Story & Camera Recommendations

tomwazza

tomwazza

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Tom
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Hi All,

I’ve only posted on here a couple of times before. I was overly excited and talked about my camera as though I already had it. I was on route to buy my Nikon D40 when I accidentally caused a wee accident that involved my steering being knocked out and unfortunately pulled out of the purchase due to my pending excess fee.

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I was absolutely gutted!

I'm now also in the process of being made redundant, but thought that after such a cr*p year I’d put a little bit of my redundancy pay aside until I get a job and buy a nice second hand camera.

I reckon my budget can only really extend up to £250 (hence the second hand idea). I was thinking Nikon D40 or Canon 350/400d.

Just wondering which you would go for and if there are any other options that I should consider.

Thanks for your help,

Tom.
 
Go have a play with both Nikon & Canon at jessops/simular. Then when you have decided on the brand- have a look for cameras that fit the budget. For me it would be the Canon 20D (about £200 2nd hand) then a 18-55 (std kit lens) for about £40.
 
The 20D looks really great and whilst the relatively small screen originally put me off (same with the 350D) the picture quality looks great (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS20D/). Could you tell me how easy it is to use? Also is there anything that i should look out for when i look at one? Also what makes it better to use than the 350D?

Sorry if these are all newbie questions.

Cheers,

Tom.
 
Hi Tom,

I have had one from new (2004 I think) and they are pretty good camera's- I think. The screen is very small for today's standard, but they are very very well built. To about 100,000 shutter releases apparently. You can pick them up cheap as well. I think they are very easy to use- but like anything, its just learning it.

Alistair
 
Hi,
you may also want to consider Pentax's line of cameras. You should be able to find a K200 or K2000 in your price range.

One of the nice things about Pentax is that the image stabilizers are located in the body of the camera, rather than the lens, so you get stabilized shots with every lens! this means you can build a collection of lenses easily on the cheap!

another nice thing about Pentax is that their kit lenses are very well designed, build and image quality wise!

Just something to consider
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

I had a quick look at the Pentax cameras, as well as Olympus lol (not indecisive at all)

I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to save up a little bit more and get a Canon 30D. I think I could just about get one with a kit lens for £350(?). Do you think that I'm being realistic with that price?

As much as i like the 20D i think that a larger screen will be better for reviewing the photos after (especially for a newbie like me).

Also at the price bracket of £350 are there any other cameras that i should consider?

Cheers (again),

Tom.
 
Tom,

Have a look at the Sony DSLR's- they seem to be a really good deal at the moment, you can easily pick a new one up for your budget with a kit lens. Just be aware that when you buy a brand, your kinda stuck with it. Whatever the screen size- your pc/laptop is better for reviewing the pictures.

Cheers
 
tomwazza said:
I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to save up a little bit more and get a Canon 30D. I think I could just about get one with a kit lens for £350(?). Do you think that I'm being realistic with that price?

As much as i like the 20D i think that a larger screen will be better for reviewing the photos after (especially for a newbie like me).
Click to expand...

You should definitely be able to get a 30D for that sort of money, but whether it's worth the extra over the 20D is another matter. Yes the screen is bigger, but you can always do your reviewing at home on the PC, other than that the only pluses on the 30D are a bigger buffer and alter menu system.
 
Yeh i understand that there isn't necessarily much of a difference apart from the screen size. However if I’m at a motor show or one time event (holiday, etc, etc) I’d like to be able to review shots on the camera as I wouldn’t have a pc/laptop with me. Hope that makes sense.
 
even my screen on my 5dm2 isn't large enough to check focus easily really- I think. Try some out at your local camera shop :)
 
i sold my old d40, 18-55, 50-200 and sb400 for not much over your budget last year

good luck
 
Finally got the Canon 30D...

Just gotta figure out how to use it...

Cheers for the past advice, I'm sure I'll be needing a lot more in the upcoming weeks :)

Tom.
 
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