Beginner Is this d3300 kit any good?

Hi two of the so called lens,are not really lens just converter that fit on the front of lens,IMO they are pretty useless,have a look around to see what other dealer are doing on the D3300 :)
 
Hello there.

I owned a Nikon 3200 before it got lost to a ex girlfriend. I recently just bought a 5300 after alot of research.
the 3300 is a good camera but the nikon 5300 is worth getting for the money you are going to spend.

personally i would steer away from kits on ebay. all the accessories are a cheep crap. I was looking at these myself.

Currently currys are offering 2 years manufacturer warranty and nikon are offering £50 cashback, you wont get this with your ebay purchase.

Also during my research i found alot of the cameras are japanese models, I have no idea what the difference is if any but i didn't want to gamble it.

Build your own kit over time and get better stuff.

i got 5300 18-55mm kit, nikon bag and battery, 2x16GB class 10 cards for £550

what i like over the 3300 to the 5300

flip out screen
time laps photo mode
much higher iso
expeed 4 processor
longer battery life
wi-fi and GPS built in....check out the nikon app
buttons and selector wheel feel much more solid and positive
nikon removed the low light filter on this one and later
39 point AF

and full 1080p video recording with stereo sound

don't jump in and get a massive bundle, build it up slow and get stuff you like
 
That's part of the reason I asked, I don't want to buy Chinese crap, need it to last, also Ian kinda confused about what camera to buy, I've read lots of posts about the d3300 is a great beginner camera, I would just like to buy a camera that does just about everything I need to create some amazing pictures, rather than having to up grade at a later date,
 
dturbopeck said:
That's part of the reason I asked, I don't want to buy Chinese crap, need it to last, also Ian kinda confused about what camera to buy, I've read lots of posts about the d3300 is a great beginner camera, I would just like to buy a camera that does just about everything I need to create some amazing pictures, rather than having to up grade at a later date,
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Where something is made makes no difference on the quality - Apple stuff is made in China and not many people would call that shoddy quality. The only thing about cameras made FOR Japan (rather than made IN Japan) is that sometimes they lack the ability to change the language to English, which can be a pain if you don't read Japanese.

All modern cameras are excellent and it's impossible to buy a bad DSLR. The best advice is to go to a shop and have a play with a few - you will find that one brand will feel more intuitive to use and that's the one you should go for as how you connect with it is far more important than any minor difference in specs.
 
dturbopeck said:
So the eBay greys are fine? As they seem to be a lot cheaper
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Have you tried DigitalRev? If you're looking at grey imports you would probably be much better off getting it from somewhere reputable. I bet DR would be a close match to any prices on Ebay.
 
dturbopeck said:
No I haven't, but I'll loot now
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They do different bundles as well which save money. It's quite possible that if you're looking for a bunch of things that aren't in there standard bundles that they might be able to work something out? There's actually someone on here from DR, I will see if I can flag them down for prices etc.
 
Well I went out tonight and came home with a Nikon d5300, looks a nice piece of kit, now just got to work out how it works,
 
:))' don't forget the £50 cash back from Nikon, visit their website
 
there are differences.. quality control for 1. The EU market has higher quality control checks in regard to shipping of the item BY the manufacturer.
warranty is another. grey import from ebay = ZERO warranty. not worth the risk.

for less than the ebay listing you can get this D5200 double lens kit from HDEW camera ( UK company )

http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/nikon-d5200--18-55--55-200-vr-double-kit-1171-p.asp
or this one for a little more
(single lens but i think its a little better though not nikon user so someone else can verify if its a better than standard kit lens )
http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/nikon-d5300--18-105mm-vr-kit-2327-p.asp
 
A lot of whats included in that kit (except the body and lenses) you won't every use and is pretty worthless. Its worth having a look at other suppliers to see whats on offer http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Nikon/Nikon-Digital-SLRs

Bear in mind you won't get a Nikon warranty if you buy grey. However the QC is the same, and you can still return it to the supplier for repair they may well provide a warranty. HDEW are grey and the warranty is only with them. Not Nikon. You can still pay Nikon to do it.

The final point to consider is Nikon's current cutback deals will bring the price difference between grey and UK bought to nothing https://www.nikon.co.uk/sites/promotions/summer/index_uk.html but you'll only be able to clim UK bought stuff
 
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hdew may be indeed grey import but are a UK based company and offer a 3 year warranty. something you wont get elsewhere unless buying from an authorised UK dealer. probably one of the very few "grey" suplliers where you wont have any issues with if you do get a fault.
 
