My 1st DSLR - Which one?

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audi321

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Hi all. My first post so please be gentle!

I'm about to buy my first DSLR and although I've had bridge cameras for years, I'm really excited about a 'proper' camera lol

My choices I see are:

Canon 1200d

Pentax K500

Nikon d3200

Anything else I should consider within that price range?

Which would you say to go for? I enjoy watching F1 so might need a fast shutter, otherwise just general photography. Oh and I will want a decent zoom lens later on down the line (maybe 150-600mm)

Thanks all for any advice!
 
a sony slt or maybe the new a6000 would be good candidates too :)

but you should try some in the shops and see what feels good to you, i think sony has the best grip material, atleast compaired to the other camera's ive tried
 
you really have got to head to a shop and handle some to see which feels best, think about the system and what you might want in the future..

my tuppence worth on what you are looking at..

Nikon, excellent build for a lower end camera no focus motor so you limit your choice in lens.

Canon, not so good build wise but still okay, Canon I would say is your best option for future lens purchases option and pricewise.

Pentax, I recently moved away from Pentax to a smaller system, I had a K5ii, K30 and K01, absolutely superb cameras in both build and functions, lenses are slim pickings and costly and in some cases non existent compared to other systems, the Pentax 50-135 2.8 is by far one of the greatest lenses of all time tho.

is 2nd hand an option for you? a good nick D90, D7000, 60d might be a better option?? mid level cameras from 3ish years ago.
 
Nothing much in it with modern DSLRs to be honest. Although I personally agree with David and would nudge you away from the Nikon D3k/5k models simply because of the unnecessary lens-focus confusion that Nikon insist on creating with their entry-level cost-cutting. But they're not bad cameras, it's I would worry that I'd find that particular feature limiting in the future.

But, you have a couple of important questions you need to consider first:
  • What do you want to do? (i.e. other than F1/motorsport, what else are you wanting to take photographs of?)
  • How much do you want to spend? (the body is the cheap and relatively unimportant bit, it's the lenses that make the difference and when the money starts to add up - I'm not sure the zoom you mention would be my first choice for any subject, and at the long-end an entry-level body is going to struggle with focus with such a slow lens and fast moving targets)
 
As suggested above go to a shop and hold them camera in your hands and see how they feel, if you are not too fussed about used go for a D90 or D7000.
 
True, or borrow a friend's DSLR for a day to see how you get on with the ergonomics for longer than 5-10 mins in a shop.

How many F1 GPs do you get to go a year? Might be worth renting a lens for that one weekend a year you need it and buy better 'everyday' glass instead?
 
Cheers for your advice guys. I've handled a Canon and Nikon and TBH I preferred the feel and look and viewfinder of the Nikon. It also has the most megapixels (although I appreciate this is largely irrelevant now).

I'm concerned about the lens choice. Although I will probably only want a telephoto lens in addition to the 18-55mm that comes with it. Am I right in thinking that the lenses for the Nikon d3200 have to have a motor in it as the camera doesn't? Does this make them more expensive than the Canon equivalent? Will the Tamron 150-600mm lens work in it, or is it overkill for a £300 body?
 
As long as the Nikon lens has 'af-s' in it's name, it will have an inbuilt focus motor in it.
 
When I got my first dslr I went for the Canon 1000D because the Nikon of the same price range didn't have live view. It's not all about pixels, as you say.
Read reviews and look at the specs. Happy shopping.
 
audi321 said:
Cheers for your advice guys. I've handled a Canon and Nikon and TBH I preferred the feel and look and viewfinder of the Nikon. It also has the most megapixels (although I appreciate this is largely irrelevant now).

I'm concerned about the lens choice. Although I will probably only want a telephoto lens in addition to the 18-55mm that comes with it. Am I right in thinking that the lenses for the Nikon d3200 have to have a motor in it as the camera doesn't? Does this make them more expensive than the Canon equivalent? Will the Tamron 150-600mm lens work in it, or is it overkill for a £300 body?
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And remember the crop factor of your APS-C sensor is 1.5x

This means the 150-600 is more like a 225-900. I'd say it's probably overkill :p
 
audi321 said:
Will the Tamron 150-600mm lens work in it, or is it overkill for a £300 body?
Click to expand...

If photographing motorsport is a critical to you, I think you need to start by reading through the Talk Motorsport and Transport sub-forum. Don't just wade in with a repeat of this thread in that section, read up a bit first.

I don't think the Tamron is over-kill for the body, I've never used it - but just from reading the lens specification I'd question whether that lens was any use at all for what you want to do. It's got a very slow maximum aperture, probably too slow for reliable autofocus on any entry-level camera body.

