Starter kit tomorrow, good idea ?

Talon

Talon

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Jon
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Hello talk|photography people !

I stumbled across your board during a google trawl searching for information.

I'm a total newbie to DSLR's and photography in general but was thinking about going out tomorrow and getting some gear to kick off with.

Now I was looking at a Nikon D90 but I'm thinking that might be a bit to much money to spend for a first camera. I am now thinking of getting a Canon 450d +55mm IS Len kit, it seems like a decent camera with plently of features to keep me learning for a couple of years, am I right?

I don't wanna skimp on buying anything too cheap which I'll grow out of to quick and I don't wanna spend to much and regret it.

Any help would be greatfully received.

Cheers.
Jon.
 
I have a 450D and its pretty decent. The body is good enough to ensure that any further investments you make in the first year or two will likely be glass. For a beginner, I think its an excellent choice. I'm certainly not done with mine yet, and I'm sure it will be a while before I make the upgrade.
 
toto8462 said:
I have a 450D and its pretty decent. The body is good enough to ensure that any further investments you make in the first year or two will likely be glass. For a beginner, I think its an excellent choice. I'm certainly not done with mine yet, and I'm sure it will be a while before I make the upgrade.
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Another vote for the 450D, i`ve been into photography for 25 years and the camera is great, not that I wouldn`t upgrade if I was loaded. :LOL:
 
Hi...and welcome to the forum(y)

You won't go far wrong with the 450D(y) One thing I would suggest is that you go to a camera shop and get a feel for all the cameras in your price range and see which feels best in your hands;) We can all suggest different makes to you (Canon, Nikon, Sony,Olympus etc) but you won't really know which one is right for you until you can get them in your hands and see how they "fit";)

Oh....and once you get your first DSLR prepare to be broke for the foreseeable future:LOL:
 
Eric Mc said:
You won't go far wrong with the 450D(y)that you go to a camera shop and get a feel for all the cameras in your price range and see which feels best in your hands;) We can all suggest different makes to you (Canon, Nikon, Sony,Olympus etc) but you won't really know which one is right for you until you can get them in your hands and see how they "fit";)

Oh....and once you get your first DSLR prepare to be broke for the foreseeable future:LOL:
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Agree. You might think about trying stuff out and then buying used. depending on your budget you can get some excellent kit in the sale section here - but make sure you know the value of things - http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/index.html gives target new prices - check ebay etc for used prices.
 
Thanks for the input, I'm gonna go to Jessops tomorrow and have a play with a few camera, may even buy from there see what sort of deals they have on.
 
Hi, my first camera was a D300 6 montha ago and ive since upgraded, it all depends on how serious you are and how much money you had. I bought it because I decided I was going to become a photographer. You have the right idea though, go and have a play and see what you like :)
 
Hi Talon,

Take a copy of Amateur Photographer or similar with you into Jessops - whilst they generally don't price match with mail order companies, you might be able to convince them to move a bit on price or discount some accessories if you're nice about it.

Cheers,
James
 
hmmm, thanks for the links. I see Comet are doing the 450d+18-55IS Lens for £449 might see what Jessops can do, might also see if they'll do it on there buy now pay 6 months option cos the moneys better in my bank than there :LOL:

Should I get any filters or anything?

Can you get a remote for the shutter?
 
Pick a body that fits comfortably in your hand, the body is the cheapest part of photography, they all do pretty much the same thing, some handle low light better, some have faster AF, some have higher FPS

It's lenses where your budget needs to go, start with a cheap body and one decent lens such as the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 , get a better 2nd lens in the 70-200mm range and you'll be pretty much sorted.

the 450D is a good body but it's small, a second hand 40D for £400 ish would be a good bet if you like more to get hold of

Most amateur use bodies don't get hammered so you've a pretty good chance of picking up a nearly new one for 1/2- 2/3 the cost of new
 
having had a d40 nikon and now a sony a300, if i had the money would have gone for the d90
 
Talon said:
hmmm, thanks for the links. I see Comet are doing the 450d+18-55IS Lens for £449 might see what Jessops can do, might also see if they'll do it on there buy now pay 6 months option cos the moneys better in my bank than there :LOL:

Should I get any filters or anything?

Can you get a remote for the shutter?
Click to expand...

If you looking to save some extra pennies - 4% , you can always reserve on line but not commit to buy via one of the cash back sites.
 
A vote for the D90 here. You will have it a good length of time before you grow out of it. It's simple and intuitive to use and produces outstanding results. It will also take older as well as newer Nikon lenses (unlike the D40 and D60).
 
Eric Mc said:
Hi...and welcome to the forum(y)

You won't go far wrong with the 450D(y) One thing I would suggest is that you go to a camera shop and get a feel for all the cameras in your price range and see which feels best in your hands;) We can all suggest different makes to you (Canon, Nikon, Sony,Olympus etc) but you won't really know which one is right for you until you can get them in your hands and see how they "fit";)

Oh....and once you get your first DSLR prepare to be broke for the foreseeable future:LOL:
Click to expand...

That`s true the 450D is small, I had to get the grip for better balance as well as vertical shooting and the extra battey life.
 
Well thanks for all the feedback, I actually popped in store quickly a while back and have to admit the Nikon (D90) felt a lot nicer the the 450d. As it happens I aren't going to get out today I walked into a bucket lot of problem with the exchange server so I'm gonna be a busy bunny.

I have ordered 'Understanding Exposure' from Amazon which seem to get some good writeups so maybe I'll wait for that to arrive and postpone purchasing anything for a few weeks/month and re-evaluate my budget.
 
understanding exposure is a great book, i still have mine and love it, both cameras you have mentioned are very capable.
FInd your limitations with the lens you get, depending on the style of photography the lens choice can vary. Dont go rushing into buying lenses that you dont need.

