recommend me a SLR camera

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ldg2009

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hi i am looking for a slr camera with changeable lens. I have about £300 to spend and been told not to bother with a new camera as it wont be very good at that price, is this correct? Can anyone recommend any good slr cameras that i can look for 2nd hand? also are there any good places to buy 2nd hand equipment, not to sure about ebay. I cant use the classifieds section here as i am new. Maybe somewhere that does recon cameras with warrenty.

thanks
 
MWHCVT said:
I presume you wand a digital camera as apposed to film if yes you need to search for DSLR :thumbs:

Some idea what you want to shoot would be helpful before any of us can give you advice
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yeah must be digital, also the pics will mainly be my daughter and the new baby on the way
 
Think you may be struggling a bit on £300 for a DSLR + Lens + Memory card. I would suggest a digital compact camera instead with a reasonable zoom on it may be a better way to go for that money, you can get a good one new for that which would take video as well.

Even on here in the members advertising their used DSLR cameras are starting at around £400+ and thats without a lens or memory card


Have a look here at compact cameras


http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/cat37.html

Realspeed
 
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You should be able to pick up a Canon 400d or Nikon d3000 and a lens for
£300.
 
Easily get a good set up for £300!

Nikon D50 - 130-150 ish body
Canon 350D up to £150 ish body
Add a 50mm for about 70 and you're rocking. Hunt around and you'll find a bargain.
 
Just seen a 400D with 18-55 IS kit, 50mm 1.8 mk2, 28-80mm, Vivitar electronic digital flash, Canon BG-E3 grip with 2 batteries and Lowepro bag, going for £345 delivered, it's on another forum.
 
I've moved on from a Canon 350d to 500d to 40d,

The 350d is still a great little camera for a beginner, and you could easily pick up a whole kit for £300, i sold mine with the kit lens, a few memory cards and a small bag for £200 and that was all boxed and in very good nick.

for your money i'd suggest a 350d-400d-450d, i would suggest nikon also, but i dont know what cameras would be in your budget.

Alan
 
lawrenceots said:
Easily get a good set up for £300!

Nikon D50 - 130-150 ish body
Canon 350D up to £150 ish body
Add a 50mm for about 70 and you're rocking. Hunt around and you'll find a bargain.
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do you not look for the highest amount of megapixels? those have about 8mega pixel but my handheld camera has more.
 
Pixel count isn't the most important thing, it's the quality of the pixels ie: the quality of the sensor. Dslrs have a much bigger sensor than your handheld so an 8MP Dslr will give much better quality pictures than a 12MP Technika from Tesco.
 
Oh, and you should easily be able to pick up a used 400d with kit lens and some other bits and bobs for £300.
 
those recommending Canon 350d etc having looked on ebay, none of the listings give a shutter count that I could find. This suggests to me that they have been extensively used and may well be on the way to the end of their working life. Just something to be aware of, but I am not saying don't go for one just be very careful.

Realspeed
 
realspeed said:
those recommending Canon 350d etc having looked on ebay, none of the listings give a shutter count that I could find. This suggests to me that they have been extensively used and may well be on the way to the end of their working life. Just something to be aware of, but I am not saying don't go for one just be very careful.

Realspeed
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should i be finding out a shuttercount for a 400d?

what is a reasonable count and what is way to high?

thanks
 
when i sold all y canon gear, i had around 300 quid. Got me a Nikon d100, 3 batterys, a 85 1.4 and a 50 1.8 and i still have some spare :)

Just shop around and you will find something!
 
ldg2009 said:
is that alot for a camera or ok/good?
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4,000 is a very low count. BTW I have no connection with the camera I mentioned, I would post the link, but last time I did that, the mods deleted it, it is over on AVF ;)
 
Amazon have the Nikon D3000 + 18-55 VR kit for £304 so a little over budget and youll need a few quid for a memory card, but good price for new..

check out the 2nd hand places (MPB, FForder etc...) youll pick up something within budget, recently I got a Nikon D70s from MPB boxed as new(it really was like new) only 2300 on the shutter, £159 quid..
 