Go read up on motorsport photography, see what equipment others are using - then start by picking the lens first, then the body to go with it.

If you're on a budget, still take the choose-the-lens first approach - but then buy the body first and save up for the lens. Use a kit lens in the mean time.
 
upto 400mm its 5.6, think it starts at f5? so thats compariable to a 75-300 kit zoom which are 4.5 to 5.6 normaly
 
pingu666 said:
upto 400mm its 5.6, think it starts at f5? so thats compariable to a 75-300 kit zoom which are 4.5 to 5.6 normaly
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And you have one f/5.6 cross AF point on the 1200D, so what happens when you go beyond 400mm? it seems a bit odd to say that a 600mm lens is ok up to 400mm.. .. you will get AF beyond f/5.6 but it won't be reliable and it will suffer in poor light. I don't really see it as a motorsport lens myself. I'd be very surprised if you can't do better for that sort of money.
 
Cheers again.....I was hoping someone would say buy the body to match the lens to suit my requirements! Could anyone tell me out of the 3 camera's which one has the ability to cope with these Tamron lenses the best at 600mm?
 
I don't think any of those cameras have a cross-type focus point slower than f/5.6 - I can't confirm it for the Pentax, but neither the Canon nor the Nikon have. I don't know whether that particular Tamron tries to dummy the body into thinking it's faster, or even of it would make any difference on those particular bodies.

I'm beginning to think I'm doing more research on this than you are. Please, go read the Talk Motorsport and Transport sub-forum (I posted a link a couple of replies ago), there are threads in the section with titles like "Motorsport lenses" and "Advice for lens for motorsport at Silverstone" amongst the gear question threads.

I did ask if you had a specific budget in mind very early on in the thread, I'm guessing it's either not an issue (get a 1Dx) or it's a sensitive subject.. (but it helps to know why you've picked those three lenses to short-list). But don't bother with that for now, go spend a couple of hours reading the motorsport discussions and the motorsport photo threads (a lot of people will say what gear they used when presenting a photo for comment).
 
Yeah, I'm not even sure that lens you are so keen on comes in Pentax mount but you've listed a Pentax camera :p

This feels like it's going to turn into a thread where people give good advice but you just do what you were going to do all along anyway ;)
 
minnnt said:
The Nikon d3300 is getting some good reviews, hdew have them for £405 with the new 18-55 vrII lens.
Click to expand...

RIGHT......MIND MADE UP!

I'm going for this deal tomorrow first thing! Unless anyone has seen a better deal on it? Really liking the collapsable lens idea too. Thanks for all your help guys! Spending a bit more on the body will mean I'll have to wait a little while before ordering the Tamron 150-600mm lens though....hey ho....can't have it all :)
 
All ordered from HDEW. Can't wait. Also it turns out that the Nikon fit of the Tamron 150-600mm lens isn't out in UK yet, so not a problem that I'm waiting for it now!
 
its out, sold out, and not currently available as far as i know.hth mike.
 
I hear mixed reports on this HDEW company........I hope they're ok.......time will tell. They've said delivery within 5 days
 
Well it's arrived this morning!! What a lovely piece of kit. Build quality feels so much better than the lower end Canons I was testing in the shops.

Now.....I need to buy a zoom lens (I've only got the 18-55mm that came with it).

I see the main contenders seem to be Sigma 150-500mm, Sigma 50-500mm and the new Tamron 150-600mm. They are priced between (£650-£1000) and all get excellent reviews. However they all are quite large (due to the nature of the beast!). I was contemplating another option, and that would be a 80-300mm with a 2x teleconvertor? Or a mirror lens?

Now I know we're not comparing apples with apples, but the cost saving along with the size/weight saving might mean it's a more suitable alternative. Or I am being stupid again? Are these 2 options ridiculous when compared with the more expensive and large options above?

Thanks all, and I'll upload some sample pics when I can later.
 
Congratulations. :) look forward to seeing some pics of the camera and the images it produces.

As for lenses, don't forget that the converter will also multiply the aperture too, so shutter speeds will be appalling unless good lighting is available or you raise the ISO.

The Sigmas are good value second hand if you scour the classifieds or ebay etc. Keep an eye out on MPB too.

Being a relatively small body though, it will be strange until you get used to it. Are you set on 500mm+? I'm happy with my Tamron SP 70-300 vc for IQ.
 
Yes, I think I will need for than 300mm. I like to take pictures of wildlife, a lot of which I cannot get that close to.
 
That's a crop body though, so you're really getting 450mm of FF reach already with a 300mm.

I imagine given the slow aperture and the TC you'll need something to keep it steady too.
 
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