My first DSLR...Advice?

CaveDweller

CaveDweller

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Paul
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Hello. In a month or two I am looking to buy my first DSLR once I finish my photography course. At the moment I have an Olympus PEN EPL-1 with a selection of lenses and accessories, and with doing my course I have a good understanding of all the functions.

I have a £1500 budget for a new DSLR. Im not after an entry level one as I want the best I can get for my budget. Within this budget I also want a longer telephoto lens than the standard one that comes with most cameras, but if my budget won't allow it I will just get one another time.

Can anone reccomend a good make/model? I am splitting hairs between Canon and Nikon. I'm not really bothered about how light it is plus all the equipment as that isn't an issue for me. I wont really be be doing any certain typre of photography, I like doing everything. Mostly actionshots of my dogs, landscapes and nature, I wouldn't also mind getting more into taking shots and night too.

The trouble is I find a good one then a week or so later another manufacturer brings out something else for roughly the same price. So any advice would be much appreciated on what to look out for.(y)

Thanks in advance,

Paul.
 
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You can get a lot of camera for £1500 on the 2nd hand market - good, low mileage ones tend to be 2/3rds to 3/4s the new price and (from a dealer) tend to come with a warranty. But a copy of Amateur photographer (if you don't already) and look at the adverts in the back. Have a look at MPB as well - there's often an ad in a banner at the top of a page on here.

Don't worry too much about having the latest, greatest kit - often the improvements are a triumph of the marketing departments as much as genuine upgrades. 12 MP is enough for A3+ prints (in fact, I have some good ones from my old D70 - 6.1 MP).
 
Nod said:
You can get a lot of camera for £1500 on the 2nd hand market - good, low mileage ones tend to be 2/3rds to 3/4s the new price and (from a dealer) tend to come with a warranty. But a copy of Amateur photographer (if you don't already) and look at the adverts in the back. Have a look at MPB as well - there's often an ad in a banner at the top of a page on here.

Don't worry too much about having the latest, greatest kit - often the improvements are a triumph of the marketing departments as much as genuine upgrades. 12 MP is enough for A3+ prints (in fact, I have some good ones from my old D70 - 6.1 MP).
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Great advice, I am still shooting a nikon d200, and still love the images I get from it. I also have a d300 again love the images, both under 12mp, more than enough for most photographers, higher mp counts can have their own own issues. Ok the d200 doesn't do high iso, particularly well as compared to modern cameras, but this really doesn't bother me.
 
Ok so assuming you want the more advanced features since you've done a photography course and explictly say you dont want an amateur model then I'd suggest the Nikon D7000. In my opinion it's an insanely specced camera for the price.

You can get the D7000 with the kit lens which is a decent 18-105 for £825 from Amazon. With the rest of the money you can then get a 50mm f1.8g for £150 and the SB700 flash gun for £210. If you really need a long telephoto then you could pick up a cheap 70-300 but if I were you I'd stick with the above for now and instead pick up a 70-200 f2.8 later down the line.
 
Canon 60D :-D
 
with that budget i'd go for a 7D (the proviso being that this is a steep learning curve for someone not used to DSLR) you can get a good used one for circa 800 quid or new for about a grand.

I'd tend to team it with a tamron 17-50 f2.8 vc

but if you really want a long lens , you could save money at the short end and get a kit lens , and also then get a sigma 150-500

it depends where your priorities lie
 
Bearing in mind that lenses are a better investment long term than bodies which date quicker I'd go for an older body and a better selection of lenses.

Eg a 1D2 for £400 or so, then a 70-200 F4 (£400 or so), a 24-105 (£5-600) and a 430 exii flash (£200 or so).

That would give you an older but professional body still capable of great results and a good range of lenses which will go with you on your journey in photography. If you wanted to later you could add a 1.4x converter to the 70-200 giving you 98- 280mm, with the 1.3x crop of the 1D2 you'd have an effective 127-364mm, albeit at f5.6.

The 1D2 has very fast AF, suitable for your action shots. I used one for landscapes for a while too.
 
i would say grab a 2nd hand 50d (low milage as poss)
and a 70-300 L IS USM 2nd hand

ive got the first (its a cracking body!) im just saving up for the second :)
 
I agree with Nikon d7000 you will have a lot left. For lens and the good thing about Nikon is you get an extra 1 year warranty when you register with them. I would say go for a Nikon
 
Nikon Canon? It's just like NEVE SSL or Fender Gibson in the sound world....
They both make good stuff. Personally I bought Nikon as a novice to SLRs I stumbled upon Ken Rockwell's advice re a d40 to be very sensible and I like his get reasonable gear and just go out and shoot message.
I tell this to all the film directors I work with who often obsess about shooting on film for the look then they make their first short and then have no money left. for post production as it all went on 35 mm stock and wonder why I won't mix it for free (I earn my keep this way). If your script is great, your film will be great if shot on a dslr or on film. Art is in the head, so go out and create
Pontificating apart (no more soap boxes I promise) my relatives had Nikon as did some of my friends so I could borrow stuff and experiment. That pushed me their way.

Second hand vs New? Hard call that. Part of me says it is a wad of cash to buy stuff, so having guarantees are a welcome comfort for me and I avoided grey imports for that reason. I made a conscious decision that full frame is not for me unless I ever earn my keep doing photography as well. The quality from a D7k is fab and it is a better tool than I have capability, but I am growing into it and exploring its capabilities. I learned the guitar on a guitar that you could high jump over the action (distance required to press down the strings) and I do not advocate that level of pain for anyone! Having said that, playing a PRS as a beginner is like the Pandora's box of looking down a full frame lens at my photography group recently - made my viewfinder on my d7k look squalid. But I have to cut my cloth accordingly.....

