Some advice on my first SLR...

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TidyRach

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I have a budget of £1000, but that doesn't mean I necessarily want to spend the whole lot!

I have been looking for a long time researching what I want & what will be best for me & i've decided I want Canon & i've narrowed it down to the EOS 1000D & the EOS 600D.

I have asked some friends on their advice (who are professional photographers) & they have advised me that it is worth spending more on lens rather than the body. But then they have top of the line bodys so haven't ever purchased the kind of camera I am looking at.

I have a full time job, have no aspirations (at the moment) to become a professional photographer, just my old compact camera has packed up & I would like to replace it with something 'decent'. I want to be able to take beautiful photographs when I go on holiday, of my friends, at their weddings, of the countryside, my house & garden, pets etc. But I would like my photographs to have a professional feel to them, so that maybe someone who doesn't know anything about photography could be mislead to my camera & set up!

Basically I want something that is a massive step up from old compact, but isn't going to confuse the hell out of me, or be over-priced for what I want it for!

I have looked at the 1000D for its image stabilization function & very reasonable price, but then the 600D tempts me with its little extra features like more mega pixels & intelligent scene feature. I have been 'in to' photography from a very young age, through my family, so this isn't just a phase & a 'snap buy', i'd like to make an investment!

Any advice you could give me on which one would be worth spending my hard earn cash on would be very gratefully received! Thanks for reading... )

P.S - Within my £1000 budget is the need to buy accessories like bags, straps, filters, memory cards etc, which I have costed up at around an extra £100 & if possible I would love a fish eye lens at part of that budget to!
 
You want to do a lot on a limited (as DSLRs go anyway) budget. I'd suggest you aren't really in need of a DSLR, perhaps a bridge camera would suit you better?
 
I don't think I expect a lot from it, but obviously a step up from my compact, as there is a massive step up in price. A bridge camera wouldn't be a massive improvement on what I used to have in my compact & I have enough money to buy a reasonably decent SLR... I have experimented with a few friends bridge cameras & I find they take no better picture than me being clever with my old compact...
 
If you are open to buying second hand, you could get some nice kit for a grand :) Im Canon so i will give examples for that.

If it was me i'd look for the cheapest body i could get somthing like a 20D- around 170.

Then I'd shop around here second hand for a Nifty Fifty(50mm f/1.8- 60/70 quid) a 17-40 L(around 450), then id spend the rest on a Bag/Tripod Cards, Filters-If you want to do landscapes look into ND's.

That setup will give you some amazing images, the 20d, although old is a very capable camera.
 
SimonUK said:
If you are open to buying second hand, you could get some nice kit for a grand :) Im Canon so i will give examples for that.

If it was me i'd look for the cheapest body i could get somthing like a 20D- around 170.

Then I'd shop around here second hand for a Nifty Fifty(50mm f/1.8- 60/70 quid) a 17-40 L(around 450), then id spend the rest on a Bag/Tripod Cards, Filters-If you want to do landscapes look into ND's.

That setup will give you some amazing images, the 20d, although old is a very capable camera.
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Brilliant!! Thanks :o)
 
Its the person that takes a good photo, a camera and lens are just the means of getting it. Which ever camera you decide on there are always the little extras to budget for like memory cards -spare batteries etc. You have mentioned a couple of cameras and no doubt studied the spec, but seeing how they handle in the hand can be the decider. No one can say this is better than that as everyone has a different opinion. In the end its your money being spent and what your happy with. Murphys law states that as soon as you have made your purchase you will see a camera just a little more expensive and wish you had bought that instead.

Realspeed
 
Meh, like i wouldn't bother with the 1000D personally. Its a bit of a cop out camera IMO. You'd be much better getting a 20d/30d somthing thats a bit 'better'
 
realspeed said:
Its the person that takes a good photo, a camera and lens are just the means of getting it. Which ever camera you decide on there are always the little extras to budget for like memory cards -spare batteries etc. You have mentioned a couple of cameras and no doubt studied the spec, but seeing how they handle in the hand can be the decider. No one can say this is better than that as everyone has a different opinion. In the end its your money being spent and what your happy with. Murphys law states that as soon as you have made your purchase you will see a camera just a little more expensive and wish you had bought that instead.

Realspeed
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Haha thanks & so true!! Not just on cameras too i'm sure!
 
duttytd said:
1000d is a Cop out camera? Please explain why?
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Its a copy of the xxxD, missing features, they feel horrible in the hand, and i know many a person who have had them broken due to shoody BQ.