All the reputable grey importers offer their own warranty. Which isn't that same as the Nikon one. And you won't be eligible for cashback either. Tough one, £499 & £50 cashback for the UK one, or £439 for the one without the manufacturers warranty and (apparently) less QC
 
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I've never heard of the EU having higher quality control for manufacturer-exported goods before. I don't see how someone could be stood in the Nikon factory checking that the European ones are to a higher quality than the others. It sounds like something a UK seller would say to try and put you off buying an imported camera (along with the usual warranty stuff).
 
connersz said:
I've never heard of the EU having higher quality control for manufacturer-exported goods before. I don't see how someone could be stood in the Nikon factory checking that the European ones are to a higher quality than the others. It sounds like something a UK seller would say to try and put you off buying an imported camera (along with the usual warranty stuff).
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the quality is in the shipping process. grey goods could have come via several suppliers, handling and shipping companies and multiple routes and locations with no trace. also they could have been sat in storage faclities for several weeks if not months that could be for example damp, causing problems in the camera electrics later ( or fungus growth in lenses ).

Offical outlets have goods shipped direct from manufacturer to there store with checking along route using dedicated shipping methods and storage that is constantly checked for quality control.
that is pretty much the main difference.
serial numbers are also registered to certain regions hence why the warranty is normally invalidated as the manufacturer has no record of the products movements and how it has been handled or stored.
 
why would an body destined for the Asian Market be shipped so differenlty from one intended for the EU. and why would stick from Nikon China (for example`) be stored in much worse conditions then Nikon UK?
 
boyfalldown said:
why would an body destined for the Asian Market be shipped so differenlty from one intended for the EU. and why would stick from Nikon China (for example`) be stored in much worse conditions then Nikon UK?
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I think Dean's use of the word "official" may hold some clues as he is perhaps presuming that there are no official retailers in Asia and that perhaps there should be some slap-dash practices involved with keeping the price low. I think there is a higher risk when buying from China for example but there are still plenty of legitimate retailers over there selling things by-the-book and there are still lots of dodgy places to buy things in the UK, including plenty of UK-Warehoused grey imports being sold as UK stock.

I don't really understand the issue with the warranty and why it is so often brought up. I just bought a camera from DigitalRev which is £1000 cheaper than on Amazon. It comes with a 1yr warranty which I believe is a year less than Nikon provide but frankly with that kind of saving I could buy another camera if it breaks and still have money to spare. I don't often hear of them breaking early on anyway. I'm not sure but I expect most problems occur after the manufacturer warranty has expired (queue comments from everyone with broken camera's).
 
connersz said:
I don't really understand the issue with the warranty and why it is so often brought up. I just bought a camera from DigitalRev which is £1000 cheaper than on Amazon. It comes with a 1yr warranty which I believe is a year less than Nikon provide but frankly with that kind of saving I could buy another camera if it breaks and still have money to spare. I don't often hear of them breaking early on anyway. I'm not sure but I expect most problems occur after the manufacturer warranty has expired (queue comments from everyone with broken camera's).
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I think its bought up more as something to be aware of, particularly if the saving is small. I like that I can drive to Nikon and have my kit fixed same day on a UK warranty. But thats only an issue if there is a few £ savings to be had by buying grey. If there was £'000 difference I may be persuaded to chance it and pay if needed (I realise that as my camera pays the bills not everyone will feel that way)
 
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connersz said:
I think Dean's use of the word "official" may hold some clues as he is perhaps presuming that there are no official retailers in Asia and that perhaps there should be some slap-dash practices involved with keeping the price low. I think there is a higher risk when buying from China for example but there are still plenty of legitimate retailers over there selling things by-the-book and there are still lots of dodgy places to buy things in the UK, including plenty of UK-Warehoused grey imports being sold as UK stock.

I don't really understand the issue with the warranty and why it is so often brought up. I just bought a camera from DigitalRev which is £1000 cheaper than on Amazon. It comes with a 1yr warranty which I believe is a year less than Nikon provide but frankly with that kind of saving I could buy another camera if it breaks and still have money to spare. I don't often hear of them breaking early on anyway. I'm not sure but I expect most problems occur after the manufacturer warranty has expired (queue comments from everyone with broken camera's).
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theres no presumption
check out for instance tamrons faqs on grey imports.. or look at apple who have no official distributor in a couple of the eastern/ asian countries.

unoffical outlets have no need for quality control of the products. why would they..how many of these dodgy sellers on ebay are run out of a broom cupboard someone in the back of beyond and all the goods are stored in some run down rat infested dockside warehouse.
quite simply put its not worth the risk.
other less ( less to some anyway ) important things are UE/UK plug. english manuals, the obvious warranty, etc ) grey goods have also been known to be mixed up with SH goods as well and serial numbers removed along with pirate copies of software included. so who knows what you could end up with.
you want to risk your money on a possible sh camera thats been sat in a damp leaky garage for several weeks and arrives in a rat chewed box with no english inside or out and some weird plug for the charger that wont fit anything and some dodgy virus filled cd then thats your choice.

obviously thats worst case senario and im sure most greys are fine. but id rather pay a little extra and at least get it from the UK market grey or otherwise.
 
