First DSLR for someone new to photography

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The Key Points (only read below the line if interested)

Wanted: suggestions for a good first DSLR.

- 'grow into' potential;
- something to experiment with a wide range of subjects;
- good range of lenses;
- smaller body (small hands);
- brand with 'better' cameras for down the line, including ones of the physically smaller side;
- no specific budget, but cheaper side of decent.

Thank you.
____________________________________________________

I've been surrounded by DSLR users for many years and have long wanted to be a part of proper photography. Occured to me a few days ago that I don't really have anything in my life and I'm in a relatively good financial position right now, so why not?

Having never been involved in anything more than point and shoot compact cameras before, I'm after a decent starter DSLR. Something with 'grow into' potential for a beginner photographer and a good range of features and available lenses for me to explore and find my area(s) of interest vis a vis photography. Not sold on one brand over another, but after one that has 'better' cameras available for down the line so I (hopefully) wouldn't have to upgrade body and lenses at the same time.

I do have one potentially quite problematic physical restraint: I have small hands. Very small, got about a 14cm handspan, which I daresay is going to rule out bulkier bodies. If the brand had 'better' cameras that were also on the smaller side, that would be good thing (again with the not upgrading cameras and lenses at the same time, would rather not have to change camera brand because the starter camera was fine but anything else by the same company is too big.)

Budget-wise, I don't really know what would be reasonable to be honest. I have quite a bit available, but being realistic, this isn't going to be a camera I'll keep for years so I don't want to go overboard on it - the cheaper end of decent, but dirt-cheap isn't a necessity.

Thank you for reading all of that waffle and for any recommendations you can provide. :)
 
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Hello.

a couple of questions for you that might help members point you in the right direction:

What do you want to take photos of? kids, pet, sports, landscapes, wildlife?

Do you want to put a budget range as it might help i.e. £500-1000 or £1000-1500 etc.
 
tris101 said:
Hello.

a couple of questions for you that might help members point you in the right direction:

What do you want to take photos of? kids, pet, sports, landscapes, wildlife?

Do you want to put a budget range as it might help i.e. £500-1000 or £1000-1500 etc.
Click to expand...

I don't yet have a clue. Would like something that would allow me to experiment with different subjects so that I can find out what I want to take photos of. I like nature-y things and the point of getting into photography is to stop me just going to work and coming home to mess around on the computer, so will probably be in that sort of genre as opposed to family and sports.

I really don't have one I'm afraid, I don't know what would be reasonable for a start.
 
Are you happy with used kit, or do you want brand new??

The way I see it there is little to lose on decent 2nd hand kit, sticking to any main brand will open theh way to many oportunites to try/buy better lens/equipment.

Try handling different camera bodies, see what works for you, what feels good, features that appeal to you, eg I wanted a fairly fast shoot mode for taking horsey pictures, so the Canon 40d ticked the boxes at the price range I had. I'm not sure if there is the perfect all round lens, so I have a few to maximise varying conditions.

The biggest thing I have found is the ability to understand why an image hasn't quite turned out how I expected, and to improve on the shots that I take, this is a mixture of experience/reading on here and tutorials.

Having something you are interested in I find helps, I take pictures of all sorts of things which I already have an interest in, that in itself takes loads of my spare time.

Hope you find what your looking for.
 
350d/400d/450d if you're going used, 1000d if you're going new.

:)
 
Btw, I have a 16cm handspan and manage the middle sized cameras fine too. (20/30/50d)
 
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Go and have a play in jessops or similar. See whats comfortable to hold.

You could look at the 4/3rds cameras, this is a relatively new format - the advantage is its an SLR but has a small form factor - not much bigger than a point and shoot. Disadvantage is they wont have the image quality (although they are very good).

The common route would be something like a Canon 500D or 550D or a Nikon D3100/D5000. These cameras are the "entry level" SLRs from the two biggest manufacturers. All of these cameras offer similar features (some do video, if thats of interest) so its about which you find most comfortable to hold and use.
The good thing about buying one of these is that lenses are plentiful and theres a good market in secondhand lenses, so you don't have to pay full whack.