I personally think that you are much better off getting a xxxD or and older xxD. But i think the 7D is a stupid camera aswell, but thats a whole other thread :)
 
SimonUK said:
Its a copy of the xxxD, missing features, they feel horrible in the hand, and i know many a person who have had them broken due to shoody BQ.

I personally think that you are much better off getting a xxxD or and older xxD. But i think the 7D is a stupid camera aswell, but thats a whole other thread :)
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I have a 1000D and have no problems with it at all, if I'm honest I love it. Yeah the build quality ain't as good as some of the others but its a camera, I ain't going to be throwing it around so it won't get broke easily.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
You want to do a lot on a limited (as DSLRs go anyway) budget. I'd suggest you aren't really in need of a DSLR, perhaps a bridge camera would suit you better?
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I absolutely disagree.

Nikon list.

Nikon D3100. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-VBA28...MA4M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307909697&sr=8-1 £438

Nikon 35mm AF-S 1.8 £175
Nikon 55-200 AF-S VR £162

Amazon rucksack http://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasic...E1WK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307909751&sr=8-1 £25

Jessops flash gun http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/67558/show.html £80
Cheap tripod http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/80877/show.html £20
Memory card £20
Spare battery £39

=£959

and that's all new.
 
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If you want Flashes i can strongly Recommend the YN-460s from Ebay, bout 30 quid and they are really really good!
 
Having just upgraded from a panasonic TZ5 to a Canon 550D with 18-135mm lens, I can say that I certainly noticed the difference of image quality. Even in full auto or using the Portrait and Landscape modes. I am now shooting mainly with Av and Tv modes, and the amount of control is fantastic.

I know that the 18-135 isn't the 'best' lens in the world, but it gives me a decent range of wide angle - zoom focal lengths without needing to change my lens. When I manage to save up a few more pounds, I will certainly consider adding a 70-200 f/4 with 1.4x extender to up my reach, and perhaps the 17-55mm Canon as an upgrade at the wide end.
 
In the same situation as you a couple of years ago I bought a Canon 350D with bag, filters, cards etc. with an 18-55mm kit and a 55-200mm sigma lens second hand for £280....it was a great learning tool. If you check my Flickr, everything before March 2011 was taken with that set-up, and I think the results are nice. I've since upgraded, but consider the 350D/440D to be perfect for someone like yourself....and all that for under £300. If you were really hell-bent on spending that budget then there are some fantastic L lenses you could buy....or upgrade the kit lens to the 17-55mm f/2.8 which is by all accounts an L lens in all but name. I would also definitely invest in a nifty fifty for under £100.
 
Personally, having used an xxxD and an xxD camera, the former is comparatively horrible as it doesn't feel designed for seamless use... Changing settings requires more chimping and is generally less fun. The xxD series, however, have everything where it 'should' be.

I'd get a 30D and spend the rest on a simple flash and some nice glass.
 
Canon 40D (£350ish)
Tamron 17-50 f2.8 (£200ish)
Canon 70-200 f4 (£360ish)

brings us to £910, its quite common for sellers to chuck in a ~2GB card and some off brand batteries so you might not need to spend more. You then have the option of a 50 f1.8 or whatever random stuff you want.

This will give you a couple of pretty excellent lenses and an excellent body for the same price as you were looking at somewhat compromised bodies and compromised lenses.
 
My advice would be to go for a Canon body and kit lens, keeping some of your budget to buy new lenses after you have used your gear and know where it is holding you back, rather than spending the budget on lenses that may not suit your style.
 
TidyRach said:
I have looked at the 1000D for its image stabilization function
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Forgive me if someone has already mentioned this, but the 1000D doesn't have image stabilisation. It's the lens(es) that carry that function. I imagine the one you've seen comes with the 18-55mm IS kit lens. None of the Canon DSLR bodies have built-in IS.

For what it's worth, I had the 1000D for around a year, and quickly found that I grew out of it and wanted to upgrade. I'm not saying that you'll be the same, but the "prosumer" body that I bought (50D) is much more suited to my needs now, and I haven't yet felt the need to upgrade. There was nothing wrong with the 1000D, per se. It just lacked some features that I was hankering after.
 
Have a look at the Pentax range.

Image stabilisation is in the body of the cameras, so any lens is effectively an IS lens and loads of backward compatibility with old lenses.

Dave
 
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