dean messenger said:
theres no presumption
check out for instance tamrons faqs on grey imports.. or look at apple who have no official distributor in a couple of the eastern/ asian countries.

unoffical outlets have no need for quality control of the products. why would they..how many of these dodgy sellers on ebay are run out of a broom cupboard someone in the back of beyond and all the goods are stored in some run down rat infested dockside warehouse.
quite simply put its not worth the risk.
other less ( less to some anyway ) important things are UE/UK plug. english manuals, the obvious warranty, etc ) grey goods have also been known to be mixed up with SH goods as well and serial numbers removed along with pirate copies of software included. so who knows what you could end up with.
you want to risk your money on a possible sh camera thats been sat in a damp leaky garage for several weeks and arrives in a rat chewed box with no english inside or out and some weird plug for the charger that wont fit anything and some dodgy virus filled cd then thats your choice.

obviously thats worst case senario and im sure most greys are fine. but id rather pay a little extra and at least get it from the UK market grey or otherwise.
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Yes I think I'm fairly in agreement that you've outlined the possible worst case.
 
lol the point is if you have to buy grey then get it from a reputable dealer ( hdew, panamoz, digitalrev ) and not some shonky flybynight ebay trader ( the one in link the op posted calls themselves some UK name but registered in US and based in china ! ) , there are otehr companies like simply electronics, valuebasket, slrhut etc, that i wouldnt go near simply because if you do have a problem or fault thats when things turn nightmarish to deal with, even shipping an item back is costly.
i mean d5200 with lens for under £300 but would you trust them if theres a fault?
http://www.expeditelectronics.com/shopping/camera/digital-slr.html?r1_camera_brand=474
 
I think that you have to go for Budget as a beginner,,I am also a beginner and went for the D5200 mainy for the Bracketing as you can produce some great HDR's
 
SAM-H-P said:
Hello there.

I owned a Nikon 3200 before it got lost to a ex girlfriend. I recently just bought a 5300 after alot of research.
the 3300 is a good camera but the nikon 5300 is worth getting for the money you are going to spend.

personally i would steer away from kits on ebay. all the accessories are a cheep crap. I was looking at these myself.

Currently currys are offering 2 years manufacturer warranty and nikon are offering £50 cashback, you wont get this with your ebay purchase.

Also during my research i found alot of the cameras are japanese models, I have no idea what the difference is if any but i didn't want to gamble it.

Build your own kit over time and get better stuff.

i got 5300 18-55mm kit, nikon bag and battery, 2x16GB class 10 cards for £550

what i like over the 3300 to the 5300

flip out screen
time laps photo mode
much higher iso
expeed 4 processor
longer battery life
wi-fi and GPS built in....check out the nikon app
buttons and selector wheel feel much more solid and positive
nikon removed the low light filter on this one and later
39 point AF

and full 1080p video recording with stereo sound

don't jump in and get a massive bundle, build it up slow and get stuff you like
Click to expand...

i agree the 5300 is a very nice camera and i did consider myself but didn't really care about wifi and Gps,flip out screen is nice and the AF, 2 points though the expeed is same on 3300 and no filter either but yes a nice camera lol just saw the op bought it so enjoy :)
 
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dturbopeck said:
I asked, I don't want to buy Chinese crap, need it to last, also Ian kinda confused about what camera to buy, I've read lots of posts about the d3300 is a great beginner camera, I would just like to buy a camera that does just about everything I need to create some amazing pictures, rather than having to up grade at a later date,
Click to expand...
dturbopeck said:
That's part of the reason I asked, I don't want to buy Chinese crap, need it to last, also Ian kinda confused about what camera to buy, I've read lots of posts about the d3300 is a great beginner camera, I would just like to buy a camera that does just about everything I need to create some amazing pictures, rather than having to up grade at a later date,
Click to expand...

By a second hand 40D. Fantastic camera. Spend all the money you saved on a decent lens.

images taken with a 40D. https://www.flickr.com/search/?advanced=1&tags=40D
 
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I've just been through this looking for a D7000 myself.
The lenses they offer aren't the best when i was looking at the D7000.
They are shipped from abroad, america. Don't expect fast delivery or the correct cables or expect after sales.
Look at HDEW cameras
 
Digitalrev is based in HK, a SAR of China. HK really is quite different to the Chinese Mainland with regards to the quality of products sold by companies. To the extent they have a population issue with huge amounts of mainland Chinese people visiting to go shopping and parallel trade.
DigitalRev is a legitimate good company. Whether you are up for grey imports is your own choice. But i've never had a reason to doubt their quality of service any more than BHPhoto.

(I have lived in HK for the past 3 years up until very recently!)
 
The forum confused my computer and double posted. Apologies.
 
connersz said:
Yes I think I'm fairly in agreement that you've outlined the possible worst case.
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No, worst possible case would be all of the above AND getting stung for VAT and import duty.
 
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