Total novice looking to get started!!

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Paul Nellist

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Paul
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Hi everyone, as said above i am a total novice and looking to get myself a dslr setup. as i have only ever used compact cameras in the past whatever camera i get it will have to be easy to use and to 'learn the ropes'.
Im on a budget of around £350 and have been looking at the 'Sony dslr a300' i have been advised by Jessops that this would be my best bet......what do you guys think????
Also if you have any other recomendations im all ears...

Cheers...

Paul..
 
The Sony A300 is a fantastic camera, no doubt about it, and possibly the best camera for the price. However in the long term I think either a Canon 1000d or a Nikon D40x or a D60 would be a better bet due to availability of accessories and price.
However there are many Sony users on this forum and they are more than happy with their kit.
 
foodpoison said:
However there are many Sony users on this forum and they are more than happy with their kit.
Click to expand...

Me included!

The a200/300 would be a great place to start, just don't buy it from Jessops as they'll more than likely give you the usual sales pitch and flog you loads of expensive extras, telling you what a great deal it is!

If it were my money (which it was not too long ago), I'd go for the a200 over the a300, as the only difference is "liveview" which is a feature most people can live without. Then put the money you saved, towards another lens!!
 
Slimbert said:
Me included!

The a200/300 would be a great place to start, just don't buy it from Jessops as they'll more than likely give you the usual sales pitch and flog you loads of expensive extras, telling you what a great deal it is!

If it were my money (which it was not too long ago), I'd go for the a200 over the a300, as the only difference is "liveview" which is a feature most people can live without. Then put the money you saved, towards another lens!!
Click to expand...

Pretty sure Jessops is the only place you can get the A300 from.
I say get it from Jessops.
We had a guy come in, and buy a 50d with a bunch of stuff.
He came back in the next day to refund a bunch of stuff, whining about how he was mis-sold items that he didn't even want.
We sold him a memory card, an extended protection plan, a bag, a lens cleaning kit, a rocket blower, an optical cleaning cloth, and a 360afd flashgun.
All stuff that weren't redundant with the camera, and I felt like just saying "Man the hell up, if you don't want something don't bloody buy it,"

I say, support Jessops to an extent. If you go in and try the camera out, if it's £20 more expensive in Jessops, buy it anyway. Where will you go to try out kit when/if Jessops go down the pan? There are some independent camera shops out there, but I feel that Jessops deserves your business if they're moderately priced.

If, however, a lens priced at £350 somewhere online is £450 in Jessops, there's no way you can justify an extra £100.
 
Slimbert said:
Me included!

The a200/300 would be a great place to start, just don't buy it from Jessops as they'll more than likely give you the usual sales pitch and flog you loads of expensive extras, telling you what a great deal it is!

If it were my money (which it was not too long ago), I'd go for the a200 over the a300, as the only difference is "liveview" which is a feature most people can live without. Then put the money you saved, towards another lens!!
Click to expand...

The difference in price between the A300 and the A200 is only about £60.
I think the tilting screen and liveview are both fantastic extras for only £60.
 
foodpoison said:
The difference in price between the A300 and the A200 is only about £60.
I think the tilting screen and liveview are both fantastic extras for only £60.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback guys!!...this is just what i was thinking, for £60 if i did'nt get the a300 i know i would kick myself when i come to shoot in an tight place such as a crowd, also ideal for low down 'ground' shots especialy at race tracks and rallys as i am a big motorsports buff.
Is the a300 easy to get to grips with as i have never picked up an slr in my life and is there any literature that can accompany it???

Cheers..

Paul..
 
If you think you'll make use of the tilting screen and liveview then go for the a300, but both features would have been wasted on me! But the a200 can be had for as little as £250-£260 brand new with kit lens, so that a saving of at least £70 which will go a long way to buying another lens, but of course you'll be without the fancy screen and liveview. Swings and roundabouts anyone??!