You mention some friends have SLRs ? what do they have ? ask them about their cameras and get hands on. If the majority of them are (say) Nikon owners it'd make sense to get a Nikon - you can share lenses and gain knowledge/familiarity with that brand together.

As far as being suitable for a wide range of subjects - thats going to be more down to lens choice, the actual camera will be able to do pretty much all you want.
For example if you want to take pictures of birds a telephoto lens is what you'd want. For close up work a macro lens is used, for landscapes a UWA (ultra wide angle) lens is used.

You'll see people talk about "walkabout" lenses, basically the lens you use most of the time whilst walking about.. all the above cameras will come with a "kit lens" which will be a sort of general use lens, this will give you a chance just to try things out - from there you can decide what sort of photography you like, which will lead you to lens purchases.
 
Go to a shop with a good selection and see what fits your hand best. I use a small body as I have smallish hands but more importantly I cannot carry weight (so I buy huge lens :$)

You will find there is nothing much in the brands, they all perform well and all you need to do is decide what fits you. Controls that fall into where your hand is.

Too slow :$
 
It’s a little hard to suggest a suitable camera without a budget or idea of the type of photography you wish to pursue, but I will have stab at it.

Please bare in mind my suggestion are from camp Canon , other makers have equivalent models but I’m not familiar with them so I will let someone else advise on them.

Good advice from Craft

OK if you want a smaller size body, room to grow your ability without a need to upgrade for awhile time. If your budget was tighter say £1200 ish I would suggest.

Canon 550d or 600d
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_SLR/EOS_550D/

Tamron 17-50 f2.8
http://www.tamron.eu/uk/lenses/over...-ii-ld-aspherical-if-7.html?tx_keproducts_pi6[cam]=&tx_keproducts_pi6[vc]=false&tx_keproducts_pi6[sp]=false

Canon 70-200 f4
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/EF_Lenses/Telephoto_Zoom/EF_70-200mm_f4L_USM/

or maybe just this one lens which will give you a one lens solution all be it with reduced Image quality, but a saving of £250 ish over the two above.

canon 18-200
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Pro...nses/Standard_Zoom/EF-S_18-200mm_f3.5-5.6_IS/

With a budget of around £1700 ish I would suggest the following:

Canon 60D
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_SLR/EOS_60D/

Canon 17-55 f 2.8
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Pro...enses/Standard_Zoom/EF-S_17-55mm_f2.8_IS_USM/

or

Canon 15-85 f3.5-5.6
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Pro...s/Standard_Zoom/EF-S_15-85mm_f3.5-5.6_IS_USM/

and

Canon 70-200 f4
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/EF_Lenses/Telephoto_Zoom/EF_70-200mm_f4L_USM/

or
Canon 70-200 F4 IS
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Pro...Lenses/Telephoto_Zoom/EF_70-200mm_f4L_IS_USM/

These two lens will give you a good all-round coverage and depending on what type of photography to want to peruses you can add to your lens collection over time with:

Canon 50mm 1.4
Canon 10-22
Canon 100mm macro
Canon 100-400

There are other great lens from 3rd parties such as Sigma and Tamron which can considerably reduce your cost outlay.

Again there are much cheaper options which is why I was asking for a budget range to work with. If you find the lens don’t suit your style you will be able to sell them on the recoup most of your money. You really need to try some in a shop to see what you are happy to handle and hold.

Going for 2nd hand route 40d or 450d body and cheaper kit lens you could get the body and 2 lens for maybe £600ish.

So it come back to budget I guess.
 
Personally speaking I think this was one of the more concise requests for info on a 1st dSLR.

The only thing missing is what pictures are going to be taken, but for the most part, people are going to take pictures of everything when they fork out for their first camera.

The first thing you need to decide is Canon or Nikon - they are the main players. Go into a shop and handle both - see where the buttons are, see how it feels. When you've decided which brand, then you can look at how much you want to spend and what model to go for.

