What camera is best for me.

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bungus

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Hello Guys

Just joined tonight as i have a few questions,

Up till now i have never been in to photography but i fancy getting myself a good camera,
Most of my photos have been taken on an iphone:wacky:.
I am going to Las vegas in a couple of months for a my first american holiday so i will be taken lots of holiday photos.
After that most of the photos i will be taken after that will be of family and family events, I am not into landscapes or buildings.
My budget is £400 but i don't fancy a compact camera.

If you need anymore info just ask,

Many thanks
Bungus
 
There's been a couple of posts on this recently, have you been down to Jessops and had a play with what feels right for you???

If you fancy getting a good camera does it have to be a full blown DSLR, it's a lot of money if it's only going to be used for a holiday or two?

Some of the compacts now can take good photo's without the expense of a full blown DSLR + lenses.

If you do have ot have a full DSLR there are entry level cameras that you could pick up for that budget with kit lenses but may find a better solution to look in the classifeid section for a good used camera with some glass...
What do you want to get into shooting ?
 
bungus said:
Hello Guys

Just joined tonight as i have a few questions,

Up till now i have never been in to photography but i fancy getting myself a good camera,
Most of my photos have been taken on an iphone:wacky:.
I am going to Las vegas in a couple of months for a my first american holiday so i will be taken lots of holiday photos.
After that most of the photos i will be taken after that will be of family and family events, I am not into landscapes or buildings.
My budget is £400 but i don't fancy a compact camera.

If you need anymore info just ask,

Many thanks
Bungus
Click to expand...

It depends how serious you want to get into photography, for £400 you could get a seriously good compact camera, ok you stated you don't fancy a compact, but hear me out.... The Panasonic TZ10 has just come onto the market, 25-300mm zoom, HD video with GPS or the Sony DSC HX5V, similar spec 25-250mm zoom, HD video, GPS, plus a new panoramic mode for sticking together a load of images to produce 1 (all done with in the camera), both of these are around the £300-350 mark, then you have money left for cards and a bag or spare battery. Canon's G11 is around the £350/400 mark, or Panasonic's lX3, there are some very good compacts on the market and these fit in your pocket quite easily.....

Yes for £400 you could kit yourself out with a entry level camera body and very basic kit lens like the Sony A230 or Olympus E-520 but if you did want a SLR then probably the 2nd hand market would get more for your $$$, but you have to remember you buying into a system, which involves interchangeable lenses, so there's no quick solution to 1 lens for all occasions and that's where your budget would be lacking, especially if your photographing indoor events, you would need a decent flash and better lenses which all mount up in $$$$.........

My best advice, as you have a bit of time before your holiday, is go down to your local camera store and have a play, but leave the wallet at home, and really get a feel for what you want, especially if you just want to point and shot for holiday snaps.
 
Cheers guys, thanks for the advise,

I will go to Jessops and have a feel for some.
Right now i am looking at the FinePix HS10 / HS11 it looks like its sort of in between a compact and a dslr.
What do you think.
 
bungus said:
Cheers guys, thanks for the advise,

I will go to Jessops and have a feel for some.
Right now i am looking at the FinePix HS10 / HS11 it looks like its sort of in between a compact and a dslr.
What do you think.
Click to expand...

Don't know, still rather too new to find any decent reviews.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/HS10/HS10A.HTM

Sony HX5V
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/HX5V/HX5VA.HTM

Panasonic TZ10 / ZS7 (USA)
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/ZS7/ZS7A.HTM
 
I had the opportunity to go to Egypt a couple of years ago and wanted something better than my 3mp point and shoot.
I got a Panasonic FZ18 bridge camera. The main reason was the 24-508mm zoom. It also has all the modes found on a DSLR.
It is a fraction of the size of a DSLR and you don't need to change lenses.
I only upgraded to a DSLR as I wanted to shoot more motorsport and needed better frames per second.
 
I think a bridge camera is probably the way to go, something in the Panasonic FZ range, or a Fuji bridge camera, you shouldn't go wrong with either,however if you want something to expand on, a second hand DSLR, but as already has been said then your buying into a system, but there are some good second hand bargains to be had on this forum, eg something like a Nikon D50 for around £150 or a Nikon D70s around £190ish, match those with Nikon 18-70mm lens (which is an excellent starter lens,and will be good for portraits and landscapes) for around £120ish and add a memory card and your good to go ;)
 
Thanks Guys

So far my choices are the Fuji FinePix HS10 or the Nikon D3000
but untill i go to the shops and have a play around with some cameras they are what i am looking at so far.
 
The Nikon D3000 has a highly rated beginners user guide on camera, which would be worth looking at in the shop.
 
The only gripe i have with the recent Nikon starter DSLRs ie D3000/D5000 D40X and D60 is they have no inbuilt focus motor, this can be limiting with older lenses which will only manual focus on these models, so you need to go for a D90 upwards in newer models, that's why i mentioned the older Nikon's ;)

There's a second hand Nikon D70s for sale HERE for £180 looks in great nik too.
 
TG. said:
The only gripe i have with the recent Nikon starter DSLRs ie D3000/D5000 D40X and D60 is they have no inbuilt focus motor, this can be limiting with older lenses which will only manual focus on these models, so you need to go for a D90 upwards in newer models, that's why i mentioned the older Nikon's ;)
Click to expand...

Whilst this was true a while back there are plenty of AF-S lenses about now (new and used) for this to be no longer a problem IMHO.
 
Nah, forget the poor iso, slow af and slow zoom of a bridge. I'd look at a 400D with a 18-55mm IS (just because im a canon fan) or one of the nikon/sony equivilants.
The three downfalls of bridges i gave above will be particularly important in vegas if you take any shots inside (in the casinos if allowed?) And although you are sacrificing range, you wont need it for your intended uses and if you do really need a longer lens, you can always get one at a later day. And, the option to add a 50mm f/1.8 is nice for those family shots you mentioned.
 
Well if the OP is moving towards a SLR, then my suggest would be a canon 20D for £200/250 (you might even have the kit lens thrown in at that) leaving £150/200 for a lens. The 20D would knock socks off the nikon D3000, you wouldn't have to worry about lenses and it still a great performer.

Check out MPB (advert on TP), Ffordes, Mifsuds, Park Camera's or Camtech as recognised 2nd hand dealers......

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...used-canon-digital-slr-cameras/canon-eos-20d/

http://www.mifsuds.com/usedpriceindex.htm
 
Well went down to Jessops today and came back with the canon EOS 450D.
After open it up and having a look at it my first thoughts are " I think i am out of my depth with this" :)
I am sure through time i will grow into it and learn all about it.
I am going out tonight so i dont have time to play with it much.
 
Hi and welcome.:)

Get hold of a book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.

You will learn a lot from it.
 
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