The problem I have with Jessops, is the over the top sales patter I've endured on several occasions. I'm lucky that I live only 10 minutes from the WarehouseExpress showorom, and in contrast, I've never once come away from WarehouseExpress feeling like I've been pressured in the slightest, or given dodgy advice, I wish I could say that about Jessops!
 
Slimbert said:
If you think you'll make use of the tilting screen and liveview then go for the a300, but both features would have been wasted on me! But the a200 can be had for as little as £250-£260 brand new with kit lens, so that a saving of at least £70 which will go a long way to buying another lens, but of course you'll be without the fancy screen and liveview. Swings and roundabouts anyone??!

The problem I have with Jessops, is the over the top sales patter I've endured on several occasions. I'm lucky that I live only 10 minutes from the WarehouseExpress showorom, and in contrast, I've never once come away from WarehouseExpress feeling like I've been pressured in the slightest, or given dodgy advice, I wish I could say that about Jessops!
Click to expand...

That's the only problem with Jessops, is the inconsistency.
In our store there's me - a complete camera nerd
my colleague - a complete camera nerd and part time pro
another colleague of mine - doing a photography degree
my manager - interest in photography, knows a little but is more there for working out discounts and issues
lab manager - knows stuff about printing and that's it, but that's all he's there for
3 other part time staff (other than me) who are interested but don't know much, but they come to me

TBH mate, the only reason you aren't pressured in the warehouse express showroom is because it's a showroom!
you go in and look, and then go!
if they did sales there, it would be a pretty different experience. (I am jealous of you, getting to look at all that lovely kit - most we get in our shop is the odd L lens and the newest XXD :()

As far as swings and roundabouts go, live view is 100% not for everyone.
I use it a substantial amount since the zooming focus thing is absolutely perfect for me since I do a lot of night cityscapes.
 
foodpoison said:
if they did sales there
Click to expand...

They do! Everything on their website is avaliable for sale/to buy in their showroom. Including Laptops and macs etc, almost their full range of luggage, studio lighting, some very expensive pieces of glass plus you can even pick up items you've bought from their ebay shop! The place is huge!:eek:

Very easy to lose a couple of hours in there drooling!!
 
Slimbert said:
They do! Everything on their website is avaliable for sale/to buy in their showroom. Including Laptops and macs etc, almost their full range of luggage, studio lighting, some very expensive pieces of glass plus you can even pick up items you've bought from their ebay shop! The place is huge!:eek:

Very easy to lose a couple of hours in there drooling!!
Click to expand...

Punch me in the neck and call me judy then!

I must get to this 'warehouse express' place!
 
I recently moved over from a Bridge camera Fuji S5000 zoom to Sony a300, and I like you am into motorsport especially ralling, I found the a300 fairly easy to get to grips with but i am by no way getting the best out of it yet, As said go and try one at Jessops I don't think you will be disapointed, I also bought the Tamron 70 - 300 telephoto at the same time and am well pleased.
Alan
 
Personally im more of a canon person but i did use a Nikon D40 and a D60 the other day as both my cousins have them. Having never used on before they were suprisingly easy with the standard kit lens (Cant remeber the lens but it was a kit lens) and took a wonderful picture. The room was dark but not to an extreme and the pop up flash worked really well even more so than some canons ive used. Do some looking around either Dpreview or Fredmiranda etc and find out the best novice camera. Having used canon i would personnaly get one. But for novices i would sugguest Nikon D60 or D40 or even a canon 350d or 400d all good cameras.

Hope ive help

Dan
 
I'd pop to a shop where you can hold the cameras ... see what feels right in your price range, then come and see what peoples oppinions are, I dont think there is a DSLR currently on the market that is not capable of taking a good pic, see what suits you and your hands, then look at what accessories / lenses are available at what price as that may impact your purchase

Phil
 
The best option is to buy a decent starter bundle here on TP. I have recently seen a D60 for sale with a Sigma 18-200 lens. That would be an ideal starter kit.
 
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