Keep in mind that the lens is very important. Lets say you had £1000 to spend - I would spend half on the body and half on the lens. That would be a good set up to start.

Most come with a kit lens, but you don't need to go down that route if you don't want to.

My recommendation would be a Nikon D7000 and an 18-200mm lens. It's not a cheap entry level that you are going to grow out of in 6 months and it's not a pro camera either. The 18-200mm lens is a good range and you should be happy with it for a long time. The D7000 will set you back £1,000 and the lens about £400. If you want a similar thing but not that much, the Nikon D90 with 18-105mm kit lens which is in Jessops for £680.

The D90 and 18-105mm are very popular for a very good reason - it's a great set up and not massively expesive.

Don't forget your bag, UV filter to protect the lens and memory card when you are doing the sums - add another £50 for all these items.
 
Have a think about M4/3 cameras if you have small hands. If you want a dslr type camera without the weight and size, the Panasonic G range ( G1 G2 GH1 GH2) are great cameras. Their sensors are smaller than a dslr, but I doubt you would notice the difference in most situations. They use interchangeable lenses and have a reasonable range from a spectacular 20mm pancake lens ( very small) to a superb 100-300mm ( which equates to a 200-600mm on a 35mm body)

All ( except the G1) do HD video, they have swing out LCD displays, the newer one being touch screen ( either a blessing or a curse depending on your view) and of course all have the latest technology.

Bodies are similar in size to the smaller Canons and entry level Nikons but have more goodies on them.

Worth a thought?

Allan
 
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I would say that with the small hand situation go with Canon 450D, 500D, 550D depending on your budget. For wildlife focal length is king and you really need to be looking at 400mm, this is where it starts to get expensive with the Canon 100-400 being the most popular lens. There are good cheaper alternatives in the 3rd party Sigma 120-400 and 150-500 offerings which have similar IQ. A lot depends on your budget, but you will get more for your money buying secondhand.
 
^ And to add to that, the second hand stuff on this forum is good. The sellers 99% of the time tell you exactly what you are getting. And in the 1% where it is isn't as expected, it's a more friendly place to sort problems out than eBay.
 
There's a thread somewhere talking about VERY cheap deals on Nikon D5000's at Jacobs, around the £400 mark with the 18-105 lens. That's a serious bargain in my opinion. The D90 is a little larger than the D5000, but it's still not massive.

Obviously I'm biased towards Nikon, but personally if I had £1000-1200 to spend and was starting from scratch I'd go with a D90 with 18-105mm lens, 70-300VR, and a 50mm f 1.8. That little lot should cover a few bases while you decide what you most enjoy doing.

As posters have said above, the classified's are a whole new treasure trove, and if you buy used you usually won't lose much (if any) money when reselling.

Hope you get something nice!
 
Since budget isn't that much of a factor (lol)... Jessops firstly to get a feel.

Ask about:
D90 / D7000
Canon equivalents... (1000d?)
Sony NEX5
GF1 or GF2 (Think these are panasonic)
Pentax's... dunno what these are tho

If you want to research have a look at DP Review as they have most brands up to date cameras, and a compare side by side option.

Secondly, when buying into a dslr you are mostly buying into the lenses of that brand. Loads of recommendations for various on loads of threads here, but have a browse through ebay, jessops and warehouseexpress (google them for their main sites) to get an idea of lens costs.

Usual starting point is a 35mm f1.8 (approx 170ukp) or 50mm f1.8 (approx 100ukp). You can go wider, tele, zoom or macro from there.

Welcome to the (expensive) world of photography!

Oh last piece of advice, when you are in Jessops dont buy immediately and dont be pressured into buying. Take your time - walk away and compare their prices. The only thing they have is finance options (interest free spread cost) which are handy - but you've already said you are in a good position :)
 
To follow on from what has been said above, and to be practical, assuming you are buying new, I would suggest that you look at:

A 2 lens kit (normally 2 zoom lenses, covering wide angle through to telephoto focal lengths)

A flash unit. Most modern bodies have a built in flash, but a proper flash unit is very handy, and both Nikon and the latest Canon offerings have what is known as "wireless flash" operation. Meaning that your flash doesn't actually have to be on the camera to work, so it can be very creative.