Lenses. - I know that the wisdom is top glass first, but it feels like the hifi brigade in the 70s who used to put a Linn LP 12 turntable into £50 bookshelf speakers which I used to believe was way too top heavy in the chain. I admit I am saving for a 70-200vr or if I bale and get G.A.S I will kop out at the 80-200 no VR. I have also caught myself checking fleabay for the 30-75 f2.8 D which is meant to be a nice fast sharp lens and a great buy for a few hundred pounds....but I worry about fungus and I suspect Canniston doesn't work.

Good luck making your choice. I enjoy the paradox and agony of making these decisions myself. It livens up those times when I can't get out and shoot.
 
I would consider the Canon 60D/7D and then if your budget will allow it go for the Canon 70-200mm f/4 telephoto lens. I got one of these lenses in february and its hardly been off my camera since :)
 
Cheers for the advice. I'm finding it a constant minefield out there with my budget. Atleast now I can norrow things down a bit.

Markmullen you are right about lenses never really going "out of date". On my EPL-1 I have 2lenses from my dads old OM10, a 50mm prime f1.8 (I absolutely love it!), and an 80-200mm telephoto. I also have a 2X magnifier adapter aswell but haven't used that one much. I find the picture quality of those older lenses I have alot better than the 14-42mm lens that came with the EPL-1:eek: The only problem I have found is that even with an ISO100, highest f-number selected and 1/2000 shutter speed (fastest the EPL-1 can do) the older lenses are not too good on sunny days. So for them I have ordered some ND filters for both lenses.

I will be keeping my PEN setup when I get a DSLR, it's nice and small for my boys to learn with. Always good to have a spare in my house aswell...
 
The other possibility tha might be worth looking at if you like your CSC system is the OMD - I don't know much about it , but its alledgedly groundbreaking.
 
If you do anything fast moving then I would go for a Canon 7D or D7000 for the AF. And 2nd hand is always an option. If you want more value for money then go for a S/H a D300S which has arguably the best AF on a cropped cropped sensor camera. If you haven't got any interest in video, then maybe a D300, though you do get the extra card slot with a D300S, and video if you want it.

With a Canon I'd get a 17-85, with a Nikon a 16-85. You like the 50mm f1.8, so get one of those too. Quite cheap for the Canon, a bit more for the Nikon 50mm 1.8D, and a bit more for the 50mm 1.8G, though the 50mm 1.8G looks like a big improvement and would be the one that I'm considering at some point.

Long zoom wise, I have the Nikon 70-300mm VR and found it excellent value for money, and a nice size. (y) I don't know if Canon have an equivalent for for quality, size and price. :shrug:
 
theres a number of canon zooms including a 70-300 IS, but 300 isnt particularly long, for nature particularly he'll probably want 400 or 500 - canon do a 100-400 zoom, and a 400 prime for reasonably sensible prices , but i''d be inclined to suggest the sigma 150-500 or 50-500 OS (availble in both canon, nikon and other fits) as a budget option
 
big soft moose said:
theres a number of canon zooms including a 70-300 IS, but 300 isnt particularly long, for nature particularly he'll probably want 400 or 500 - canon do a 100-400 zoom, and a 400 prime for reasonably sensible prices , but i''d be inclined to suggest the sigma 150-500 or 50-500 OS (availble in both canon, nikon and other fits) as a budget option
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I think there is a £1500 budget in operation for everything. ;)

The more you can get 2nd the more value, but also the more risk of problems if you're unlucky. :shrug:
 
redhed17 said:
I think there is a £1500 budget in operation for everything. ;)
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you can get a 7D second hand (from a dealer) for arround 800 notes - that'd leave 700 for glass which ought to be ample for any of the long lenses mentioned.

even if the 7D is bought new, that would still leave 500 for a long lens , which will get you a second user 150-500

the OP could also add a couple of hundred notes to the budget by selling the PEN kit
 
big soft moose said:
you can get a 7D second hand (from a dealer) for arround 800 notes - that'd leave 700 for glass which ought to be ample for any of the long lenses mentioned.

even if the 7D is bought new, that would still leave 500 for a long lens , which will get you a second user 150-500

the OP could also add a couple of hundred notes to the budget by selling the PEN kit
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But he doesn't (I don't think) just wants a camera and a long lens. :shrug: His dog would have to be pretty far away if he only had a long zoom. ;) :LOL:
 
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150 is pretty short - but that aside he could add a perfectly acceptable 18-55 IS for about 50 quid s/h - or with some negotiation get it thrown in with the body
 
Knowing what I know now, and with a total Nikon bias as I know nothing about Canon, I'd suggest something along the lines of a Nikon D300, an 18-70 AF-s lens for general purpose stuff and a Nikon 70-300VR for your telephoto stuff. You should be able to acquire that little lot for £8-900 which leaves a huge amount of change for the stuff that you don't anticipate needing but will likely end up wanting, e.g a good tripod, a fast prime lens, a flash, a bag to put it all in, the odd filter, and on and on...

The nice thing about this option is whilst it leaves you with plenty of change it doesn't leave you short changed in the kit department. The D300 is still being used by some pros to this day and has arguably not yet been superseded by anything at all in the DX camp (except the D300s but that is more of a mid life face lift). Both of those lenses are very good, the 18-70 being 'just a kit lens' but very nicely nicely built, decent max aperture at both ends and great IQ. The 70-300 is also excellent for the money.
 
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