8 megapixels on a DSLR is a lot different to 12+ on a compact!!
 
strumstrum said:
Amazon have the Nikon D3000 + 18-55 VR kit for £304 so a little over budget and youll need a few quid for a memory card, but good price for new..

check out the 2nd hand places (MPB, FForder etc...) youll pick up something within budget, recently I got a Nikon D70s from MPB boxed as new(it really was like new) only 2300 on the shutter, £159 quid..
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I wonder if a D70s is the way to go - look in a local London Camera Exchange.

It's old in DSLR terms but had a motor to drive older Nikon lenses and is very capable and has easy access to settings compared to the newer Nikons. D50 would also be a good choice.
 
DrRusty said:
I wonder if a D70s is the way to go - look in a local London Camera Exchange.

It's old in DSLR terms but had a motor to drive older Nikon lenses and is very capable and has easy access to settings compared to the newer Nikons. D50 would also be a good choice.
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I am using the D70s more than the D3000 at the mo due to the 1/8000 shutter, also when I am fully manual with flash I am getting some of the best shots I have ever taken, whether this is down to the 1/500 flash sync Im not sure but something is certainly helping.
 
Any DSLR you can get your hands on will be perfect for first time use. It's a bit like having sex for the first time, at first you'll want any girl because you don't know what to expect and then eventually after some experience you realise what you look for in a girl.

A bit of a weird analogy but it suits perfectly :lol:

I bought a Sony a300 because it was quite cheap and robust compared to competitors but all entry level cameras are pretty much the same so it's mainly based on handling so give them a handle, it's not possible with second hand models but try out makes at the store, for example entry level canons are usually lightweight however this can make them flimsy. Just try out different makes :)
 
I too bought a sony for my first DSLR for a couple of reasons. As a beginner I needed as much help as possible and the sony was the only DSLR at entry level to offer inbuilt body stabilization instead of the usual lens stabilizer the others offered, this allowed me to use any lens that would fit and the secondhand market offered lots of choice using minolta etc. I also like the feel of the sony, rugged and reliable and I was very happy with results.

I persume most will suggest looking at the usual Canon and Nikon options, but I would certainly not rule out sony.
 
The old adage of you dont look at the mantelpiece when poking the fire is a load of rubbish!! Look around, review, ask and then go with your guy instinct. This is what i am doing at the mo.

After a bit of research and some great help on here i have at least found 2 cameras i like.
 
I still use a 350d and it's a fine little camera. Getting on a bit now but you can pick them up for a little over £100. Could easily get a couple of lenses with it for the budget, and upgrade the body later if you wanted to. And because the price of them is so low, I can't see them losing much value when you come to sell it on....unless it does actually reach the end of its life!
 
strumstrum said:
its a non IS kit lens and will probably go for way more than it is worth, personally if buying 2 nd hand I would be looking at reputable used shops or places like the classifieds here.
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i cant access the classifieds as im new here
 
If you're used to compacts, even an older DSLR will knock your socks off with picture quality. As others have said ignore the megapixel count, it's meaningless when comparing compacts and DSLR's due to the sensor size difference.

If amazon still have nikon D3000 kits for £304 I'd go down that road if you want new, I assume that comes with the usual 2 year warranty. If you want used look at a nikon D40, you should be able to pick one up with lens for around £200, but prices seem a bit mad just now.
 
You can pick up a Canon 20D + 18-55mm kit lens for £200,

And that leaves you money for some cards etc.. and as you save , you can get a 55-250mm IS.

20D is a great camera :)

:canon:
 
Alan_T said:
I've moved on from a Canon 350d to 500d to 40d,

The 350d is still a great little camera for a beginner, and you could easily pick up a whole kit for £300, i sold mine with the kit lens, a few memory cards and a small bag for £200 and that was all boxed and in very good nick.

for your money i'd suggest a 350d-400d-450d, i would suggest nikon also, but i dont know what cameras would be in your budget.

Alan
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What made you go from a 500D to a 40D?
 
In the past few days I just upgraded my 350d for a 30d :)

And whilst I haven't had the chance to take any pictures yet, I've got to say, I'm loving the controls on the xxd series. Massive difference.
 
I started with the Sony A200 and it was a great camera for someone new.Great build qaulity and a good starting poing for getting in to the world of dslr's.
 
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