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rivet58

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hi everyone - im sort of new here so be gentle with me

i need so advice on what i should be buying dslr wise.

i dont mind buying second hand either if the price is good

what sort of set up could i be looking at with a budget of say £500? im just looking for a general everyday camera, havent got one subject in mind to shoot either

any help would be great as i dont have a clue! - (was told nikon d50 was good):shrug::shrug::shrug:

cheers

the new guy!:wave:
 
hey, not a clue about nikon but sure some one else can help you with that.

For 500 you can get a canon 450D new with a lens or 18-55mm, which is just a general lens.

Are you looking to shoot far away things close up? If so you can get a Tamron 70-300mm lens for around £150 new.

If you go to jessops you can get the canon 450d for £470 inc the 18-55mm lens. (you pay 500 but canon do £30 cash back via cheque) and you get the tamron lens for £99 if you buy together.

Second hand you can get some good deals on here if you brows the classified adds etc, you may get a bit extra for your money.

only advice I can give it, maybe look for some thing a little more than you might think, dont settle for 'that should do'....it could cost you more in the long run as it did for me, I soon realised I loved shooting and should have opted for a better camera from the start as it cost me 250 pound to change to what I have now.

It all depends how likely you are to get carried away with it like most people do on here...its like a bug! lol but any of the 350, 450 500 D etc are good.
 
Although nothing quite beats the thrill of opening a box containing a new camera, on your budget I'd seriously think about second-hand...
Cameras that only 5 years ago were over £1,500 will be safely within your means...
Don't rush into it, research carefully and look around...there are many bargains to be had.
If you think you're going to get serious about photography then forget the budget you have now - you'll end up selling your kidneys before you get done, trust me!

If you genuinely think you're just going to stick at taking occasional snapshots of family and friends plus the odd holiday, then ignore the above paragraph...

Nikon and Canon, despite the rivalry of their owners, produce almost identical results across the same price-point, as do other offerings from Sony, Olympus and Panasonic.

How do you know which is better for you? Without getting hands-on, you don't.
What's good for me is going to be horrible for someone else, so go into some camera shops dealing with second-hand (if you decide to go down that road) and get to grips with the hardware itself.
Most shops will be impartial to a greater or lesser extent, but remind yourself that they don't want you to leave the shop empty-handed, even if that means selling you something that may not be entirely suited to your needs.

Stick around, ask more questions - more people will be along in time to add their views to this thread and take your time...

My experience is almost exclusively with the top-end equipment used by professional photographers, so i'm not going to tell you which £500 camera is better than another, because I've never used any of them. But plenty here have done and continue to do so.
Welcome to the Forum. Hope you enjoy your stay.
 
HI

Beware photography grips you and cost you loads ha ha!!!

Seriously I have only been into phtography for 7 weeks now and have bought one thing after another.
I bought a 2nd hand Canon 400D with kit 18-55 lens with a few extras like bag, grip, tripod etc etc all for £250 off ebay.

The camera is in real good condition and is a brillient(i have to say this) learner camera.

Now onto the costs you loads bit, since buying the camera I have bought a flash gun, canon 75-300 lens, a lowepro Slingshot AW200 bag, a Giottos tripod(the one that came with it was rubbish, never buy a cheap tripod), another CF card and looking now for another lens, so yes it is addictive and yes you will not stop spending.

My advice knowing what i know now is go to local shop and handle the cameras and see what you feel good with, to be fair though i could not tell you if mine is good bad or indifferent for me as its the only real DSLR I have held(did not find this forum till afterwards) so for me its good.

Shop around take your time and ask questions on here, you will get good advice from here
good luck with what ever you buy.

spike
 
Heya,

As a newbie to the world of DSLRs last year, I went with the Canon 450D. And to be honest... its a truly awesome peice of kit. A terrific all rounder, reliable, strong, and so easy to use; its a great bit of kit to get to 'learn the ropes' of proper photography too.

The 450D was so good, it gave me confidence to start taking an A-level in photography, which I'm now really thoroughly enjoying and I'm now thinking about a career in photography.

So on-the-hole go for a 450D, but like Arkady mentioned, try and have a feel of one before buying... plus I wish I'd gone for a package and got the standard 18-55 lens plus a bigger one.

Hope I was of help. =)
 
Have alook at the 350d. Lots (and I mean lots) of the togs on here started with one and lots (and I mean lots) still have them!
Have a look here
 
Oohh! Way too many recommendations for Canon :nono: Gonna have to try to redress the balance a bit and suggest some Nikon gear :clap:

The D50 is a really nice camera but it's a bit old hat these days. Sensor technology has moved on a bit since it was introduced. The current crop of entry level Nikons are outside of your budget new and haven't been around long enough for the used market to get many of them.