When i got my 400D i used the kit lens for ages and then found it too soft so i got a 17-70mm which was miles sharper but still had the same general focal length. Never looked back. The Kit on the 450D is different and meant to be a lot better.
 
33L said:
FInd your limitations with the lens you get, depending on the style of photography the lens choice can vary. Dont go rushing into buying lenses that you dont need.

When i got my 400D i used the kit lens for ages and then found it too soft so i got a 17-70mm which was miles sharper but still had the same general focal length. Never looked back. The Kit on the 450D is different and meant to be a lot better.
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I agree with 33L. I have the 450D and 17-55mm, which I learnt a lot from. Also, if you gather the photos you've shot, and look at their focal ranges, that can guide your choice in your second lens. I think I shot for 1 month with my new camera before investing in a tokina 11-16; not the best investment *** I don't use it too much.

The other thing is it seems that the 450D has climbed up in price over the past 6months, which is a shame. What about a 400D? Can somebody chip in some thoughts about this one?
 
PC World can't be feeling the credit crunch to bad. I popped in there to escape user complaining at me for 30mins. They were selling the Canon 450d for £469 with the Canon £50 cashback, not a bad deal I thought but I notices last night Comet were doing the same kit for £449.

I mention this and he went off to check, came back and wouldn't budge 'cos they were out of stock, I think he expected me to just say "ah well give me it anyway" and was a little suprised when I told I would wait until they were back in at comet.

Sale lost.....

hehe.
 
well im a newbie and i thought the sony alpha 350 was great for the price and 14.2mp... but at the time i thought it great.. but then after a while you notice all tutorials and everything you look for is all based at cannon, nikon
 
for a first body maybe go second hand and keep the rest of your funds in a box for whichever lens you decide you want in a few months, might be a better kit lens or a telezoom or wideangle or whatever you feel you would use.

I can recomend the 400d as i had one and the 450d as i have one now (insurance) both are great starting cameras, but do try a the bodies in a shop as canon and nikon have different menu's and layouts to see which you prefer
 
I thought the Canon cashback promotion ended on 12th January. Might be wrong though.

I got my 450D from Jessops in store. The night before I went to their website and put everything I wanted into their basket added five pc discount code and printed it off. Went in and said 'got this from your web site (£420 ish), basically went in with the attitude of 'give me that or I buy online' and they ended up doing it for £379. 1 week later the price had gone up £30

If you do end up buying from Jessops, try and haggle and make sure you get a sealed box. I wrote that on my printout in big letters. Got what I wanted.
 
Wow, i didn't know the cashback now is £60. but too bad it's over. last i knew, they had a cashback programme that ended in...august 2008? Does that mean canon has quite a few cashback programme going on?
 
Right a trip to Jessops has made me mind up.

I'm doing a complete 180 and buying a Nikon D60 :LOL:

Reasons for this:

I prefered it to the 450d though it does lack a few futures mainly AF motor. I don't wanna risk spending a fortune and getting no use out of it. I have a bad tendancy of buying into something and then loosing interested so I'll mitigate the risk a little, getting what looks like a pretty decent system but for reasonable money.

Something someone mention on here struck a chord, that its the lenses that are the real investment, so I'll learn the features over the next few months with the stock kit lens and with the saved money + some more invest in another lens come June/July time when cash with be a little freeer. If I'm still going good next year then I'll go all out on something expensive.

Thanks for the input.

Jon aka Mr Indecisive.
 
good on ya, *** you are aware that nikon users have to ride different buses and eat in different restaurants to canon users right
 
Defiance said:
A vote for the D90 here. You will have it a good length of time before you grow out of it. It's simple and intuitive to use and produces outstanding results. It will also take older as well as newer Nikon lenses (unlike the D40 and D60).
Click to expand...

I too recommend the D90. I made the upgrade from the D40 and I love it. So glad I went for this, prior to the thought of getting a D90 I was looking at a D80.

Luckily the company I bought it from screwed up my pre-order and I was refunded some money so I ended up getting the £700 camera for under £600! as well as getting a free Crumpler Bag and an 8GB SDHC :D
 
well done talon.
i think your stated reasons prove yourself to be a very reasonable man

but, david1701 is right. we can't have you in the same restaurant.
 
I have just bought the D90 and 18-105 plus a 70 - 300VR, as my first venture into a digital slr after owning canon film slrs for years the a series of digital compacts/bridge cameras (fuji 9500 mainly)

I agonised on the 450D vs D60 and D90 (which was really outside my budget) I liked the D60 feel and the way it handled, but the lack of focus motor, and instant access to stuff like ISO left me feeling I'd wish I'd got some better if I bought it.

The salesman in Park cameras went to look up the price on the D90 and I wandered over to the Canon stand, and picked up the 450D. Plenty of features, matched the Nikon in almost every aspect and I realised I could get the 450D + the 50 - 250 IS for the same price of the D90. So close to going Canon, BUT the 450D felt very light, an for me the build quality just wasnt there. It felt flimsy, and the zoom on the lens almost grated when you moved it so I busted the budget on impulse and went D90.

I'm really pleased with my choice, the build is nice and solid and I like the weight of it. VR is effective, especially on the 70 - 300 and the high ISO performance superb.

Took the D90 into work and 2 keen photographers loved it and want one themselves, a 3rd prefered the canon as she felt it was too heavy for her.

I think this makes the point, go and try each camera and decide what is best for YOU, we are all different!
 
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