marques & for my present needs the Nikon just shades it this time - guess a trip to Jessops is on the cards :thinking:
Paul ;)
 
DJW said:
Yep have the 70-210, but usually sells for silly money on EBAY.....back at Christmas people were paying nearly £300 for them :wacky:
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i know what you mean, i can't understand it either. www.ffordes.com and www.mifsuds.com both have s/h ones listed for £99 which is good. my friend got his from mifsuds for that price and it was in good condition and performed perfectly :)

ffordes also have the 18-70dx for £159 if you are tempted :D
 
PaulBoy said:
WOW! Lots of great advice there especially from DJW & Venomator (y)
Guess I should have expected some "Cannon" (?) indfidel to try to convert me but as I see it they're both top camera marques & for my present needs the Nikon just shades it this time - guess a trip to Jessops is on the cards :thinking:
Paul ;)
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it was a fanboy type joke - note the rest of the sentence is also spelt badly.

It didn't really work though - It wasn't a long enough post :)

seriously though, get a 350D and a Sigma 17-70 :D - the D50 uses SD CARDS!!!!!!!!!!! (I am morally against SD, mainly because I don't have any...)

Join me in the "Leo fighting SD" fan club.
 
yeah, i'm not an SD fan either (simply as i have more invested in CF) but you may find that they (the big manufacturers) will slowly change us over to them. they're smaller, just as fast (or as near as dammit) and cost about the same these days. just look as the 1DmkIIN you can pop them in there too :puke:
 
noah said:
i know what you mean, i can't understand it either. www.ffordes.com and www.mifsuds.com both have s/h ones listed for £99 which is good. my friend got his from mifsuds for that price and it was in good condition and performed perfectly :)
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Cripes they have dropped a tad. I watched EBAY for over 4 months for a "D" version as I couldn't find one for under £200 for love or money. In end paid £150 by contacting guy direct......so for £100, if you can live with 210mm, you won't find a faster focusing lens without spending some silly money. Just tried mine again last night & the focusing is imediate & I mean imediate (y)

Saw non "D" lenses on EBAY for around £70-£80.
 
Well I have taken the plunge now after all the excellent advice I received :notworthy:
I have ordered a D50 with 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 AF-S DX lens - though not from Jessops (although they were the cheapest for this combo @ £499) for a few pounds more I ordered from Warehouse Express (as I could get 9 months interest free credit)
I also ordered the 70-300mm that DJW spotted (y) so apart from some filters & a camera case I am well sorted (& for now only £120 out of pocket :naughty:)
Thanks again & hopefully see you soon with some pics :clap:
Paul
PS - I noticed the 18-70mm is a 67mm filter size whereas the 70-300mm is 62mm - I presume I could buy 67mm filters & use some sort of adapter to fit these on the 62mm (?)
 
Dont forget - you'll need some memory.
 
IanC_UK said:
Damn just spotted ribby's post too late !!!!
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=7255
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Ian - no problem the deal here included the basic kit lens which I don't fancy anyway (& to keep 'er indoors sweet I wanted an interest free deal ;))

Dont forget - you'll need some memory.
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Warspite - yeah I remembered that (can't believe you don't get ANY with the body :bonk:) Found a good deal @ Big Pockets for 1gb although I already have some SD kicking about as I have an Ipaq ... Paul ;)
 
whats the hama monopod like? I'll be getting a monopod eventually (argh - I want to buy a grip, a tripod, a monopod, a 50 1.8, a 70-300, more memory...)

I don't have any money :(

Leo
 
Rich said:
I may be too late but the d50 and 18-70 is £499.99 at Jessops.
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Rich - thanks 4 that - I did mention above that I had seen that combo @ Jessops 4 that price but I paid a bit more @ WE to get 9 months BNPL
Incidentally the 70-300mm arrived from onestop-digital yesterday (4 days from HK pretty impressive! especially @ £70)
Once I am more mobile (just had spinal surgery :puke:) I hope to give all the gear a good workout (instead of annoying the cat :LOL:)
Paul ;)
 
leoedin said:
whats the hama monopod like? I'll be getting a monopod eventually (argh - I want to buy a grip, a tripod, a monopod, a 50 1.8, a 70-300, more memory...)

I don't have any money :(

Leo
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LOL - I'm in the same boat. If like you I was shooting with a 350d though, I'd make the grip top of the list - the camera will handle like a different beast altogether with that on! I've just ordered the 70-300 on your wish-list so I'll let you know how I go when I get it, and as for the 50mm 1.8 - I'll race you to it as that's on my list also!
 
I'm torn between buying the 50 or the tripod now. I think the grip will have to be relegated to the back shelf, as it just doesn't have any real gain. I was going to buy a grip in july, but I might have to buy a hard disk backup thingmy or a CD/DVD backup thingmy instead - I'll be in Canada for 3 weeks and 2 gigs won't be enough, especially if I shoot RAW.

I think the 70-300 will be a birthday present (also in July), so that leaves me with only the tripod and the 50. I need a monopod by September (airshow), so that will probably be an august buy.

oh the wonders of being 15 and having £40 a month to buy everything with :D
 
leoedin said:
I think the grip will have to be relegated to the back shelf, as it just doesn't have any real gain.
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i know what you mean but i have to say it makes a big difference imo. the handling is the single biggest reason i changed from canon to nikon when i went digital. the grip although not a very exciting purchase compared to a lens is probably a very good one :)

torn between a 50 and a tripod too... i think id go tripod, then you can go play in the dark :D
 
I would get a tripod straight away, but I have a tripod, just a really terrible one.
Then, I could get the 50...but I have a 50, just a MF one, and TBH, when you buy a lens for its 1.8 performance, your using it in low light, where its hard to MF.

I think I'm going to get the tripod, and buy the lens at the beginning of June. I need it for the 16th, but it should be OK :D

Leo
 
PaulBoy said:
Rich - thanks 4 that - I did mention above that I had seen that combo @ Jessops 4 that price but I paid a bit more @ WE to get 9 months BNPL
Incidentally the 70-300mm arrived from onestop-digital yesterday (4 days from HK pretty impressive! especially @ £70)
Once I am more mobile (just had spinal surgery :puke:) I hope to give all the gear a good workout (instead of annoying the cat :LOL:)
Paul ;)
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I should read more carefully :LOL:

Good luck with the new camera. Be sure to tell us how you get on. For £500 (or thereabouts) that combo is gunna be a cracker.
 
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