A bag. You are going to need to keep your kit together. Personally I prefer the backpack style and I would suggest for the kit above something like the Lowepro Slingshot 200AW is a good investment.

This will give you the basic kit to get you started and cover most subjects, including landscapes, portraits, and some wildlife (Wildlife really needs very long lenses which tend to be expensive).

If you're going to look at used equipment, once you have decided on your body, I would suggest a 17-55mm lens and a 70-200mm lens. I'm not sure about Nikon, but Canon have a number of lenses in this range, and you could also look at Sigma as well.

But first, look at a number of camera bodies, hold them, and look at the menu system. It's no good have a great feeling body if you can't get on with the menu layout.

Right now you have a huge selection of kit available to you. If your budget allows, I would look at the Canon 550D which as the new 600 is out should be on a few offers, as long as you can get to grips with it (pun very much intended :D)

Hope that helps.

Steve
 
Wow, thanks for all the help! I have read all the posts, but would be repeating myself a lot to reply to all, so just a general comment response along with my appreciation.

Decided to go with a Canon, mainly because my father and a couple of friends have Canons, so I could experiment with a few lenses and, if there's one I'd like to use occasionally but not so much that it would be worth buying, I could borrow one and they could do the same from me. Also, when (note that I don't say 'if' ;)) I get into difficulty, I could get some help from them - wouldn't necessarily be the case if they all knew how Canons work and I have a Nikon.

I am now the proud owner of a Canon 550D, bought today; it's had a temporary screen protector applied and a neckstrap attached, currently waiting for the battery to charge so I can actually try taking a photo. Standard kit lens, 18-55 ... but, like I say, I have access to a few to experiment with before buying ones of my own (there's wide angle ones, telephoto ones, might be a macro...) as well as with other bits of equipment like a couple of different tripods. The camera feels great in my hands, so good choice I think. A Lowepro Slingshot bag has been reserved for collection tomorrow and then I'll be let loose out in the wild.

God help us all.
 
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Panasonic GH2 - best you can get for small hands, But there isn't currently a dedicated pro line of boides or lenses (although we are assured they are on the way, rumour has it the first lenses will be here in the next month or 2). The 14-140 is a fantastic jack of all trades lens, but is most definitely master of none. The 20mm panckae is an exceptionally good lens.

next would be a 4/3 DSLR, a little bigger than the Panasonic, share the same sensor size, but have mirrors and tiddly viewfinders. There is an excellent Pro model and Superb Pro lenses, but they are fairly pricey. They represent the smallest Pro system you can get, and the Pro lenses are just to die for.

Then It's onto Sony, Pnetax, Nikon & Canon, they're small models aren't the samlelst available and feature wise offer the least value. There is however a huge range of lenses from the brands themselves and third parties. Third party lenses (Tamron, Tokina, Sigma etc) are usually chosen because they are cheap compared to the branded ones.
 
tris101 said:
Have fun!!
Click to expand...

Oh, I have been! Just taking some pictures in my dining room, so nothing exciting - really more testing that it all works (it does) and trying out the zoom, shutter control, aperture control, did a bit of manual focusing, selecting different focus points...

Considering it was poor lighting conditions and first time with a DSLR, actually got some not too bad pictures. Shame the subject wasn't more interesting, I quite liked one with my foot in focus but everything behind out (took the same scene with a smaller aperture for comparison - sadly, all out of focus because exposure time was too long for me to keep steady ... but out of focus equally, which was the point I was trying to prove to myself.)

I can see many happy times ahead... :)
 
Always lots to learn, this forum has lots of great tips.

Just try not to get lens envy as its get very expensive :lol:
 
Good camera choice. :) I started off on the XXXD series and was what really got me seriously in to the hobby. Have fun with your new camera, and yes please do post some pics. :)
 
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