So, you can still get new D40 and D60 systems with 18-55 kit lens within your budget and they are excellent cameras. I started with a D40 and was amazed at it's performance ~ it was certainly a better camera than I was a photographer :D

I strongly recommend a trip to your local camera store to actually handle and try out the menus on a few before making your final decision. Prior to doing this myself I was going to buy a Canon, but I preferred the balance and feel of the D40 - sorry Canon people :love:
 
Bristolian said:
Oohh! Way too many recommendations for Canon :nono: Gonna have to try to redress the balance a bit and suggest some Nikon gear :clap:

The D50 is a really nice camera but it's a bit old hat these days. Sensor technology has moved on a bit since it was introduced. The current crop of entry level Nikons are outside of your budget new and haven't been around long enough for the used market to get many of them.

So, you can still get new D40 and D60 systems with 18-55 kit lens within your budget and they are excellent cameras. I started with a D40 and was amazed at it's performance ~ it was certainly a better camera than I was a photographer :D

I strongly recommend a trip to your local camera store to actually handle and try out the menus on a few before making your final decision. Prior to doing this myself I was going to buy a Canon, but I preferred the balance and feel of the D40 - sorry Canon people :love:
Click to expand...


The DARK side has spoken!!!! :naughty:
 
thanks for the input guys

popped to a local shop today and had a play with afew different models - liked the feel of the canon 400d to be honest - there shop price was a little heavy for a used body but looking around on ebay there seems to be some nice packages - as in body, lenses, grip etc etc for under the £500 i wanted to spend.

i'll just have to keep looking but thanks for the advise and where i should start

:thumbs:
 
rivet58 said:
thanks for the input guys

popped to a local shop today and had a play with afew different models - liked the feel of the canon 400d to be honest - there shop price was a little heavy for a used body but looking around on ebay there seems to be some nice packages - as in body, lenses, grip etc etc for under the £500 i wanted to spend.

i'll just have to keep looking but thanks for the advise and where i should start

:thumbs:
Click to expand...

Good stuff, sounds like you have made your decision?
The Canoneers have triumphed again!
This is what we do to Nikons!

3231748726_e5e4e2be1f.jpg
 
wontolla said:
Good stuff, sounds like you have made your decision?
The Canoneers have triumphed again!
Click to expand...

I have to concede:

Canon do make better budget/toy cameras than Nikon...then, when you realise you need a real camera, you're hooked into a system and it's too late to change...

Better off biting the bullet and saving money in the long run by buying a D300 or D700 now and save all effort of selling those useless bits of white-painted glass on eBay in three years' time...lol

:D
 
rivet58 said:
hi everyone - im sort of new here so be gentle with me

i need so advice on what i should be buying dslr wise.

i dont mind buying second hand either if the price is good

what sort of set up could i be looking at with a budget of say £500? im just looking for a general everyday camera, havent got one subject in mind to shoot either

any help would be great as i dont have a clue! - (was told nikon d50 was good):shrug::shrug::shrug:

cheers

the new guy!:wave:
Click to expand...

I am fairly new to photography to, but i went for the Nikon D3000 for the guide mode and it is fantastic and the 3" screen is brilliant only criticism I have for it is that it is not the fastest camera in the world, but it is not unusably slow which unless your going to be shooting sports the D3000 is fine and if you buy soon Nikon will give £30 cashback.
 
Duffman said:
I am fairly new to photography to, but i went for the Nikon D3000 for the guide mode and it is fantastic and the 3" screen is brilliant only criticism I have for it is that it is not the fastest camera in the world, but it is not unusably slow which unless your going to be shooting sports the D3000 is fine and if you buy soon Nikon will give £30 cashback.
Click to expand...

Hi Duffman, I'm interested in your comment about the D3000 not being the fastest camera in the world ... can you explain what you mean? I was toying with the idea of buying my grandson one for Xmas as he's showing an interest in photography and keeps "borrowing" my D80 :)
 
Arkady said:
...and that's about the level of technology used by Canon as well...lol

If Nikon made guns, we'd be this:

airsoft_minigun
Click to expand...


Yes thats about right too!
1 quick spurt then out of ammo!!! :razz:
 
Hi rivet58 and welcome to TP

Just one small tip the TP classifieds are a lot better in my opinion than eBay. You will pick up a better deal and it will more than likely be from someone that is known and trusted. Maybe look at the Nikon D200 too it is a great camera (Yes I would say that wouldn't I) and bounces better than the d40 so I understand :)

As if by magic D200 No I don't know the seller but looks like it could be up your street.
 
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